Case in point: This response to my twice-printed Grinch parody, "The Bro," which includes this verse:
He said “Vote for me!”The response:
“Why?” they asked. “Why?”
“Because I am green and green people can’t lie!”
Then I don’t even know where to start with you. How about: Blaming a black man for white people’s magical negro complex is racist?—No, wait, it’s even simpler than that: Blaming a black man for anything white people do is racist.You don't recall? I sure do.
I don’t recall Obama ever claiming that black people can’t lie, or that a vote for him would fix U.S. race relations and “get rid of your guilt.” Sure heard a fuckload of white people claiming it, though!
Well, let's be accurate: I don't recall Obama himself actually using those or similar words. But his campaign relied on "racist baiting" incessantly.
I'll be damned if I let any politician, of any party, get away with the smarmy trick of letting the candidate stay unsullied by dirty deeds accomplished in his name by hired sharks.
Bush tried to dissociate himself from the ghastly tactics used by his hirelings against McCain in 2000. I say that Bush owns all the filthy, underhanded deeds peformed in his name and to his benefit in 1999 and 2000. Similarly, Obama owns all the filthy, underhanded deeds performed in his name and to his benefit in 2008.
"Ax" was Obama's pit bull. You can't tell your pit bull to bite someone and then say: "Blame the dog; don't blame me."
It is now established beyond rational dispute that the Obama campaign ran the incessant, daily, hourly blogosphere attacks on Clinton and Edwards supporters. We were called "racist" literally every minute of every day, simply because we had announced a preference for another candidate. This smear campaign was designed to give the impression that anyone who opposed Obama could have no motive other than bigotry.
In other words, the Obama campaign used classic intimidation tactics.
If not for blatant racial appeals -- appeals to both black solidarity and liberal guilt -- Obama would have had to drop out of the race early on. Hillary was running well ahead in the black community. That situation changed only after the Obama campaign launched a scurrilous smear campaign designed to paint the Clintons as racists. A leaked internal Obama campaign memo revealed that the "Clintons as racists" meme was a disingenuous ploy.
If Obama were white, his "I barely knew Tony Rezko lie" -- exposed by an FBI informant in Rezko's office -- would have knocked him clean out of the race. Same thing with his outrageous NAFTA lies.
Remember the Obama campaign's "darkened video" smear, which was debunked by yours truly?
Remember the "Bros not Hos" t-shirts sold at pro-Obama events? People who didn't complain about those shirts now pretend to be shocked at my use of the term "Bro" in the Grinch parody. To which I say: Fuck you and your double standards. If you said nothing about "Bros not Hos" -- on the record, at the time -- then shut the fuck up about my "Bro" cartoon.
Remember the death threats? Remember the nonstop application of the term "cunt" to all Hillary supporters? Odd thing -- my critics pretend to be offended by my Grinch parody, but they did not register any complaints when the O team called Hillary a "cunt" repeatedly. Neither did they complain about the popular "Sarah Palin is a cunt" t-shirts seen frequently at Obama events.
(I've recently learned that political campaigns now purchase blogland astroturfing via employment sites such as oDesk. The pay is crap; most of the paid blog commenters are actually third worlders. Yes, Americans are even outsourcing their invective and political dirty tricks!)
Remember the Democratic Underground poll in which 95% of the respondents said -- insanely -- that Hillary Clinton was responsible for the death of Benazir Bhutto?
Remember this cavalcade of shit?
Remember Sirota's lies?
Remember the calls for Hillary Clinton's murder?
One could go on and on. Simply go to the pull-down menu to your right (the one marked "All old posts") and call up the archives from the 2008 campaign. Go through that old material and the point will be established beyond intelligent debate: Of course the Obama campaign resorted to racial appeals. For precisely that reason, this former Obama voter switched his loyalties and became an implacable foe.
I received incessant accusations of "racism," along with other smears, insults and death threats. These attempts at intimidation came not just every day but every hour. Literally. A surprising number of the most vicious, violent attacks came from the same IP number in Chicago -- the city where Obama placed his campaign HQ.
I was hardly alone. Every anti-Obama left-leaning blog came under fire.
Don't be naive: Of course Axelrod was personally responsible. And of course Obama was responsible for Axelrod.
By the way: Bill Clinton took a lot of heat for his efforts on behalf of black people -- ending redlining and encouraging investment. Now, nearly two years into the Obama presidency, I'd like to ask (not for the first time) if Obama has ever done anything for any black person not named Obama.
7 comments:
In my more melodramatic moments, I say the Democratic Party died when Obama's supporters started calling their fellow Democrats racists.
Either the Obots really believe that most Democrats are racists, or they were willing to use the name as a weapon to win the nomination. Either way, the party is dead.
Amen to you and amen to Perry. In '08 even my blog received death threats-- and I only have two readers!
When I first read this Who strip back in the day, I thought it wasn't entirely fair or exactly accurate (but very well done). It didn't strike me as racist.
But let's admit two things. Yes, the nomination race against HRC featured plays of the race card from the Obama side. And yes, certainly, some of the opposition to Obama has also been racist.
The truth of the first does not mean the second isn't also true. Not all opposition to Obama has a racial component, but much does, once you scratch a little under the surface, mainly in the attacks from the right. Attacks from the left, not so much or not at all, in my view.
XI
Very little of the criticism and contempt shown for Obama from Republicans is racial in nature. Why? Because he mostly does exactly as they wish and when he doesn't they can use character, or lack thereof, hubris, shallowness, ignorance, timidity, etc to criticize him. They do not need race when they have so much else to go on. Republicans saw Obama for what he is, a lightweight Chicago hack on the gravy train. They did not want to run against another Clinton and loose the WH for 8 years and Congress for longer. With O they only had to wait two crummy years to get back in control. R's do not give a shit if he is purple as long as he continues to be a cipher.
"Not all opposition to Obama has a racial component, but much does, once you scratch a little under the surface."
Perfect example of the crap that continues to be thrown around completely irresponsibly and with no shame for the lack of evidence by Obama supporters. Exactly what part of the opposition to Obma has a racial component?? You should be able to come up with numerous examples that can be attributed to major figures who oppose Obama since you say that "much of the opposition" has a racial component.
And, while you are giving those examples, please be concrete about how "far" below the surface you have to "scratch" in order to uncover the racism in the opposition.
Evidence and specifics, please.
"(I've recently learned that political campaigns now purchase blogland astroturfing via employment sites such as oDesk. The pay is crap; most of the paid blog commenters are actually third worlders. Yes, Americans are even outsourcing their invective and political dirty tricks!)"
This is interesting. One thing I saw on a TV news program during the primaries raised my eyebrow and made me question what gross campaign violations were occurring on Obama's behalf, and most likely with his knowledge. A broadcast was done from the Gaza Strip highlighting Muslims who were campaigning for Obama using their computers. This was a campaign office filled with young Muslim campaign workers who happily shared that they were working with the Obama campaign to contact Americans and share their endorsement! The part that was left out by the reporter was WHO was financing this unit.
This incident to me seemed to be far grosser than any Chinese nun accusations that were thrown at WCJ. Here we had on a national news program a blatant example of foreign interference. And this was combined with the revelation that Kenyans and Nigerians were working on through the Obama campaigns website.
Aside from the myth of the millions of small donors, this is another story that is worth investigating. But it would call into mind the fact that "the Other" as Obama was happy to refer to himself, was supported by mere others.
FembotsForObama
To Anonymous 3:35 above:
You know, Republicans used to and still do howl, wail and moan and gnash their teeth when they are accused of racism, or of the strategic use of racism as a tool for electoral gain.
That should now be a dead letter complaint, considering their own RNC chairman admitted their use for decades of Nixon's 'Southern Strategy,' and apologized for it on behalf of the party. But it is still being used.
Beck and Limbaugh both have said that Obama's health care reform proposal, and his stimulus spending, are all about racial reparations. I have heard no Republicans disagreeing with that point, although perhaps some have.
I take the 'birthers' complaints to be about racism at their core, since they never complained about the clear evidence that McCain was not 'native born,' having been delivered in a hospital which by the treaty language was outside the Canal Zone.
I take the 'secret Muslim' trope against Obama as the same thing, although it may not be racism against blacks so much as racism against (even half-)Arabs or Muslims or (half-)Africans of whatever variety.
XI
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