The Message, The Messenger, And Right vs. Left

It's all too easy to berate a person delivering a valid message in favor of addressing the message itself. This is the M.O. of the Modern American Right - they know that their point of view on a variety of issues like women's reproductive rights, race relations, and he very nature of how news is delivered will ultimately fail if they focus on the message over who/whom delivers it.

But such is the nature of Right Wing framing.

Case in point is Keith Olbermann's new program on Current TV and a recent guest that the Tea Baggers and their sympathizers tried to prove was either nothing more than a hack comedian/actor or simply playing the so-called "race-card" in order to make the Tea Baggers look bad.

Internet sophist and over-simplifier, Allahpundit, takes to another meeting of Garofalo and Olbermann in textbook fashion when it comes to not addressing the message:

Via the Daily Caller, is Olby the voice in Garofalo’s head or is Garofalo the voice in his? There’s not a scintilla of disagreement here — just JG doing her usual over-the-top impression of a cartoon liberal with KO mm-hmming all the way — until around 4:35 in, when suddenly a dispute erupts over whether Clarence Thomas is (a) a victim of Stockholm syndrome in having married a white tea partier or (b) a token used by the tea party to distract from its own seething racism. Gee, guys, I don’t know. Can’t it be both? Coming next week to “Countdown,” hopefully: Olby interviews a tape-recording of himself.

And while some of you might claim that I am acting in the very fashion I am decrying, perhaps you should keep reading.

Let's let's look at the interview in question:



And while Allahpundit is want to source a popular Right Wing framing site, it should be pointed out that the very idea that there is racism within the Tea Bagger conglomerate is ignored in favor of insisting that there very well might be racism within Olbermann's staff since they appear to be predominantly white.

So, are Allahpundit and Ace of Spades now calling for some sort of "Affirmative Action Initiative" when it comes to the media, their staff, and their reporting? Absolutely not, as this is nothing more than a diversionary tactic explicitly used to undermine the very accurate and honest statement that racism still exists in this country.

More to the point, this is another aspect of Right Wing framing, as Allahpundit is insisting that Olbermann explain his staffing decisions in favor of confronting the very real aspect that there is a racist element within the Modern American Right. This is something that I have addressed before - insisting that it's not you but the other that is to blame for everything.

There's quite a bit that Olbermann and Garofalo get into that I can and will address later on, but the primary aspect is what Allahpundit does to this clip with his misplaced, meandering thesis and the reality behind it. Yes, I completely disagree with - and have for some time - that the blanket racism charge needs to be addressed. Not everyone that considered themselves a part of or even tangenticaly aligns themselves with the Tea Baggers are racists, as there are other primary motivators for such a movement.

I have seen Olbermann take after Obama on a variety of issues, such as warrantless wiretapping or the conflict in Afghanistan or the occupation of Iraq. So does the meme of "Liberal Media Bias" only go so far that the Right is butt-hurt that their water isn't carried on specific issues? I would wager yes on that one.

And with that in mind, I would like to leave you with this clip from Maddow to ponder the next time someone within the Modern American Right claims she is a pure Obama sycophant:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Questions. Questions That Need Answers.....

I haven't been blogging of late, as I'm working on a screenplay about how the world would look should the Modern American Right actually get their way with everything they claim to desire.

Picture Blade Runner meets Casablanca meets Beyond The Valley of the Dolls.....

I've already got a title:

ATLAS UNBOUND

That should get some attention with some of the Libertarian sychopants in America.

But to the questions:

- Why does the Right hate education?

- Why does the Right hate the ability for people to organize?

- Why does the Right have contempt for minorities?

- Why does the Right have contempt for women?

- Why does the Right have the ability to control the "media message" while claiming there is a "media bias"?

- Why is the Right against "Net Neutrality" and "The Fairness Doctrine" when these are two things they should - based on their continued machinations - be supporters of?

.......and there are more.

What are yours?

Idiots On Both Sides

Naturally, Glenn Beck would weigh in on this in order to malign anyone within the liberal/progressive movement.



Funny how he is doing exactly what he told people NOT to do in reference to the Tea Baggers that have repeatedly been caught using racial divisiveness and blatant and unblushing racist language.

And while the reactionary Right in America are falling over themselves trying to show that it's really the Left that are the racists, there is one thing that separates what happened at the Koch's event and what happens each and every time a Tea Bagger is highlighted for their racial animus - the Left actually holds people accountable while clearly admitting that not everyone in attendance at any event is going to be a "perfect" person.

Common Cause, the group hosting the Florida even where Breitbart and his crew shot the video in question, has released this statement:

Common Cause condemns bigotry, hateful statements caught on film at rally

Common Cause’s 40 year history of holding power accountable has been marked by a commitment to decency and civility – in public and private. So we are of course outraged to find that a few of those attending the events around a gathering Common Cause helped to organize Sunday near Palm Springs voiced hateful, narrow-minded sentiments to an interviewer in the crowd.

We condemn bigotry and hate speech in every form, even when it comes from those who fancy themselves as our friends.

Anyone who has attended a public event has encountered people whose ideas or acts misrepresented, even embarrassed, the gathering. Every sporting event has its share of “fans” whose boorish behavior on the sidelines makes a mockery of good sportsmanship; every political gathering has a crude sign-painter or epithet-spewing heckler.

We organized the “Uncloak the Kochs” panel discussion and took part in the rally afterwards to call public attention to the political power of Koch Industries and other corporations, their focus on expanding that power, and the dangers it presents to our democracy.

We’re committed to staging other forums and public events in the coming months to continue that effort. We urge all Americans of good will to join us.

Those on tape who made these pointless and ridiculous statements are just as bad as the Tea Baggers that make equal claims against their opponents. They are both a pox on their respective movements and should be pointed out as such. However, the modern American Right are more intent on framing this as a failure of American popular media as well as a way to white-wash their own failures.

Once the initial claim broke that ALL within the Tea Bagger caliphate were racists, I knew that this would spell trouble for the Left in America - as it wasn't true. Certainly, there are more than enough racists in the modern American Right to have to deal with at any given "party gathering", but to paint the entire group with the same brush is dishonest. I think there are even some I would regard as my political opposition that just might be able to exercise the intellectual honesty to admit even as much.

The only problem is that a majority of Tea Bagger allies are more content to point the finger in the opposite direction - or even reinforce the Left's claims by trying to be clever - and cast aside accountability ( allegedly a cornerstone of conservative ideology ) in total.

The Left in this country would do well to speak out about this clip, but do so in an honest fashion that not only points out that racial animus can cross party lines but showcase how the modern American Right are continuing with the same debunked narrative - that it's not them.

Who's To Decide

Just remember, that the modern American right are above making it about race.



Considering that this sort of language is quite commonplace within the confines of the Right Wing, it should be no surprise to anyone.

While the topic at hand was abortion, and ultimately a question that Obama was never asked, this blatant inference that black people aren't capable of making decisions that could affect the lives of others is not only a glaring example of the racial animus that flows like water from the modern American Right, but a signifier that it's speech acceptable by an alleged "Christian" organization.

Off To The Races

Every time I hear conservatives talk about how they aren't racist, are against Obama because of his actions and words and not his race, or insist that it's really the Democrats that have a problem with race, I have to really restrain myself from doubling over with laughter.

And now, "Mamma Grizzly" Sarah Palin seems to think she could use a dose of Limbaugh-speak in her pre-presidential campaign rhetoric. Her target - Michelle Obama.

Certainly his wife expressed this view when she said during the 2008 campaign that she had never felt proud of her country until her husband started winning elections. In retrospect, I guess this shouldn't surprise us, since both of them spent almost two decades in the pews of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's church listening to his rants against America and white people.

Despite the fact that much has been made of Jeremiah Wright because Fox"News" and conservative talk radio have decided to use truncated clips from, what are essentially, classic "fire and brimstone" sermons - ever been to a Southern Baptist revival in Kentucky? - and used those context free moments to formulate a narrative far too juicy for any conservative to pass up.

Do I agree with Rev. Wrights positions? Not particularly, considering I'm not a religious person and he ultimately latched onto the new found fame he was given and attempted to capitalize on it - with pretty poor results.

That aside, what are the potential repercussions that Palin could face because of this blatantly race-based and unfounded attack on Michelle Obama? The reality surrounding these statements in her book is that Palin will never have to answer for this - from her conservative supplicators, at least. She will, in all actuality, be praised by the modern conservative movement. Either that, or people will claim that this never happened, just like Beck fans claiming they never heard about him calling Obama a racist or simply stated that he would never say such a thing.

I truly hope that Sarah Palin runs for President. It will be a wonderful campaign to watch, as I'm sure that there will be more and far worse instances than this where she can be coached into making herself look like an even bigger failure as a human. That, and the fact that it will be interesting to see if modern conservatives are so blitheringly ignorant to cast a vote for a person that is more concerned with her own image than those she had been tasked to represent in the past.

Racial animus is, and will always be, part of the conservative ideological construct. No matter how often and how loud they scream it isn't, you should always remember that it's still there.

Predictabilities

I'm honestly not surprised by this report from The Hill:

Nowhere are Democrats more clearly threatened with heavy defeat than in the South.

Nov. 2 looks set to reverse a trend of recent elections that suggested the blue party might claw its way back in states dominated for a generation by the GOP.


The Hill’s polling shows senior Democrats in the South, who survived earlier Republican waves, poised to fall in next week’s predicted GOP sweep.

In 42 competitive districts polled in four weeks by The Hill, white Southern Democrats face stronger headwinds than any of their colleagues.

Democrats hold 59 Southern House seats and could lose a dozen of them — helping Republicans toward the net gain of 39 they need for control of the House.

But Sean Miller, who penned this article, is relying more on the hot talking point of the past nearly two years than the reality of what it's like to be a modern Democrat in the South.

Anti-spending sentiment may be stronger in the South than in any other region, Penn suggested, and “this election does seem to be driven more than anything else [by] the desire to curb spending.”

The South is more concerned about "spending"? Please pardon my inability to use a more apropos term and use what is a southern colloquialism - that dog don't hunt.

The "Southern Strategy" implemented by the modern conservative movement has been rather effective since Obama took office, simply because of how racial and ethnic fears play in this region of the US.

From parade floats featuring Obama as an apparent "slave owner" whipping a white male to Tea Party leaders using blatantly racial language in a "satirical" blog on down to some Tea Party leaders being none to afraid to drop the N-Bomb in reference to the American tax payer, it's no wonder that the South is ripe for a Republican take-over.

Here in Western Kentucky, it's no different. While I attended the last two "Tea Parties" held in my home town, the racial animus was as thick and palpable as anything I had experienced in my life. Needless to say, no one wanted to appear on camera, and I'm not really surprised. This isn't to say that all Tea Baggers are racists, but they certainly aren't willing to distance themselves from those that are. To that point, the desire for many within the modern conservative to feel like they are a part of something has greatly overridden their desire to be seen as "compassionate conservatives".

Attack Everything

I'm guessing had Michelle Obama wrote each spouse of the delegates of the UN a personal letter that conservatives would concoct yet another conspiracy about how the Obamas are out to create a "one world government". But they've only got vegetables and a gift basket to work with this time.

A special recipe of pickled, hand-picked ingredients from the White House Kitchen Garden, including sun gold tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, chocolate bell peppers, carrots, lemon verbena, and fresh herbs are presented in jars with the First Lady's signature. The jars are topped with original artwork done by California artists, Michael Cronan and Karin Hibma, who were inspired by a photo of Mrs. Obama tending to the garden with children and a wheelbarrow.

That's right, a gift based around the idea of healthy eating, promoting American small-business, and the very ideals that make up the American spirit of creativity and exceptionalism.

Naturally conservatives want nothing to do with that at all.

As the world leaders were back in the City scheming to divvy up money that doesn’t belong to them, the spouses hung around with FLOTUS and received a basket that I’m predicting will come to be known as “the re-gifting heard ’round the world”

Because all Republicans have been taught since Obama started his bid for the Presidency that you can't eat vegetables anymore, as only "liberal elites" do that.
This actually fits in quite nicely with Glenn Becks tirades about his french fries. Wait, are they still calling them "Freedom Fries"?

Oh, and for an added bonus, check out how quickly the racial invective starts up at Fox"Nation" in their comments section about this story. Yeah, no racists in the conservative movement - none at all.

No Racially Motivated Reaction Here

John Cole posted this earlier, but I think it bares repeating an further analysis.



I don't think I've ever seen more conclusive proof that the modern conservative movement is, despite all statements to the contrary, made up by a fairly large population of whites that are more than willing to judge a person based solely on the color of their skin.

And to echo Cole's point that this man clearly states that he was not once asked his position on anything, I think it bares repeating that those that were acting in a threatening manner toward this man were met with the exact opposite. This man composed himself quite well as he was surrounded by people shouting at him simply because of the color of his skin.

The only question that I have is whom the man was that was obviously escorting him away from the crowd. He seemed to present himself as someone with a position of power enough to make decisions on who should and shouldn't be there. Not only that, but did you catch the exchange between the rather tall fellow and the two men standing next to him as the "interloper" was escorted away. It seems that they thought this was all some sort of set-up to make them look racist. Considering how they treated this man, not once allowing him to voice his opinion or make any sort of case for or against Park 51, singling him out based on nothing more than he was "not white", I'll let you be the judge as to how they really feel.

Invective At It's Worst

No racism here. Nope, none at all.



I'm going to start a pool for those that read this blog. How long is it going to be before Rush just can't hold it back any longer and drops the N-Bomb on the air? 6 months? Next week? Tomorrow?

It's this type of racial animus, this race baiting, that spills out into the far corners of America where certain cross-sections of primarily white communities feel comfortable being totally and unblushingly racist. I used to work with a group of people that saw racism as tradition, as something they shouldn't be ashamed of. And predictably so, these people were "Christians" who could just as easily quote passages from the gospel of Matthew as well as Sarah Palin's latest Facebook posting that someone had to write for her.

Rush Limbaugh has nothing but utter contempt for anyone in the black community that enjoys even a modest amount of power that they have earned because of their hard work. You'll notice that Rush will never laud the accomplishments of a black man or woman that has worked their way through life, paying their dues, earning every cent they have, if they have a voter registration card that has a D listed on it instead of an R. I'm actually of the belief that Rush just simply doesn't like anyone in the black community at all, but that he tolerates them. And there are black men that fill in for Rush when he decides to jet off to some vacation hot spot that the common man he claims to champion will never be able to afford. He let's these men sit in his "seat of power" for a few hours each year to keep up the facade that he isn't a racist. But I, and many others, know better.

This wretched shell of a man is going to slip up sooner or later. The mask is going to slip enough and the remainder of the country that has a doubt will see once and for all that Rush Limbaugh is nothing but a racist in the most purest and unvarnished form. But it likely won't matter, as any statements made by him that reveal his feeling will be chalked up to "satire", or a "clumsy moment". I would imagine that there would be a special episode of Hannity where Rush would be provided supplication and covering fire. Perhaps even a segment on Huckabee where Limbaugh could talk about the "healing power of God".

Rush Limbaugh is not human - not by a long shot.

The Theatre Of Damage Control

To use a phrase that we often hear from conservatives - question the timing.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has a party fundraising event coming up in August that is scheduled to feature a very special guest: Conservative media activist Andrew Breitbart, according to a copy of the invitation exclusively obtained by TPM.

The fundraising event, billed as an "Election Countdown," will take place from August 12-14 in Beverly Hills, California, and will also feature other politicians such as California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, and Nevada Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Sandoval. Steele and Breitbart are scheduled to co-headline a welcome reception on the first evening, August 12.

It's certainly some odd timing for the RNC to be working closely with Breitbart, who, of course, has made headlines recently for circulating a video clip of then-Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod, an African-American, seeming to tell a story about how she would not help a white farmer who was down on his luck 24 year ago. Sherrod was quickly forced to resign last week. And as it turned out, the full video showed that Sherrod was telling a story about how she ultimately did not discriminate against the farmer -- that this was a great turning point in her own personal story of race relations in the South -- and she did help him. Indeed, the farmer himself has come forward to defend her and discuss their lasting friendship.

Sure, this could have been planned months in advance, but isn't it odd that Micheal "I'm going to tap into the modern hip-hop movement to get more votes" Steele AND Andrew "I'm going to prove that all blacks are either racists or out to do something illegal or detrimental of the fabric of this nation" Breitbart are going to do a fundraising duet?

I'm guessing this is where Fox"News" will chime in that Andrew isn't a racist because he's going to share the stage with a black man. I'm sure that's coming - probably in the form of Sean Hannity's program complete with "Rev." Jessie Lee Peterson and Eric Rush.

Shifting Momentum

Andrew Breitbart is struggling to get his latest narrative out there no matter who he attacks - even if it's the people he apparently was trying to defend.



The old conservative stand-by - accuse people of being a "plant" simply because your thesis has been torn apart. The sad part of it is that I was actually expecting this to happen.

Think Progress has more details that show how desperate Andrew Breitbart is to win this no matter who gets caught in the cross-fire.

From my perspective, Breitbart is either completely naive when it comes to the use of video footage that is given to him or he is willing to lie to the American public in order to get face-time on cable news. I'm suspecting that it's a healthy dose of the later and more than a pinch of the former. Honestly, how completely clueless does a man have to be to accept edited video from a source without questioning it's authenticity?

Paging Andrew Breitbart

I'm really trying to hold myself back from saying "pwned", but it sure seems that way.



The rebuttal from Breitbart should be interesting, if he even has the sand to do so.

UPDATE

And Rick Sanchez interviews the couple.



The accusations of racism "don't make sense"

Conservative Concern With Edit Points

This clip of now former Georgia Director of Rural Development Shirley Sherrod needs to be addressed for many reasons, not least of which is the obvious removal of context.



While there is clearly a message of race, financial distress, and how it is remedied coming from Sherrod, one has to take into consideration several factors. In regards to context, the clip showcases remarks that - at first blush - could be considered racist by those whom are explicitly searching for it. And while Sherrod is relating a story of that is predicated on race and how whites and blacks interact, there really isn't a clear ending to her story, as that was obviously cut out in order to further the conservative narrative that it's actually the blacks in America that are racist.

Secondly, there is no proof in this video that Sherrod denied financial assistance to the farmer in question. Granted, the use of the words "his kind" don't exactly help her case, but considering how the story is being framed and how this man allegedly spoke to her, one can almost understand why she chose those words. Was it a poor chose? Most certainly.

Now comes something that I didn't expect.

From the conservative blog First Things and highlighted by Allahpundit over at HotAir, it appears that there's actually the very first example of a conservative showing concern for how a video is being edited that is actually furthering their message.

Doesn’t it seem like, after all of that sort of winking, “you and I know how they really are” racist crap wherein Sherrod–intentionally or not–indicts her own narrow focus, she was heading to a more edifying message? What did it open her eyes about? Was she about to say “I took him to one of his own, but it shouldn’t have mattered about that; my job was to serve all the farmers who needed help.”

Was she about to say, “I learned about myself and about how far we still have to go?”

Was she about to say “it’s not poor vs those who have, because we are not at war, we are just in the same human reality that ever was?”

Was she about to say, “poor is poor, hungry is hungry and the past is the past when a family can’t eat?”

I want to know. Because it seemed like Sherrod was heading somewhere with that story, and the edit does not let us get there. I want the rest of the story before I start passing judgment on it.

And while the piece by The Anchoress quickly devolves into this preposterous notion that the NAACP are shining a light on specific elements of the Tea Bagger movement out of jealously of their alleged success, one has to wonder if conservatives are beginning to show a bit of intellectual honesty - albeit rather late in the game.

Then there's the fact that Sherrod has resigned, apparently due to the release of the heavily edited video. While conservatives are more than happy to insist that Ben Jealous "threw her under the bus" after this trumped-up non-troversy, I'm going to withhold judgement on this until Sherrod makes an official statement.

Fox"News" is all over this story this morning, so I'm sure that the conservative blogging realm is going to be cherry-picking this for some time to come.

Framing The Narrative

I'm wondering exactly what type of "judge" Andrew Napolitano was prior to being hired by Fox"News". But let's get right to the heart of this..........



Yeah, Glenn Beck, "great explainer of history". It's a shame that people actually buy into that idea.

Anyway.

Beck and Napolitano are eagerly framing the new narrative that there will be riots in the streets and that liberal/progressives will be targeting conservatives with violence should Republicans make gains in November. Beck specifically is making these accusations in direct correlation with minorities while trying to insist that the case against the New Black Panther party isn't about racism. It's a typical example of conservative fearmongering and double-speak.

Another aspect of this is that conservatives like Beck are setting the scene for what will happen after the midterm elections in order to further the notion that liberals/progressives are out to destroy the country. What Beck is doing is so transparent and predictable that it's almost pointless to talk about it. He's prepping the mouth agape conservatives that look to him as some solar messiah to believe that no matter what happens in November, liberals/progressives are going to act in violent concert against America and all that it stands for. That is, what Beck thinks it stands for.

There is a moment in this clip where Beck talks about the "lame duck" session on Congress and what legislation may be passed or not. This has just recently become a conservative talking point, that there shouldn't be anything done by Congress immediately following a midterm election. What kind of point of view is that? Should car companies not do anything to improve their line of vehicles put out into the market the previous year simply because the new model year line is about to be released? It's a very revealing look into not only the laziness of conservative ideology, but how they are more than willing to create a storyline that is designed to do nothing more than inflame, frighten, and smear.

Racial Ignorance Of The Right

Full credit to my dear Twitter pal GottaLaff for some further material for this post.

--------------------------------------------

So there's absolutely no racism within the Tea Party or any facet of the conservative movement - none? Really?

What about this?



.....or this, from a man who is directly attributing his "success" to the Tea Baggers?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

...........what about this, or this, this, this, this, this, this, or a host of other perfect examples.

So what do Fox"News" favorites Sean Hannity and Sarah "I can barely finish anything I've started unless I'm paid A LOT" Palin have to say about this?



There's is this palatable and oddly humorous shade of irony in Sean Hannity calling for people to completely ignore the well-documented racial animus within the Tea Bagger crowd since he was the one thathosted Duane "Dog The Bounty Hunter" on this program to provide covering fire for him when he dropped the dreaded N-bomb in a way that would make even Mel Gibson genuflect in horror.

But let's look at Palin's framing of this.......

She's essentially framing her thesis that the Tea Party shouldn't be held accountable because they see Obama as either "not white enough" or "just black enough that he scares us". Does it get any clearer than this?

The greater point of all of this is that NO ONE within the conservative movement are distancing themselves in any fashion from the clearly defined racism, racial animus, and race-baiting from the Tea Baggers simply because it would require them to do something that they continually espouse but virtually never do - hold people accountable.

Goodbye "Big Stein"

.....and speaking of the race baiting king.



I listened to NPR's obituary of Steinbrenner this afternoon after work. It wasn't political - save the mention of how he was cited for illegally donating to Nixon's reelection campaign in '74 - but it was honest, compelling, and painted an accurate portrait of a man that was, in my opinion, a legend in baseball.

But, leave it to Rush - the disgraced ESPN sports announcer and failed NFL franchise owner - to turn that loss of a great man into a tool designed to portray blacks as rank losers unless there is a "great, white, savior" out there to help them.

Greatest Fox Cat-Fight Ever

In which Kirsten Powers has me, then loses me REALLY quick.



Powers has always been one of the "Democrats" on Fox"News" that is really just another blonde with a a Democratic label pasted on her dress. Some style and little if any substance. But here, she really got under Megyn Kelly's skin by correctly stating that J. Christian is nothing but a conservative activist with a history of misleading statements, as well as the fact that this singular case is the Fox"News" way of perpetuating the "scary black man" narrative.

And then Powers completely tanks it in the end.

Was there a producer off camera telling her to tone it down? Was she suddenly filled with this question of whether or not this could cost her her job? Both are likely but I'm not even going to speculate on it any further than that.

The larger point of this segment is that Kelly is continuing to prove herself nothing more than another "pretty blonde" on Fox that is willing to parrot fringe conservative talking points, invite on a completely discredited "whistle blower", and then do her best 'Sean Hannity In A Skirt' impersonation in that hopes that it will garner some of his attention and hopefully lead to a second debate with Powers on his show. I'm thinking it will probably just lead to some supplication from Hannity and more inflammatory rhetoric and race baiting from a man that learned his trade from the king of race baiters - Rush Limbaugh.

Continued Racial Narrative

It's not a surprise that the most fringe elements of the conservative movement are lauding Michelle Bachman's latest stream racially charged invective.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has made her latest pronouncement on the evils of the Obama administration -- that they are "turning our country into a nation of slaves."

Bachmann appeared at a right-wing conference in Colorado this past weekend, the Colorado Independent reports, and in her speech Friday night she quoted from founding father John Jay: "We are determined to live free or not at all. And we are resolved that posterity shall never reproach us with having brought slaves into the world."

Bachmann then continued, in her own words: "We will talk a little bit about what has transpired in the last 18 months and would we count what has transpired into turning our country into a nation of slaves.

Conservatives certainly have a problem with not being able to get away from using the spectre of race when discussing Obama and his administration. It doesn't take a great deal of examination to realize why many within the conservative movement are rightly labeled as racists or race baiters.

But let's look at this from her standpoint for a second. What shackles have been placed on us by the Obama administration that are preventing us from being free? After all, Bachman's incessant prattling is a more radical echo of the claim that Americans, by and large, have lost many of their freedoms under Obama's presidency.

To that, I would ask this again - what freedoms have you lost Michelle?

The Nation Of Hate

Even though I don't agree with what the New Black Panther Party espouses, it's truly a wonder to behold how conservatives are willing to dive headlong into the shallow end of the pool and become that which they claim to decry.

Here are a few comments from Fox "Nation" in regard to Malik Shabazz's appearance on Fox"News". And it's a very fair assumption that these comments are directed at all blacks that oppose conservative ideology and how Fox approaches socio-political discourse.

dj58701
Reply

I am starting to think we should never have ended slavery.
Friday, July 09, 2010 at 06:22 PM

j9
Reply

Since they are trying to shred the Constitution, how about the Emancipation Proclamation?
Friday, July 09, 2010 at 06:05 PM

Father of a Disabled Vet
Reply

Where's James Earl Ray when you need him..........
Friday, July 09, 2010 at 05:47 PM

njjoe
Reply

so mr. zulu is looking for a fight? you won`t have to look to far.and be careful, you may get what you wish for.
Friday, July 09, 2010 at 05:43 PM

Special Forces (Ret)
Reply

They have a perfect defense: "I'm Black and I'm Stupid!".
Friday, July 09, 2010 at 04:48 PM

I LOVE SARAH P.
Reply

Okay... 2010 let's send the Klan to Philly voting stations with shotguns.
Friday, July 09, 2010 at 05:06 PM

The realities of this alleged scandal and those propagating it are something that conservatives are not wanting you to understand. Granted, Shabazz is not a person that speaks for the bulk of blacks in America, but Fox"News" is most certainly devoting a great deal of time in formatting the narrative that he does. Unfortunately, it's working, despite the fact that the Bush DOJ refused to prosecute a similar case involving a member of the Minutemen:

....in 2006, the Justice Department "declined to bring any action for alleged voter intimidation" "when three well-known anti-immigrant advocates affiliated with the Minutemen, one of whom was carrying a gun, allegedly intimidated Latino voters at a polling place by approaching several persons, filming them, and advocating and printing voting materials in Spanish."

The reality of this story, for me at least, is that the two men at the polling station did not intimidate anyone from voting, and the limited allegations that were brought against them are completely unsubstantiated and specious at best. There was action brought against the man carrying the stick, but this simply doesn't satiate the conservatives that are out to portray not only the New Black Panther party as racist radicals, but the entire black race as such.

I will, however, openly offer this caveat - claiming that you have to kill a white person and their children is unacceptable and indefensible and no one in this country with even the most rudimentary of reasoning skills will claim that it is. However, Fox"News" is formulating the narrative that liberals and progressives think that this type of behavior can simply be passed over. In point of fact, they are wrong.

The case at hand is without merit, due to the fact that there has not been one person some forward to say that they were denied their ability to vote due to actions of the two members of the New Black Panther party. And while I disagree whole heartedly with the rhetoric displayed by the man that was holding the stick during a later episode, to conflate what he said then with what happened at the Philly polling station is more than a shade disingenuous.

Intentional Acts

In which we see how Limbaugh's racist attitudes are poisoning the airwaves - still.



While Limbaugh's full-throated idiocy from his July 2nd program goes even further than the clip highlights, one has to wonder exactly why conservatives accept such inflammatory rhetoric and racism.

There have been no words or actions from the Obama White House that suggest that they are against or have disdain of what conservatives call "American exceptionalism". It's simply something that sounds good, something that doesn't require any fact-checking or analysis, as it is so outside of reality that conservatives simply don't want to take the time to reflect on it. In that regard, conservatives are lazy, intellectually dishonest, automatons.

But this notion that Limbaugh is espousing that minorities ( in this cases, a black American that is President ) are out to destroy the American economy is utterly preposterous. The reality of Limbaugh's claim is that people like him can't stand to see a member of the American minority succeed. He and those that identify with him think that success comes to only a select few - the white, privileged, class.

And while Rush makes light of the fact that American has a very storied history of preventing the less fortunate and the non-white from attaining their goals, it doesn't surprise me that he would - quite literally - white-wash this aspect of American history away. This is one of the cornerstones of conservative ideology - to erase any wrong-doing that took place in America.

For a moment though, let's follow Limbaugh's ham-fisted logic through to it's conclusion. There are blacks in this country that have not only contempt, but explicit hatred of the white race. Why is that? How can they have such a powerful emotive response to someone, anyone for that matter, that isn't black? Just take a look at who some whites in this country elevate to celebrity status, who they get their socio-political marching orders from, and you'll have your answer.