Dec 29 2008
“Real Conservatives” Are A Lost Cause, How The Dems Can Succeed
Updated
I tell you what, the conservative movement is now totally destroyed. Some idiot running for RNC chairman took a sweet child’s song and twisted it into an ugly, racist, turd of supposed humor:
The sending of a Christmas greeting by Chip Saltsman to the members of the Republican National Committee that includes a recording of the so-called parody, “Barack the Magic Negro” is not only offensive, it is shocking and saddening in the extreme. It flies in the face of America’s deeply held hope for a new era in which common ground and mutual respect characterize the exchanges between our national leaders.
I and my co-writer of “Puff,” Lenny Lipton, have been eagerly awaiting an end to the mean-spiritedness, outright disrespect and bigotry that was commonplace prior to this last presidential election. What might have been wearily accepted as “the way it was” in the campaign, is now unacceptable. Obama is not a candidate. He is the President-Elect, and this song insults the office of the Presidency, the people who voted for him, as well as those who did not — and taking a children’s song and twisting it in such vulgar, mean-spirited way, is a slur to our entire country and our common agreement to move beyond racism.
Ideological idiots. Obama is very popular and now respected, and this stunted adult goes off in a fit of 3rd grade thinking and tarnishes the brand of conservatism that Reagan and the Bush’s had turned into a respectable political movement. With this muck sticking to the word ‘conservative’ I will not be associated with the movement anymore. I have limits to what I will tolerate and this is well beyond it. This guy needs to be marched off the public square.
It would seem the GOP and its extremist wing have a generation of growing up to do before they are ready for prime time and leadership again. I see no path to salvation with the current crop of haters. From the obsession with Obama’s middle name to this scum-duggery, the right has completely self-destructed. Unless the GOP treats haters like this (and Savage, and Levin and others) like their close cousin David Duke and disavows them their tolerance for what is wrong is just intolerable for most Americans.
Now, with the GOP and the extreme conservatives basically a lost cause, here is how the Democrats can gain lasting control of the political stage in America. Basically shed the liberal and leftist demons and come clean, and you will have the center of America for decades to come. Here’s my list of actions the Dems could take to push the right out of play for a long, long time:
- Accept Iraq as a hard fought victory. Give up on blaming Bush for having tough challenges and a determined enemy. al Qaeda declared Iraq the prime battlefield of the war with the West and lost. Noe only militarily but it lost the hearts and minds of the Muslim Street. In 2001 al Qaeda was the future of Islam on the Muslim Street. Today it is the Enemy of Islam. Build on this.
- Accept Al Gore is a scientific idiot. The world economy is in a shambles. Much of this was predicted as the Baby Boomers go from producers to consumers as they transition into retirement. The world cannot afford to invest trillions into crack pot mumbo-jumbo about Global Warming. We will have decades of economic challenges as the US market contracts with the retirement wave of Boomers. Give up on Global Warming and move to real issues, like saving the Rain Forests and Whales, etc.
- Forget about soaking the rich. We all want to be rich. Reduce the burden of government because we are going to be taking on a huge burden of aging Boomers. Make room by cutting government.
- Don’t allow factories of young humans to be harvested for spare parts. Realize that the Adult Stem Cell options are outperforming Embryonic Stem Cell path (which has produced zilch so far – unless you count tumors and cancers). Show respect for life while preserving the right of parents and mothers to decide their own medical issues.
Really, four simple adjustments away from the liberal fringe and the center-left could hold for years and years. Especially given how bankrupt the right has become. One thing the left cannot afford to do is become impotent. That is what destroyed the conservative coalition. Years of getting nothing done (but plenty of screaming and blaming and demeaning comments) was the death knell of the conservative movement.
America surely doesn’t need more than that. For the sake of the people and this country I hope the Dems, with their newly acquired control, make things better. But to do so they need to moderate their own extremists. The current economic stress will not support radical liberal policies. Best to dump those ideas right now.
Addendum: I have to expand on this because of the lame excuses I have been reading in the comment section about this crap. Some are trying to claim this bile is OK because some racist liberal started the theme in the LA Times. Sorry, that is a load of crap. From what I am learning once the theme was established Limbaugh and one of his small-minded racists friends decided to expand on the theme and make the full up parody, with the excuse that the LA Times piece gave them license to be as idiotic as the LA Times.
Here’s the difference between Repulse-icans like Limbaugh and his KKK ’song writer’ and me. If I had read the LA Times piece I would have been just as disgusted and repulsed as I am now. I would not see one racist schmuck’s efforts as a green light to let out my own extended version of racist muck. If Johnny jumps off the bridge could all like minded jerks please follow!
These excuses, that the bad behavior is OK because someone on the left behaved badly, are pathetic. All these faux patriot, who love and respect America more than any others, can’t seem to muster any of their love and respect for the President-elect. You don’t have to support him or even like him. You do have to respect the office and this country.
This is so over the line I am ready to shutter this website. It is just beyond the pale. The mentality surrounding this is that of an electronic mob, where all boundaries of civility, maturity, responsibility and respect have gone out the window and have been replaced by hate. How far a jump is it from the electronic mob to a real mob, and all its threats to life and liberty? How far is the jump from any form of mob-think to lynch mob-think? If all the rules of decency and respect are gone, how long until the rules of law are thrown out as well?
The more people try to excuse this crap the more they repulse me. There is no excuse. There is no way to tolerate this. All I see is a bunch of insecure whities trying to keep ‘the man’ down by playing on Obama’s race. President-elect Obama has enough challenges to face and personal limitations as it is. Race is not one of them – not in my book.
I am sick of how this sewer rot spoils the image of Americans, Caucasians, etc. I thought we had moved beyond this. Clearly, some insecure schmuck’s have not.
76 Responses to ““Real Conservatives” Are A Lost Cause, How The Dems Can Succeed”
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AJ,
You missed the history and have fallen for the narrative from the left. The song was a parody of the left and their media appendage over at the LATimes. Early in the Obama campaign, many on the left were claiming that Obama was not black enough and that he didn’t have slave blood running through his veins. Therefore, he was not qualified to represent the civil rights wing of the Democrat party. A writer for the LATimes called him the “magic negro”. The song is poking fun and shining a light on the left.
Your grievance should be directed at the LATimes, Hillary’s campaign, and the civil rights enterprise. However, the background of this parody will not be revealed by the media. Result, emotions will again win the day.
see: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-center
I agree, AJ, that the Democratic Party could control the political scene by adopting the four points you itemize above.
I don’t believe, however, there is a chance in he$$ they will ever do so. The party’s members and financiers want socialism. They will never give up their ability to bring capitalism to its knees via the vilification of carbon dioxide.
Point number three, in which the Left somehow begins to eschew class warfare, is a pipe dream. Stirring the pot of “income inequality” is not only how they get elected, it can and will in the end succeed in the eradication of capitalism by simply enlarging government reach until a plurality depend on the government, a line I believe we have already crossed.
They don’t simply want to get elected. They want to get elected to a more and more powerful seat each time, and that means keeping points two and three as essential tools in their toolbox, IMHO.
So you’re siding with Peter Yarrow the child molester? You’ve gone ’round the bend, AJ.
As JammieWearingFool says:
Dude, get over yourself. Have you even heard the song parody in context?
I have more of an issue with child molesters than I do with people who makes song parodies.
It probably wasn’t very smart of the RNC candidate to use the parody, but most conservatives have heard it so much we can sing along with it. Rush played it almost daily during the primaries and general. The “idiot running for RNC chairman” didn’t turn it into anything, he merely used it. As usual, AJ, in his haste to damn a conservative, doesn’t know the entire story.
Let’s see….
1) An LA Times writer (a big time lib) writes an editorial making fun of BO by calling him the “Magic Negro”.
2) Rush Limbaugh hires Paul Shanklin to write a parody song based on the editorial written by said lib writer for said lib newspaper.
3) Saltsman, sends out CD’s containing said parody and now the Lefties have their panties in a twist.
4) AJ blames Saltsman for having taken “a sweet child’s song and twisted it into an ugly, racist, turd of supposed humor.”
Humor, and sarcasm, have to have an element of truth and reality in order to be funny.
There is nothing “racist” about this song. I’ve listened to it dozens of times. It is biting commentary based on the actual words and actions of the Left.
Those who are getting themselves all in knots over it should perhaps listen to it first rather than falling for the narrative that the MSM is framing for their reader.
Let’s see. Some dumb liberal schmuck makes a stupid racist joke, so some other dumb conservative schmucks continue on the racist bandwagon, claiming the liberal made them do it or the liberal could do it why can’t they be schmucks.
And AJ says enough with dumb racist schmucks and the schmucks whine about how they have a right to be dumb racists.
Did I miss something from the dumb racist schmucks.
Sorry folks, this smells like the crap it is. And hopefully all you dumb racist schmucks get my humor at your expense and are adult enough to deal with it in a mature manner. Funny – eh? Sarcasm – right? Just some fun!
Ugh. There is no excuse, none.
You always miss something, AJ, in your haste to bash a conservative. I find it humorous and so did lots of Rush listeners.
Say, how’d that moderate republican do in the general? Oh yeah. They chose a real democrat instead of a pseudo-democrat. Vote liberal AJ. It will make you feel better.
browngreengold,
It would be nice if AJ actually listened to the song, or read the words, before condemning someone on the right for uttering them. However, I do agree it was probably something better left to Rush and not the potential head of the RNC. Parody has its place and it wasn’t very smart of him to insert it into his campaign.
The best part of the Huffington piece AJ linked to is …
“It flies in the face of America’s deeply held hope for a new era in which common ground and mutual respect characterize the exchanges between our national leaders.”
…
But of course it does, now that PEBHO is about to become the butt of the jokes and not GWB.
The song was a parody of the LA Times. It wasn’t a racist act aimed at Obama. It has been around for over a year, I believe. Rush Limbaugh played it often on his show (and other parody songs by the same guy, Paul Shanklin).
I think you might have missed the target on this one.
The media has hopped on this in their to twist anything anyone says who might be opposed to Obama or the Democrats as “racist” but I don’t see the original writer or the person who coined the phrase “magic negro” being blasted.
AJ,
Have you listened to the song?
It’s on YouTube.
Sue,
This parody is dead center right on target.
You can tell that by the way the Libs and the pseudo-Libs are squealing over it.
The point that you all are missing is that if the Republicans expected to recover from the past elections and their bad tactics then they need to be above childish antics such as this and unite the party and welcome new people into the party. Instead we have the purists’ crap being spouted for the past couple years and now someone who wants to represent Republicans nationwide repeats the ignorant crap about Obama the Magic Negro.
First of all, if conservatives want to gain any votes they need to stay far far away from derogatory slag terms. We are living in a time where Negro is NOT appropriate even in jest. Other inappropriate terms are towelheads, sand niggers, etc. It will never garner support. And those who think these terms are funny or that jokes with these terms are funny do not need to be a representative for anyone but their lame selves.
Cool down, Aj… I “read” the lyrics a couple times.
.
When Frank Robinson became the 1st black baseball manager in 1975 my thought was…
.
“Good… NOW, when they FIRE a black baseball manager and it’s no big deal… THAT is really good!”
.
You fell for the old “Can’t make fun of black people or you are racist” ploy. Tsk tsk…
.
Soooo, let’s make fun of our President without it being a big deal…
.
And this conservative hopes like h*ll I am wrong about the results of electing Barak…
“they need to be above childish antics such as this ”
It was childish antics on the part of the LA Times. The LA times published an article that Barack Obama was “black enough” to identify as such but not “so black” as to alienate white people and so he was a “magic negro” that could win an election. But the article went on to point out resentment in the “black community” that Obama didn’t have a history of “black activism” and it raised concerns among many in the “black community” that he hadn’t “walked the walk”. Basically hinting that Obama might not be “black enough” was the thrust of it.
The song was to point out the racial hypocrisy of the liberal left and has to be heard in that context in order to be understood. If the context is shifted to something other than what its contemporary surrounding context was, it can appear to be something quite different. And here we are today many months later with that LA Times article (read that before reading the lyrics of the song) long forgotten and it is now brought up out of its contemporary context to be made to appear somehow different than it was at the time it was made.
BGG,
Why in the world would I waste my time on this crap?
Who the hell cares how it came about? Now this stain is imprinted on the conservatives – who are clearly not bright enough to figure that out!
Like I said – I wash my hands of this and all who support it. Go inhabit some other dark place. I have no tolerance for this.
Crosspatch,
The childish antics is to allow this to continue you to get media attention. Who cares? And since he decided to bring it up at this late date which allows it to be understood out of context just adds to the reason to just drop it and move on.
Sarah Palin needs to come out and denounce this. She has had much worse thrown at her and she will show huge amounts of class in doing so. Jindal should do the same.
They can both come out and say that, just as republicans do not like the slurs that have been perpetrated on them, the left should see how it feels, now and stop theirs as well.
I have posted Why Conservatives are losing ground – The Call to Dunkirk this morning. We need talented bloggers to continue to fight. I am certain there are a number here who have the talent to be able to do some good.
Amazing. The guy running for the freaking RNC Chair put “Barack the Magic Negro” on his Christmas gift CD, AJ rightly condemns it, and the reaction from the rest of you is – “It was taken out of context”?
Holy cow. As a Democrat, let me just say – thank you. Thank you all for doing what you can to keep my side in power. I beg you to keep trying to defend this.
AJ,
You are still missing the point. The parody is not directed at Obama or “African-Americans”. It is directed at the left and the left-coupled media. The left is just playing to ignorance, hoping nobody will have the attention span needed to see the entire picture. So far, the left is right… so to speak.
I see no reason to defend the parody. I agree that the candidate for the RNC chair should have left the parody to Rush. But the parody itself is fine. Just as all of the parodies by the left about Palin, etc., were fine. And this is not why conservatives are losing ground. We tried republican-lite and the country chose the real deal. Nothing to do with anything conservatives did or said. It was the love affair with PEBHO by MSM. And AJ leaves the republican party about every other day. His love affair of Palin surprises me. She is about as conservative as they come and AJ, by his own admission, likes the middle.
No Peak,
You are missing the point. It is a low brow, disgusting, immature, racist piece of crap.
And no whining will change my mind. Live with sewer rats if you wish – your choice.
Meanwhile, Tina Fey wins an award for her parody of a backwoods, know-nothing, beauty pageant contestant, governor, vice-presidential candidate.
Sorry, I can’t get all worked up over Shanklin’s parody of Al Sharpton and the LA Times.
You’re doing a heckuva job, Sue. But please keep it up – I think there might be another 6 or 7 Independents out there who aren’t 100% convinced yet that the GOP is filled with racists.
I find it simply hilarious that you cannot figure out what the issue is here. The song itself (while juvenile and mildly offensive) is not the issue. Rush Limbaugh is not the issue. In fact, if the song had ONLY been played on Limbaugh’s show – then there is no issue at all.
(Also, it amazes me that you can’t see the difference between Tina Fey, an entertainer, doing a parody (which she did with Sarah Palin on the same show, btw) — and someone who is actually running for the RNC Chair putting this kind of song on their gift CD. Get back to me when Tina Fey starts working for the Obama administration, okay?)
Yet another reason the GOP is becoming politically irrelevant – the people runnings things are imbeciles, and the rest of you Simply. Don’t. Get it.
The guy who wrote the original piece for the LA Times is half black himself. It was a dumb move by the RNC, because the only ones who can talk about race are blacks and “progressives”, every one else will be perceived as a racist. It’s the perception not the reality that counts.
I have no idea why Obama would have a better chance of brining this country together then George Bush did. Off the top of my head I can’t think of one idea Obama has put forth that I think is good for this country in the long run. But then on many issues I have heard mostly blather, and nuance, so that in the end he can say anything, and say “as I’ve said before” we will bring the troops home in 16 months, nuance, he also said once, I will confer with the commanders on the ground.
I think the fact that he is black is good for the blacks of this country in ways a white person could never understand. Maybe it is also good for black haters, it makes them feel like they turned a corner. However, the fact that he has never done much in his life is not a good thing for this country in my humble opinion.
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Guy, for the record, republicans could keep doing this sort of thing for the next 50 years and STILL NOT catch up to the global socialist democrats and their VILENESS toward a SITTING PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. I would be quiet if I were you. You really don’t want to go there, do you?
Ok, so if a newspaper publishes something that amounts to bigotry and I call attention to that bigotry through parody, I am now the bigot and they are off the hook. Is that what the message is here?
Guy Fawkes,
You should go back and read what I wrote. Or not. I really don’t care one way or the other. But I find it equally hilarious that you can read what AJ wrote and then claim I don’t know what the issue is here.
I think that Paul Mirengoff at Power Line sums up this “controversy” the best:
The song’s title came from an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times by David Ehrenstein. Saltsman is therefore arguing that the criticism of him represents a double standard, inasumuch as Ehrenstein’s piece did not produce a controversy.
Ehrenstein’s piece was not scandalous. As he explained in the op-ed:
The Magic Negro is a figure of postmodern folk culture, coined by snarky 20th century sociologists, to explain a cultural figure who emerged in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. “He has no past, he simply appears one day to help the white protagonist,” reads the description on Wikipedia. . .
He’s there to assuage white “guilt” (i.e., the minimal discomfort they feel) over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history, while replacing stereotypes of a dangerous, highly sexualized black man with a benign figure for whom interracial sexual congress holds no interest.
Shanklin’s parody was not scandalous either. His concept of “the magic Negro,” presented in the context of a mock rant against Obama by the decidely non-magical Al Sharpton, was basically the same as Ehrenstein’s. By ciriculating this recording, Shanklin was not displaying racism.
But Ehrenstein, Shanklin, and Rush Limbaugh (who played the recording on his show) aren’t running for RNC head. So we are left with the question of whether it’s a good idea for Republicans to be led by someone tone-deaf enough to circulate a recording called “Barack the Magic Negro.”
To me, the self-evident answer is “no.” Media double standards (if that’s what we’re witnessing here) are a reality the next RNC head (indeed, the next dozen) will have to deal with. Republicans need a chairman with the maturity and judgment to avoid subjecting himself, and by extension our party, to easy shots by our enemies. The RNC chair we need would have responded to Shanklin’s parody with, at most, a private chuckle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So it is worth noting, but not worth a high level of outrage.
GuyFawkes, all that and you are defending Obama’s lying. or don’t you ‘get it’?
I am not commenting about the parody, I haven’t heard it, nor do I want to hear it. Anyone using it to make any point is misguided.
The conservatives lost in the last presidential election because there was no conservative in the election. As someone above said, in a race between democrat and democrat lite, it is to be expected that all dems want the dem and no one wants the dem lite.
Tinian:
“Media double standards (if that’s what we’re witnessing here)”
there is no such thing as media double standards, dems=good and pure, Reps=evil. they are very consistent.
The point is that the RNC is tainted with it. Of course the liberals are hypocrites. Of course they used regional snobbery all the time. They use class warfare, they claim that Republicans are bigots {as if a mere 40 years ago most Dixiecrats were not in fact Democrats} and of course some moron liberal started this. The point is the party should have stayed away from it.
I did not and would not vote for Obama. But he is the President and this is stupid. I would like to see him be a one term president, but this will not help make that happen.
Guy, spare me the moral outrage.
Redteam:
I am not defending Guy. I never agree with him. But then again, the idea that the Republicans lost the last election because McCain was not more conservative is not true. Conservatives need to start winning elections and convincing people to vote for them before they whine about losing. McCain was the nominee because Republicans voted for him, Palin was the VP because he picked her.. If conservatives can not manage to get someone they can tolerate as a nominee in the Republican party what makes you think they can win a national election?
They blew it. They complain too much and they can not get out of their own damn way.
I haven’t heard the parody either nor do I want to. But what is all this. Republicans have to make nice and be above all bickering and heckling? That is what I have against the republican party. They rise above all this stuff yet their opponents use every trick in the book to win by hook or by crook mostly by crook. Now we have a half black president and if we say anything against him we will be called racists. How convenient. Yet the libtards called Bush every name in the book and hated him virulently and accused him of every disaster even a hurricane that the feds were on the scene before it happened but were not allowed to bring supplies to victims. We have had 8 years of this and now the libs want us to co-exist in peace. Let bygones be bygones. In other words, they want their own way as usual.
I don’t hate Obama but I am deathly afraid of what he and the dem congress will do to this country. I didn’t even hate Clinton. I had no respect for him but that is a different story. Probably the parody should not have been used since even conservatives don’t like dirty tactics. Most of them don’t like to get their togas dirty. But me, I wish the republican party could find a pair and fight back if not on their terms at least fight back a little bit..
P.S.
Let’s not forget that this kind of thinking let Obama get away with Rev. Wright and led McCain not to mention it.
The point of AJ’s post is not a candidate for the RNC chair made a stupid mistake. The point of AJ’s post is the entire conservative wing of the republican party is bigoted. Limbaugh, being a full fledged member of the KKK, or something, and his racist parodist, and those of us who found it funny, are whiteys or something. Instead of attacking the idiot who doesn’t know parody belongs with Rush, et al, AJ attacks all conservatives as being extreme. Simply because we found the parody humorous, when it was Rush, not a leader, or potential leader, of the RNC using it.
But remember, Obama is popular and therefore deserves, though he has done nothing but win an election, our respect. Or something. Uber-cool is the phrase of the day. Hats on backwards everyone.
Keep in mind this man ran Huckabee’s campaign. Full of bigoted remarks towards Mormons. But tarnish the entire conservative wing of the republican party with Huckabee’s man. I think I’ll pass on excepting blame for one man who might be a bigot with an R after his name. Or he might just be an idiot not a bigot.
Wow. This whole post has nothing to do with conservatism. AJ, I’m disappointed that you have fallen into the media vortex. I suggest you need to quit listening to all media for awhile and relax a bit. To become so unglued about what, at the time, was a spot-on and quite humorous parody as some kind of reflection of a politcal party is way out of line. You’ve fallen into the media’s trap. Get out while you can still be saved. Rush Limbaugh has been doing great parodies for almost 20 years, and this one’s not much different. It (they) point out the hypocrisy and absurdity of the left and their media enablers in a very humorous way. (Some one has to do it!) Your ‘violent’ reaction to it is almost as absurd as the current state of the MSM today. You bought into their trash hook, line and sinker and are spreading it along the blogosphere as well. Relax.
Dear AJ Strata;
Welcome to the fight. I’ve been writing about these yahoos for months now, only to be maligned, insulted, and castigated.
Keep up the good work.
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
P. S. I am determined that these people are leaving the GOP, not me. I’ve had it.
Mark For Senate – I did not read about this in the media. I don’t need anyone to lecture me about right or wrong. You want to hang out in the sewers, be my guest. Just don’t get all bent out of shape when people point out you stink like the $hit you swim in.
Like I said – the insecure racists who laugh at crap like this can count me out. I am not their ally.
Saltsman was EXTREMELY stupid. Was the parody racist? No, but it was easily painted as such, and the kinds of idiocy.
I’ve not listened to talk radio for a long time. I do not think I will any time soon.
It does seem that both parties are headed for the extremes. The country’s becoming polarized. We get to pick our poison – the hard left or the hard right and it is going to get worse before it gets better.
I don’t have any problems with the parody (I’m familiar with the history of it, also). However, it was stupid for any respectable politician to use it in any way. It is one idiot’s action…..but, of course, it would reflect badly upon the whole party. I think he just lost the job.
Statement from Mike Huckabee
http://www.huckpac.com/?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=2028
excerpt:
Chip should have been more careful in his selection of Christmas gifts, but no one who knows him would ever suggest that he in any way would purposely disparage other people. Chip knows how sensitive such issues are. It shouldn’t be the main factor in the RNC race.
The LA Times article that brought about the parody:
Obama the ‘Magic Negro’
The Illinois senator lends himself to white America’s idealized, less-than-real black man.
By David Ehrenstein
March 19, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story
[...] “conservative” is taking on narcissistic properties of a borderline sociopath. Like AJ Strata so aptly said, if we cannot remove these sociopath conservatives from the GOP, and completely distance the GOP [...]
excerpt:
Limbaugh criticized the op-ed as racist, claiming, “The left’s saying all these things. Now he’s the ‘Magic Negro,’ which is a convenient trick for the L.A. Times to blame a bunch of white people for being racist
excerpt:
“The term ‘Magic Negro’ has been thrown into the political presidential race in the mix for 2008. And the term ‘Magic Negro,’ as applied to Barack Obama has been done by an L.A. Times columnist, David Ehrenstein.” Limbaugh later asserted: “I’m going to keep referring to him as that because I want to make a bet that by the end of this week I will own that term,” adding, “If I refer to Obama the rest of the day as the ‘Magic Negro,’ there will be a number of people in the drive-by media and on left-wing blogs who will credit me for coming up with it and ignore the L.A. Times did it, simply because they can’t be critical of the L.A. Times, but they can, obviously, be critical of talk radio.”
http://mediamatters.org/items/200703200012
Jim Geraghty explains it best:
You Can Explain a Joke, but You Can’t Save It
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NmMwYzNlNWVkNTdlNWVlNTY3YzI1Y2I0NzIxYjA3YTk=
That’s pretty much how I see it.
The reason conservatives get painted with this crap is that they defend it. They immediately blame a liberal. They make excuses for the guy…that sort of thing.
This is how they lost the hispanic vote. They allowed a few loud mouths to define the conservative position on immigration and then rather than distance themselves from the extreme rhetoric they defended it. The result? The number of hispanics voting GOP went from 44% to about 20% in a couple of years. Way to go. Needless to say way too many of them responded to the loss of votes by blaming Jorge Busho and shamnesty or some such nonsense.
That is why I am disgusted with a lot of these guys. They do something stupid and then they join liberals in bashing Bush. It is the one thing the liberals and conservatives can agree on.
Frogg:
My folks grew up during the Great Depression. My mom was born in 31 and my Dad in 26. They were from Oklahoma. The only time I ever saw my Dad come close to fighting another man was when the guy called him a Okie. To people of my parent’s generation it was a slur, an insult. I can remember my Dad telling the guy…I can call me that, you can’t.
I think that is how this sort of thing works as well. Republicans can not keep walking into unforced errors like this and then just blaming everyone else. Under the circumstances, it was a dumb thing to do.
Terrye:
I’m not “morally outraged” at all. To the contrary, I find it hilarious that some of you are actually trying to defend this. The fact that someone could be so utterly tone-deaf as to think that yelling “but it was in the LA Times!” would mitigate this whole action is, to me, utterly amusing. It’s as if you actually think that:
A) The public perception that the GOP is racist is solely a liberal media conspiracy, and has no relation to any actions from the GOP in the last 28 years.
B) The GOP actually has a chance of winning a national election while actively driving away the black/hispanic/minority vote.
Geraghty’s post in NRO that Frogg posted above was spot on. A few of you really should take the time to read it.
Stop taking yourselves so seriously, because I won’t. The use of humor to expose “racist” stereotypes is healthy and if not for the show”All in the Family” we would still be afraid to speak what’s on our minds whether it is right or wrong. Imagine all the whining ninnies bouncing off one another if Archie was allowed to express his views in this day and age.
Oh and when did Obama become so “respected”? Did he all of sudden get a job, buy a resume or do anything other than be bought and sold on the auction block of Chicago/Illinois politics?
“Ideological idiots”
I couldn’t have said it better myself — and note that that applies to a great deal more than just this example of idiocy.
Ah, at last. Finally I have been saved. For months I have been a lost soul…wavering over the precipice, unable to determine right from wrong, good from bad, left from right. But now, with just one short article of faith, you have convinced me that the Hegel/McCain system of political pandering, bowing, scraping and meek acceptance of our inevitable subjugation by the forces of leftist munificance is really the only way to go. The practiced art of hiding under one’s desk, betrayal of fellow party members and automatic, heartfelt apology in the face of mainstream media criticism…only these will return the republican party to national prominence and acceptability. Remember the battle cry of the republican future: PLACATE, SUBMIT, ACCOMODATE and when in doubt, GIVE IN!
AJ,
I don’t believe I’m the one ‘bent out of shape’ here, but believe what you will. My sense of humor is still in tact and I recognize constructive humor when I see it, as well as flat out lies and name-calling. Best of luck in the New Year.
“The reason conservatives get painted with this crap is that they defend it. They immediately blame a liberal. They make excuses for the guy…that sort of thing.”
Thank you Terrye. That has been the problem for a while.
It is one thing to point out to the American people the truth about a situation. For example: McCain and Palin should have said the TRUTH that Obama had Rev Wright as a religious leader for many years and did not have a problem with his anti-American sermons. If he did have a problem he and his family would have found a different church. But to try to repeat crap that was in bad taste to begin with and then try to explain it away because the liberals do it. Come on. Are we all in kindergarten.
“Mary Jo why did you write a bad word on the wall?” “Because Jack did.” That is the type of excuses you get from elementary age children. Can we at least get to a high school level where the excuses get a little bit more creative?
Yes, Republicans need to stand up to the liberals and their media backers. But they DO NOT need to join in with them. Let Rush and the comedians come out with parodies such as this, but the people who want to lead and to be public figures (which is what the RNC Chair is) need to fight the battles in a more educated and civil manner. Eventually the American people will get sick of the mudslinging. And if the Republicans are showing them that there is a group who is above the mudslinging then they will come join us. But when there are two little groups of cry babies throwing mud at each other, I would probably pick the one who has been the underdog as well.
Not to mention all those conservatives who helped the liberals blame Bush look like traitors. And who has ever trusted a traitor?
DJStrata:
The problem is, McCain did not even want to try to touch Wright – in what must have been an effort to “rise above” mudslinging – and he lost the election, with Obama carrying states Democrats hadn’t carried in over 40 years. I could even argue that Bush turning the other cheek back in 2003 over some of the stuff that went on also has come back to haunt the GOP.
Right or wrong, that perceived political malpractice on their part (and that is an appropriate term) has lead to a fair number of conservatives feeling they can make the case that the GOP didn’t fight HARD ENOUGH.
Now, this does not excuse the extremely poor judgment of Saltsman, nor should conservatives defend someone with that lack of judgment.
But there is a very strong desire to fight hard. The good news is that Obama will probably remain largely a captive of his party’s base, which is just as bad – if not worse – than the conservatives.
Aj… Please control your language… Do I have to block this site on my Grandkid’s computer?
Harold,
Believe me I am 100% behind the fact that the Republicans need to fight harder. But they need to fight in a strong but efficient manner. Not a childish mudslinging manner.
McCain did ignore things rather than confront issues. But that is not what I am talking about. McCain should have fought back but in an adult way. You can “fight” without mudslinging. You need wit, knowledge, perseverance, maturity, and class.
If all Republicans want to fight HARDER by stooping to the liberals’ childish behavior then I’m with my dad, count me out.
Republicans need to call out bad behavior WHEREVER it is.
American parents of all races, creeds and religions would stand up and cheer!
DJ,
“You can “fight” without mudslinging. ”
I’m not so sure, sometimes the good guys run out of legitimate ammo when fighting in the mud (that’s the only place the opposition hangs out) and all you have is mud to sling.
The only thing McCain did right in the whole campaign was Palin, other than that, he didn’t even appear to ‘want’ to win.
The problem is that the other side has made their mudslinging work – it works very well when the other side does not return fire effectively.
Unfortunately, the GOP seems to have no idea how to effectively fight back. Strategy is not wanted among some of the conservative base, and unfortunately, they seem to be driving the bus.
There was no need for McCain to go after Wright. America had heard all that and apparently are so used to crazy preachers yammering that they decided it was no big deal.
And Guy, I did not defend this, not at all. I am simply pointing out that there are plenty of Democrats who are racists, and they come in all colors.
Hardly racist, just good clean parody and ridicule. Though the phrase was coined by a racist, Spike Lee, which he used to replace Uncle Tom. But then, he is a wannabe Bolshevik. While it was not a good idea to use this, I heard nothing about it when the LA Times used the phrase and when Rush was using the parody. Relax, take a chill pill.
Wow, Terrye, we’re agreeing on a couple of issues – I was just about to make the same exact point about McCain and Wright. Bringing it up didn’t help Hillary win the primary – why would it have helped McCain win the general?
I am a bit curious about this prevalent attitude that only Dems like to “fling mud”. Could any of you provide examples of the “mud” that Obama flung around during the general election?
Guy Fawkes,
Obama ran a racist commercial in the southwestern states in Spanish against McCain. He took some of Rush Limbaugh’s words out of context and made some others up to make it sound like Limbaugh was saying Mexicans were dirty and stupid etc. and tried to plaster it on McCain. He said those people in Pennsylvania were “angry and clung to guns and religion because of that anger”. In talking about Palin he said you could put lipstick on a pig…it was still a pig. He gave a sly, but obvious, finger when referring to Hillary and again about Palin (or McCain??). He slung plenty of mud during the primary. I think Obama has held himself pretty well since the election–and, think it likely he will continue to act responsibly. Bush always held himself honorably.
OOH! We’re going to be politically correct are we? Not me. I’,m too old to buy into collective guilt thing. I call them as I see them and a little racist humor used to be acceptable and everyone laughed at it. Remember all those Polock jokes. My daddy was a hero during WWII. Went over in Jan. 1942 and came back on the first boat load returned home, and I learned at his knee that there are Krauts, Limeys, Frogs, Japs and A Rabs. And believe it or not, none of those nationalities ever took offense. they just laughed it off. So I take offense at people who don’t have enough humor to take a little ribbing. Politically correct, Al? Shame on you.
Ohhh, look at all those racists in the Senate now saying they won’t seat the black guy that has been appointed to fill Obama’s place. It’s all because he’s black, there can be no other reason. They’re racists, all of them that oppose him. Please expose all their names if known.
Frogg:
I had forgotten about that Obama spanish ad. And after looking it up on factcheck.org, I’ll partially give you that one – it was misleading, but I fail to see how the ad itself was “racist”. Limbaugh really did say “let stupid and unskilled Mexicans do that work”.
PA: I grew up in PA, and went to college in the middle of the state. My wife’s family is from upstate PA. I speak from personal experience when I tell you that Obama’s statements were 100% accurate – my brother-in-law is a rabid NRA member who was convinced Obama was going to take all of his guns away. (Right – that was really going to be a priority, with the global economic crisis going on.) Also, this is not a case of flinging mud at his Republican opponent – he was talking about voters themselves.
“Lipstick on a pig” is a cliche – one that was used on at least four other occasions by McCain himself – including once when talking about Hillary Clinton’s 2008 health care plan. No one outside of Sean Hannity actually bought that.
“The finger” was another complete hoax. Have you ever seen the picture of that exact pose, taken from the side? Where it’s obvious he was scratching his face with two fingers? Take a look here.
So, out of four examples – one was misleading, but hardly “racist”; one was a comment about voters, not his opponent; and two were completely manufactured, false outrage from Fox News and its ilk. Sorry, not very convincing.
Meanwhile, from the other side, you had “palling around with terrorists” and “comprehensive sex education for kindergardeners”, just off the top of my head. So, please – can we drop the “Repubs never play dirty, Dems never get out of the mud” meme here? You all lost that right pretty clearly back back in 2004 when you smeared actual Vietnam vets (who happened to be Democrats), while cheering on the two draft dodgers leading the White House.
GuyFawkes,
Well, you asked specifically about examples of Obama and I just rattled off things from the top of my head. There would be different perspectives from people on all of them. You didn’t ask for examples of Obama’s surrogates which were so awful that he often fired people openly for it…..then slyly hired them back after things quited down. What about the Obama ad making fun of McCain for not being able to use a computer because of the torture he received as a POW? But, McCain was no angel either. I think Romney was the most professional.
The LImbaugh ad example was a direct Obama ad and the most obvious one that came to mind. Limbaugh was not only critical of McCain during most of the election. But, his remarks about “stupid Mexicans” was paraphrasing the Nafta opponents stand (and their implied put down of Mexicans), and his remarks about “shut your mouth and get out” was about Mexican immigration laws. Obama totally abused this in a “deceptive” and “racist” way. “Clinging to guns and religion” was an attack on voters. Mudsling millions of voters is ok with you? I would think that worse than attacking the candidate.
“Palling around with terrorists”? May not have been a smart comment either. But, it was true (and, I’m not just talking about Ayers).
“Sex Education for kindergartners”? I guess that is open to interpretation. I read it and found several portions of it sexually inappropriate for some of the proposed age groups.
So, you give two examples that I don’t consider mudslinging.
“Repubs never play dirty, Dems never get out of the mud”? Can you tell me when I ever said that? Surely you have me confused with someone else.
Terrye, I didn’t have a problem with Meryl Haggert’s song “I’m an Oakie from Muskogee”. But, I don’t think it would be a smart thing for a politician to go to Oklahoma and say “how are all you Oakies doing?” That’s my point. The parody was about “liberals and democrats and how they spoke about Obama”. I don’t have a problem with it. But, it was stupid for any politician to even mention that song in any way.
By the way, it is also my belief that there are stupid politicians in both parties; as well as stupid politicians of conservative, moderate, and liberal leanings. It isn’t about beliefs, convictions, or idealogies. It’s about how you present yourself and express those ideas.
I’m hoping something good might come out of all parody stuff…..
maybe it will strengthen Michael Steele’s run to lead the GOP.
Saltsman puts out a statement
http://www.chipsaltsman.com/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=cc9ca87e-21b2-4120-ba35-f4427f284f22&Label_id=&Year=&Month=
Sorry, not good enough. He should have just explained the parody and said it was stupid to include it on a cd gift.
Or, he could have just pulled an Obama — and claimed ignorance about the song and thrown it under the bus.
You all lost that right pretty clearly back back in 2004 when you smeared actual Vietnam vets (who happened to be Democrats),
Seriously? You want to use that as a moral stand? The left smeared every Swifty that wasn’t supporting Kerry. And the list was a lot larger than the few Kerry drummed up. To this day, the left smears Vietnam veterans that actually stayed in Vietnam and didn’t run home with questionable medals the first chance they got. When the left says someone is being swiftboated, I immediately know the truth is being used against someone. The left has their own definition of swiftboating.
Frogg,
why would you be offended to be called an Okie? I’m from Georgia and we are called crackers. now I’ve heard some say that’s a derogatory word, but I’m actually proud to be called a cracker, especially if it is a ‘Georgia cracker’. Too many people have their feelings spread all around them waiting for someone to step on them so they can be called a victim.
I really, really don’t understand people being offended when they are called what they actually are. i.e.; caucasion, negro, mongolian, etc. I’m 5′11″, am I supposed to be offended if someone refers to me as a 5′11″ guy? That’s what it amounts to.
Redteam,
I am not offended by “Okie” or other such local terms. I am also not Politically Correct. I was responding to Terrye’s earlier post about such terms being highly offensive (giving the example of his father being offended when called an “Okie”). My point is, and always has been, that I have no problem with the parody; however, it was not a good political move to associate yourself with it.
Guy are you an idiot or are you clairvoyant?
Obama is not even in yet SO how do you know what he will do with gun control.
Democrats love power and will do everything to remove the only tools that the second amendment stands for.
After all your boy Obama said the Declaration is stained and the Constitution is flawed.
Lets’ give him time to rule OK.
Reading AJ’s anti Conservative crap has become boring.
All of you forget the Brainwashed uneducated kids, the treasonous media and the people looking for Santa and a free ride.
It no longer matters what the Republicans do.
The numbers are not there and there is fraud enough to fix any state.
All Civilizations collapse you are looking at the beginning of ours because we lack the brains and courage to use force to fix it.
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