Let's Support Michelle Obama

Who knew that the right's attempt to swiftboat Barack Obama would largely focus on his accomplished and beautiful wife, Michelle?

(You might have heard the latest, in which Fox News wrote a news caption describing Michelle as Barack's "baby mama")

If you'd like to know more about Michelle, and the way in which both her and her children have been attacked, check out this site Michelle Obama Watch.

Spat upon in Trader Joes

We have a lot of work to do. There is hatred and racism out there. I believe that Barack can reach some of these people, but not all. Part of it is generational, and some of those people just have to die off for new racial attitudes to flourish.

From an email I received by an Obama supporter:

I'm an old (66) 1960s woman. I wear my hair shaggy and bushy, it is gray-streaked. I wear T-shirts & jeans, sneakers. I'm not fancy (although I live on Philly's Main Line). I'm an artist/potter.

Today I was dashing through my shopping. (It breaks up my day badly here when I have to leave the house and my home routine.)

So I bought produce at Whole Foods, where people young and old applauded my "OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT" T-shirt.

Everyone was delighted. Children were skipping happily.

I stopped at Trader Joes for bread and frozen tuna. And was leaving when a woman my age stood in front of me. She looked me up & down and said, "You're KIDDING!"

I said, "You're not a supporter?" (Rare for this neighborhood.)

She made a horrible hate-face! "I wouldn't vote for....THAT. You must be CRAZY."

"Me and millions of other people are...I'm not going to discuss this with you." Although my thought was "are you a racial bigot or a militant "feminist.?"

She hissed "You're crazy to vote for THAT "

Fortunately she was too dry to hit me with the spittle.

I moved away in a daze.

A historical candidate, here in USA...and that? (In a big Eastern city suburb??)

I am a Jew, so I have seen my share of bigotry.

But I have never experienced such vituperative hatred; and now I feel for everyone who canvassed in Appalachia and out-of-the-way places, and for people who are "different" who have to live amid such hatred. For these, I've been crying. For children who have experienced such hatred I'm crying. For our dear candidate and his family, I'm crying.They don't deserve that. We don't want that for them.
Who could imagine that?

Playing the Race Card in Puerto Rico?

Something sent to me by a reader. This ad is making the blog and email rounds in Puerto Rico.

From blogger Laura Martinez:

An image featuring a dark-skinned Barack Obama sporting -- what else? -- a stereotypical guayabera illustrates beautifully what happens when racism and class issues play a dominant role in political campaigns. (Something that is in no way exclusive to the U.S. or Latin America.) But it also sheds a light on the uncomfortable "Dominican" issue that angers many Puerto Rican voters, and transcends borders to reach voters as far as Florida or New York.

It is not a secret that illegal immigration from Dominican Republic into Puerto Rico has increased dramatically over the past few decades, making Dominicans easy targets of prejudice and racism, as a majority of them are of darker skin than most Puerto Ricans.

Read more here

My question is, will Hillary supporters denounce racism as strongly as they denounce sexism? Will they shut down hate sites like Hillaryis44.org?

GOP Fails to Attract Minorities

Really?

I wrote about how the lack of minority (and women) candidates will be a huge problem for the GOP, particularly with the upcoming Millennial generation.

From Politico:

Just a few years after the Republican Party launched a highly publicized diversity effort, the GOP is heading into the 2008 election without a single minority candidate with a plausible chance of winning a campaign for the House, the Senate or governor.

At a time when Democrats are poised to knock down a historic racial barrier with their presidential nominee, the GOP is fielding only a handful of minority candidates for Congress or statehouses — none of whom seem to have a prayer of victory.

At the start of the Bush years, the Republican National Committee — in tandem with the White House — vowed to usher in a new era of GOP minority outreach. As George W. Bush winds down his presidency, Republicans are now on the verge of going six — and probably more — years without an African-American governor, senator or House member.

Read more here

The Death Rattle of the Republican Party

What we will be witnessing in the upcoming months will be the end of the Republican Party as we know it.

Time and demographics are not on their side.

As Peggy Noonan wrote in the Wall Street Journal:

What happens to the Republicans in 2008 will likely be dictated by what didn't happen in 2005, and '06, and '07. The moment when the party could have broken, on principle, with the administration – over the thinking behind and the carrying out of the war, over immigration, spending and the size of government – has passed. What two years ago would have been honorable and wise will now look craven. They're stuck.

The Bush/Cheney war has made sure that college-age youth, aka "The Millennials" have been pushed to the Democratic party (that, along with the Internet and its values of freedom of expression and color-blind online communities).

And note that when I refer to the Republican Party, I do not mean conservatism.

As Noonan wrote:

"This was a real wakeup call for us," someone named Robert M. Duncan, who is chairman of the Republican National Committee, told the New York Times. This was after Mississippi. "We can't let the Democrats take our issues." And those issues would be? "We can't let them pretend to be conservatives," he continued. Why not? Republicans pretend to be conservative every day.

Racial demogaphics are such that the Republican strategy of demonizing Latinos in the illegal immigration debate means that the majority of this electorate leans Democratic as well. And we all know that the browning of America is what the future holds.

The sad part for the Republicans, is that a lot of these black/brown voters would self-identify as socially conservative. A sizable number of black voters are churchgoing Christians, many Latinos are pro-life. However, the race based tactics of the Southern strategy and the nasty anti-immigrant tone have pushed these voters over to the Democratic side. (Really, the Republicans have majorly blown it with the Latino vote by choosing to pander to anti-immigrant fears. They might have been able to make greater inroads had it not been for that.)

The Republican Party has played the card of being the party of the white majority for a long time now. That hand depends on an disinterested, apathetic electorate with low black voter turnout in the South, along with a youth vote that doesn't show up to the polls.

However, that is not the case in this election. Black voters are excited and enthused. And a Southern strategy based on race-baiting and attacking either Barack Obama or his wife, Michelle, will only serve to piss black people off and make them even more determined to get to kick out the racists.

And we've all seen the bright, shining, hopeful faces of those young college-aged voters. These are voters who will have the time and energy to canvass, who will have the passion to sway their undecided family members. They will be educated and articulate about the issues, and will be an attractive face for the Democratic Party.

The main reason the Republicans are doomed, however, is because they have neglected to reach across the aisle into other ethnic groups. They've been playing their white race card so long, they don't have a credible Latino, African-American or Asian (or even a woman candidate!) and until they can grow a few (it has to be more than one) in their ranks, they will be at a disadvantage for many years to come.

Basically, the Republicans are screwed...and they know it.

Huckabee Makes "Joke" about Obama Getting Shot

How very Christian of him (sarcasm implied)...

From CNN:

During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain — joked that an unexpected offstage noise was Democrat Barack Obama looking to avoid a gunman.

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak,” said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. “Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

Read more here

UPDATE: Here's the "hilarious" video footage.



You won't believe this ironic twist.

Back in 1980, Huckabee wrote a book called Kids Who Kill, which attempted to unravel the issue of violence among young people and understand its roots.

This is the same man who thinks it's funny to quip about pointing a gun at Barack Obama?

Note to Huck:

First rule in raising children... no jokes about pointing a gun at someone just to make your friends laugh. Resist negative peer pressure.

Pat Buchanan in Racist, Paranoid Meltdown

Evidently the thought of a probable Barack Obama presidency is making Pat Buchanan lose his mind. I see the fear in his eyes.

I'm glad Pat is still on TV. Every day he exposes himself for the racial dinosaur that he is.

Let's label this one "Buchanosaurus."

Racism in West Virginia

I just want to know what is this mysterious thing that the lady sitting in the cafe "just doesn't agree with..."?

GOP "Southern Strategy" Dying?

The South might go from red to purple.

From New York Times:

Across the South, Barack Obama’s smashing primary victory in North Carolina last week reflects a new reality — a half-century of rising Republican red tide has crested, with signs of receding.

A week ago yesterday, Democrats won a special Congressional election in a Louisiana district held by Republicans since 1974. That outcome might well be replicated Tuesday in Mississippi, where a biracial Democratic coalition is optimistic in the second round of another special Congressional election.

...In response to Mr. Obama’s energizing of black Southern voters, enlightened self-interest may well convince many of the region’s undecided superdelegates to endorse him. Over the last two years, there have been little-noticed Democratic gains in Congressional and state legislative elections across the South, as the solid black Democratic base has been joined by whites disenchanted with the Bush administration. New concern about the economy may be adding momentum.

Read more here

Racist Anti-Obama Gear

Marietta, Georgia, bar owner Mike Norman thought it was "cute" to sell T-shirts with Obama as a monkey eating a banana. Even though he is a southerner and would presumably be well-aware of the history of these types of images, he sees "nothing racist" about the T-shirts.

Just like George Allen "didn't mean it" when he called the Southeast Asian reporter "macaca," which is another kind of monkey.

What will those crazy southerners think of next?

How original. Black man... monkey... get it? Yuck. Yuck.

I would let this slide and categorize it as idiotic except for the fact that there are black children living in this town. And they have to see that T-shirt, and they know that old white man ain't talking about Curious George.

So, for that reason, please contact the publisher of Curious George. Here's the contact page for Houghton, Mifflan, Harcourt: http://hmlt.hmco.com/Contact.php

And while you're at it, PBS broadcasts Curious George. Contact them as well: http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/

UPDATE: The publisher is considering legal action. So, keep sending those emails to let them know your thoughts.

(If you want more good ole' boy entertainment, check out Huckabee "joking" at the NRA about Obama getting shot.)

Hillary's "Ace in the Hole"

This LA Times theory speculates that Latinos in the western states are going to rise up in a huge racist wave against black Obama to rescue Hillary, thus giving her the nomination.

How insulting against Latinos. Obama's support comes from all colors, all backgrounds.

Let's just name this one "unlikely."

Message to Bill O'Reilly: Get With the 21st Century!

In the light of the White House's asinine statement about Obama (see below), I'm feeling like pushing the envelope.

Here is Zennie's very cool video about Bill O'Reilly thoughts on visiting Sylvia's Soul Food Restaurant. My favorite part is when he says, "I couldn't get over how it was just like every other restaurant... even though it's run by blacks!" What I love best about this clip is O'Reilly's "gee whiz" attitude even while he's stepping on and detonating racial land mines.

And, yes, it does relate to Barack Obama. Check it out:

White House Resorts to Stereotyping: Calls Obama "Lazy"

Here we go, from the Drudge Report... straight from the horse's mouth. An unnamed White House official has gone on the record saying that Obama is "lazy."

As for Obama, a senior White House official said the freshman senator from Illinois was “capable” of the intellectual rigor needed to win the presidency but instead relies too heavily on his easy charm.

“It's sort of like, 'that's all I need to get by,' which bespeaks sort of a condescending attitude towards the voters,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “And a laziness, an intellectual laziness.”

This is referring to the candidate who has 1. worked his ass off against all odds to raise more money than any other Democratic candidate in history; and 2. has been more specific about his policy and how he would govern than all the other candidates.

But the Republican strategy is to call him "lazy." Racist coding, anyone? Black man = lazy? Can we say STEREOTYPE?

Bush also says that he thinks that Hillary will win... but who cares what he thinks!

I expect we can see more buzzwords like "lazy" being tossed around. Why stop there? How about: "He'll take all the whiiite wimmen?" (read about the GOP racist ad against black candidate Harold Ford, or how about George Allen's "Macaca" moment (watch it here)?) Or, "He's criminally minded." Some elements of the GOP are not above using racist innuendo to pander to their far-right base.

We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open. It should get very interesting.

I guess they don't call it the "White" House for nothing.