The new Obama video is ‘devastating’, but not to Obama
In case you missed it, last night we observed a test of the right-wing emergency bombshell system. It was only a test. If this had been an actual right-wing emergency bombshell ….
But it wasn’t.
In the early evening hours yesterday, Sean Hannity, Matt Drudge and Tucker Carlson started promoting what they claimed to be a “devastating” and previously unknown video of Barack Obama that would completely remake the 2012 presidential race. It would be a bombshell, a game-changer, an “October surprise” that would prove Obama to be an anti-white racist, just as they knew all along. It would do to the incumbent what the “47 percent” tape had done to Mitt Romney, if not worse.
And just to build the suspense, the world was told that for maximum impact, the bombshell tape would be released by Hannity and Carlson simultaneously at 9 p.m., Hannity on his Fox News program and Carlson at his Daily Caller site. Over the next few hours, giddy conservatives practiced their victory dance and whipped each other into an anticipatory frenzy over the video that would finally bring down their hated bête noire.
Nine o’clock came, the tape was released and … ppfffffffffft. Nothing. As in, literally nothing.
I don’t know Hannity personally. Never met the man. So I would have a hard time saying with certainty that he’s a racist fool. But after the way he behaved last night, I have no problem saying that he plays a racist fool on television. The same is true of Drudge and Carlson. In their “big reveal” on Fox, Hannity and Carlson tried vainly to pretend the tape was something it clearly is not, and they made themselves and their followers appear ridiculous in the process.
Here’s the reality:
The tape in question came from a 2007 speech by Obama at Hampton University, a historically black college in Virginia. The five-year-old speech had been reported on extensively at the time it was delivered by, among many others, Brit Hume of Fox News and by Carlson himself, on his ill-fated MSNBC show. As Dylan Byers reports at Politico, “The speech was also covered by CNN, NBC News, ABC News, The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times, among others.”
In fact, the speech was so well known that Politico had cited a portion of it as No. 3 on its list of the top 10 gaffes of the 2008 political campaign.
In the speech, Obama dared to suggest that race — along with the Bush administration’s “colorblind incompetence” — had played a role in the excruciatingly slow response to New Orleans’ plight in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He was right; it did. Even if you disagree with that assessment, making such a suggestion is certainly not evidence that Obama hates white people, as Hannity and others now try to claim.
Obama also spoke kindly of his minister at the time, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, thanking him for bringing him to Christ. (The speech occurred before the falling-out between the two men.) He talked about the necessity of addressing poverty in the black community, including the need to “help with basic skills — how to show up to work on time, wear the right clothes, and act appropriately in an office. We have to help them get there.”
None of that is new. None of that is scandalous. Yet last night, Hannity and Carlson did their best to pretend otherwise. They even tried to gin up outrage that in a speech to a black audience, Obama adopted a more “black” way of speaking, which they claim to find deeply disturbing.
Seriously? I no doubt speak slightly differently with my Yankee cousins in Massachusetts than I do with my southern cousins in North Carolina. I speak differently in my professional capacity than when I’m having a beer at the bar or playing golf. We all do it to a degree, subconsciously, as a way of establishing common ground with our audience. At this point, if it is truly a scandal to you that black Americans speak differently when talking “among themselves,” I urge you to get out more often and participate in the 21st century.
In other words, this was not a bombshell, and it is devastating only in the sense that it exposes just how cynically and effectively the right-wing media manipulates its core audience, particularly on matters involving race. As U.S. Rep. Allen West of all people put it afterward, “What’s the ‘So what’ of this video? I don’t think it’s going to really go anywhere.”
Elsewhere, other segments of the right-wing media strained to find ways not to dismiss the video as the nonsense it truly is. On Fox News, transcript available here Greta Van Susteren and Newt Gingrich basically acknowledged that the tape is much ado about nothing, yet somehow pretended to be offended at how the media have covered it. Erick Erickson at Redstate took much the same tack, arguing that the video “is damning not of Barack Obama….The video is damning of the media.”
It is an odd argument. You concede that the video is of little consequence, then blame the media for not hyping it to the skies in the name of balance? Even the folks at Fox News understand the lunacy of that claim. If you read its muted account of the video, it is clearly attempting to put as much distance as possible between itself and this “controversy.”
The biggest tell of all, however, comes from the Romney campaign. It is sorely in need of a bombshell and a game-changer, and as it showed in its overly eager response to the tragedy in Libya, it is ready to pounce on any perceived opportunity. But in this case, it has refused to comment on the tape except to note — no doubt accurately — that it had nothing to do with its over-hyped release.
“What is the news?” Romney communications director Gail Gitcho asked in an email to Buzzfeed. “I don’t know.”
Something tells me that Romney will not be using footage of the Obama speech in his campaign ads. In fact, Romney adviser Kevin Madden made it pretty clear this morning that they want nothing to do with it. When asked whether the video was relevant, he said that “Voters … need to look at that video and make up their minds on that individually. I think what’s more important to this debate right now are the president’s policies are the president’s record over these four years. That is going to be the most important topic on stage tonight.”
The Republican National Committee also declined to comment.
On the other hand, the response among many on the left has been to mock conservatives for being suckered in by the hype from Hannity, Drudge and Carlson, and at one level I get that. But I find this whole thing troubling. It bothers me that a significant number of Americans have allowed their hopes and fears to be manipulated by people such as Hannity, who see them as nothing more than marks to be fleeced. They are being played, and it is not a fun thing to watch.
Trapped within the right-wing echo chamber, they have not only lost touch with their fellow Americans, they have lost a sense of perspective as well. When something like this comes along, they respond to it as instructed and then are dumbfounded to find that the American mainstream sees it entirely differently. They cannot understand how something that makes such a big noise within the echo chamber has almost no resonance outside it, so they explain it away as media bias.
It is not media bias. Why do you think the Romney camp is keeping this whole mess at arm’s length? It’s because they understand that “scandals” ginned up for consumption within the right-wing mediasphere simply do not play well among Americans in general. They are professionals, and they recognize the disconnect that exists between reality as depicted within that echo chamber and the reality as experienced by the rest of the country. If they allow those two worlds to collide, they will lose and they know it.
That disconnect is dangerous. It is dangerous for those on the right who find themselves increasingly alienated and estranged from their fellow Americans, and it is dangerous for the rest of the country as well. It is particularly dangerous for the conservative movement, which has an essential role to play in our nation’s future. But it cannot fulfill that function trapped in a separate world of its own creation.
– Jay Bookman
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731 comments Add your comment
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 3rd, 2012
10:53 am
JOE,
So I guess we agree that if long term demographic equality won’t fix it, it will never get completely fixed…this is compounded by the fact the material incentives exists to keep it the way it is..
I doubt very seriously if the GOP’ers intentially make decisions with the idea of compromising any minority..of course there is that immigration issue…Obama was to present a policy on day one…still waiting..another politically motivated vote getter….
Brosephus™
October 3rd, 2012
10:53 am
Fred @ 10:49
You should get your brother to come join us here sometime.
Fred ™
October 3rd, 2012
10:53 am
ahnald
October 3rd, 2012
10:41 am
and Obozo called the Libyan fiasco a “speed bump”, tell that to the families of the four Americans that were killed…..wake up America, throw this guy out…..Nobel Prize winner, for what !! ?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Why do you have to change screen names all the time? Oh wait, I know. The crap you post is so insipid it embarrasses even you.
ahnald
October 3rd, 2012
10:53 am
Butch…Obozo is a racist, as is his wonderful wife, redistribution is really “” Whitey and America, is payback time”….
Dirty Dawg
October 3rd, 2012
10:53 am
If you didn’t see Letterman’s take (apology) about calling Donald Trump a racist, you need to. Essentially, he said that upon further reflection he couldn’t believe that Trump, or perhaps anyone, in this time of enlightenment could actually be a racist…they might say racist things or act out in a racist manner but they surely couldn’t ‘be’ racist and he felt that was the case with Trump….no, in his (Trump’s) case, he’s just a dope.
Of course Dave was just doing a ‘bit’. Fact is there are plenty among us and it will always be so, the only thing that’s changed over the years is that most have subscribed to ’social correctness’ and at least ‘tried’ to not be so open about it – like most of our parents were – but even that seems to be on the verge of making a horrendous comeback.
Oscar
October 3rd, 2012
10:53 am
As long as their are different races which can be recognized, there will be separatism and raciest feelings. By all races against the other races. To deny this is to stand bending over with one’s head stuck in the sand. Fact of life. Period. And end of story.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
October 3rd, 2012
10:54 am
“Better get them in today as tomorrow Barry the magnificent will be wondering what happened to his lead…”
baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha
ohsweetjeebus … if you think that Obama is going to fare poorly in tonight’s face-off, that’s just too tragic for words.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 3rd, 2012
10:55 am
FRED,
Now to be fair, using the term “speed bumps” in remotely the same vein as the killing of our ambassador is, if not his real opinion, a completely unacceptable..considering he has done NOTHING as a result, speaks volumes…
Joe Hussein Mama
October 3rd, 2012
10:55 am
ByteMe — “And when I’m in Boston, I sound a bit more like them. You can think of it what you like, but it happens and I’m not doing it consciously. If you don’t start with a strong accent, it’s probably easier to pick up the inflections of another without noticing it.”
When my first wife and I returned to the US mainland after I completed my tour of duty in Hawaii, MANY of our friends and relatives commented on how our speech patterns had changed, and it wasn’t just the addition of Hawaiian pidgin & slang.
Regnad Kcin
October 3rd, 2012
10:55 am
” the obvious bias of the liberal news media”
Link to a study?
sallyjohanna
October 3rd, 2012
10:55 am
If the video is so inconsequential, then the Liberals should have no problem with Fox News showing it over and over.
Im sure there are American voters out there that HAVE NOT SEEN Obama’s r a c i s t anti-American performance! I say play it 24/7 until all America see’s what a phony con artist Obama is.
They BOTH suck
October 3rd, 2012
10:57 am
ahnald
Are you one of those “amgry white males” that Lindsey Graham spoke about?
The Senators words, not mine
They BOTH suck
October 3rd, 2012
10:57 am
angry
excuse me
They BOTH suck
October 3rd, 2012
10:58 am
“If the video is so inconsequential, then the Liberals should have no problem with Fox News showing it over and over. ”
I missed the post where anyone on this blog said that Fox didn’t have the right to run it as many times as they wish…..
Can you can post it again?
Thanks
Oscar
October 3rd, 2012
10:59 am
Joe Hussein Mama
——-
When my job required that I talk over the phone to a lot of people from different parts of the county, inculding New York City I consciously changed by speech and pronounciation of words to match theirs. One reason was so they could understand what I was saying. My normal North Georgia mountain speech that I brough with me out of high school was hard to deciper. IMy speech has changed a lot over the years.
Towncrier
October 3rd, 2012
10:59 am
“Let me ask you this, the man has been President for almost 4 years, what vaguely racist things has he legislated or promoted?”
Glad you asked. Blacks are, in Obama’s own words, an oppressed class of people. Government needs to make amends for that by pumping money into inner city areas (this is all part of the racist mentality of which I am speaking). They have been doing that, to some extent, for almost 50 years! And what are the results? A record murder rate in cities like Chicago (from which Obama hales), continued poverty, an unprecedented number of broken families and so on. Fools think you can help someone by merely giving them money or instituting some government program. It doesn’t work. If it did, blacks would not be still facing the problems they are.
I’ll tell you what works: giving people a hand up rather than a hand out. And the story on CBS Nightly News last night (”Empowering the poor to help themselves”) exemplifies that. What Miller is doing has required relatively little money. People who want to succeed (there will always be a certain percentage – probably small – of people who want to freeload) can succeed if they have wise counsel, moral support, steady encouragement, a clear and viable plan and feel invested in their future.
Kate Quinn
October 3rd, 2012
10:59 am
Maybe if 75% of black babies were not born to single women, black people as a whoe would not continue to suffer such problems-a life devoid of hope and success. Maybe young black men would not continue to grow up without father figures and end up in prison, young girls wound not crave male attention and end up having babies and raising them on welfare. Children get passed from relative to relative and do poorly in school. Take responsilbity for yourself. The cycle goes on and on…..
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 3rd, 2012
11:00 am
BYTME,
Yes I was born in Ohio and moved here at 2 yrs old..my folks never got a hint of southern accent…my brothers and I got a very soft accent but it only bordered on strong when we were drinking..
Joe Hussein Mama
October 3rd, 2012
11:01 am
S. Ray — “So I guess we agree that if long term demographic equality won’t fix it, it will never get completely fixed…this is compounded by the fact the material incentives exists to keep it the way it is..”
I guess I’d suggest exposing kids to other races and cultures early on, so that they can see that different does not mean bad, wrong, evil, lesser, inferior or what-have-you. FWIW, I never met a Hispanic person before I went to boot camp, and now I’m married to a Hispanic-American.
“I doubt very seriously if the GOP’ers intentially make decisions with the idea of compromising any minority..of course there is that immigration issue…Obama was to present a policy on day one…still waiting..another politically motivated vote getter….”
I agree that what *appears* to be racism to some observers certainly might not have been *intended* by the actors/speakers involved. I think it would be constructive on both sides for those prospectively offended to *ask for clarification,* and for those who inadvertently gave offense to politely clarify and make an effort to *learn* why their actions/comments brushed up against being offensive.
Dirty Dawg
October 3rd, 2012
11:01 am
And one more thing…I’ve become convinced that the White-Right are so eaten up with bigotry in all it’s forms – racial, xenophobic, homophobic, you name it – is because they’re afraid that when white men become ‘the’ minority, the ‘majority ‘ will treat them the same way they’ve been treating…well you get it.
Fred ™
October 3rd, 2012
11:02 am
Brocephus: I try, but he won’t do it. I keep showing him how to enlarge the print on his computer.
Of course he IS one of those 47% of moochers you know. He was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. He worked as long as he could but finally it was too much. His boss was awesome and kept him on the books as long as legally possible (and probably a little longer truth be told) so he could keep his insurance, but finally had to drop him or be charged with insurance fraud, so now he has to get food stamps and use medicare. Here’s a man who has worked his ass off since he was a teenager, raised two kids, he’s a mentor in his church to other kids, a shining light in his community, someone to be respected for all he has given, yet now he’s just a moocher according to Romney.
Even if he had the money to buy other insurance than the stuff he paid for for 30 years through his work before he was cancelled, he couldn’t buy it because NOW he has “pre-existing causes.”
What a moocher right?
Butch Cassidy (I)
October 3rd, 2012
11:03 am
sallyjhoanna – “If the video is so inconsequential, then the Liberals should have no problem with Fox News showing it over and over.”
I have no problem with Fox running it over and over. My question would be why didn’t they do it back in 2007 before Obama was elected?Might have had a bit more impact then.
Oscar
October 3rd, 2012
11:03 am
Enter your comments here is because they’re afraid that when white men become ‘the’ minority, the ‘majority ‘ will treat them the same way they’ve been treating…well you get it.
———
South Africa comes to mind in that respect.
They BOTH suck
October 3rd, 2012
11:04 am
Fred
Sorry to hear about your brother. Wish him and your family the best
Towncrier
October 3rd, 2012
11:04 am
“Whites represented a greater percentage of fatalities from Katrina than they did of the general population of the areas hit, including New Orleans. Slightly ‘underreported’ fact due to the fact that you get no news play out of saying whites died at a higher rate…Please stick to facts, I realize they are inconvenient, but they make for a more truthful debate on a subject.”
LOL. The white liberal media coverage at its self flagellating (or maybe just nefariously devious) best.
Keep Up the Good Fight! (and only seeing conned poutrage)
October 3rd, 2012
11:04 am
MSNBC breaking bombshell about Mitt Romney style….. this is a game changer!
Fred will love this one!
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 3rd, 2012
11:05 am
KATE,
The birthrate of those on any sort of government subsidy is 3 times the birthrate of all others..however, african americans do not have anywhere near a corner on the subsidy market (which IMO only keeps folks in the undesired economic status…another topic) most entitlement/safety net recipients are white or otherwise not african american…
This birthrate alone (the rate for undocumented is even higher than others) is one of the reasons why our economic well being will get closer to the edge in coming years than it is today…
Fred ™
October 3rd, 2012
11:05 am
Now to be fair, using the term “speed bumps” in remotely the same vein as the killing of our ambassador is, if not his real opinion, a completely unacceptable..considering he has done NOTHING as a result, speaks volumes…
What in the hell are you talking about? Could you translate that from talk radioanese into American please?
alittlecommonsense
October 3rd, 2012
11:06 am
The video isn’t really news, but it does point to some hypocrisy on Obama’s part. He tries to portray himself as a racial healer when white people are watching, but in front of a black audience he is using the politics of racial divisiveness. No, it’s not a game changer, but maybe some undecideds that previously bought his racial healer schtick now see that he will try to inflame racial tension when it is politically convenient for him. That my friends is hypocrisy. You would call it if you saw it in a Republican. If you are intellectually honest, you will call your guy on it also.
bill arp
October 3rd, 2012
11:06 am
i do have to agree with the VP. the middle class has been buried the last 4 years under this administration. Middle class income is down the last 4 years. Health care prices has gone up, which hurts the middle income folks more. and gas prices are higher the last few years than any other time in history, which really buries the middle class. He’s right, the middle class has been buried the last 4 years.
as for the video, all it really has done is show the obvious.
Oscar
October 3rd, 2012
11:07 am
, he couldn’t buy it because NOW he has “pre-existing causes.”
What a moocher right?
________
The Affordable Health Care Act ended the pre-existing conditions clauses.
And Romney says he will repeal the Act on his first day in office.
What a guy. We are not going back.
ByteMe - Thugs vs. Ilk... in 3D!
October 3rd, 2012
11:07 am
my brothers and I got a very soft accent but it only bordered on strong when we were drinking..
That’s the way my southern accent got started in college in North Florida.
And you can see from other people’s experience that having a changing accent is not as bad or as devious as you were thinking.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 3rd, 2012
11:07 am
Fred — “Even if he had the money to buy other insurance than the stuff he paid for for 30 years through his work before he was cancelled, he couldn’t buy it because NOW he has “pre-existing causes.”
He should check again. IIRC, both the lifetime maximum payouts and the bar for pre-existing conditions clauses have been done away with by the ACA.
Regnad Kcin
October 3rd, 2012
11:07 am
tc SAID – “They have been doing that, to some extent, for almost 50 years!” This staement was made in response to a request to show Obama’s racist policies.
Tc, by that logic, wasn’t Reagan a racist? Both Bushes? Most/all of the house & senate?
That Black Guy
October 3rd, 2012
11:08 am
mm
October 3rd, 2012
10:20 am
USMC,
“Original Obamaphone Lady: Obama Voter Says Vote for Obama because he gives a free Phone”
The Obamaphone is another made up fairy tale. These phones have been in existence for over a decase. And they are paid for by phone companies, not the government. — Uh NO. They are paid for by the customer.
The brain is a terrible thing to waste. – Could the point they are trying to make is that the woman HERSELF says that she will vote for Obama because he gave her a phone? Do you plan to insult her and point out HER ignorance?
You cons really are too ingnorant to research or you’re just afraid your fairy tale bubble will burst. – let the healing begin at home.
CM
October 3rd, 2012
11:09 am
why does obama sounds so funny LOL.
Fred ™
October 3rd, 2012
11:09 am
Keep: Freaking awesome. If I had any friends I would forward that to them………………
justbecause
October 3rd, 2012
11:09 am
Some of these comments are extremely funny; however I find the comment by Brad most offensive. Do you not knowstatistically that there are more white people on welfare than black people? There are extremely homeless or otherwise across this nation, it is just that you don’t see the white women prostituting to feed their children or cashing in food stamps to shot get high meth. This is not portrayed on TV like they show black people standing on the corner drinking 40s dealing crack. When are you all gonna wake up and realize that none of this matters to the fact that whoever is in the seat come Jan. 2013; we will all still be here busting our humps, living paycheck to paycheck, complaining about who is not doing what to our satisfaction. Get over it!
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 3rd, 2012
11:10 am
JOE,
I married a jewish princess…does that count?
I’m with you..also like Bill Clinton…I really like african americans and hispanics et al…they generally like me too…at least to my face:-)
mm
October 3rd, 2012
11:11 am
“Your defense of this marxist/communist is inexcusable.”
I can’t wait for the total destruction of the GOP in November. And then, instead of blaming themselves, the cons will come up with even more BS conspiracies.
That Black Guy
October 3rd, 2012
11:11 am
Scuba Steve
October 3rd, 2012
10:22 am
Very well put.
JamVet
October 3rd, 2012
11:11 am
Multiple mopey, mindless, myopic, miscreant Mitt minion meltdowns in the morning.
Mahvelous.
Simply mahvelous…
ByteMe - Thugs vs. Ilk... in 3D!
October 3rd, 2012
11:12 am
The Affordable Health Care Act ended the pre-existing conditions clauses.
Not quite yet, though. Still on the books for many people for another 15 months, I think.
Cindy
October 3rd, 2012
11:12 am
I agree what’s the big deal, we already knew that obama is a racist.
the cat
October 3rd, 2012
11:12 am
For the love of all that is holy-will someone grab Kyle and bring him back from this wedding trip so his idiots will leave?? This blog is unreadable due to his azzhats posting here using 90 aliases a day.
JamVet
October 3rd, 2012
11:13 am
I do have to agree. The middle class has been buried the last 40 years under the past five administrations.
Wake up Rumpelstiltskin bill.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 3rd, 2012
11:13 am
BYTEME,
Agree with your post excepting the last sentence…it’s one thing to develop a slight accent adjustment, its quite another to walk into a room and put on a phoney accent then leave with your normal accent…especially in a political environment…this is where I think the comparison of individuals to this guy..
man behind the curtain
October 3rd, 2012
11:13 am
Am I the only one that noticed Bush’s accent change when speaking before his cowboy base vs. speaking before the UN for example. His cowboy drawl morphed into quite preppy enunciation.
JamVet
October 3rd, 2012
11:14 am
the cat, amen!
Kyle will rally the rubes as they charge backwards to victory!
Redneck Convert (R---and proud of it)
October 3rd, 2012
11:14 am
Well, you can explain it away all you want but the truth is, Those People got it in for White people. They hate us. You can see it when they look at you. I been a victim of Discrimanation all my life. It was Those People that made me flunk all them tests on the Times tables in Arithmetic and made me drop out of school in the 5th Grade. It was Those People that kept their boot on my neck and kept me from being a big shot. I could be in a fancy office right now, sipping on 30 year old whiskey and smoking a 5 buck cigar, if Those People hadn’t of kept me down.
It’s Discrimanation, is what it is. And that’s the reason why I’m going to strike back at the polls next month and vote for a White person that will help me get what I deserve.
If you can’t see it I feel downright sorry for you.
Have a good Hump Day everybody.
Fred ™
October 3rd, 2012
11:14 am
“He should check again. IIRC, both the lifetime maximum payouts and the bar for pre-existing conditions clauses have been done away with by the ACA.”
Doesn’t matter. He ain’t got the money. And to be truthful, Grady SEEMS to be doing a damn good job so far. He was just headed out for his second radiation treatment. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Apparently the chemo didn’t get it all? I don’t know. I need to ask a doctor friend.
Besides, ACA hasn’t taken effect yet has it?
Thulsa Doom
October 3rd, 2012
11:15 am
H. E. Pennypacker — “Let me ask you this, the man has been President for almost 4 years, what vaguely racist things has he legislated or promoted? Should not the burden of racism be on the accuser?”
You, sir, have cut right to the heart of the argument. Well done.- Joe Mama
Joe Mama,
Funny but you sure as hell didn’t feel that way when Harry Reid was making the absurd accusation that Romney had paid *no* income taxes in 10 years. You and many other liberals on here instead put the burden of proof on Romney to prove Reid wrong. Hypocrisy much?
Oscar
October 3rd, 2012
11:16 am
Not quite yet, though. Still on the books for many people for another 15 months, I think.
_____
I think you are right. Something like that. But who lets small facts get in the way of a good story or when making a point.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 3rd, 2012
11:16 am
S. Ray — “JOE, I married a jewish princess…does that count?”
I don’t know. Perhaps one of our Jewish regulars can sound off on that.
“I’m with you..also like Bill Clinton…I really like african americans and hispanics et al…they generally like me too…at least to my face:-)”
I think that if you put six babies/toddlers together in a playroom, they’re not going to care who among them is what color. It’s just not an issue to them. I think the only things they care about are things like OHMYGODYOUTOOKTHEFUZZYTEDDYBEARMINEMINEMINEMINE and that’s about it. I think that something happens to us — or somehow we learn negative lessons — that initiates racist thinking and actions. That said, if it’s something learned, then it’s something that can be *avoided* or remediated.
ByteMe - Thugs vs. Ilk... in 3D!
October 3rd, 2012
11:16 am
it’s one thing to develop a slight accent adjustment, its quite another to walk into a room and put on a phoney accent then leave with your normal accent…
Here’s the thing: how do you know the accent is “phony” put on just for the room? How do you know that’s not how he sounds in certain situations, just like you would put on a phony suit and tie and use bigger words for a group of men who wanted to buy your business for $10 million?
Regnad Kcin
October 3rd, 2012
11:16 am
“For the love of all that is holy-will someone grab Kyle and bring him back from this wedding trip so his idiots will leave??”
+++++++++++++
I’m willing to chip in if you want to start a fund…
JamVet
October 3rd, 2012
11:16 am
mbtc, am I the only one who noticed Bush’s kissing style change to French when he smooched the Saudi king?!
Cindy, is that the white half or the black half? LOL at you…
Joe Hussein Mama
October 3rd, 2012
11:17 am
ByteMe — “Not quite yet, though. Still on the books for many people for another 15 months, I think.”
So pre-existing clauses are out the window as of 2014? Is that the case?
Fred ™
October 3rd, 2012
11:17 am
the cat
October 3rd, 2012
11:12 am
For the love of all that is holy-will someone grab Kyle and bring him back from this wedding trip so his idiots will leave?? This blog is unreadable due to his azzhats posting here using 90 aliases a day.
+++++++++++++++++++
No kidding. Why don’t they just man and woman up and use their “real” names. And yes Dusty and two boobs I AM talking about YOU.
larry
October 3rd, 2012
11:18 am
Im going off to lunch and then to watch the Braves play their final game of the year
Meanwhile, i expect there will be another Obama video, one of him , eight years old, saying his ABC’s backwards, in a different voice than he has now. I also expect that Hannity and his co-horts are saving it for a world premire tonight on his circus show.
It is so laughable , and its so sad.
ByteMe - Thugs vs. Ilk... in 3D!
October 3rd, 2012
11:18 am
So pre-existing clauses are out the window as of 2014? Is that the case?
I think it’s that if you’ve been covered continuously under some plan, it’s out now; but if you’ve had a lapse in coverage, then it’s not out until 2014 when the mandate and tax kick in. That’s my understanding anyway.
Jay
October 3rd, 2012
11:18 am
Stevie Ray, the birth rate among poor women is almost always higher — in every culture and in every era — than it is among the affluent and the well-educated. Trying to attribute that universal fact to government assistance is foolish.
Aquagirl
October 3rd, 2012
11:18 am
I married a jewish princess…does that count?
A REAL Jewish princess or a FAKE Jewish princess?
Joe Hussein Mama
October 3rd, 2012
11:19 am
Fred — “Besides, ACA hasn’t taken effect yet has it?”
Chunks of it kick in every year. I know there were/are changes to medical spending accounts in 2012 and 2013. I had thought that the no-pre-existing-conditions clauses were already gone, but apparently I was mistaken.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 3rd, 2012
11:19 am
The Affordable Health Care Act ended the pre-existing conditions clauses..
Im all in favor of elimination of pre-existing conditions but it’s important to know and remember that we shouldn’t refer to “coverage” for pre-existing conditions as insurance…it is not…
For this reason, teh 2.8 trillion taxpayer cost estimate of PelosiCare is light..perhaps geometrically..insurers will have to offset this entitlement, which could comprise a majority of claims payments, by increasing premiums on families currenlty insured…estimates the increase will be as high as 20K per family by 2018-2020…Seems the intent is to become single payer at some point…I prefer single payor but we need to remember that the impact on our taxes and long term unfunded liabilities will take on SS and Medicare levels…currently at around $60 trillion or more..
larry
October 3rd, 2012
11:19 am
premere, not premire. oops
godless heathen
October 3rd, 2012
11:20 am
The Obamaphone is another made up fairy tale. These phones have been in existence for over a decase. And they are paid for by phone companies, not the government.
They are paid for with a fee that the Federal Government requires the phone companies to collect from its customers. A tax in other words.
They BOTH suck
October 3rd, 2012
11:20 am
“Kyle will rally the rubes as they charge backwards to victory!”
Now that was funny
Towncrier
October 3rd, 2012
11:21 am
“Tc, by that logic, wasn’t Reagan a racist? Both Bushes? Most/all of the house & senate?”
They are complicit to the extent they never cared enough to figure out how to REALLY help a class of Americans that needed and deserved help. Recall that the “Great Society” was something conceived and pushed by the administration of a clearly racist LBJ. Just how wise can we call a man who led us into the most shameful and disastrous war our country has ever known after campaigning on a clear promise to not do so and who routinely demeaned his chauffeur as a “n****r”? Black Americans needed a hand up rather than a hand out. LBJ and his ilk stupidly gave them a hand out – just as you or I might give a homeless person money when he says he is hungry instead of buying him a meal and talking to him.
Keep Up the Good Fight! (and only seeing conned poutrage)
October 3rd, 2012
11:21 am
Funny but you sure as hell didn’t feel that way when Harry Reid was making the absurd accusation that Romney had paid *no* income taxes in 10 years.
And we know it is “absurd” because? And nice way to restate the actual statement Reid made, Doom.
pete
October 3rd, 2012
11:22 am
Tonight will be the beginning of the turning point of this campaign. I think that once people listen to the 2 candidates, the picture will begin to clear up. Are you better of today than you were 4 years ago?
The resounding answer is ‘NO’! Obama fooled a lot of folks 4 years ago, but his game is old. Time to go “O”!!!
Joe Hussein Mama
October 3rd, 2012
11:22 am
Doom — “Joe Mama, Funny but you sure as hell didn’t feel that way when Harry Reid was making the absurd accusation that Romney had paid *no* income taxes in 10 years.”
Wrong again, Doom.
“You and many other liberals on here instead put the burden of proof on Romney to prove Reid wrong.”
Nope.
“Hypocrisy much?”
None at all.
Go back and find those posts from me. I remember them — and your shrieking overreaction to them — very well. I CLEARLY stated that I was articulating *my wife’s* speculation (more than once) and I CLEARLY stated that I had no idea if there was anything to back it up. Never once did I *accuse* Romney of any sort of tax evasion or malfeasance.
You, OTOH, have a spitty memory and a chip on your shoulder. Oh, yes, and egg on your face, because once again you’re wrong, Doom.
bill arp
October 3rd, 2012
11:23 am
more people on food stamps under this administration than any other in history.
the real question is, do you want a job, or do you want a check and EBT card from the gubment?
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 3rd, 2012
11:23 am
Ok…I suggest we vote on our favorite GOP ginned up Faux controversy.
I open the floor for nominations starting with:
Obama to give Manhattan back to Native Americans?
http://www.wnd.com/2010/12/243153
Suggestions?
Mary Elizabeth
October 3rd, 2012
11:23 am
First, I want to reaffirm my high esteem for Barack Obama, having listened to his entire speech at Hampton University. I have said for years – even when mocked by some on this blog for doing so – that this man has an elevated consciousness that is rare. He is exceptional not only because he found a way to be elected as America’s first black president, but because of his elevated mind and spirit which fosters the long-ranged vision he has for a better world for all. Not to re-elect Barack Obama as America’s president would be more devastating for our nation and for our world, than for him.
That being said, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson may not be “racist fools,” but they are, in my opinion, political “tools” for higher forces controlling the current GOP’s agenda for this nation, and, in my opinion, these “journalists” play their roles for personal monetary gain, primarily. I don’t read Drudge so I have no knowledge of him.
In terms of the far right echo chamber that has been built in this nation, especially over the last few decades, the object has been to “divide and conquer,” as Gov. Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor who has been financed in part by the Koch Brothers, told a political operative in private converstion that was exposed on the Bill Moyer’s video, “United States of ALEC.” In Walker’s conversation, he was speaking of the tactic he would use against government employees’ unions in Wisconsin, but the “divide and conquer” political strategy has been used by rightwing ideologues for decades to turn America into something that it wasn’t during the Kennedy/Johnson years of my youth. And, they have been successful in using that strategy – these Karl Roves, Lee Atwaters, Koch Brothers, and ALEC secretive operatives – until recently, when their unscrupulous tactics are finally being exposed.
“Divide and conquer” tactics have been politically effective in winning elections because so many working, middle class people have been programmed to vote against their own best interests.
The best antidote to these unethical tactics (including voter suppression which may be illegal in some cases) is educating the public into the deeper truths of what has been happening to our nation for several decades, which this column has done this morning, and which I continue to try to do in my writings, including this post.
Fred ™
October 3rd, 2012
11:23 am
Ya’ll are cracking me up. I never knew what a Jewish American Princess, JAP was until I met my wife and her college friends. The one girl kept calling herself a “JAP’ and making ‘Jap” jokes. Finally I said to her, “I thought you were Jewish not Japanese?” After they quit laughing they educated me lol.
Then I heard a whole new line of jokes that I probably can’t post here…………..
Simple Truth
October 3rd, 2012
11:25 am
This reminds me of the 6 years of Republican witch hunts when Bill Clinton was presiding. Every little non-event suddenly became a “_______-gate”. Finally, they got a little traction with the Monica Lewinsky debacle, and ran with it all the way to an impeachment.
If the Republicans spent half as much time trying to build up our nation instead of trying to tear down the will of the electorate, we wouldn’t be mired in a regressive society.
Oscar
October 3rd, 2012
11:25 am
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am…
________
I agree. There are going to be unforeseen consequences of the law. Including, I think, and increase in premiums and an accelerating pace of businesses dropping coverage for employees.
I have never thought the bill would increase the number of people who don’t have insurance. Like Fred’s brother, they don’t have it because they can’t afford it.
Predict there will be changes in the law as people realize the premiums are going up.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 3rd, 2012
11:25 am
JAY,
Regardless of how you want to phrase it, a 3:1 birthrate difference between subsidized and unsubsidized adversely (understatement) reduces the number of non-taxpayers than the opposite..this is a huge problem…for our kids especially…I think this is attributed to many factors the least of which are not incentivised subsidies which perpetuate as opposed to slow the growth of disfunctional homes…the incentive these enablers offer to continue this trend do so by reducing expectations of all those born into a subsidized home..
stands for decibels
October 3rd, 2012
11:25 am
I think that something happens to us — or somehow we learn negative lessons — that initiates racist thinking and actions.
like they sang in South Pacific: You have to be carefully taught.
“It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJhRYYjHThI
They BOTH suck
October 3rd, 2012
11:25 am
“They are paid for with a fee that the Federal Government requires the phone companies to collect from its customers. A tax in other words.”
That is incorrect. The FCC does not require phone companies to collect those fees. They do so to negate some of their costs.
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/lifeline-and-link-affordable-telephone-service-income-eligible-consumers
Some consumers may notice a “Universal Service” line item on their telephone bills. This line item appears when a company chooses to recover its USF contributions directly from its customers by billing them this charge. The FCC does not require this charge to be passed on to customers. Each company makes a business decision about whether and how to assess charges to recover its Universal Service costs.
Simple Truth
October 3rd, 2012
11:26 am
PS – I am WAY better off today than I was in 2008…and I make my money in the real estate industry.
Oscar
October 3rd, 2012
11:27 am
increase the number of people who don’t have insurance.
Make that “would not decrease the number of people who don’t have insurance.”
Thulsa Doom
October 3rd, 2012
11:27 am
“The Affordable Health Care Act ended the pre-existing conditions clauses.
And Romney says he will repeal the Act on his first day in office.
What a guy. We are not going back.”
Let me tell you what else ACA did. When it was passed the health plans immediately quit selling child only policies due to ACA. I’m going through it right now with a good friend in here in ATL.
As part of his divorce decree he has to provide health insurance for his kids. He gets his health coverage through the VA. He has 2 options. One is to go ahead and buy a redundant health policy on himself and then get his kids covered on the same policy. He can’t do that though because ACA’s provision covering pre-existing conditions doesn’t go into effect till 2014. So in the meantime he is denied due to diabetes. So he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. He can’t get coverage for himself in order to include his kids and he can’t purchase what he really needs which is stand alone policies for his 2 kids. Thank you ACA. The law of unintended consequences at work.
And did you guys see that Sears and the parent of several large restaurant chains like Red Lobster and Applebees yesterday dropped providing group coverage for their employees? They are now going to just give their employees a set amount of money probably via an HRA to go and they can then get their own insurance. Expect this trend to continue. I told you guys a year ago this was exactly what was going to happen.
ByteMe - Thugs vs. Ilk... in 3D!
October 3rd, 2012
11:27 am
Are you better of today than you were 4 years ago?
Hell, yeah, I am. And near as I can tell from all the stats, only a very tiny minority is doing worse.
So here’s something for the trolls to ignore: if you have a U-6 unemployment rate of 15% that means 85% of the public is fully employed and ready to vote for the President again.
the cat
October 3rd, 2012
11:27 am
If the Republicans spent half as much time trying to build up our nation instead of trying to tear down the will of the electorate, we wouldn’t be mired in a regressive society
TRUE THAT!!!!
Redneck Convert (R---and proud of it)
October 3rd, 2012
11:28 am
They are paid for with a fee that the Federal Government requires the phone companies to collect from its customers. A tax in other words.
What are you, some kind of Commie radical? Every Republican knows a fee is NOT a tax. If you get charged a fee added to your water bill to pay for some waste water treatment plant, it’s NOT a tax. It’s a FEE! There’s a whole bunch of difference. A smart man can tell you the difference, but I can’t. It all comes out of my wallet, is all I know. But a fee is not a tax!
straitroad
October 3rd, 2012
11:29 am
Jay, I’m pretty you are spinning because under no cirecumstance will you allow yourself to admit that Obama has acted inappropriately. I never saw any of this so it was in fact under reported, at least some of the video. If it wasn’t considered to be damaging, then it would have been released in its entirety at the time. This video does not surprise me at all as Obama makes similar remarks each time he goes off script. Is that accent Hawaiian or Indonesian (sarcasm)? Race baiting and denial of race baiting…a democrat tradition.
Jay
October 3rd, 2012
11:30 am
Stevie Ray, do you have kids?
Do you honestly believe that the small amount of federal aid in question produces a financial incentive to have more of them to feed and clothe?
Let me ask you: Exactly how big do you believe this “incentive” to be?
weetamoe
October 3rd, 2012
11:30 am
It was quite a contrast to his famous speech on race, which had almost convinced me to vote for him–until I realized how adept he is at changing his spots.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 3rd, 2012
11:31 am
For RC (R–apoi)
Good news/bad news: After Long Downturn, Beer Sales Are Back
Helped by Craft Brews, Shipments in the U.S. Are Up so Far in 2012, Breaking a Three-Year Decline
Bad news is you are lugging more beer for us drunks
Good news is you can double down on your 401K and make more for retirement.
the cat
October 3rd, 2012
11:31 am
I work for the largest employer in a metro county. Our insurance fee goes down next year!
ohmyliberals
October 3rd, 2012
11:31 am
It’s absolutely hilarious to read the liberal posts here. You type before you engage your brain and check out the facts. Next time, do some research and watch the entire 40 minute video that is available NOW–not the 9 minute video edited by the media or Obama’s prepared transcript minus which doesn’t include his usual gaffes when he goes off script (I mean teleprompter-HA!). I know it’s hard for you to believe your beloved president would be accused of Race Baiting and Pandering, but it’s there for all to see. And, we the American people spent over $100 Billion in the gulf! Hardly an insignificant amount of tax payer Dollars! With this being said—We all know you like getting your information from the Government Run Media now. So instead, try doing some independent research before you show your ignorance!
Thulsa Doom
October 3rd, 2012
11:32 am
“You and many other liberals on here instead put the burden of proof on Romney to prove Reid wrong.”
Nope.- Joe Mama
Yep. You yourself stated that as a presidential candidate that Romney should release 10 years of tax returns and I believe you also mentioned that his father also did so. No doubt about it. You and other liberals put the onus on Romney to prove Reid wrong. The fact that you are now trying to dishonestly say that this didn’t happen does not surprise me in the least.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 3rd, 2012
11:33 am
Doom — “And did you guys see that Sears and the parent of several large restaurant chains like Red Lobster and Applebees yesterday dropped providing group coverage for their employees? They are now going to just give their employees a set amount of money probably via an HRA to go and they can then get their own insurance. Expect this trend to continue. I told you guys a year ago this was exactly what was going to happen.”
I might be remembering this incorrectly, but didn’t you say that would be a GOOD thing?
Employees would have to seek their own coverage, but IIRC, you said that they could get only the coverage they needed, and not the one-size-fits-all coverage that employer policies usually are. And I seem to recall you saying that that would be a positive thing.
Jay
October 3rd, 2012
11:34 am
and Stevie Ray, I’m curious about the source of your 3:1 data.
saywhat?
October 3rd, 2012
11:34 am
“giving abortions to women who are not actually pregnant,”
_____________________________________________________________
Sorta like accepting right wing nuts as brain donors…
Towncrier
October 3rd, 2012
11:35 am
“First, I want to reaffirm my high esteem for Barack Obama, having listened to his entire speech at Hampton University. I have said for years – even when mocked by some on this blog for doing so – that this man has an elevated consciousness that is rare. He is exceptional not only because he found a way to be elected as America’s first black president, but because of his elevated mind and spirit which fosters the long-ranged vision he has for a better world for all. ”
Your fawning admiration is duly noted. It is breath taking, really. I do not dislike Obama as a person, but I am amazed that anyone would not see that he (like Romney and Bush and Clinton and Gore and so on) is a typical politician who lies, fails to keep promises, plays games, is self-interested and so on.
JamVet
October 3rd, 2012
11:35 am
A REAL Jewish princess or a FAKE Jewish princess?
DON”T ask Torquemada TC! (He’s the decider…)
Are you better of today than you were 4 years ago?
Wow, it is insane that these Republirubes even ask that question!
Somebody tell me that that nitwit candidate of theirs is NOT going to utter that question! (They’ll need a laugh meter with a very high top end!)
This sucker could go down. George Walker Bush, September 2008
Remember that one, pete? I thought not…
Paul
October 3rd, 2012
11:35 am
Have pity on those poor unfortunates who willingly give themselves over to being manipulated by the likes of Sean Hannity.
Especially if they see him as some sort of gigantic, intellectual truth-teller.