Laura Ingraham interviewed National Black Chamber of Commerce CEO Harry Alford this morning on her radio show and it was an amazing interview. In one of the most honest answers I’ve ever heard to the question of ‘why did you vote for Obama’, Alford said he voted for Obama because he was black and that it was the worst mistake of his life and a lesson he’ll take to his grave. Wow! He added that ‘hope’ was part of the reason he voted for Obama, but then referring to Obama’s policies he said what I think would be a great campaign slogan:
Hope isn’t hiring. Hope isn’t lowering the price of gasoline.
So, when are Obama supporters going to play the race card on this guy. We know they love to drop those cards when there is any criticism of Obama. Will they notice that he admits he only voted for Obama because of his skin color? (cuz that's not racist, huh?)
One of the most ridiculous race cards I have seen (and there have been A LOT of ridiculous race cards) is this one:
Trump blew hard on the dogwhistle, saying that Obama should “get off the basketball court,” and later called Confederate rebels “wonderful,” “beautiful,” “romantic,” and “great.”So, mentioning Obama's favorite pastime is racist...? And no where was Trump *praising* Confederate Rebels. Well, it's not the first time people have lied in order to play the race card.
Speaking about the recent sharp rise in oil prices, Trump said “(Obama) said ‘There’s no control over prices,’ which he does if he gets on the phone, or gets off his basketball court.”
Seconds later, speaking about his suspicions that the Libyan rebels are controlled by Iran and al Qaeda, Trump said, “We make them sound like they’re out of Gone With the Wind, they’re wonderful, the beautiful rebels, it’s so romantic, they’re great.”
On its own, the basketball thing might be a reach, but in context with other attacks on Obama’s love of the game, along with the fact that he apparently spends much more time on the golf course, it’s difficult to dismiss.
What makes it impossible to dismiss, though, is Trump’s accompanying praise for Confederate “rebels” as “Wonderful,” “beautiful,” “romantic,” and “great.” Trump is either more Clueless than an Alicia Silverstone/Amy Heckerling film retrospective, or he’s blowing harder on that dogwhistle than the Buffalo Bills blow in the Super Bowl.
And this is another PERFECT example about how ridiculous it has become:
Chris Matthews and Clarence Page: Trump Must Be Talking About Bush When He Says "How Did He Get Into a Good School" (Chuckle, Chuckle)
Chris Matthews Ten Minutes Later: No One Would Ever Question the Academic Chops of a White President!
No, he really said this. Ten minutes apart.Right Scoop has the video here.
First, bringing up Transcriptism, Clarence Page chuckled that "He [Trump] must have his presidents mixed up," meaning it must be Bush who needed special help to get into Yale (and Harvard Business).
They both had themselves a laugh at that. How dumb Bush is! They've been saying that for ten years, of course.
Then, next segment, still marveling that only a racist could question a president's academic ability, he said, quote, "They would never say this about a white president!!!"
Um? Didn't you? Like five minutes ago?
Didn't you? For ten years straight?
And then, in case you completely forgot about the last ten years, I repeat: Didn't you just five minutes ago?
This is a comment someone actually made at Mediaite:
Battchief said: It’s racist because if Obama wasn’t African-American no one would question his citizenship, academic achievements, compare him to a monkey, or picture him with a bone through his nose, you dig?
It's baffling.
Meet McCain ‘birthers’: ABC, CBS, NBC, FactCheck, N.Y. Times, more
On Feb. 28, 2008, Carl Hulse wrote a New York Times article, “McCain’s Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules Him Out.”Bush, McCain and Palin, and more have been challenged on their academic achievements repeatedly.
“To date, no American to take the presidential oath has had an official birthplace outside the 50 states,” Hulse wrote.
Picking up on the Times piece, MSNBC.com ran a feature on the same day posing the question, “Born in the USA?”
The Wall Street Journal the same day published a Law Blog column asking: “Does John McCain Have a Birthplace Problem?”
CBS News speculated McCain’s eligibility question “could conceivably end up in before the Supreme Court,” adding the comment, “And you thought counting chads was a circus.”
The next day, the Times of London published a similar piece, “McCain’s Panama birth prompts eligibility probe by his campaign.”
NBC correspondent Pete Williams also published a piece Feb. 29, 2008, on the MSNBC website, “McCain’s citizenship called into question.”
To be fair, this is not the first time that opponents of a president or a presidential candidate demanded to see the academic credentials of the candidate or president at the time. Interesting enough though, in recent history, never were the records readily released by the candidate, without first being leaked or revealed by a news organization. And each time, the leak revealed mediocre grades:Monkey, Witch Doctor, Joker, Hitler... Has anyone made a movie like this about Obama? Has anyone demanded he prove his children are actually his? Has the main stream media examined Obama's selective service records?
George Bush never released his grades but leaked transcripts that showed he was a solid C student at Yale college (where his father attended) yet managed to get admitted to Harvard Business School.
Sarah Palin, former Republican Vice Presidential nominee (and possible 2012 presidential candidate), according to an Associated Press report, switched colleges six times in six years, including two stints at the University of Idaho, before graduating there in 1987.
John Kerry’s leaked records obtained by The Boston Globe, showed he was a C student at Yale.
Al Gore was also a C student at Harvard, according to a Politics Insider report
Ronald Reagan’s academic transcripts have never been released, though we know he was a student actor, cheerleader and graduated from the non-Ivy League Eureka College
John McCain finished 894 out of 899 at the naval academy, according to the Daily Paul.
That George Bush got into the very competitive Harvard business program with a C-average perhaps shows that his pedigree and family connections got him admitted, notwithstanding his grades. Arguably, this type of legacy admission could be considered a form of Affirmative Action, and one which many children from affluent families annually benefit.
Obama is not the first President who has ever had his vacation days criticized, or been questioned about the size of his entourage, or been questioned about the amount of money he is spending. And Michelle Obama is not the first FLOTUS to receive criticism for her initiatives, spending, verbal gaffes, or have her wardrobe or person mocked. And Conservatives are far from being the only ones who have made some rather eyebrow raising comments.
In addition to McCain being challenged (before Obama was) about his eligibility, forced to prove he was legal to serve, and there were lawsuits filed questioning his eligibility because he was born in the Panama Canal, he was forced to release his medical records, military records, and admitted to his less than stellar academic record.
They can't defend the job Obama is doing, or his record, so they just keep resorting to that ol' race card.
Haven't they run out of cards, yet?
If there is one left, I would like to play it, and lay it on anyone that believes Obama is above criticism, or being held to the same standard, ridicule, examination and mockery of past presidents (or candidates) because of his skin color.
UPDATE:
Just saw this post via Twitter from Newsbusters. Perfect.
Brewer was showing quite a touch of ignorance here since nobody questions the citizenship of George H. W. and Barbara Bush therefore making it absurd to want to see George W.'s birth certificate. At the same time she was actually making Katz's point for if the same kind of attacks were being lodged against a white president, they can't stem from racism:
KATZ: They didn't say it was race. Everything that comes out of the racers, and they exist - the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Huffington Post", some people at your very network, and you know I enjoy having these conversations with you. They are so focused. Everything is about race. It's not about race. When we talk about Obama and the policies, it's about the awful policies. It's about the inability to bring down debt. It’s about the inability to tackle the deficit. And when everybody says, “Oh, they're just after this because of race,” it is nonsense. It's a way to stop people from having conversation. Political correctness at its worst. If we want to talk about the issues, let's talk about the issues.
Exactly, and all those conflating the issues with accusations of racism are allowing the White House and the Democrats to avoid any kind of serious discussion about the problems facing the nation.
Let's hope the term "Racer" catches on, for it indeed represents a sizable percentage of America's media that for over four years have aided and abetted Obama in avoiding any criticism whatsoever as a result of the color of his skin.
H/T Newsbusters
