OK, so here is a story about a prominent leader in the South Carolina Republican Party. Referring to a gorilla escaping from a local zoo, he said that it was probably "just one of Michelle's ancestors." Michelle Obama had just given a speech at SC State University. In his typical "I'm sorry you were offended" style apology, he also mentioned that he was joking not about the First Lady's race but about her assertion that we are all descended from apes (i.e. her support for the scientific understanding of human evolution).
It doesn't matter which interpretation you pick - this is what is wrong with the Republican Party. This guy is not just some crank. He has been a County party chairman and was the head of the state's election commission. And either he is a degenerate racist or - at best - a religious fanatic who makes jokes about evolution and science that would seem anachronistic to most Americans. He's a hold over from the old Scopes Monkey Trial days. He's like a character from "Inherit the Wind." Either way, he represents a part of American society that is clinging not to the 20th century but to the 19th.
The Republican party cannot hope to reestablish itself as a national party unless and until it ceases to be a force of anti-modernism. American society is founded on reason and modernity. From Jefferson and Madison to Lincoln and both Roosevelts, from Henry Ford and the Wright Brothers to Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, from Henri and Bellows to Warhol, Pollack and Rothko, American society, politics, economics and culture has always been about modernity. The only exception to this in all our 400 year history, and it is a partial one at that, has been the slave holding South and its cultural descendants. Even there the forces of anti-modernism are only the local majority, not universal. For the Republican party to establish itself as the champion of anti-modernism is to accept permanent status as a regional party with a finite future even in that region.
10 comments:
In college history class, we were required to read a book called "the War that Never Ended"...it was about the Civil War, and how right the authors were..the war rages on today. The rampant racism is shocking and it is the basis for all of the Republican resistance to public programs. Amazing that the color of a person's skin makes them third class citizens in the eyes of the south, understanding that there is racism everywhere. I still remember what Earl Butz said about blacks...if memory serves, he was the Secretary of Agriculture under Nixon, he said..."the only thing the coloreds are looking for in life are tight p - - - - , loose shoes and a warm place to s - - -."
That is still the mentality of the southern politician.
"the only thing the coloreds are looking for in life are tight p - - - - , loose shoes and a warm place to s - - -."
It does make life simpler when assholes like that mix their racism and misogyny.
That's nothing compared to being a wise Latina.
For the first time in history as of this date Herman Cain a middle age black ex-CEO of a Pizza corporation is in the lead for the Republican Nomination! The Conservative Whites and tea party love because he is talking their talk and doing their dirty work for them but most blacks think he is equal to Judas. The phrase Uncle Tom and traitor comes up whenever my black friends describe him.
The problem with Herman Cain and Russ Limbaugh is they stereotype and lump every group they trash esp. the poor into one lump and category. Cain looses when he calls poor people lazy without pointing out specific cases. He is so out of touch and needs to hit the streets where Plants have closed and jobs have been shipped out of the country. He needs better advisers and speech writers who will tell him to stop the attacks, this is not conservative talk radio and he is not a talk show host but a candidate who will represent all of America not just the Tea Party.
Just recently Herman Cain must have realized how fast the Wall Street protester crowd is growing that he originally labeled Un-American because he tried to identify Romney as a Wall street type of guy while he is a main street average guy who even made a few pizza's in his day!
I guess someone must have told him to quit with the poor are lazy remarks because they represented every race, not just blacks and this represents votes when the dust settles!
After reviewing the Republican candidates I am Under-whelmed. From the looks of it so are other like-minded Independent voters. Cain's 9-9-9 looks good on paper but not in theory, or reality!
All Politician need to lead by example and stop attacking and try to give us more solutions on fixing this mess without blaming the poor and less fortunate with mindless stereotypes.
I'd like to ask Mr. Cain how he could be that out of touch that he could call poor people lazy in this recession with Plant closures and a high number of people losing their jobs? This displays ignorance and how out of touch he is from reality.
Cain may benefit from not only going back to the hood but talking to ex-middle class average Americans whose jobs were shipped overseas because the Corporate heads needed one more dollar.
Unfortunately, their products sit on selves collecting dust because people lack jobs and money to buy the stuff.
My second question for Cain is when you say you loathe welfare recipients just who are you referring to? The corporate welfare recipients that got bail outs from failed companies as they rewarded themselves more perks and million dollar bonuses, or the ex-middle class whose jobs were shipped overseas for one more dollar?
The irony of this whole situation is the other Republican candidates are going easy on the black candidate running for President in fear of coming across like a racist.
I say treat him like any other Republican Candidate. What is this anyway affirmative action? He should get the same kind of verbal attacks he is giving out to the other competitors.
Why go easier on the black guy? Romney, Perry and BAUCHMANN JUST SIT THERE WITH PLASTIC SMILES ON THEIR FACES AND LET THIS GUY TALK HIS CRAPPY SH..T! I'm black by the way!
Is it just me or does Cain look as angry as Russ Dumbo sounds? Hope this two don't have strokes from all of that pent up rage! Geezz it is scary!
The new modern day slavery is lower wages for people who will take any job in this economy even if they have college degrees and years of experience. This is forcing them to spend longer hours away from their families and children who're being raised by MTV and Reality TV. At the same time the CEO's got bailed outs and they still tried to keep their private jets and end of the year bonus checks! What the hell happened to trickle down economics?
Correction: Some People are spending more time away from home because one job does not pay enough so they have to go with two jobs to break even with all of these Corporation bigwigs lowering salaries!
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