Ah, the American “progressivist” left: where actual Klan membership is forgiven and tacitly apologized for in favor of the kind of cheap, canned irony implicit in facile suggestions that a bit more than half of the voters in the US are the real racists, even if they don’t know it.
Derrida might call such “analysis” arche-writing; me, I just find it sad when this kind of fevered partisanship cooks the human brain to such a point where one can almost hear the analytical funtion melt to gruel and slosh noisily about the brainpan.
You want real irony, fella? Keep ignoring the Kleagle hood while thinking yourself part of some “reality-based community.” I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, that one never fails to hit the mark.
Incidentally, I’d reserve the “fetish” talk for the guys who dress themselves in sheets and separate into a militaristic pecking order based on a few hand-sewn patches and the comparative temperatures of their individual hatreds.
Republicans enjoy citing Democratic racists from before the great realignment began in the sixties.
This mouth-breather acts as though Byrd “realigned” himself with Republicans. Last I checked, he still had a “D” after his name.
He can make a fetish out of my man-sized ass.
I’d rethink that last statement, George. I mean, I have a theory about that “reality-based community” (I adore that):
If you repress your sexuality for decades, you have a rolling, boiling anger for just about anyone and anything. Your man-sized ass could be in beeeeg danger.
Of course, it’s just my theory. I could be wrong.
I particularly liked this passage;
Finally someone with the nerve to speak truth to power and expose the lie that the Dems blatantly pander to poor minority voters by constantly reminding them that they are victims that are not actually responsible for their own actions, successes or failures. Everyone knows that Black Americans like Powell & Rice only have their positions to give the appearance that people of color can succeed, though The (Republican) Man’s boot is in reality squarely on the throat of minorities, forever keeping them down.
Minorities vote Democrat because Democrats truly care for the poor and disenfranchised masses. We remove that boot from their throat by providing more and better welfare assistance. We work to keep them out of the Republican’s unfair labor force where they’ll only meet with disappointment. We don’t humiliate or embarrass them by insisting they help to help themselves in any way. “From each to the best of their ability” and if their best is sitting at home drinking Pepsi and watching Jerry Springer, then we respect that. We are the true people’s party.
Oh, and Bush lied about WMDs
”The great realignment.” Now there’s a phrase!
“We wuz all negro-hatin’ jew-bashers ‘till that thar great realignment. Now of course, we’re highly polished blue-state champions of the downtrodden. All thanks to the great realignment which began in the ‘60s. Ahh yes, and what a great realignment it was, too. Pass the grey Poupon, would you Jaques?”
And I wonder: does Meineke perform this sort of work? Could we motor the SUV of GOPdom down to the shop for our own great realignment?
“Why, back in the the 20-oughts, we in the Right had our own great realignment and now we too pander to minorities and other groups in return for votes. It turned out to be ever so much easier than actually helping them in any concrete way. The Dems were 40 years ahead of us, but eventually we too learned to buy votes with public money and then we were off to the races.”
Hey, thanks to Jeff for the mention! Glad I merited a response (albeit for being porridge-brained). As I noted in the comments at my place, I happen to be a liberal who enjoys Protein Wisdom on occasion. Keep up the good work!
There’s no forgiveness for racism at my site. My regular readers know that. For those who think I’m blinded by partisanship, here are some spots where I condemn Carter, LBJ’s crew for their racism. Enjoy!
Can we agree that David Duke, for example, is an example of a GOP racist? The vast majority of white conservatives voted for him in the 90’s when he ran for Governor and Senate in this state. (Indeed, he carried the extremely conservative parish of Tangipahoa as late as 1999, which votes heavily Republican.) If African Americans hadn’t voted against him in overwhelming numbers, he would have won.
And Governor Mike Foster and former state Rep Tony Perkins (who spoke at the CCC) paid $80k-150k for Duke’s voting lists, and almost no elected Republicans here spoke out against it.
If you know of leftist Democratic candidates making similar investments, I’ll also condemn them.
And as far as racists who “don’t know it”, I would submit that only extremists actually will admit their racism.
To be clear: is every Republican racist? Of course not. Over recent decades have reactionary racists found more of a home among Republicans than Democrats? I contend “yes”.
(As far as “alignment” goes, I’m referring to Dem conservatives who flocked to the GOP and the Republican liberals who became Independents or Dems, as well as the African-Americans who came to vote increasingly– overwhelmingly– Democratic. )
For the record, I deplore Byrd’s brief membership in the Klan 60 years ago, and I don’t forgive that choice which he has termed as “wrong”. I’m sure y’all have done the same in regards to the unapologetic David Duke, and Tony Perkins (and Haley Barbour) who count the CCC as one of their supporters…
You just CAN’T make this shit up! Jeff busts the guy, and he comes to the comments section of Protein Wisdom to REPUBLISH his anti-Republican stereotype! Oyster, in addition to being a liberal chowderhead, you are amazingly tone deaf.
“And as far as racists who “don’t know itâ€Â, I would submit that only extremists actually will admit their racism.” So, we’re ALL racists, and we’re just too damn dumb, or dishonest, to know it????
Kiss my ass, you self-important punk.
You sound very noble, Oyster. Let us gauge our respective racismometers by how high we elect our respective “party racists.”
Robert Byrd (D-U.S. Senate) vs.
David Duke & Co. (’R’-What exact office in nowhere, Louisiana?)
Which party is more racist? I SAY “YES” to the Dems.
But to each their own, I suppose.
Right on, Jeff. If you will, I’ve altered your fine prose ever so slightly:
Ah, the American “progressivist†left: where actual case of negligent manslaughter is forgiven and tacitly apologized for.
And republicans fetishize Mary Jo Kopechne.
Un-fucking-believable.
I think it was a little more recently that the guy was on national teevee rambling on about “white niggers,” wasn’t it? So repentant.
Just so no one forgets;
“I vow never to fight with a Negro by my side. Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.”
—Senator Robert Byrd, West Virginia
The model Democrat and great human being, huh ?
You know, for all the talking that the Left does about the Klan, they really don’t know much about it.
It was formed by a Democrat (and Civil War General) named Nathan Bedford Forrest, and defined its enemies as: Blacks, Jews, Catholics, and Republicans.
David Duke says he is a Republican. And my crazy aunt says she is a Honda Accord. But for some reason the local dealership won’t honor her warrantee.
So let’s look at objective facts. When it comes to opposing the Iraq war, “neocons”, and blithering about the “Palestinian cause”, it’s just about impossible to distinguish David Duke from your garden variety Moveon.org fuckwit.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=7499
Real Nazis? You “progressives” are soaking in them.
Iowahawk just ended the discussion.
spam word: “blood” as in… the oyster’s ideological blood was just spilled by iowahawk’s steely retort
Check. And mate.
Damn, Iowahawk.
Just damn.
Thanks, I-hawk. (Can I call you “I-hawk?) Brevity is the soul of wit.
Well done, Iowahawk.
The “progressives” are today objectively pro-terrorist and pro-fascist. They celebrate mass murdering dictatorships and condemn the current administration’s efforts to bring liberty to cultures that have never known it.
And they rush to defend frauds and conmen like Ward Churchill.
Can’t trump that fact with all the “reality-based community” self-delusions in the world.
Of course, that doesn’t even mention all the anti-semites the Democrats actually elect to office like Cynthia MacKinney.
This blog is now yours, Iowahawk.
Me, I’m gonna take some time off and see the world.
Pop Quiz:
Who is the only US Senator to vote against the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall, and Clarence Thomas and Janice Rogers Brown?
Anyone?
Most ironic antispam word ever: dark
I also cannot help but be amused that the Left’s main evidence of racists finding “comfortable shade in the GOP’s big tent” is Strom Thurmond and a failed Senate Candidate in Louisiana, while they ignore the segregationist stalwarts who stayed with the Democrats. I’m talking about such wonderfully tolerant men as:
Robert “Sheets” Byrd – Democrats were so enraged by his opposition to the Civil Rights Act that they made him Senate Majority Leader in the 70’s.
Fritz Hollings – Remember the furor over the confederate flag flying over the capital building in South Carolina? Wanna guess who put it there?
J. William Fulbright – Clinton’s admitted mentor and avowed segregationist. Voted against the Civl Rights Act.
James Eastland of Mississippi – a powerful, eloquent statesman who once said “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to abolish the Negro race, proper methods should be used. Among these are guns, bows and arrows, slingshots and knives…. All whites are created equal with certain rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of dead niggers.” He served as a Democrat and president pro tempore of the Senate (three heartbeats away from the presidency) from 1973-1979, well after the Civil Rights Act was passed.
And these are just the only segregationists I can think of off the top of my head who stayed wiht the Democrats well after the Civil Rights Act. Two of them, Eastland and Byrd, both enjoyed major Senate leadership roles after their shameful racist grandstanding.
Spare me, oyster.
Doug, let’s not forget that Eastland also signed on to the Southern Manifesto along with predominantly Democrat southern politicians in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. Another prominent signatory was Richard Russell, Jr. of Georgia, who died in office in 1971, after heading a number of prominent committees and serving as a member of the Warren Commission. A Senate office building is named after this stalwart Democrat segregationist to this day.
Oh, and Doug, you forgot to mention someone in your pop quiz–Condoleeza Rice. For some reason, the Dems thought it would be a good idea to send him out as a public opponent of the second black Secretary of State in the nation’s history.
Iowahawk’s rebuttal seems to have gathered the most support here, so I’ll briefly respond to it.
Liberals haven’t paid large sums for David Duke’s list of supporters, yet elected conservative Republicans have. David Duke carried the most conservative parishes in the state of Louisiana while more liberal parishes did not vote for him. Those are the facts of the matter. Duke doesn’t merely “call” himself a Republican; he is a member of the Republican party. He won two statewide primaries and became the Senatorial and Gubernatorial face of the GOP in LA. If indeed his views are in sync with MoveOn as you say, it makes no sense for him to be in the GOP. Yet he is, because he’d never win a primary or even a precinct as a Democrat.
Why do GOP luminaries such as Tony Perkins and Haley Barbour speak to the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC)— the latter-day descendants of the Klan? And why would such a group wish to call themselves “conservative”? Riddle me that.
Thanks, Sean. I neglected to mention Byrd’s opposition to Rice.
I also forgot to mention Al Gore Sr.’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act. Remember that?
Of course, the official spin on the elder Gore, if I have it right, is that he voted against the Act because he was feeling pressure from those backwoods voters in Tennessee, which makes it okay. See, he wasn’t really a racist, just a coward.
What does Tony Perkins have to do with this? I thought he was the star of the Psycho movies, and I’d swear that he’s dead.
Two more things:
The article referenced by iowahawk is outlandishly stupid and ill-informed, getting several basic facts wrong. This site will suffer massively if he is now the owner.
Let me tell you: when Duke was in town several months ago, I stopped by to see how the protests and counter-protests were going. I can promise you that there wasn’t a liberal amongst Duke’s followers (and, regrettably, I know some people who used to work for him– none of them are liberal or Democrats.) Now, I can’t vouch for the entire contigent of anti-Duke protesters, but I’m confident any conservatives there were few and far between.
This nugget amused me too. Immediately after I made the comment “Is every Republican racist? Of course not” one of the esteemed protein wiz kids here immediately shrieks “So, we’re ALL racists, and we’re just too damn dumb, or dishonest, to know it????”
Anyway, thanks to all for the give and take.
Actually, what you said was:
To be clear: is every Republican racist? Of course not. Over recent decades have reactionary racists found more of a home among Republicans than Democrats? I contend “yesâ€Â.
I take that to mean that, while not all of us are racists, in your eyes, we’re somehow willfully blind to the racists who you claim have found a home in our party.
Is this true? I suppose one could make that argument (indeed, you have). But is it also true that the Democrats, while not all anti-semites, are willfully blind to the reactionary anti-semites who have of late found a home among the Democratic Party? People like Cynthia McKinney, Jim Moran, Louis Farrakhan and others? I believe one could make that argument as well.
As I see it, Democrats can only claim moral high ground on race if you accept the proposition that racism against blacks is somehow worse than racism against jews.
Put another way, had they been given the choice, for whom do you think Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Bashir Assad voted last November? I think we all know the answer, and I think it speaks volumes.
Point of clarification. I said:
Put another way, had they been given the choice, for whom do you think Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Bashir Assad voted last November?
I should have said:
Put another way, had they been given the choice, for whom do you think Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Bashir Assad would have voted last November?
My apologies. It’s late. Even up here in Alaska.
I also should have said:
As I see it, accepting both arguments, Democrats can only claim moral high ground on race if you accept the proposition that racism against blacks is somehow worse than racism against jews.
Jeff, it’d be nice if we could edit posts. Or maybe I shouldn’t have had that pint of stout.
Why do GOP luminaries such as Tony Perkins and Haley Barbour speak to the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC)– the latter-day descendants of the Klan? And why would such a group wish to call themselves “conservativeâ€Â? Riddle me that.
Well, the ADL (and everybody else including Kos, Burnt Orange Report) says that Barbour ‘attended a barbeque’ at the CofCC and that a photo was taken and that the photo showed up … and a request was made by the ADL and others for Barbour to denounce the group and have the group take down the photo … but Barbour said that the photo was public domain … and, btw, Barbour did distance himself from ‘some’ of the group’s policies, et cetera and cetera, though not to the extent that the ADL would have preferred.
… the details of the actual Barbour incident- “Gubernatorial Candidate Eats Regioinal Food Amongst Voters” – was then subjected a barrage of ‘well, you know’ speculation about motives, agendas, and such.
The ADL’s version of the ‘controversy’ is here:
http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/groups/council_of_conservative_citizens/CCCitizens_up_1_cms.htm
Meanwhile, among the Peaceful-Tolerant notable Democrat block –
I sure hope no politicians, Democrat or Republican, attend this racist event or,god forbid, have a picture taken there.
Lastly, wouldn’t the content of the material mailed BY THE CANDIDATE, rather than the content of the list itself, be the primary determiner of a candidate’s ‘racism’?
As to the practice of buying or renting list – we can look to this report from the IG that discusses it. Of course, it’s about the Corp. for Public Broadcasting and its non-partisan practice of supporting only Democratic campaigns.
http://www.current.org/mo/mo917L.html
But, hey, that makes it okay.
sorry for the extra long URL.
But, don’t blame me – that URL is from the ADL.
So, I think we al know *precisely* where the blame lies –
that’s right, with the JEWS
{insert diabolical laugh track sound effect, pop popcorn, cue up ‘Triumph of the Will’ as part of a Leni Reifenstahl Film Festival}
Here’s what sets the sensible right apart from the idiot left (and no, I do not believe in a sensible left). When Jerry Falwell invents gay conspiracies around the teletubbies, the SR calls him a crackpot. When Pat Buchanan questions the value of fighting World War II, the SR calls him a crackpot. The Pat Robertson says his idiotic quote of the minute, the SR calls him on it.
The idiot left when faced with the dottering embarassment from W.V. or the other members of the brain trust: Cynthia McKinney, Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, Pat Schroeder (always was priceless when she tried to sound knowledgeable about defense), Jimmy Carter, Chris Dodd, Barbara Boxer, Hillary, Bill, etc. can only muster up “Republicans are racist and to prove it I will point out not their policy choices over the past 40+ years, but their election strategies and tactics.”
Good luck on that whole red-state mystery thing, oyster. You and yours are going to need it…and apparently a frontal lobotomy so you won’t hurt yourself.
Not so fast, Oyster. You may get away with this crap at Daily Kos or DU, but the folks around here have some actual reading comprehension skills. Yes, you DID say “Is every Republican racist? Of course not†You then followed this up with the following nugget, totally contradicting this “throw away” attempt to pretend that you WEREN’T calling us all racists: “And as far as racists who “don’t know itâ€Â, I would submit that only extremists actually will admit their racism.”
Now, Mr. I’m-so-fucking-smart, find ANY way to parse that sentence OTHER THAN, “You assholes are too dumb, or too dishonest, to admit your own racism”??? Either learn to read, or learn to write (or, preferably, both), but don’t argue with me if you can’t even objectively read YOUR OWN post. Fuckwit.
Really, just take my words at face value Flagwaver. Have you met someone who says “I’m not a racist, but …[insert racist diatribe here]”? Those are the types I was talking about. Heck, even many white power extremists will resist calling themselves racist.
Doug F: “As I see it, Democrats can only claim moral high ground on race if you accept the proposition that racism against blacks is somehow worse than racism against jews.”
I agree that you see it that way, Doug. And insofar as your premises are accurate, I don’t dispute your conclusion. I never said Dems had the moral high ground. Did you neglect my very generous links to posts where I slammed Carter and LBJ?
“Put another way, had they been given the choice, for whom do you think Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Bashir Assad voted last November?”
Osama and Hussein aren’t really interested in choosing anyone but themselves as leaders. Last year, an Al Qaeda splinter group did go on record in support of Bush, but why the hell should we worry about who Islamofascist killers might prefer? They believe God is on their side; they believe they beat the Soviet Union; they believe they are martyrs; they’re profoundly misled. I base my vote on who can most effectively eliminate these crazies, not on some guessing game where I try to get into the mindset of a brainwashed fanaticist.
Once again, many thanks to Jeff and to everyone at PW for a lively discussion! See y’all later.
I guess somebody forgot the First Rule of Holes.
— Augusta (GA) Chronicle, 1998.
Don’t cry for GOP-banished Kluxer Bradley Owens, though. He eventually found employment writing press releases for the Kerry Presidential Campaign. No word whether Owens volunteered his services to that other dynamic anti-war Democratic presidential candidate, Lyndon Larouche.
— David Duke
— Washington Post, 10/29/2001
I would post links to Duke’s own websites—like “no blood for oil or israel”—so you can read his opinions for yourself; but why pollute Jeff’s blog any further? Just Google ‘david duke antiwar Iraq’ and look at all the marvelous stuff that appears. Conclusion: on the major issue of the day, you can’t wedge a popsicle stick between the position of David Duke and the self-proclaimed ‘reality based community.’
But, I’ll credit you progressives for finally forging that elusive political Big Tent –Kluxers, Larouchies, Stalinist Wobblies, Stormfront neo-Nazis, ANSWER ‘tards, Black Bloc anarchists, Paleo Buchananites, Counterpunch Chomsky Kidz, soulpatched AltWeekly dipshits—joining loins in one big ol’ happy Bush-hatin’, war-opposin’, speaking-truth-to-power clusterfuck.
Get a room, ‘y’all.
Gotta hand it to the progressive antiwar
Iowahawk,
You left out Castro/Chavez/Sandanista/Commies-in-general apologists, Hollywood high school drop-out issue experts, and Tenured Professors who include the words/phrases “healing,” “cultural imperialism” and/or “community” in their antiwar screeds.
I don’t believe any party has the ability to deny registration to anyone who choses to register. I actually registered republican once just to vote for Shirley Temple against Commie Pete McCloskey. I saw some of the literature from Duke during his run for office, and his appology for his previous memberships was at least as believable as was Byrd’s. I believe he was helped because his opponent was a real asshole, but that was a while ago. Sometimes you have to choose between assholes – or should I say you almost always have to choose between asholes.
Walter,
I heard that with my bad ear. I am ANYTHING but a W apologist. Anyone who handed me “No Child Left Behind,” prescription drug benefits and the ginormous deficits is NOT on my list of the Top 10 people I Wish Were Emperor of the World. Pity me – I live in California. Diane Feinstein is my GOOD Senator, and Arnie is as close to a “real” Republican we have. If you think Barbara Boxer is loony (and I DO!), you ought to see some of the mouth-breathers in Sacramento. Jackie Goldberg, Sheila Kuehl and “One Bill Gil” Cedillo (his entire LIFE appears to be centered around getting drivers licenses for illegal aliens) are actually “mainstream” in the California legislature.
Which is why we get some of the “brilliancy prize” legislation we get. My personal favorite is the California law which makes it ILLEGAL for an employer to tell a cross-dresser that he can’t wear a dress (or she can’t wear a man’s tux) to work. We are about to hike our minimum wage to about $1.25 above the U.S. minimum wage, we have MANDATORY, PAID family leave, our workers comp system pays for “psychological” disability, we have an annual INVENTORY tax (which has created a booming business in warehouses just over the border in Nevada), we require all employers with more than 10 employees to have a separate “nursing lounge” for mothers . . . and we wonder why businesses are fleeing to Nevada and Arizona.
I am NOT a fan of the current Republicans, but let me tell you, as someone who is living in a Democratic “People’s Republic,” the Democrats ARE worse.
But it’s like choosing between being strangled or being hanged. Pretty much, the result is similar, and both processes are painful.
Hold hope for reaportionment and for the failure of the lliberal newspapers. Before Talk Radio and blogs, it was rare to hear or read a non-liberal position. It took Rose Bird to demonstrate the absolute idiocy of the liberal world view.
Let Nation of Islam chief Minister Louis Farrakahan take all his “people” back to Africa, being they were treated soo bad 400 years ago. My God, that is the past, and I don’t owe the SOB a damn thing, I wasn’t even born then…neither was he but he sure likes to stir up the white and blacks, frankly playing the race card, and all he is doing is tying to get people to send him money to further his wealth and buy more property in his name. If the poor black people really think this idiot is working for them, they are really crazy. We have tried to get over this race situation and stupid idiots like him just keep pushing and upsetting the black people, just to keep the race movement going in order for him to get richer. I wish the clock of time would say it was his time….we all go, when it is his time, and his time is running out. Get over it and while I am on the subject, collect all these young punk game members, looters and protestors in Toleda, Ohio that went crazy, breaking in places and looting this Saturday, 15 Oct, draft them and send them to Iraq if they want to fight and cause destruction here in the US, send them over there and get the methheads off the street, out of the US and for God sakes, all the blacks that keep wining about being slaves 400 yrs ago, they are mistreated, thousands are in prison, for that is where they belong for the crimes they have done. Blacks aren’t slaves any more and haven’t been for at least 200 yrs and we people liviing now didn’t have a flim flam thing about any of that. As a matter of face, they get more help, aid, money, food stamps, etc from the government than any white people who are poor and need help. To Hell with their wining…..wonder if they need cheese with their wining? I am very much a senior citizen and have this crap all my life. And people like him, Jessie Jackson, etc are just trying to cause cahos in the US and they are the ones that will not let the race issue die. As I said, let him take all the blacks to Africa, the islands, whereever and let them make their own cities, rules, etc. They the whites don’t have to put up with them and I’m sure they can develope their form of cities, governments, etc as they want….at least we don’t have to listen to this corrupt b… s… on tv, if he would lead all the blacks back to where they came from. The whites did do a good thing for their slaves, some were beloved slaves, and that was release them. Now it is time for them to all leave, or go back home where their long past relative slaves were brought home. We all are so sick and tired of hearing this. They don’t want to go back home, now they are set out on taking the country the whites live in. revengeful, stupid, ignorant people with young gang punks who had rather rape their sisters and cousins as anything with no thought of doing wrong. I just hope God’s clock has his time coming up real soon. That is when he takes us all…when our time shows up on his clock.