Elspeth Reeve has good analysis at the Atlantic Wire. I had a big problem with Rush Limbaugh playing this clip over and over on his show yesterday. There's some kind of political point to be be made about they way some people become dependent on government or unrealistic about what government can or should do, but there's an emotional level, below the rational mind, that this video/audio can reach, and when someone repeatedly plays it, as Rush did, it seems as though he's trying to stir up racial fears.
Decent people whose rational minds would reject explicit racial material can be emotionally manipulated. They get their fears stirred up. If this is what Romney supporters think they need to do to get their man elected, I hope they fail. And, frankly, I think they will fail. If people in the middle — like me — get the impression that fear of black people is supposed to be the reason to vote for Romney, we're going to vote for Obama. That's the America I believe in. I think I'm right about that.
September 28, 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
710 comments:
1 – 200 of 710 Newer› Newest»So you'll vote emotionally, instead of rationally. Well, that's how he won in 2008.
Keep it up Rush.
EVERY-ONE: I HAVE STATED A THOUSAND TIMES. I AM TIRED OF YOU NOT UNDERSTANDING.
There is no way - no way - Romney or GOP can win. The decider is the Press (NYT, NPR, PBS, MSNBC, WashPost, HuffPost, DailyBeast, etc., etc.). These people are OUR FRIENDS. At the White House, we cater to them almost exclusively.
We reach the voters, through our friends in the Press.
You see, we have been told (guaranteed) that this election is OVER.
We own the WH till Jan. 2017.
Mt. Rushmore will have B. H. Obama.
There is NOTHING you can do. NOTHING.
This is what you did before, made an ass of yourself, and appears that you haven't learned since.
The problem for the modern Republican Party is that proper race-baiting requires adequate amounts of skill and nuance and subtlety and tact and intelligence and perception and the modern Republican Party is lacking in all of those things.
For the most part, they are able to keep their dog-whistles in the realm of plausible deniability, but they are so boxed in electorally in terms of their need to ramp up the white vote that they can only make so many racialized appeals until it becomes apparent what the Republicans are doing.
Ann is right, these racist appeals will doom the Republican Party.
EVERY-ONE: I HAVE STATED A THOUSAND TIMES. I AM TIRED OF YOU NOT UNDERSTANDING.
There is no way - no way - Romney or GOP can win. The decider is the Press (NYT, NPR, PBS, MSNBC, WashPost, HuffPost, DailyBeast, etc., etc.). These people are OUR FRIENDS. At the White House, we cater to them almost exclusively.
We reach the voters, through our friends in the Press.
You see, we have been told (guaranteed) that this election is OVER.
We own the WH till Jan. 2017.
Mt. Rushmore will have B. H. Obama.
There is NOTHING you can do. NOTHING.
So rolling my eyes at this post. I'm usually sympathetic to Althouse's intuitions as an "independent," but not this time. Don't have time to deconstruct the blatant fallacy of it right now, hope others will so I don't have to.
Go ahead, Althouse, vote for Obama. The one whose campaign isn't (according to you) using the race card.
(You don't think Rush would play this just as many times if it was a cracker, a white person, saying exactly the same things?)
Sorry, but just because that video makes one black woman look bad, it isn't racist to play it. The mindset of endless demands for free stuff isn't limited to blacks. I refuse to let anyone demonize our critism of that mindset as racist. Those who try to use charges of racism to stiffle free speech and legitimate criticsm can consume excrement and expire as far as I'm concerned. They overplayed the race card to the point where it has no value any more.
Here's a tip: Everyone votes emotionally. Your idea that you are completely rational is itself emotional.
Your very rationality is itself a complex mix of emotion. I've read enough brain science to know that. Pretending that's not true only makes you naive. Resisting that fact is something that comes from emotion, not reason.
I highly recommend this book on the subject.
We are human beings, and our thoughts take place within our bodies, with our brains and nerves, and the ability to make decisions comes from feeling. We are not computers.
Right wing radio loves playing audio of BHO supporters who are idiots. For example, Beck has a bit where he asks basic questions to dopes on the streets of various cities.
Althouse can't prove that Rush's bit was race based. So, maybe she should keep her unproven race accusations to herself.
Just sayin'
Althouse, do you have any suggestions about where the grievance and entitlement BS stops?
Feast your eyes on that piece of trash, Andy, the spoiled white kid who has made butt hurt his profession.
How much of that trash can we afford?
Joe the plumber?
Would it be racist if the idiotic person in the video was white? Somehow I don't think so. Why can't an idiot just be an idiot without bringing race into it? There are lots of stupid whites, Asians, etc. This one just happened to be black. Get over it.
You don't need a weatherman, Althouse. You can tell which way the wind is blowing, can't you.
Thanks, Andy, for coming along to prove that it's not just black people who are in on the scam.
You're good for something.
"Sorry, but just because that video makes one black woman look bad, it isn't racist to play it. The mindset of endless demands for free stuff isn't limited to blacks. I refuse to let anyone demonize our critism of that mindset as racist. Those who try to use charges of racism to stiffle free speech and legitimate criticsm can consume excrement and expire as far as I'm concerned. They overplayed the race card to the point where it has no value any more."
Did you listen to Rush's entire show yesterday?
I did.
Do you know how many times he played it and how he talked around it, the way he tried to crank up his audience? I do.
I agree that playing it once isn't racist. But selecting it and highlighting and making it go over and over is really quite miserable. It's disgusting.
It's not a good representation of what Romney is.
If this is what Romney supporters think will work for their guy, I hope they are wrong.
I don't see the racial element at all. At one level, I see a person screaming "Obama gave me free stuff and thus he's good." This is offensive to some, regardless of race, and people should understand why.
On the other hand, I wonder why she doesn't credit earlier Presidents for starting and expanding the program? Was she fed a a line of BS regarding the origins of such largess?
I highly recommend this book on the subject.
Looks interesting, but I'll be sure to buy it through someone else's link, thanks.
I agree with the rational point the video is being used for, but I'm saying that there is another use, and it's ugly, and therefore it should be avoided.
Panicked by the lastest "racism" scare!
Get ahold of yourself, Althouse.
Yeah, it's one of our strongest unwritten rules that black people must never be shown in an unflattering light. To do so is racist!
Let's just pretend that life is a prime time TV drama where all the black people are computer geniuses and surgeons. Pay no attention to your lying eyes.
Black dysfunction simply can't be acknowleged unless there's some way to pin the blame on whitey.
Look, those of you who don't see the racial problem are already probably going to vote for Romney. For Romney to win, he has to influence people in the middle who are sensitive to this kind of racial ugliness. You may say my sensitivity is set to high, but I'm saying that I believe the people with my level of sensitivity are much more likely to determine the outcome of the election.
You are losing me.
It's not a good representation of what Romney is.
Why that equation, Rush = Romney? Do they even talk? It's more likely that Ryan and Rush talk.
Saying that Rush represents Romney is like saying Sullivan represents Obama.
THANKS PROF. REQUESTED THE BOOK TO GET KINDLE VERSION, THROUGH YOUR SITE OF COURSE.
Okay, all, calm down, the election is OVER.
Obama owns the WH till Jan. 2017.
You can do nothing, I met with the WH staff today. Every-one is so high that there is nothing to make people feel sad. We have won, Already.
isn't it the stupid bitch in the video who has been manipulated? She's selling her vote for a phone. America could do with less losers like her and more people like Rush.
You may say my sensitivity is set to high, but I'm saying that I believe the people with my level of sensitivity are much more likely to determine the outcome of the election.
Yes, your sensitivity is set to absurdity.
If this is what you're going to vote on, then you're hopeless.
The entitlement mentality of blacks, women and gays is bankrupting us.
We're not supposed to talk about it, right? Got it.
What was needed was find a white-trash actress to portray the Obamaphone lady, then all would be right in the world of middle-aged, middle-class white women.
But these clips keep coming up black.
I agree with the rational point the video is being used for, but I'm saying that there is another use, and it's ugly, and therefore it should be avoided.
It's obvious that the modern Republican Party is using racial appeals to try to increase their vote share by pandering to white resentment in this country.
We already got one apology from a prior RNC chairman regarding the party's decision to try to benefit from racial polarization, but it's obvious very little has changed.
Sometimes I wish I were dumb, so it wouldn't all be so predictable ...
"You are losing me."
No, you lost yourself...you just don't know it. The lady is a fool, your man obama fuels her ignorance...her mindset is exactly what he wants...vote for me and get stuff. You are too dense to see/admit it. She is black and that's all you see. We thinkers see a dependent society which you helped create
And I don't care about your vote, yes the country is on a course of self destruction but it doesn't matter to you 'cuz Romney's a racist...even though he didn't run the clip.
You are a mental light weight that will ride the ship down until they close the doors on your government job.
Time for you to read Ann Coulter's new book, Althouse.
You can read the first chapter for free online at Amazon.
The first chapter explains precisely the scam that butt hurt Andy is pulling.
Also, I love how Ann is shocked! that Rush would do something racist.
Well...at least nobody can call you a 'conservative' anymore. It scares me when lawyers equate the repetition of truth or fact with something inherently objectionable like racism.
It happened. Make it 'unhappen'. Then rewrite history to have this woman and her statements be some kind of parody. Then we can talk about whether or not it's racist. Until then, you are simply accusing a purveyor of the facts of racism. That's ugly.
Decent people whose rational minds would reject explicit racial material can be emotionally manipulated. They get their fears stirred up. If this is what Romney supporters think they need to do to get their man elected, I hope they fail. And, frankly, I think they will fail. If people in the middle — like me — get the impression that fear of black people is supposed to be the reason to vote for Romney, we're going to vote for Obama. That's the America I believe in. I think I'm right about that.
I've always given you the benefit of the doubt, Althouse, cruel neutrality and all, but when you say, "You are losing me" over such triviality as this well, frankly, you've lost me.
Per Althouse: "If this is what Romney supporters think they need to do to get their man elected, I hope they fail. And, frankly, I think they will fail. If people in the middle — like me — get the impression that fear of black people is supposed to be the reason to vote for Romney, we're going to vote for Obama. That's the America I believe in. I think I'm right about that."
With all of the ample evidence of Obama's incompetence, of his lack of interest in even trying to perform in a serious way as president, measured against Mitt Romney's lifelong success in just essentially everything he has ever been involved in, this deplorable woman is ridiculed entirely justifiably by Rush Limbaugh and our host the Law Professor finally finds her excuse to vote for Barack Obama. Man, that is just fucking lame.
Isn't Rush's show primarily on radio?
And how can you regard Rush as a Romney supporter? Hasn't everything he's stirred in the last 9 months undermined Romney?
Look, Althouse.
Take a good look at this Butt Hurt Andy.
Spoiled brat fucking white kid who's playing out the scam that gays are "oppressed."
Take a good look at this jerk. Open your eyes.
So, no, it's not racial, Althouse.
Andy's in on the scam. The black woman in the video is in on the scam. That Fluke character is in on the scam.
How much of this shit can we afford?
Shouting Thomas said...
Look, Althouse.
Take a good look at this Butt Hurt Andy.
Spoiled brat fucking white kid who's playing out the scam that gays are "oppressed."
Take a good look at this jerk. Open your eyes.
I suspect that she is highly sympathetic to Andy S.; I don't think that helps, ST.
I saw the video link on Drudge yesterday. Did not hear Rush at all. That being said, I think I watched it 10 times in a row. I couldn't stop. There was something hypnotic about it (the visual adds a lot that probably didn't come across on the radio). I couldn't quite accept that it was a real person, not an actor. It was like a parody except it was real. Maybe it got to Rush, too. I don't know. I just have to say it really got to me. I made my husband watch it a few more times after that.
Question though - is Romney responsible for the content of Rush's show? in terms of Ann saying "you are losing me?"
"Racial fears," "fear of black people," WTF?
How is this different from e.g. one of Leno's recurring comedic shticks, asking ignorant people on the street (by and large white) to answer questions, making fools of themselves?
IMO because she is black, you infer racism. If you abstract from the fact that she is black, if she were white, would this clip not be just as compelling for Rush's purposes?
And probably more useful, because it would obviate the predictable race card, deployed by you in this case.
The postergirl for anti-Obama agitprop is Sandra Fluke and "Julia." Really racist, that.
Not to mention the more basic fallacy, Rush does not = Romney. OMG, understatement of the decade.
Or else I assume when you voted for Obama in 2008 you were voting for Wright and Ayers and MSNBC and Olbermann and any and all pro-Obama MSM memes.
I can understand this post as a piece of media critique, critique of Rush Limbaugh. Tying this in to your own 2012 vote, reasons to vote for or against Romney? IMO, this reveals you (or your reasons to vote for a POTUS) to be embarrassingly shallow-- much shallower than I think you actually are (since I respect Althouse).
Are you trying to rid your comments section of its last few intelligent, sensible people Althouse?
THIS is why I love Althouse.
You folks simply cannot come to grips with the fact that independents won't be manipulated by scum like Rush and will instead be turned off to the Party and candidate he endorses. How long will he be your hero, your spokesman?
Yup keep it up Rush, show independents what you are made of.
How much of this shit can we afford?
See, that's where the conversation should be. If Obama is reelected, it's not going to help the nation recover economically. I suspect Althouse is not sympathetic to that cause, sitting where she does.
Wow.. I'm blown away by this statement. Let me get this straight. There are 3 guys. 2 of them are running for President (Romney/Obama) and another has a radio show. Because you don't like what a guy on the radio does -- and if he does it again -- you're throwing your support to Obama who hasn't lived up to anything he promised.
I have a suggestion. Why don't you stop listening to Rush if he disgusts you. Did you hear Mitt Romney at the end of the clip each time Rush played it saying "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message?" Do you think Mitt Romney encouraged Rush to do this?
If Mitt Romney is responsible for everything on Rush Limbaugh, then is Obama responsible for everything said on MSNBC? While I intend to vote against Obama (and Romney will get my vote as a consequence), I am not voting against him based on the things said by Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and the rest of that crowd, only on the basis of the things he and people in his own administration have said and done.
"If people in the middle — like me — get the impression that fear of black people is supposed to be the reason to vote for Romney, we're going to vote for Obama."
I don't see where "fear" comes in. But the lady is what she is and she said what she said. She is a reason to vote for Romney only to the extent that she represents an extreme example of a fringe element of the population which is locked in for Obama. Some of that fringe is black and some is white. And that fringe element with its hard core entitlement mentality is a threat to the country's purse if it grows too large.
Some people just can't look at a black person and see anything except the black.
I should read something by Elspeth Reeve whose boyfriend or husband made up bogus stories about the Iraq War while she was employed at some far left librul mag which got the idiotor fired?
Inga, I've never listened to Limbaugh. Not once.
Inga moans: You folks simply cannot come to grips with the fact that independents won't be manipulated by scum like Rush and will instead be turned off to the Party and candidate he endorses. How long will he be your hero, your spokesman?
Geez, Inga, what about scum like the leg humper Chris Matthews? We're all free to tune into what we want. You're the only one here saying you want to ban certain people's speech.
And I don't give a crap who Althouse votes for- in her heart, she is an unreformed hippie as she has admitted unashamedly.
I'd say Althouse is the one eager to accept a stereotype, that one black represents all.
Rush seems the be the one able to distinguish.
Apparently nothing short of complete national suicide will wash away the racial sins of the past for some people.
Allie, you've always said that you're a liberal. Are you now claiming to be an "independent" or just speaking for them?
And lastly, I think Romney has made a decision he will win or lose this election by taking the high road. He won't lower himself to the level of a Harry Reid or an incompetent, lying President Obama.
Shouting Thomas said...
Inga, I've never listened to Limbaugh. Not once.
I think you're short-circuiting poor Inga's brain by denying her such cause and effect, ST. Limbaugh must be banned!
Inga, do you have any friends or family, or a job or a hobby or something? You've posted like 300 comments in the last 24 hours.
You're starting to make me reconsider this "free speech" thing.
Yes, Palladian, that is the problem.
Thank God, I'm going to be retired soon.
I'm a very resourceful man. No matter how hard the bureaucrats, schoolmarms and do gooders try to take over my life... I know how to defeat them and keep them out.
When I'm senile, the bastards can have the fucking body.
Answer this, Althouse.
How on Earth can you judge Romney's potential presidency by something you heard on the Rush Limbaugh Show?
Isn't there just a teensy bit more to the equation than that?
I'm beginning to understand how it was that you were able to pull the lever for Obama in 2008, and it isn't very flattering to your intellect.
Pardon me, but that's just BS. What Rush was doing was emphasizing the SNL quality that video has. It's freakin' hilarious and SHOULD be parodied (because it sounds like a JOKE) but won't because the liberal media won't play it AT ALL. Thus Rush did. To infer or imply that it was RACIST to play it is beyond ridiculous.
Sorry, prof. Can't agree with you on this one.
Every day, literally every.single.day I say to myself--
Well it started out- "no way America will be fooled by this guy again." Then it became "no way people are ACTUALLY going to vote to reelect this guy, are they?"
Now when someone supposedly as smart as Ann really is thinking about voting for obama I just started saying "oh shit."
As Samuel L said "wake the fuck up!"
If people in the middle — like me — get the impression that fear of black people is supposed to be the reason to vote for Romney, we're going to vote for Obama.
Gosh. If people in the middle - like you - are that easily swayed, then why campaign at all? Of course, if you were really so middling, I probably wouldn't read you.
I don't see it as racial, but as having a problem with this entitlement. It could've been a redneck with no teeth, and it'd have the same effect.
IMO
Chickelit, listen to him by all means, ESPECIALLY if what he says resonates with you, I'm not asking you not to listen to him for pity sake, I asking how long will Republicans and conservatives think he's the cats meow?
Obviously it doesn't resonate with a great many people and those people won't vote for who he endorses.
Althouse your lead statement assumes that you view Obama and Romney as at least very similar; that as you try to choose between the two you find some difficulty in distinguishing which one might make the better president. These two candidates are worlds apart, they may as well be different species, let alone different political parties. Yet you opine that the ever bombastic statements of Rush Limbaugh finally open your eyes to the difference in this election. You are not "people in the middle," you're in the most ivory of towers ever imagined.
You've still got forty days, maybe you can find some legitimate reason to vote for Obama; but pounding this sand up your readers asses?! I am stunned.
Decent people whose rational minds would reject explicit racial material can be emotionally manipulated. They get their fears stirred up.
Ann, who are these people so vulnerable to manipulation? Provide one example from real life, please. You don't have to give a name.
Is it possible fellow voters can weigh the issue of dependency without reducing it to racism? Just as you can?
Have you considered this post is laced with condescenion?
Give the voters a little credit, Ann. You're not as exceptional as you may think.
The woman in the video should be shipped out west and appointed the new sheriff of Rock Ridge.
By the way, Althouse, this woman is not meant to typify black people. Rush and the Republican Establishment mean for her to typify the 47%.
Besides, we good Republicans all know that the 47% are just a bunch of rustlers, cutthroats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperadoes, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, half-wits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswagglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass kickers, shit kickers – and Methodists.
Oh, I forgot one, perhaps the biggest one:
NI...
Oh shit, gotta go! The oven is starting to smoke, the roast chicken was done while I was writing this... I hope it ain't burnt! I hate the black bits.
You may say my sensitivity is set to high, but I'm saying that I believe the people with my level of sensitivity are much more likely to determine the outcome of the election.
You may be right, but anecdote isn't the singular of data.
How about this as a governing philosophy: no special considerations for anyone. No more checkboxes for race or sex on anything. You want to make a truly equal society, don't even allow names (because they can be powerful racial/sexual identifiers) on government forms, just SSNs.
I really want to live in a society where people don't vote for the guy who going to redistribute from some despised group to me. I happen to think this cycle that means voting for Romney, even if that's just voting for the lesser of two evils.
Palladian, mind your own damn business, what are you the blog marm now? You remind me of a fat little busybody, huffing and puffing because someone annoys you. I am retired and what I do with MY OWN time is none of your fucking business.
Oh, and God is in Human Resources. I actually believe that's probably true. 70% of his income is driven by those check boxes.
Ann Althouse said...
Here's a tip: Everyone votes emotionally..
So just fucking give up any idea that your brain is the boss.
I guess Althouse shouldn't listen to that recent Howard Stern bit with the Harlem voters who still think Osama is alive, Ryan is Obama's VP, and McCain/Palin are still running.
If she did she would finally shed the cruel neutrality and be firmly in the Obama camp.
I also have to assume that Alhouse's 2008 vote for Obama was an endorsement of Code Pink and the Socialist Party and Sullivan's anti-Palin hysteria and any and all appeals that might be interpreted as anti-semitic, right?
How is this woman that different from Sandra Fluke? They embody the same thing. They happen to be from different socio-economic classes and races. The critique is pretty much the same.
So Sandra Fluke is black, now?
fear of black people
Fear of black people? That's what that video raises in you? Fear of black people? It's about as scary as Al Jolson in black face.
You post intimates you are scared of black people and don't like anything that stirs up that fear. Maybe you need a few sessions with a therapist to manage that fear.
The video's about welfare hand outs and how it behooves politicians to hand out as much as they can in order to be re-elected. Vote for me, I'll give you a cell phone, free food, place to live, etc. Heck, you can vote for me 3 or 4 times, I'll cover for you.
That's the America I believe in. I think I'm right about that.
What's the America you believe in? The one where half live off the other half and then call them greedy and racist? The video's not good campaign material because it's quite predictable that people like you will get bent out of shape over it.
I take frequent walks through downtown Cincinnati during lunch time. I could shoot that video any day of the week. The main entrance of the public library seems to be a particularly good spot. Your lack of ability to maintain a rational, long term approach to politics and social problems is disturbing. Seems you "cruel neutrality" is just a facade and you're searching for a way to go the lefty way again, no matter how much damage it does. Yes, instead of killing the messenger, you'd rather destroy the country.
And Palladian you fat liitle slug, I'm sure I have far more friends and family than you, I am able to multitask beautifully you dope.
It is my fucking business when you give me carpal tunnel syndrome from scrolling past your endless nonsense.
You're allowed to jabber away, and I'm allowed to criticize you for it. It's a concept called free speech. I know you pretend you're not a fan of this freedom, but without it, someone would have stuffed a rag in your mouth a long time ago.
Pardon me, but that's just BS.
What Rush was doing was emphasizing the SNL quality that video has. It's freakin' hilarious and SHOULD be parodied (because it sounds like a joke, timing, voice and all) but won't because the liberal media won't play it AT ALL. Thus Rush did. To either infer or imply that it was RACIST to play it is beyond ridiculous.
Personally I was shocked by it the first time I heard it earlier in the day (not Rush) but the more I heard it, the more I realized what Rush was doing.
He's mocking the left Alinsky style, showing how they've become reductio ad absurdum, in their own voices.
This was not dissimilar to the women who screamed they were getting "Obama money" or the one who cried that if she was good to Obama, he'd pay her bills. They all HAPPEN to be Black, but WE all know it doesn't matter what color or gender you are when it comes to Obama's stimulus bucks.
Sorry, prof. Can't agree with you on this one.
"I saw the video link on Drudge yesterday. Did not hear Rush at all. That being said, I think I watched it 10 times in a row. I couldn't stop. There was something hypnotic about it (the visual adds a lot that probably didn't come across on the radio)."
That it was "hypnotic" supports my point. It's getting into you head by a special path that isn't well guarded by your normal, decent instincts.
"I couldn't quite accept that it was a real person, not an actor. It was like a parody except it was real. Maybe it got to Rush, too. I don't know. I just have to say it really got to me. I made my husband watch it a few more times after that."
That virality. Effective.
"Question though - is Romney responsible for the content of Rush's show? in terms of Ann saying "you are losing me?""
Romney needs to be out there in front, leading his own campaign, dominating the messaging. If he can't do that, how is he enough of a leader to be President?
I'm not holding him responsible for the way this video is making the rounds, but the resonance with his 47% remark is clear and therefore he needs to take control. If he can't do that, he is lost.
I am not rooting for him to lose.
I'm a genuinely undecided voter, watching and thinking these last few weeks. Show me something, Romney, or fail.
For some people, it's like picking on a small child or a helpless animal.
And Palladian I am allowed to call you fat little busy body, don't you have some bad art to sell or something?
DADvacate wrote...
What's the America you believe in?
Why must there be a fucking America to fucking believe in?
How about the facts, Monseuir?!
How about the America that really exists, not the America as we would like it to be.
The America that exists is broke. And mostly stupid. And brimming, sometimes overflowing, with violence and depression.
America makes a good iPhone. And has quite wonderful grocery stores.
I suggest you leave the "belief" for that which does not exist in the here and now. Like in God and all that... but, even for that, only if you want.
How do you attribute the video to Romney? All I saw was that this woman was captured at a street corner protest near a Romney event. I have no idea who shot the video, edited it, or posted it. I have considered the possibility that it was staged.
But where do you find a link to Romney, so that you can choose to vote against him based on the existence of this highly trafficked video clip? If that's all that it takes, then David Axelrod should stage more than one of these.
What's ugly is Blacks voting for Obama because he's Black.
Or Blacks (or anyone)voting for Obama because they think he 'gives' them things. That's ignorant and ugly.
Rush should put that in heavy rotation now until election day.
That woman is a classic Obama voter.
You don't want to vote for Romney because of something Rush does, fine. Go ahead.
You're not fooling ANYONE.
You're dying to vote for Obama. That way, you don't have to admit you were naive at best, and screwed up big time in 2008.
Romney needs to be out there in front, leading his own campaign, dominating the messaging. If he can't do that, how is he enough of a leader to be President?
Repeal anti-economic laws? Undo insane regulations? Get the law off of the neck of the economy?
The women's vote ought to be repealed.
"Why don't you stop listening to Rush if he disgusts you. Did you hear Mitt Romney at the end of the clip each time Rush played it saying "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message?" Do you think Mitt Romney encouraged Rush to do this?"
I monitor the show. I use it for blogging. I also read the NYT and expose myself to many things.
I tell you about my observations and thoughts. That's the blog. Make of it what you will.
Stick your head in the sand if you want. I am being honest, and I am genuinely an undecided voter in the middle. Basically, I dislike both parties. I don't trust them and both stand for many things I think are wrong.
What am I supposed to do? I blog about it.
I appreciate the readership and the participation in the comments, but this is, for me, a way of life I call living freely in writing.
I'm not pushing a political agenda. This is real, baby.
"Show me something, Romney, or fail."
It defaults to Obama. Does he have to show anything? Did he show anything in four years that makes him an acceptible president for another four?
If not, it should default to his opponent.
"If people in the middle — like me — get the impression that fear of black people is supposed to be the reason to vote for Romney, we're going to vote for Obama. That's the America I believe in. I think I'm right about that."
So irrational people like yourself, the people of "the middle" will vote for a man who is slowly destroying this country, because a radio host makes fun of a person who deserves to be made fun of.....then we are all doomed due to trite people with trite views.
I agree with the rational point the video is being used for, but I'm saying that there is another use, and it's ugly, and therefore it should be avoided.
I'm not sure I agree, but I'm willing to listen. Explain to me how your rule as applied in this case is anything other than "don't show african-americans unless they don't look bad."
I'm not willing to accept that we cannot show minorities being stupid anymore than a rule saying we can only show white people when they sound intelligent. Seems patronizing.
You are right that Romney needs to do more - much more - to win this election.
I suppose it would be misogynist to quote Althouse's post in support of repeal of women's suffrage.
Not all women are that bad, someone will say. Another will say that it gets into your brain past normal human defenses.
Not men's defenses. Logic prevails.
My Dear Lady it is so kind of you to prepare your excuses in advance for voting for your imaginary black boyfriend. It stands to reason that a Presidential candidate is responsible for what a radio comic puts on his airwaves.
I do notice that you do not hold young Barry responsible for the ranting of Whoopie Goldberg.
Perhaps you think she is Jewish?
Inga and Palladian need a beer summit.
I disagree with the assumptions you posted about my comment, Ann. The fact is - it was hypnotic to me because of the CONTENT - because it was a peek into a world I am an outsider to - the 47% "Everybody in Cleveland gots one, you on disability, you on SS, you on food stamp" = she rattled off the entitlements and stressed how EVERYBODY (presumably in her circle, not truly everybody nationally) has the free phone. This was a real person - a real Obama supporter, explaining her reasons why. Yes, it absolutely affected me emotionally - but because of the CONTENT, not for some mystical reason.
And I still see absolutely no reason you would ascribe any responsibility to a candidate for this. IF ANYTHING, I would ascribe responsibility to OBAMA for this - it is HIS fervent supporter.
Personally I would LOVE an ad by a PAC of this clip - no voiceover or narration, just the clip. But I guess a glimpse of that reality is a bit strong for some to stomach.
"I'm a genuinely undecided voter, watching and thinking these last few weeks. Show me something, Romney, or fail."
Do the last 4 years of Obama's presidency enter into this equation at all?
"Show me something or fail Romney."
That mey be the dumbest thing ever written by a smart person.
Do you view Obama as an unmitigated failure?
I'm not going to get into a back-and-forth with you, Inga, because it will just further clutter the blog with your idiotic bleating, and because I have pity on mentally deficient elderly women.
But I would like to say thanks for the reminder that I haven't mentioned my sketchbook website lately, where I frequently post drawings scanned from my sketchbooks, notebooks and preparatory materials for my larger-scale paintings and sculptures. I also sell reasonably-priced, high-quality prints of these drawings to help fund other work. Readers should feel free to send an inquiry if they're interested.
Perhaps, Inga, this is where I should remind you that it's been a while since you've reminded us that one of your offspring is in the US Armed Forces, as if your offspring's respectable decision to serve the country has anything to do with your sorry ass.
Now, back on topic.
Have you met Rush?
This is what he does.
You really have to WANT to find a reason to call raaassssiiiissstttt if you use Rush to do it.
Hello........He hates everyone equally!
That's why he's so good at what he does.
You don't have to like it, but you should be able to separate a radio personality from a contender for the presidency.
I think that this is probably the point that I take a six-week vacation from Althouse.
Actually America don't even make the iPhone. It's only designed here. Sorry for the overestimation-- bad habits are hard to break.
I think Althouse recognizes that the Romney train is held up at the Le Petomane Thruway tollbooth, and Mitt has decided to wait while someone heads back for a shitload of dimes.
Obama had a brilliant plan to save our country. History won't judge it as such, but, eh, he's got his lines in the script, and he knows his lines. All he's gotta do is follow it through to the grand climax at the Chinese Theater.
That it was "hypnotic" supports my point. It's getting into you head by a special path that isn't well guarded by your normal, decent instincts.
Hang on. Didn't you just get done telling us that this is the only way anything gets into our heads? (Bolstering the claim with pop "brain science", God help us?)
You're making even less sense here than you usually do on race issues. That's really saying something.
What Ann is really saying is she can't vote for a party that includes Rush Limbaugh the Vile Racist.
Are you kidding? Emotion? Racism? I heard it five times before I realized it was real! A part of me still thinks it might be fake! It sounds like Flip Wilson's Geraldine character. Repeated playing doesn't "stir up" anything. It just gets more and more ridiculous.
Palladian, then shut up and leave me alone. Sheesh what a little yenta you are.
What am I supposed to do?
LEAD, MEDAMNIT!
Seriously, dear Professor, you are the #1 law blogger, and you whine about your distaste for both parties and you don't know what to do.
LEAD!
You can either sit back and collect your comfy salary and live in your comfy house with your comfy husbandsman, or you can decide to go outside your fucking self-imposed mental box!
If you ain't gonna do it, considering all the advantages afforded to you by your station in life, then who will?
Abandon your support for the two parties.
And for the two party system.
Decide to vote for Gary Johnson.
And suggest your readership to vote for him too!
Palladian, too bad you are gay, otherwise you'd realize what a babe Olga is.
Oops, I mean Anya.
No, wait... it's... uh... Inga.
Yeah, that's it.
A glimpse of the real 47% is just too much for some people to handle.
Their delicate sensibilities are so upset.
I would wager that they would love to arrest Mr. Limbaugh on a parole violation of some sort.
Maybe in the second term where Barry will have more freedom of action.
White guilt is a powerful emotion. It drives people to do irrational things and to find oblique justifications for that irrationality.
It's hard to analyse yourself, but listening to others can give you a few clues.
Romney needs to be out there in front, leading his own campaign, dominating the messaging.
Well gee, I don't know. On the one hand, shortly after any Democrat dares to criticize Obama, we get a "hostage video" from them. We see what the MSM message discipline (with respect to Obama) is like. We saw what the Journolist and Attack Watch templates, etc. (re their paradigm of the relation between political power and public speech) entailed.
On the other hand, conservatives and Republicans, commenters and bloggers and pundits of all different stripes, offer a panoply of views and opinions with respect to Romney. Free speech.
But you think Obama "dominating" the messaging argues in favor of a vote for Obama. Wow, we sure are different and are looking for different things in our candidates.
Inga said...
Palladian, then shut up and leave me alone. Sheesh what a little yenta you are.
This is your eternal MO, Allie/Inga. You pop up here writing liberal inanities until someone gives in to the urge to slap you down, then you spend the rest of the thread, no matter how long, in high dudgeon. Take your medicine and don't waste our time.
This is amongst the worst blog postings I've ever read.
What is there to say? If you'd vote for four more disastrous years because of this video, then I've clearly given you too much credit for critical thinking.
The video lady sounds like a union person to me.
Tyrone, why don't you stay on subject, you've been manipulated by Palladian, ew.
You know, Althouse, your blog was at its best when you and hubby were out there with your video cameras documenting (and, via the simple act of documenting, challenging) the Wisconsin Capitol protests.
I miss that.
You are at your best when you get over your own passivity.
It seems to me that you just want a reason to vote for Obama. So, vote for him. But don't blame it on Rush, or pretend that you are taking a stand against racism. You're too good for that.
I wouldn't vote for Obama under any circumstances. Then again, I didn't vote for him in 2008. This video does disturb me. But it certainly doesn't make me "protective" of the president. I don't understand that at all.
I am not sure how it works - is it sort of like the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case??
I which someone who is judged repulsive or is alledged to commit a foul deed may only be endlessly mocked if they are white, "white hispanic", or Asian??
If you do it with a black....then you get 20 years of liberals and progressive Jews running the media screaming "Willie Horton"??
Only nonblack dirtballs should be a blanket media saturation bombing attack? Otherwise - it is RAAAACIST????
We are supposed to pretend that there are no repulsive, dirt-ignorant welfare mootches dripping with an absolute belief in entitlement??
Prof. Althouse,
On Rush's program, race is invisible. Does it matter whether this woman is white, black, or gamboge with purple spots?
Decent people whose rational minds would reject explicit racial material can be emotionally manipulated. They get their fears stirred up.
Their "fears" of what? Loud voices touting new "Obama" cell phones? Please, Prof. Althouse, do explain what we are to fear from the lady in the video. And why she's apparently scary even in audio.
Tyrone don't stoop to her level.
Focus on the fact that once again the proprietor of this blog has shown her true colors.
That of a dyed in the wool affirmative action loving liberal white guilt tripping femi-nazi.
Fine for amusement purposes and the hilarity of an overwhelming pompous self regard.
But once in a while the mask slips and you see what is what.
The woman in the tape was HIRED by the SEIU to protest at a Romney event.
The wonderful, liberal Dems, who so eschew crass worldly goods have so little grassroots enthusiasm that they have to hire people to protest their opponent. And apparently this is the sort of person that they choose to represent them.
I mean, it's hard to blame a politician for some of his followers being idiots, but the SEIU, a huge leftist organization and one of Obama's primary backers long before he was in the WH, decided to spend their members' dues to hire this woman as part of their public face. And of course, all that poor judgment on the part of the SEIU makes Rush, and by extension Romney (who, to my knowledge, has never appeared with Rush, a racist). Right
Of course Obama can get public hugs from Louis Farakahn, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, racists and Jew-haters all, but that only makes Obama a cool, cerebral post-racialist. Nice.
If it's racist to show a black woman saying something ridiculous, isn't it also sexist? If any criticism of any black person is racist, then isn't criticism of any woman sexist?
The answer to both is no, this is bullshit. She said what she said.
This is amongst the worst blog postings I've ever read.
You don't see many blogs.
So, white people doing penance over racism is the most important issue facing us.
You guys got that?
Romney needs to be out there in front, leading his own campaign, dominating the messaging. If he can't do that, how is he enough of a leader to be President?
You're saying Obama's can do that and he's good enough to be our president? Bwahahahahahaha! Epic fail.
If your thought upon watching that video is "this is saying all black people are like this", you might be the one with some racist baggage to deal with. :)
AA: Look, those of you who don't see the racial problem are already probably going to vote for Romney.
Your capacity for noticing "racial problems" appears to be remarkably one-sided.
For Romney to win, he has to influence people in the middle who are sensitive to this kind of racial ugliness.
Just how overt does the Dems' race-hustling and racism have to get before these sensitive types start getting offended by it? You can't influence people who have their heads as far up their butts about race that they...well, what you've just done here.
It's one thing to say, "I think that's racist. Nobody should campaign like that." It's another to indulge in this kind of Pavlovian pearl-clutching, oblivious to the "racial ugliness" oozing out of the party you seem to think holds some moral high ground on the race thing. Good fucking grief.
The first chapter of Ann Coulter's new book, Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama, can be read for free online.
It's a great summary of the white guilt scam played by liberals, and Althouse is a liberal. Not a far left liberal, but a liberal nonetheless.
And, the "racism" panic gets her where she lives. She lives and works in academia.
Prof. Althouse,
I agree with the rational point the video is being used for, but I'm saying that there is another use, and it's ugly, and therefore it should be avoided.
In other words, if you're Black and your teeth aren't so great, and you have something of a hectoring rhetorical style, allowing you airtime is obviously racist. You ought to be protected from yourself, and better-spoken people with lighter skin and intact teeth ought to be deputed to make your case in your stead.
" I am being honest, and I am genuinely an undecided voter in the middle. Basically, I dislike both parties. I don't trust them and both stand for many things I think are wrong."
With all do respect you lack the ability for critical thinking...your thought process is that of a 12 year old. It's all about how you "feel" at the moment. I doubt you could mount an effective argument for or against either party...you can't get from point A to point B.
Evidence: "Look a Black person spewing idiotic ddrivel"...your cogent response: "Racist to mention it"...some thinking dunce'
What's racist about pointing out facts? Why aren't these cell phones used only for their intended purpose, of being able to call emergency services?
Blacks as a demographic are more likely to be as this woman is. That is, someone living off of society. I don't blame blacks, I blame the system that allows it. I pity blacks like this woman who have fallen so far in human dignity. Furthermore, I blame the Democrat liberals who created the system, going back to the man in the house rule.
The simple problem is obvious. People need to work for their bread, unless they really can't. The Egyptians built pyramids. Sailors at sea used to swab the decks. Giving stuff with nothing in return has been a disaster, and is one of the things taking this country down.
Help Blacks, as a group, regain their dignity. Self worth can never be had by taking handouts. It can only be had with an exchange. It's part of Human Nature. And by God, if Democrats keep doing this, I'm going to vote for Romney.
This seems par for the course for Crusty. What's different about this racial segment I wonder?
You're undecided Ann??? Are you kidding me? You don't know which course for America you want, at this stage?
The choice could not be more clear.
A. Perhaps our last chance to pull back from the cliff, and work to get back the America of 50-60 years ago. Of free enterprise and individual citizen responsibility.
B. Greece/Spain/Europe for our kids.
And about that Obama-Phone woman.
Get off your obsession with her being Black. That's only one part of what she represents.
Here's more.
1.Serious ignorance, yet her vote (assuming she votes only once) = your resonably informed one
2. Pure Emotion. Reason shut off long ago.
3. Greed (give me)combined with sloth (for nothing).
4. Political whore-dom - she was paid by SEIU (or someone) and bused in for the protest.
5. Anger
6. And nothing but ad hominum when asked about Romney.
She's target rich. Way more than just Black.
She's a classic Obama supporter.
People chose to be outraged and usually want to be.
Your post is incivility bullshit.
I agree that playing it once isn't racist. But selecting it and highlighting and making it go over and over is really quite miserable. It's disgusting.
It's not a good representation of what Romney is.
Since this was the Rush Limbaugh program, I'd assume it's a representation of what Rush Limbaugh is. I don't see that it's a representation of what Mitt Romney is at all. Unless Mitt Romney is responsible for everything that Rush Limbaugh puts on his program. I suppose that's possible, but it would likely be news to both Romney and Limbaugh. In fact, I'm reasonably certain that Romney has larger issues to deal with than being Limbaugh's producer/program director.
The fan boys grow restless.
You must realize that this is the subtext of every post here.
Racism. Sexism. Homophobia. That is the only thing you need to concern yourself with here.
Financial collapse. Nationalizing industries. Destroying the financial future for your grandchildren. The murder of our ambassadors by fanatics to whom we should apologize and kowtow to endlessly. The immolation of Israel by a rouge state developing nuclear weapons. Wiretapping and providing guns to drug gangs in Mexico.
Don't think about that.
Worry about what a radio personality has to say.
Romney losses Althouse because Rush plays an audio of a person that says "Romney sucks" because Obama gave her a free phone.
Personally, I paid more attention to the lady's basing her support on who gave her the most swag. I think that says something about the content of the lady's character. Why Althouse, are you judging her based on the color of her skin?
Discussing the discussion of crack whores cum protest whores is booooorrriiinnnggg.
It seems like this post is just a vehicle for Althouse to work through her personal issues of political disappointment.
Have a drink, Althouse. Make it a tall one. And make it as only a start...
I'm a genuinely undecided voter,
Now, that's just plain pathetic. Despite all the evidence regarding the economy, civil rights abuses, crooked cronyism, drones, DOJ abuses, etc, etc and you're still undecided? Easily the worst president in your lifetime, and you're still undecided?
My father was a college professor and he never could see the truth clearly. Always a bunch of intellectual bullshit in the way. My sister's an attorney. She can't see the truth either. Always analyzing and looking for an angle the way lawyers do. Put the two together, the odds of seeing the truth goes way down. That's what so amazing about Glenn Reynolds, the son of an extremely liberal religious studies professor. Despite his upbringing, he sees quite clearly and doesn't get muddied up in bullshit.
BTW - I listen to Limbaugh about 38 minutes a year and don't assume he speaks for anyone other than himself. "Expanding" your mind does you no good if you can't properly process the input.
Guilt by association..
Oh Inga is here again! Oh goody--more nonsensical crapola--just what I needed to make my day.
Now Ms. Althouse--as for you--you're going to get your tighty whities in a knot over some piece of nonsense that El Rushbo is playing--and your answer is to go vote for Obama?
That makes you a two time loser. You voted for the Bamster in 2008, and after 4 years of rack and ruin in the general economy, you're going to vote for him again?
And it's not because of his record, or because Romney is a bad guy--but because you're ticked off at Limbaugh?
In one of your law students offered such a twisted rationale for a decision, you'd give him a D minus.
I don't care who you vote for---your're a citizen--like Inga--and even morons have a vote.
Just don't fool yourself as to what you're doing and why. Have some self respect, and don't bullshit your self.
I believe the people with my level of sensitivity are much more likely to determine the outcome of the election.
You are losing me.
Of course you believe that. You need to feel like the power is in your hands at the ballot box. You have to, it's the only way to knock back the pain of cognitive dissonance that you feel for your colossal mistake of saddling this Republic with Barack Fucking Obama in the first place.
Because of people like you, WE are losing this country. Who gives a shit about YOU in the long run? Barack Obama?
If you think Barack Obama is preferable in any way, by any measure, to Mitt Romney: in this country, at this time, with Obama's failed record... you are an idiot. That is a fact.
Try looking at it this way:
How much worse can it get with Romney at the helm?
How much better can it get with Obama with another four years?
Stop trying to find a way to vote for your boyfriend. He's really not that into you.
the economy, civil rights abuses, crooked cronyism, drones, DOJ abuses...
Seriously? Only "the economy" is something that Romney will even try to do anything differently about than Obama. The other things you list will go exactly as with Obama, if not worse.
And Romney won't be able to do anything marginally effectual about the economy without a Republican Congress.
Romney needs to be out there in front, leading his own campaign, dominating the messaging. If he can't do that, how is he enough of a leader to be President?
How the f*ck does it matter what he does? If he says something smart, it's not reported. If he makes a silly joke, then he's a moron who doesn't know how an airplane works. If he says nothing, then the MFM will make up a story about how Paul Ryan calls him "Stench". It used to be that the media acted as a biased ref - making bad calls to hurt the GOP and help the Dems. Now they have dispensed with that pretense and are just trying to sack Romney.
If this strategy works and Obama is reelected, expect millions of conservative small businessfolk to find ways of going Galt ASAP.
I don't care what your reason is. If you utilize reason, you simply cannot vote for Obama under any circumstances. Our ambassador was sodimized, murdered and then dragged through the streets like some trophy and Obama calls it a bump in the road. A president would have sent a Marine Brigade.
Wonder if Romney will be asked about the video in the first debate next week? If so, let’s hope for Althouse’s sake he’s caught off guard and not on top of it. Otherwise, such a lovely excuse for not voting for him gone, just like that.
Garage, what the hell happened to your avatar. I think you should bring the cow back.
...sodimized, murdered and then dragged through the streets like some trophy and Obama calls it a bump in the road...
And Republicans would call it an "enhanced interrogation".
The Obamaphone woman has gone viral. Is it racist to listen to a stupid black woman screech about her free phone? Is it racist to know that that program, however heartfelt its intent, has been abused and costs over a villion dollars a year?
No, lets talk about Rush Limbaugh instead and the fact that if we talk about it it becomes racist and turns off women who forty days before the election have not made up their minds on how they are going to vote.
Forget the 16 trillion in debt. Forget the 8 percent unemployment. Forget that we are going on four years without a budget. Forget that our foreign policy is in shambles. Forget about the drones. Forget about the flagrant attempts to squelch free speech. Forget everything except the frail sensitivities of those like the professor who are "in the middle."
And somehow a tenured professor in whitebread Wisconsin believes that the screeching woman, oft repeated, will make us afraid of black people.
Borderline pathetic.
Older white guys do not generally understand how offensive much of the rest of the world finds Rush. I often listen to him in the car and my wife and grown sons find him genuinely offensive. I'm the right demographic and while I find his politics largely nuts I often find him pretty funny. The majority of people don't find him so benign. His show is a pretty relentless mix of racism and sexism, dressed up nicely in some humor, but you can only polish a turd so much.
Sometimes the truth hurts.
Seeing the real 47% is too much for your lying eyes. Not vets. Not school teachers. Not retired seniors. Not the ones who are put out in front by the Obama campaign commericals or the lapdog press.
The true base of the Democratic party and the diehard Obama voters.
The truth can set you free.
By the way, I don't myself listen to Limbaugh, but I gather that the highlight of his show today, which Rush spotlighted and underlined and gave time to, was a black (ex-Dem) caller setting the story straight (as a witness) on that Romney/ Ryan rally and the doctored audio on MSNBC.
But sure, Rush is a racist. /:
More: whatever Rush himself is (or says on any particular show), that reflects directly on Romney. ('Cause Rush was a big Romney supporter throughout the primaries, right?) Because Romney controls (or ought to control) and is responsible for (or ought to be responsible for) whatever Rush Limbaugh, private citizen and radio personality, might say. And whatever Rush might say on a particular show is relevant to whether one should vote for Romney or Obama.
OMG, such BULLSHIT.
Oh ye of little faith, you tell our hostess she needs to "have some self respect" and "quit fooling" herself. You don't see that's just EXACTLY what she has done in this post? She's being honest and you all simply can't deal with her thinking differently than yourselves, then expressing herself on HER OWN blog. If I were her I'd tell y'all to kiss my ass.
Michael, that was beautiful.
Godasshole.
And Republicans would call it an "enhanced interrogation".
No. No they would not. You consider this pithy? Sick fuck.
What matters most is actions, not potential fears some might have.
Obama's Justice Department has acted like a bunch of racists.
If you don't know that to which I refer, educate yourself on this racist administration. It is difficult, but so is being American.
The truth can set you free.
So can a real estate agent in a nice country like Costa Rica.
For Romney to win, he has to influence people in the middle who are sensitive to this kind of racial ugliness.
If insensitive/Romney is on one side, and "sensitive to this kind of racial ugliness" is in the middle, what the heck's the OTHER side? :)
The first time I heard the rant, I didn't know what race the person was and for that matter, what sex. Her voice was horrible.
I think it's racist for a person listening to the radio and all of a sudden assume it's a black person talking when they talk about an Obama phone.
This must have been a phantom post because the real Ann Althouse just cannot be that stupid or racist.
Show me something ROMNEY????!!!!! As if his proven track record of past achievements hasn't shown proof of ANY qualifications?? Was their EVER a LESS qualified
candidate than Obama? And has there EVER been a President who has foisted off worse policies on this nation than Obama? Look around you Ann, the proof is in the proverbial pudding. By ANY classical standards of performance measurement Obama has been a classic FAIL--economic, foreign policy, regulatory overreach, smothering red-tape, the attempted destruction of the energy sector, rising food prices due to ethanol, the gutting of the armed services at a time when both China and Russia are bringing new modern forces into being at an ever-accelerating rate? You name it, by ANY metric this nation is on the wrong trajectory. And re-electing the guy who has steered the ship-of-state towards the rocky shoals is going to IMPROVE things when Obama has promised (in his own words, by-the-by) to increase the speed of the ship-of-state WITHOUT changing course?? Ann, a blank wall could NOT possibly do worse--at least it would stand pat--wouldn't crank up the engine to flank speed so that when the Republic hits the rocks total destruction won't ensue.
Ann, for you to even fix your lips to suggest that it is Romney's place to "show you something" despite his obvious track record as opposed to Obama's record of failure takes a Lake Superior-sized vessel of unmitigated gall!
ANY excuse for our gal Ann, I suppose. "Cruel neutrality" indeed! Don't kid the troops, kidley. You may think you're successfully hyping the natives with your rationalizations, but you're only fooling yourself with the most obvious of sophistry..
" I'm saying that I believe the people with my level of sensitivity are much more likely to determine the outcome of the election.
You are losing me."
We knew that a couple of months ago. It just doesn't seem to matter to you that the economy is collapsing, once he no longer has to face voters, Obama will shut down energy production until the rump economy that survives his regulations collapses. Life will become nasty, brutish and short. Wisconsin might be a bit too cold in winter with no energy production but it's OK. You can afford to move south.
Hatboy will have fun trying to explain his homosexual career to the imams when they take over. We now are starting to get evidence , like Valerie Jarret's father-in-law, that Arabs funded Obama's education. It seems to have been money well spent.
My optimism about Romney is weakening although the debates will give him one chance to break through the media blanket that protects Obama from any criticism. We have the worst loss of aircraft since Vietnam a week ago and there is NO MENTION of it on the news.
It's nice to be 75 and know I won't last long enough to see the collapse of Medicare and Social Security. If I'm lucky. I was on the phone to my youngest daughter who is having some trouble with her manager. I just hope she can get out of the country before the collapse. Her manager yelled at her because she wants to go to mass on Sunday morning. I told her to be conciliatory and go to an earlier mass. Then she can bartend.
Three of my other four kids voted for Obama. They can learn what they wanted. as HL Mencken said - "hot and hard."
You are making excuses for your emotional reaction to reality. I have another book for you. This one. You may get a chance to see it again up close and personal.
"Are you trying to rid your comments section of its last few intelligent, sensible people Althouse?"
I really like the posts where I think Althouse has gone off the rails. That's what I look forward to. It never occurred to me that cons would be repelled by such. I guess I'm too dumb and senseless to grasp such disgust of opposing views.
Hey Ann,
So you want four more years of Obama? You really think that's gonna help America?
So go ahead and don't vote rationally. And don't be shocked if one day your employer does not give YOU the pink slip as the economy goes to hell, and any negative thing you say about Obama becomes a hate crime.
Like a typical white person, most white people just want to help Obama.
Obama, a smart man, knows this and uses it.
This doesn't make Obama a bad person.
Calling white cops "stupid" by saying he or they acted "stupidly" when that is pure Presidential speculation doesn't make Obama a good person though, it makes him racist.
I'm feeling a lot of love here.
@Michael -
No. No they would not. You consider this pithy? Sick fuck.
...said the man who approved of the last Republican president having naked hooded guys stand on crates with electrodes attached to their testicles to have their picture taken.
I think Jay-Z says better what Althouse wants to say, despite being for smaller goverment:
'I support Barack because I gotta respect that sort of vision. I gotta respect a man who is the first black President ever,' he said. 'To have that sort of vision and dream, I have to support that.'
I agree that there is no good reason to impute racist motives to playing this clip. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who really want to be able to vote Democrat but have been driving themselves crazy because they know that Obama is not a good president. An incident like this can give them the excuse they need to return to their emotional home so they can self-righteously punish the evil Rebublican, and that is much more important than good government.
I listen to Rush on occasion. I rarely listen to an entire show. I usually listen if I happen to be in the car.
I missed the show today.
Anyway, Rush has his good days where he is right-on, and Rush has his bad days. Nothing new under the sun. Sometime I listen to his words and I think "Rush - this is not helpful."
I appreciate Rush because he brings a tiny amount of balance to an unbelievably over-the-top biased mainstream press. But, Rush isn't an always an intellectual fire-power. He isn’t very self aware or PC.
Rush's sidekick happens to be black (Bo Snerdly) and I really don’t think Rush is a racist.
If you want intelligent intellectual discussion of political events, I recommend Hugh Hewitt.
Its like that one guy that booed at the GOP debate last September when a gay soldier was speaking...
The narrative after was everybody booed.
Same here.. somebody makes a video.. and suddenly its blamed for killing the GOP?
Didn't Obama just get caught making shit up similar to this?
And the right is reactionary?
A lot of great comments on this post that I think/hope/pray will manifest themselves as votes in November!
"Prof" althouse truly represents what we are up against...rational thinking is no longer possible for large parts of America. IMAGINE trying to talk sense to the video phone lady! Only diff between her and althouse is the latter has a fat government job, and fashins herself a discerning thoughtful and smart voter...she's just the opposite ...but her vote will count just the same :(
If anyone wants a better reason to object to Rush's use of this clip, they might try the big-shot-beating-up-on-ordinary-person angle. It always bugs me when Chris Christie does that too.
With the help of people like you Ann, this country is on a path of destruction. Yet, you are willing to vote to continue on this path to placate your white guilt.
There are bigger issues to think about besides the "racial tone" of this country. If anything, Obama being president was a setback for racial relations.
God. You have no idea of my opinion on the topic of torture or the photos at AG you sick fuck. Bugger off.
How many people in the middle listen to Rush? I am as right wing as they come and I don't listen to him. Do I agree with him most of time? Yes I bet I do. But I don't enjoy his schtick.
I can't believe anyone who is on the fence politically would spend 5 minutes listening to Rush, Hannity, Levin, etc. The people who listen to those shows are partisan people who've decided Romney or Obama already. You are a party of one on that one.
And I will agree with those who said that if this is what swings you to vote for Obama again, I would say you have your eyes closed to what is happening in this country.
Older white guys do not generally understand how offensive much of the rest of the world finds Rush
What boggles my mind is how the people who are so deeply offended by Rush Limbaugh keep somehow accidentally hearing him anyway.
I don't think I've heard more than five total minutes of Limbaugh in twenty years. He's on talk radio, for pity's sake. It isn't hard to avoid. It isn't like they make you listen to it in airports like they do with CNN's talking head shows.
So Althouse is looking for a reason and a rationalization to vote for Obama this time around and her favorite Rush is forcing her toward that choice. OK, then vote for Obama.
Romney and his supporters are so irrelevant this time around, this election has to be all about defeating the corrupt media by defeating Obama.
"If people in the middle — like me — get the impression that fear of black people is supposed to be the reason to vote for Romney, we're going to vote for Obama. That's the America I believe in."
"get the impression"
Are you sure its safe to haul that much manure on a single axle?
"I guess I'm too dumb and senseless to grasp such disgust of opposing views."
Althouse might announce that she's voting based on the color of a candidate's tie. That would be in a similar class of "opposing views."
Inga, you're right back to ass kissing again tonight.
If there's an orgy in your town, you probably should have a few drinks and go.
Ann, you read into Rush’s repeated playing of that clip and see racial incitement, and you let it sway you away from voting for Romney. But, Biden’s “chains” comments in Danville, Va., doesn't influence you in anyway. One from a radio talk host (which I don’t see), and one from the Vice President, Huh?
NotquiteunBuckley said...
Calling white cops "stupid" by saying he or they acted "stupidly" when that is pure Presidential speculation doesn't make Obama a good person though, it makes him racist.
The problem here is that they were stupid, fucking stupid. They arrested a man in his own house. No charges were ever brought against him, for obvious reasons.
I don't have any hard feelings toward this woman. She hasn't done anything morally wrong. She's made a rational choice to sell her vote in return for "free" stuff paid for by other people. Her education has very likely been sub-par. Her career opportunities and life choices stunted by low expectations. This is the type of citizen our government has chosen to create, and the people who buy the votes use their power to make it more and more difficult to do things any other way.
We are allowed to be rational, too. Is this a sustainable model for society? A wise use of our resources? Do you like this outcome? If you don't like it, then stop it. There's nothing to feel guilty about.
I don't believe for an instant Ann is still undecided, but she heard this, misinterpreted it (IMHO), and now wants to warn the Romster he is about to make a grave mistake.
Frankly, I think most independents don't give a damn about the ObamaPhone woman and how Rush uses her tape. They're concerned about jobs and inflation and how they and their kids are going to live.
That said, this vid is no different from the one of the woman 4 years ago crowing how Zero was going to pay her mortgage. She was black, too, but we heard none of this. Hell, stories like this have been part of political life in this country for better than 50 years.
There was a story of a woman in St Louis some years ago who was out partying with her latest boyfriend instead of being home with her 14 illegitimate children. Had she been so, she might have saved the 11 who died in the house fire. And the talk show host (Irv Homer) kept repeating, "And you wonder why there's a Moral Majority?".
Andy R. said...
The problem for the modern Republican Party is that proper race-baiting requires adequate amounts of skill and nuance and subtlety and tact and intelligence and perception and the modern Republican Party is lacking in all of those things.
Yes, nobody race baits like the Democrats. After all they've had nearly 200 years' practice.
Palladian said...
Inga, do you have any friends or family, or a job or a hobby or something? You've posted like 300 comments in the last 24 hours
As I say, he/she/it is a sockpuppet manned by different people at different times.
God, An Original A-hole said...
By the way, Althouse, this woman is not meant to typify black people. Rush and the Republican Establishment mean for her to typify the 47%.
For once, idiot boy gets it right.
It's a shame black people in America had to undergo so much suffering and mistreatment just to give some white people can an opportunity to feel morally superior to other white people.
Romney is a nice man and he is paying for everyone's sins right now. Including Obama's.
Bill Maher is both anti-Christian and massively chauvinistic and demeaning towards women. He also makes all kinds of racial statements which would be taken as racist were he a conservative. He has his own who on HBO.
And he recently gave $1,000,000 to a pro-Obama PAC.
Does that lose you?
How racist is it?
I reject the premise. It is not a question of "how racist", but "is it racist at all". Classic Lib move. BTW, check out ol' Elspeth's history...remember her soul-mate, Scott Beauchamp, the fake soldier?
So, if Rush played it one time, it was educational and informative, twice was making a point...but the more he played it, the more he thought his race superior to hers? Odd, that.
Repeated PLAYS of the video caused racial fears to stir up? In whom, exactly? What are we supposed to fear from an ignorant social parasite?
Any evidence to support the claim of "racial fear stirring", other than the feelings of a whiter-than-white Wisconsin law prof and Elspeth Reeve, concubine to a lying faux soldier?
Are you sure it wasn't repeated LISTENS that caused your own latent racism to surface? The woman apparently got Blacker the more you listened. How was that possible if it did not occur inside your own head and heart?
"Here's a tip: Everyone votes emotionally."
Bullshit. Some of us are intelligent enough to consider rationally actual ISSUES like the economy and foreign policy and vote accordingly.
"If people in the middle — like me — get the impression that fear of black people is supposed to be the reason to vote for Romney, we're going to vote for Obama. That's the America I believe in. I think I'm right about that."
People who are that easily manipulated by a media personality really should consider whether they ought to vote at all.
I DID listen to most of Rush's show yesterday. What's more important to any thinking person is not how many times he played the clip, but how entitled, uninformed, and idiotic that woman was. Her color was completely irrelevant. Especially since you can't SEE color on the radio.
I'm not pushing a political agenda. This is real, baby.
B.S.
You are a $160,000 college professor in the middle of Madison, WI.
Reality may strike you when the education bubble bursts, but probably not, since your retirement is probably already locked in. You will have a front seat to observe it though.
I'm a genuinely undecided voter, watching and thinking these last few weeks.
Bill Maher, of all people, had a pretty good response to "undecided" voters last week:
If you’re one of the 5 percent of American voters who are still undecided on who to vote for, it’s ok to admit you just don’t give a shit. Really, if at this point you still can’t figure out who you like more, Mitt Romney or Barack Obama — stay home, because you probably couldn’t find your polling place anyway. I mean, what more information does someone need to make this choice? Obama has been president for nearly four years, and Mitt Romney has been running for president since 1971, when his space egg incubated, and he burst out of an astronaut’s chest."
If anyone wants a better reason to object to Rush's use of this clip, they might try the big-shot-beating-up-on-ordinary-person angle. It always bugs me when Chris Christie does that too.
I can see that.
Ann, you are an undecided voter? Waiting for Romney to "show you something"? Good Grief. If you cant see what Obama is and a "syphyllitic camel" would be better then him, you are not undecided, you are a Democrat. Face it.
At this point we can only conclude that Althouse is racist. She may not realize it herself and may not understand it and certainly won’t admit it, but her comments prove conclusively that she’s a racist. Because, you see, Limbaugh never referred to the woman’s race. Althouse is unloading her own attribution of blackness onto this woman, is appalled that this is what has happened to a class of people - which she colors black - and like any self-admiring Liberal transfers her racist attitude to Limbaugh. If this woman were white, there is no question that Limbaugh would play the tape over and over again because of what it says about a freeloader society. Remember Sandra Fluke? Althouse is the one that made it about race, not Limbaugh. Althouse is the racist, not Limbaugh. Please Ann, vote for Obama again, he heads the party of racism.
I didn't listen today.
How many times did Rush play the audio?
Thank you Tom Spaulding for a cogent response to Althouse. Very well stated.
Please go to the link http://obamaphone.net/ and read what is there. This is not a parody - this is a place to apply for a free cell phone. 35% of the population is eligible according to the site. If you get food stamps or free school lunches you qualify. If it doesn't make you want to vote for Romney, maybe even give him money, there is something wrong with you.
I'm not pushing a political agenda. This is real, baby.
B.S.
You are a $160,000 college professor in the middle of Madison, WI.
Reality may strike you when the education bubble bursts, but probably not, since your retirement is probably already locked in. You will have a front seat to observe it though.
Ann Althouse wrote:
Here's a tip: Everyone votes emotionally. Your idea that you are completely rational is itself emotional.
I thought I'd never read something so indefensible from Althouse, but here it is. I must reluctantly call bullshit on our gracious hostess.
Althouse admits she votes emotionally (the worst reason do anything) and wants to project her defect onto everyone else. Wretches love company, do they not?
I did hear Rush's program today, but I did see the "Obama gave me a cell phone" video. I interpreted it as either someone whose vote is for sale (cheaply I might add), or as someone who conceives democracy to be a system to convey riches from the earning class (almost a minority now) to the taking class. Either way the attitude on display is fatal to democracy. Instead of reading that twaddle Althouse linked to (I notice she has since edited her original comment for content since I began to compose my reply) please read this. You will never spend a more worthwhile 99 cents.
Ann,
So let me get this right. It's okay to show a black woman acting stupidly entitled once, but if we keep showing it, then it magically becomes racist. No, what's racist is the notion that we mustn't ever pull back the curtain on pathologies in an anointed identity group.
Let me ask you, have you ever watched Hardcore Pawn on Tru-TV? It's about a big pawn shop in Detroit where some people go to act the fool. According to a manager at the store, there's some stuff that that is so appalling they simply won't let it on the air.
Hardcore Pawn is a knock off of the History Channel's Pawn Stars (see a pattern?), that show is about a high end pawn shop in Vegas. In Vegas when they tell someone their family's keepsake is a fake, they're disappointed. On Hardcore Pawn, when they tell a customer that her "thousand dollar gold necklace" is a fake, she still want's the "thousand dollars motherfucker."
I suppose when black folks threaten to "go ethnic on his ass" polite folks are supposed to look away from the entitlement and racialist attitudes gripping some blacks and that if we don't look away, we're the racists.
I think what really troubles you, Ann, is that watching the video brings up uncomfortable feelings about black America and that rather than address those feelings you'd rather digress and divert by blaming the messenger.
It's not like this was an actress in black face. No, this is the unvarnished view of exactly that part of America that thinks they're entitled to free stuff because they're victims.
The problem with Mitt Romney's 47% remark is the same problem with Rush Limbaugh running this video. It's that they are too close to the truth for polite society.
Look away! Look away! If we pay no attention to the problem it will go away.
Post a Comment