It's the Stupidity, Economists

[deacon blues]

A brilliant op-ed from Mark Steyn about the racist charges by pasty white liberals during this election. It's funny but it's also spot on.

American racism is starting to remind me of American alcoholism. At the founding of the republic, in the days when beer was thought of as "liquid bread" and a healthy nutritional breakfast, Americans drank about three-to-four times as much as they do now. Today the United States has a lower per capita rate of alcohol consumption than almost any other developed nation, but it has more alcoholism support groups than any other developed nation – around 164 groups per million people. France, which drinks about 50 percent more per capita than America, has one-twentieth the number of support groups. The French and Italians enjoy drinking, the English and Irish enjoy getting drunk, and Americans enjoy getting drunk on ever more absurd stigmatizatory excess. At Walmart they card you if you "appear to be under" – what is it up to now? 43? 57? And the citizenry take this as a compliment: Well-preserved grandmothers return from failed attempts to purchase a bottle of wine with gay cries of, "I was carded at Costco! They've made my weekend!"

And so it goes with American racism: The less there is, the more extravagantly the racism-awareness lobby patrols its beat. The Walmart carding clerks of the media are ever more alert to those who "appear to be" racist. On MSNBC, Chris Matthews declared this week that Republicans use "Chicago" as a racist code word. Not to be outdone, his colleague Lawrence O'Donnell pronounced "golf" a racist code word. When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell observed that Obama was "working to earn a spot on the PGA tour," O'Donnell brilliantly perceived that subliminally associating Obama with golf is racist, because the word "golf" is subliminally associated with "Tiger Woods," and the word "Tiger" is not-so-subliminally associated with cocktail waitress Jamie Grubbs, nightclub hostess Rachel Uchitel, lingerie model Jamie Jungers, former porn star Holly Sampson, etc, etc. So by using the word "golf" you're sending a racist dog whistle that Obama is a sex addict who reverses over fire hydrants

While we're on the subject of GOP white supremacists, former Secretary of State Condi Rice spoke movingly of her rise to the top from a childhood in segregated Birmingham, Ala. But everyone knows that's just more Republican racist dog-whistling for "when's Bull Connor gonna whistle up those dogs and get me off stage?" Meanwhile, over at The Huffington Post, Geoffrey Dunn, author of "The Lies Of Sarah Palin" (St. Martin's Press, 2011, in case you missed it), was scoffing at Clint Eastwood's star turn at the convention – "better known as the Gathering of Pasty White People," added Mr. Dunn, demonstrating the stylistic panache that set a-flutter the hearts of so many St. Martin's Press commissioning editors. Warming to his theme, Mr. Dunn noted that Clint had been mayor of "the upscale and frighteningly white community" of Carmel, California.

To judge from his byline photo, Geoffrey Dunn is not only white but "pasty white." So, too, is Lawrence O'Donnell. If I recall correctly from the last time I saw his show (1978 – the remote had jammed), Chris Matthews is not just "pasty white" but "frighteningly white." I happen to be overseas right now, so perhaps that's the reason that all these "upscale and frighteningly white" American liberals seem even crazier than usual in their more-anti-racist-than-thou obsessions. To me, the word "Clint" is racist dog-whistling for "Play 'Misty' For Me," which is racist dog-whistling for "Erroll Garner," which is racist dog-whistling for "black pianist way better than Liberace." Clint took "The Bridges Of The Frighteningly White Madison County" and gave it a cool Johnny Hartman soundtrack. Clint introduced the world to Roberta Flack's killer song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."

But, as Geoffrey Dunn can explain, that's racial code for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face I Was Pleasantly Reassured By How Pasty White It Was." Also, Clint starred in "The Eiger Sanction," a mountaineering thriller set on an Alp that was "upscale and frighteningly white."

On the matter of those racist dog whistles all these middle-age white liberals keep hearing, the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto put it very well: "The thing we adore about these dog-whistle kerfuffles is that the people who react to the whistle always assume it's intended for somebody else," he wrote. "The whole point of the metaphor is that if you can hear the whistle, you're the dog." And a very rare breed at that. What frequency does a Mitch McConnell speech have to be ringing inside your head for even the most racially obsessed Caucasian NBC anchorman to hear the words "PGA tour" as "deep-rooted white insecurities about black male sexuality"? That's way beyond dog-whistling, and somewhere between barking mad and frothing rabid.

Still, now that "golf" and "Chicago" – along with "Clint," "Medicare," "debt," "jobs," "foreign policy" and "quantitative easing" – are all racist code words, are there any words left that aren't racist? Yes, here's one:
"Negrohood."

Not familiar with it? New York Assembly candidate Ben Akselrod used it the other day in a campaign mailer to Brooklyn electors, arguing that his opponent "has allowed crime to go up over 50 percent in our negrohood so far this year."

Like Messrs Dunn, Matthews and O'Donnell, Ben Akselrod is frighteningly pasty white, and a Democrat, and so presumably has highly refined racial antennae. Had a campaign staffer suggested that Mr. Akselrod's opponent was wont to wear "plus-fours" and had a "niblick," obviously such naked racism would have been deleted in the first draft. But the more subtly allusive "negrohood" apparently just slipped through.

Mr. Akselrod now says it was a "typo." Could happen to anyone. You're typing "neighborhood," and you leave out the "i," and the "h" and "b," and the "o" and "r" get mysteriously inverted. Either that, or your desktop came with Al Sharpton's spellcheck. And then nobody at the campaign office reading through the mailer spotted it. Odd.

It's only the beginning of September. So we've got two more months of this. I don't know how it will play in the negrohoods of Chicago – whoops, sorry, I apologize for saying "Chicago" – but let me make a modest observation from having spent much of the past few months traveling round foreign parts. When you don't have frighteningly white upscale liberals obsessing about the racist subtext of golf, it's amazing how much time it frees up to talk about other stuff. For example, as dysfunctional as Greece undoubtedly is, if you criticize the government's plans for public pensions, there are no Chris Matthews-types with such a highly evolved state of racial consciousness that they reflexively hear "watermelon" instead of the word "pensions." So, instead, everyone discusses the actual text rather than the imaginary subtext. Which may be why political discourse in the eurozone is marginally less unreal than ours right now: At least they're talking about "austerity"; over here, we're still spending, and more than ever.

Time's Mark Halperin wrote this week that "Obama can't win if he can't swing the conversation away from the economy." That's a pretty amazing admission. The economy is the No. 1 issue on the minds of voters, and, beyond that, the central reality of Obama's America. But to win the President has to steer clear. That doesn't leave a lot else. Hence, the racism of golf, the war on women, the carcinogenic properties of Mitt Romney. Democrat strategy 1992: It's the economy, stupid. Democrat strategy 2012: It's the stupidity, economists.

[UnTraditional]

Racism where there is none is the last resort of a mentality which has no intelligent ground to stand upon.

[Baron1710]

Hits it perfect. Make it about imagined wrongs against minorities and women, while avoiding the record of Jimmy Obama.

[deacon blues]

And the accusation that if you oppose Mr. Obama, even strongly and passionately, is an indication that you hate him (as Light made the charge about me the other day) or you are racist is blind partisanship at best and intellectually dishonest at worst.

[Light]

Originally Posted by deacon blues

And the accusation that if you oppose Mr. Obama, even strongly and passionately, is an indication that you hate him (as Light made the charge about me the other day) or you are racist is blind partisanship at best and intellectually dishonest at worst.

It's one thing to oppose someone passionately but as a pastor when you post lie after lie over the last 3 years there must be underlying reason.

[deacon blues]

Originally Posted by Light

It's one thing to oppose someone passionately but as a pastor when you post lie after lie over the last 3 years there must be underlying reason.

I may be a pastor but I'm also an American citizen with a right to have an opinion and I have the freedom of speech afforded to all of us. And I enjoy hearty debate, discussion and analyzing the arguments and issues. "Posting lie after lie" is a subjective assertion on your part. I have a clear conscience that over the past three years I have posted things that I have read and found interesting, or I felt is making a good point. I post my opinion or my interpretation of current events. If I have made any mistakes in my reporting of the facts, please show me and I will issue an apology or a correction.

I have never attacked Obama personally that I know of, I have complimented him as a decent person, husband and father and I gave him kudos for his Nobel Peace Prize speech which I thought was the best speech he has given his whole time as president. I also gave him a thumbs up on taking out Bin Laden.

I vehemently disagree with his ideology and almost every decision he has made as the executive of the USA. That is not hate. That isn't racist. If I was a racist why have voted for Alan Keyes in Republican primaries? If I was a racist why was a ready to vote for Herman Cain in the primaries? I went to his local rally here where he spoke and I bought buttons that were pro-Cain and I wore them around town. Are those the actions of a racist?

It's easier to mislabel someone who is on the opposite side of your political opinions. It's no different than conservatives who say Obama is not an American citizen or is a Muslim. Those charges are way off and do nothing to help discuss the real issues. Labeling me as a liar and a racist because I have strong opinions about Obama's presidency is a false claim.

And to suggest that just because I'm a pastor I somehow can't express my political views is unfair. I don't use the pulpit I'm privileged to preach from to influence people's vote. I tell people to pray, vote their conscience and to keep looking to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. No man or political party is going to save America. Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the only "hope for change" we have. That's why I enjoy coming here because I can post as an American with a political view and not worry about offending the people I pastor with my politics.

Too many people here are way too sensitive about their politics. Some people get ugly and say mean hurtful things toward others who disagree with them. I personally would rather see people debate the merits of their arguments and leave the personal stuff alone.

If I have been personally offensive to people because I'v been ugly or rude toward them I apologize, and I will work on that, but I won't apologize for my political opinions.

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by Light

It's one thing to oppose someone passionately but as a pastor when you post lie after lie over the last 3 years there must be underlying reason.

Light, you sometimes have valid points that make me think.
However, you do go over the top, quite frequently.
Can you provide proof of DB's "lies"?
Thanks.

[aegsm76]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

Light, you sometimes have valid points that make me think.
However, you do go over the top, quite frequently.
Can you provide proof of DB's "lies"?
Thanks.

Still waiting.
And I see that Light has been here today.

[Light]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

Still waiting.
And I see that Light has been here today.

Answered you on another thread. See post 49 on 2012 Dem. convention thread.

[aegsm76]

Light - just read your answer.
I would call it an extreme fail.
Calling someone a liar is an extremely serious issue, at least to me.
My opinion is you need to either put up and show where DB has lied, because you did indicate there were multiple lies, or apologize.
God bless.