But It's Not About Racism (The GOP Convention Edition)

Isn't it great to live in the land of post-racial sentiment after we've elected a black man into the Oval Office? Anyone screaming 'racism' is obviously not in touch with the pulse of the American electorate and is simply using the race card as an instrument of division and hate... wait, what?

"...Zoraida Fonalledas, the chairwoman of the Committee on Permanent Organization—took her turn at the main-stage lectern [at the GOP Convention in Tampa Bay]. As she began speaking in her accented English, some in the crowd started shouting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” 

The chanting carried on for nearly a minute while most of the other delegates and the media stood by in stunned silence. The Puerto Rican correspondent turned to me and asked, “Is this happening?”... None of us could quite believe what we were seeing: A sea of twentysomething bowties and cowboy hats morphing into frat bros apparently shrieking over (or at) a Latina."

But surely they were chanting because they were proud of their "big tent" and cheering, not jeering the Republican latina woman at their own convention, right? ...Right?

But the Republicans keep telling me that it was Obama who has done absolutely nothing for immigrants (even though the woman was Puerto Rican and therefore an American citizen) in this country, except to throw them a bone with his obvious politicization of young immigrants who are here through no fault of their own, at least according to Romney surrogate John Sununu.

“If Obama really was serious about that, he wouldn’t have been such a phony in doing that, and he would have done it four years ago. This presidency, by doing something late and politically, defined both his incompetence and his insincerity,” Sununu said after answering questions in Spanish with the Hispanic press. 

During the GOP primary, Romney vowed to veto the DREAM Act, which would implement a stronger version of what Obama did through executive order, but since winning the nomination, he’s tacked to the middle and avoided striking the hard-line tone on immigration that made him one of the most conservative candidates on the issue in the GOP field. 

Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state and an immigration adviser to Romney, is the author of Arizona’s of infamous immigration law and took up a suit brought by 10 immigration enforcement agents against the new Obama policy last week.

Hold on. Do you mean to tell me that, try as they might, the Republican Party really isn't that into people of color? I find that hard to believe.

Two attendees at the Republican National Convention were thrown out of the convention center in Tampa on Tuesday after throwing nuts at a black CNN camerawoman and saying, "this is how we feed the animals."

CNN reported that multiple witnesses saw it happen, and police immediately removed the two people from the premises.

Oh, come on! What's next?! Is some frothy guy going to step behind the convention podium and blatantly lie about the Presdient in a clear attempt to rile up the fringiest of the fringe with some dumbass welfare claim even though a large number of white people are help by that program as well?

"This summer he showed us once again he believes in government handouts and dependency by waiving the work requirement for welfare," Santorum said Tuesday in a speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. "I helped write the welfare reform bill; we made the law crystal clear -- no president can waive the work requirement. But as with his refusal to enforce our immigration laws, President Obama rules like he is above the law." 

PolitiFact checked a Romney campaign ad's claim that Obama ended welfare work requirements earlier this month, rating it Pants On Fire. In reality, the Obama administration has said it will consider proposals from states that are aimed at finding better ways of getting welfare recipients into jobs. FactCheck.org and the Washington Post Fact Checker have also said the claim is false.

Fuck. Me.

If you haven't noticed, it's been all dog whistles, all the time. Accusations of "gutting welfare requirements" taking a play out of the welfare queen Reagan playbook. Romney making a little "joke" about not having to show his birth certificate - yet the reaction wasn't laughter, but cheers. Delegates at the GOP convention booing and chanting "USA" when an Hispanic woman speaks. Other conventioneers thrown out after assaulting a black CNN cameraperson and calling her an "animal." And yet when it's brought up, it's the DEMOCRATS who are accused of using the RACE CARD?! If it acts like a racist and it smells like a racist...

ADDING... And let's not forget that scumbag South Carolina state representative Alan Clemmons responding positively to a racially tinged email regarding their bullshit voter ID law.  But hey, it's those Democrats playing that damned race card because you know, black man in the White House, new era of enlightenment, post racial land of the free, home of blah, blah, blah...

(Cross-posted at ABLC)

Early Entry for Headline of the Year

Gingrich View on Confederate Flag

Does Gingrich think South Carolina should fly the Confederate flag on its capitol? I'll give you one guess.

“I have a very strong opinion. It’s up to the people of South Carolina.”

Why would anyone be surprised with his answer? After all, this is an "historian" who wrote a trilogy of alternate history novels in which the Confederacy won the Civil War. But hey, at least he's against slavery.

Sanford Censured

As Major Garrett would say, "What took you so long?"

After nearly four hours of deliberation and multiple rounds of balloting, the South Carolina Republican Party voted Monday night to censure Mark Sanford for secretly traveling overseas to visit his mistress — but stopped short of calling on the governor to resign.

We can't totally blame them. After all, if a schlub like Mark Sanford can get an Argentine hottie to play Evita & Juan then you gotta give him a little credit. So what if he called for the resignation of Bill Clinton when he was in the same situation? Obviously his mistake was that he didn't keep his shenanigans overseas.

So, a little slap on the wrist for a Governor who abandoned his state for almost a week with no information to his whereabouts in case of emergency. But hey, it's okay if you're a Republican.

The Pandemic of Stupid (Part Two: The Mark Sanford Edition)

Where in the world is South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford? The real question is, "Does anybody really care?"

This week found Gov. Mark Sanford (R-South Doucheland) conspicuously AWOL. No, seriously. No one knew where he was. Not his staff, not his wife. No one.

As the story goes, the father of four was gone since last Thursday with no mention to his wife, four sons (on Father's Day weekend) and apparently no word to his staff.

Then came this incredibly strange story from his staff that he had decided to go hiking on a Appalachian Trail, the same trail that Sanford was trying to deny stimulus money to. But still, no one was in touch with him. State Senator Jake Knotts (no relation to Don, but probably has the mentality of Barney Fife) wonders who's in charge of the Executive branch of South Carolina. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, the next in line for the office, doesn't even know where Sanford is.

Then this:

S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford arrived in the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport this morning, having wrapped up a seven-day visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, he said. Sanford said he had not been hiking along the Appalachian Trail, as his staff said in a Tuesday statement to the media.

Sanford's whereabouts had been unknown since Thursday, and the mystery surrounding his absence fueled speculation about where he had been and who's in charge in his absence. His emergence Wednesday ended the mystery.

...When asked why his staff said he was on the Appalachian Trail, Sanford replied, "I don't know."

Sanford later said "in fairness to his staff," he had told them he might go hiking on the Appalachian Trial.

Hiking in the state... Argentina... what's the difference? Now comes word that Sanford will hold a press conference at 2pm today. This thing isn't over by a longshot. Something more is going to come of this, I just don't know what yet. It seems like an awfully long way to go to hide something silly like an affair. At least the state didn't collapse without him, which is more than I can say for their financial situation with him.

UPDATE (2:33pm):

♫Don't cry for me Argentina... ♪

Sanford admits adultery and has said he will resign as Chairman of the Republican Governors' Association.

Another one bites the dust. Tell me again how marriage equality for gays would destroy "traditional" marriage and family values?

UPDATE II (3:10pm): Another example of "Fair & Balanced."

Outrage, Please.

First it was the Stimulus Bill/Monkey shooting editorial cartoon and now comes word that South Carolina Republican party activist Rusty DePass felt the need to insult Michelle Obama with an ape characterization.

A prominent S.C. Republican Party activist is in hot water after describing an escaped gorilla at a South Carolina zoo as an “ancestor” of First Lady Michelle Obama.

The exchange occurred after Trey Walker, an advisor to S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, posted an innocuous Facebook update about this morning’s escape of a Western Lowlands Gorilla from Columbia’s Riverbanks Zoo.

Walker’s harmless update, however was followed by a highly-questionable comment from longtime SCGOP activist and former State Senate candidate, Rusty DePass.

These people are just crawling out from under their rocks lately. Daily Kos has more.

Adding... I wonder if this story will get as much play as David Letteman's "slutty flight attendant" joke?

Our Nation's Leaders

Senator Jim DeMint thinks he knows what's happ'nin' in da DC 'hoods.

Think Progress: Yesterday, at a news conference promoting a Republican amendment to continue D.C.’s school voucher program, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) — a longtime cheerleader for vouchers — suggested that students in D.C. public schools are more likely to join gangs than graduate. “If you send a kid to [public] school in D.C., chances are that they will end up in a gang rather than graduating,” he said. City officials were quick to respond, noting that “gross misjudgments like that one” bolster the argument for giving D.C. full voting rights in the House. In fact, nearly 70 percent of D.C. students graduated last year, putting the District “in line with the national average,” while Sen. DeMint’s home state of South Carolina had a graduation rate of “almost 56 percent,” the fourth worst in the nation.

Way to go, DeMint! More Republican awesomeness!

Political Suicide

It's amazing to me that some of these insane Republican Governors would even fathom the idea of refusing federal aid for their states to make political hay. South Carolina's Mark Sanford has been the most vocal when it comes to the recovery bill.

“We’re moving precipitously close to what I would call a savior-based economy,” Sanford also said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.
...“That is quite different than a market-based economy where some rise and some fall but there’s a consequence to making a stupid decision,” Sanford said after pointing to the powers granted to the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to help deal with the current economic crisis.

I wonder if Sanford will make the "stupid decision" of letting his state starve instead? Hell, he waited until the last possible second before asking for money to shore up unemployment benefits in the state with the third highest unemployment rate at 9.5%, so I wouldn't put it past him.

But we all know that in general, Republicans are hypocrites.

Sanford: "Being against it doesn't preclude taking the money."

Lindsey Graham on CNN after being asked if South Carolina should take the money: “I think that, yes, from my point of view, I — you don’t want to be crazy here."

Is it just me or is this like force feeding a baby to eat his beets? We know it's good for them, but they turn their heads and make a stink and cry and moan and wail because they don't like the taste of what's best for them.

I say, let them drink the political hemlock. If they seriously think that threatening to refuse money based on some set of misguided principles, or touting the funds they got in the bill through amendments they then voted against are going to help them in their upcoming campaigns, go right ahead and jump off that cliff. I'll be the one playing the pipe as they leap off the egde.

John Kerry Backs Obama; Attacks Clinton

2004 Democratic Presidential nominee Senator John Kerry endorsed Barack Obama today in Charleston, South Carolina in front of 1000 Obama supporters at an outdoor rally at the College of Charleston.

It didn't take long before the arrows flew at Senator Hillary Clinton.

Asked about Clinton’s argument that talking change is different than producing change, Kerry said,“[Obama] produced one of the most significant ethics reform bills we passed. He has been a legislator longer than Hillary Clinton.” And then this zinger: “Health care didn’t pass in 1994 if I recall.”