Category: Politics

The GOP Debate and the Worst Segue Ever From Martin Luther King Day

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originally posted on The Nation

One of the best, and most telling, parts of last night’s debate took place before the debate even started. In all fairness, it’s already really awkward to hold a debate on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the last state to acknowledge the day as a federal holiday (in 2000). On top of that, there’s the whole ideological antithesis between King on the one hand and Fox News and the GOP candidates on the other. And then, add to that killer combo a candidate who doesn’t want to help “blah” people, a candidate who actually voted against making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a holiday and would have (his words not mine) voted against the civil rights bill and… I could go on, but I’d literally be here all day. Perhaps nothing captured the awkwardness and inappropriateness of the when-and-where of the GOP debate more than the painfully awkward and inappropriate segue from acknowledging Martin Luther King Jr. Day to starting the debate, when moderator and Fox News host Bret Baier said,

“Today, as you know, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As we look live at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, its first year on the mall, we’re reminded of one of the many notable quotes from the late Dr. King. ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in a moment of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’ This campaign has been filled with challenge and controversy. The challenges are large. Here in South Carolina, the unemployment rate is near 10 percent, well above the national average. And on this MLK Day, unemployment in African-American communities is near 16 percent. But the controversy on the campaign trail in recent days has been about Governor Romney’s record. We are going to talk extensively about jobs, federal debt, world hotspots and social issues, but, first, let’s clear the air.”

Check out the video. The awkwardness starts at 2:25.

New Video: Mitt Romney Debates Martin Luther King

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Top GOP Tweets of the Week

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Originally posted on The Nation

The Republican candidates are the gift that keeps on giving. Whether they’re bragging about being dangerous, calling anyone who isn’t a millionaire “envious” or running around like a corporate lobbyist in a populist’s clothing, these GOP politicians never fail to provide comedic gold. While their soundbites have been combed, their tweets are relatively unmined. Let’s take a look at these nuggets of fun. (The following are screen shots I took of their actual tweets.)

You know his donations shot through the roof after this tweet. Even I donated. A girl can dream.

This is a double whammy! Gingrich thinks it’s noteworthy to be endorsed by major intellectual and political heavyweight Todd Palin. And the Newt seems to endorse someone else for president.

Jon Huntsman engages in some hot Mormon-on-Mormon folksy fighting.

But what if these will ideals refuse to accept your generous offer?

Cain doesn’t seem to get how primaries work. (I know he’s suspended his campaign, but Cain’s still in the race, for me, until he unsuspends he campaign and then terminates it.)

Ron Paul’s Twitter feed links to this photo. Ron prefers showing photos of himself with his son over actually appearing with his son. Rand was absent from the stage when Ron, surrounded by every other relative he could find, addressed his supporters in New Hampshire. I think he told his Rand not to come on stage with him because he made babies cry when he stood on the stage in Iowa.

Santorum Defenders Unwittingly Call Their Candidate a Liar

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originally posted on The Nation

Dear Rick Santorum defenders: you are screwed. Your candidate has boxed himself, and by extension you, into a corner by telling two conflicting stories about his “blah people” comment. Santorum has made it impossible for you to defend him without defending at least one lie. The problem is, Santorum doesn’t just have a “blah” people problem, which I blogged about Tuesday—he has an honesty problem. Just to recap:

1. Sunday, Santorum told a crowd in Iowa, “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them other people’s money.”

2. Monday, a reporter asked Santorum “You said you didn’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them someone else’s money. Why would you say that?”

3. At this point, Santorum does not dispute that he made this comment about “black people.” He doesn’t say, “I didn’t say that,” but explains (in a bizarre way) why he said what he did about black people: “I’ve seen that quote, I haven’t seen the context in which that was made. Yesterday I talked for example about a movie called, um, what was it? Waiting for Superman, which was about black children* and so I don’t know whether it was in response and I was talking about that.”

4. Wednesday, Santorum had an epiphany and realized he had said “blah” people, not black people: “[I] didn’t recall using that particular word.… It was probably tongue-tied moment.… In fact, I’m pretty confident I didn’t say ‘black.’ I sort of started to say a word and sort of mumbled it and changed my thought. I don’t recall saying ‘black.’ No one in the audience heard me say that.” (He probably also remembered that some of his “best friends are blah” too.)

What is a Santorum-positive person supposed to do? There are two possibilities, and both of them, well, suck:

1. Defend Santorum’s Wednesday claim that he never said “black,” which means he was lying on Monday when he admitted he had said it. I call this group Wednesday Santorum supporters.

2. Defend Santorum for saying “black” people, arguing that it’s either not a big deal or that what he said wasn’t racist. This, of course, means Santorum was honest Sunday and Monday and only lied Wednesday when he denied saying “black people.” I call this group Monday Santorum supporters.

Have fun, Santorum fans. No matter what you say, whether you’re a Monday or a Wednesday Santorum supporter, you’re saying your guy is a liar. To help you decide which route to go, I present you with video of the two different Santorum defense models. In the Colbertian (Wednesday) model, Stephen Colbert argues that Santorum never said black. And in the Cainian (Monday) model, Herman Cain argues that Santorum said “black” people, but just made a poor choice of words in demonizing poor black people instead of all poor people. I’ll let you decide which one is more laughable.
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:405560
*The film is about students of all races, but I guess Santorum only remembered the needy black children.

Do Ron Paul Supporters Really Think a Racist Ad Helps Their Candidate?

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It’s not like Ron Paul doesn’t have a problematic track record when it comes to race. He opposes the Civil Rights Act and is trying to distance himself (though half-heartedly) from hateful and vitriolic racist language spewed in his newsletters. So, I can’t imagine why Paul’s supporters would think a racist  ad, which goes after Jon Huntsman for adopting daughters from China and India, would help their candidate. Are they really that out of touch? Or really that racist? Or maybe they’re equal opportunity advocates, diversity zealots, tired of racism against black people and working for a more inclusive bigotry that embraces Asian people. To its credit, the ad achieves a sophisticated, vintage flavor, complete with Chinese flute music, rarely found outside 1980’s movies, such as Sixteen Candles.

Seven Days of GOP Bigotry

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These guys must be pooped! I don’t know how they do it. How do these GOP presidential candidates manage to pack so much racism into one week? They are prolific! You know who could learn a thing or two from Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich’s strong Catholic work ethic? The blacks! I mean the blahs.

Sunday: Rick Santorum tells supporters in Sioux City, Iowa, “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better, by giving them someone else’s money.”

Monday: Santorum does some amazing damage control, explaining,

I’ve seen that quote, I haven’t seen the context in which that was made…. Yesterday I talked for example about a movie called, um, what was it? Waiting for Superman, which was about black children and so I don’t know whether it was in response and I was talking about that.

Wednesday: Santorum realizes that he was totally misunderstood—apparently by himself as well as by others! Who said anything about black people? He said “blah” people. I’m not making this up. Watch the video (at 2:09) and hear him actually say [I] didn’t recall using that particular word… It was probably tongue-tied moment.… In fact, I’m pretty confident I didn’t say ‘black.’ I sort of started to say a word and sort of mumbled it and changed my thought. I don’t recall saying ‘black.’ No one in the audience heard me say that.”

Thursday: Not to be outdone, Newt Gingrich comes up with his own nugget of racist condescension, saying, “And so I’m prepared if the NAACP invites me, I’ll go to their convention and talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.”

Friday: Newt responds with the humility and sensitivity for which he is known.

I think you would have to be nuts to read those two paragraphs and conclude anything except that I was saying that every young American deserves the right to pursue happiness. Every young American deserves chance to have a job. Every neighborhood in America deserves a chance to have pay checks instead of food stamp.… And for the life of me I can’t understand why having a conservative Republican who cares about young people having jobs should be seen as such a terrible idea or should be seen as somehow a racist characterization.