Once again, Obama brings up race. Interesting, isn’t it, that it’s the GOP that are always accused of being racist and such yet it’s the Liberals that bring it up all the time. Here is the latest thing Obama said:
“What they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me, You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”
Of course, he is denying that comment was about his race. Um..then what was it about? His ears? His hair? Remember a few months ago when he said this:
“They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?”
Sorry, he is just trying to use his race and white guilt to get into office since, really, what has he done? What experience does he have? He cries that McCain has no new ideas but what new ones does Obama have except the tired, old, failed policies of Liberals Democrats?
Once again, we are calling on not just a moratorium but an out right ban on the use of the race card.
The Moratorium Site 
August 2, 2008 at 12:30 pm |
But he is right; I have already received silly emails from people claiming that he is Muslim (not that it really matters) thus we should watch him or better yet not vote for him. He is telling people not to fall in the trap. I am sure there are movements within the campaign looking to dissiminate such bad information.
Politicians love play on te fears of people.
August 2, 2008 at 5:16 pm |
But that’s not what he said. He spoke about how different he looks which can only be a reference to his race. He is, in essence, calling the GOP a bunch of racists. He is saying they are telling people to fear Obama because he is black.
Why is it the GOP are branded racist when it’s the Democrats that constantly bring it up?
August 3, 2008 at 7:21 pm |
Good question Roland. I’ve yet to hear a good answer from the left.
August 3, 2008 at 7:42 pm |
One possible answer is that the GOP may choose to pretend that racism is no longer a significant issue while the Dems have a more realistic view of its continued significance.
August 3, 2008 at 8:26 pm |
Jonathan, even if that was true, it would not explain why the GOP are called racist. Even if they were ignoring it, it doesn’t mean they are racist.
I do find it sad that many still speak of race relations as if we are in the 1950’s still. We have come so far yet they still think we have gone no where. One thing we can look forward to is that is Obama is elected, affirmative action will effectively be thrown out the window and put to an end (thankfully).
August 4, 2008 at 1:58 pm |
Roland,
Maybe some people feel we’ve gone no where, but I think that’s an exaggeration as a general summary. In my experience, most everyone thinks we have come a long way. Among that majority, some of us think the civil rights era is the distant past and no longer a significant issue. Others of us think there are still many wounds to heal and prejudices to be overcome despite how far we’ve come.
I’m also glad to stipulate that in my experience we’re all a bit racist in that we naturally fear that which is different than us. In my experience blacks often hold racist views too. On the other hand, the impacts are not equivalent…racism as practiced by a dominate culture of power obviously has a greater effect than biases held by the less powerful. Also, to me a key difference is whether you embrace those natural fears of that which is different vs. if you make an effort to avoid prejudice despite those natural fears.
This article from a few years back examines some of these issues: Study Ties Political Leanings to Hidden Biases. One of the studies it mentions concluded:
Admittedly, sometimes it seems like a study can be made to conclude anything (and I suspect you might reject any study like this out of hand)…and I doubt any of us on this blog have the expertise to rigorously evaluate the studies described in the article (any social psychologists in the house?), but this conclusion also matches my own experience. The more racist people I’ve known (in both the north and south) have been politically conservative. Obviously, many (most?) conservatives I’ve known haven’t been overtly racist and I’m sure some of the liberals have been racially biased in their own way.
August 4, 2008 at 2:00 pm |
Trying to avoid the spam filter by not including too many links in the same comment…
I agree it’s not fair to label the Republicans as a racist party. I don’t agree that the effect of racism is not a concern in this election. I also think, generally speaking, neither side (liberals or conservatives) is above cynically using race to its advantage in the political process. A classic example is what Bush/Rove did to McCain in South Carolina in 2000: link
Though it’s best not to be hypersenstive, I think it’s wise to be on the lookout for similar ploys in this election.