Why Romney's NAACP address was "calculated" and racist

So we are in the thick of the political season once again. If you missed it Mr. Romney spoke at the NAACP in Houston the other day. It started off nice enough with polite if not enthusiastic applause. Never mind that he flew in around 200 black republican supporters to disperse through out the crowd like commentator Niger Innis. But the masterstroke was his mention of repealing Obamacare which drew loud boos from the crowd. Did Romney do this on purpose. Of course he did or his speechwriters and handlers did it for him. They knew who they were speaking to that day and they knew it was at best an antagonistic at worst a hostile crowd. It was a calculated attempt to bolster his conservative bonafides.
    Racists and conservatives all over the country delighted in his giving the NAACP what for and let's face it with 96% of black voters casting their votes for Obama in the last election how many votes do you think Romney might have won over. But that is the sad cynicism of the right. This is the stereotyping of black voters at its worst. What if Romney really tried to reach out to black voters with a conservative message that was not his red meat rhetoric warmed up from his tea party audiences on the campaign trail. The sob story about how he cares about the plight of the poor and middle class was not tailored for his audience. The sad truth is that Mitt Romney was not talking to the NAACP that day. He was talking over his audience and into the mic with double barreled aim for white America who has been spoon-fed a diet of ideas that the  the poor are shiftless and lazy. Romney or his speechwriters showed just how little they care about the black community by using them as a prop to stage a play for white conservative America. Come watch the great white hope stand up to the uppity NAACP and scare the hell out of them by talking about how he would effectively destroy any safety nets that are in place for the poor.

    Romney touted his father's civil rights record but it will take a lot more than that  to sway black voters today. His party needs to make inroads in all communities including the black community in the coming years if they are going to remain a viable party but they seem content to play to our worst selves and depend on the lowest common denominator in American politics to swing the balance in their favor. It was purposeful,  intentional, and blatant snubbing of the civil rights organization and the black community as a whole when Romney spoke in Houston that day. But welcome to the dirty calculating numbers game that is politics. It is  better to anger the 15-18% of black voters who will probably not vote for him and instead feed his staunch ravenous conservative/racist 20% of the vote the red meat they hunger for so they will come out and support the guy who stood up to the NAACP in their own house. Please know that I am not calling conservatives racist. They are to distinct & different groups who happen to vote similarly, that is all. With just 100 some days left till the election we'll see if Romney's math worked out or not very soon. It's just sad when politicians play to our worst selves instead of even attempting to reach out to the American people and convey a heartfelt message of hope and their true convictions.

South Carolina Republican Debate

These guys are plain scary. War mongering at its worst. They could have shown footage of gorillas beating their chest for an hour and we would have got the point. The audience sounds drunk and rowdy with numerous interjections while candidates are speaking. The Ron Paul crowd is definotely in the house but seem fairly respectful. The anti Ron Paul boos in SC seemed to rattle him a bit. Maybe he has gotten too used to the applause in NH and Iowa. The southern crowd even booed Romney a couple of times but they seem to pay rapt attention to what he has to say. The Republican party is at a crossroads. They are about to nominate the first Mormon candidate for president in their history. In some ways its a sign of progress that the religious right is beggining to lose its stranglehold grip on the throat of the party. The deep economic crisis has opened the eyes of the base of the party to the need for someone who they perceive has the economic solution to our problems. They are finally willing to set aside the socially conservative issues and the hard core evangelical wing of the party in order to move the party forward.

Time to Fight!!!!!!!!

Well The Stimulus package is now law. Unfortunately we still have to pass the budget. Whining from the right about the spending. Pretty hilarious. how short do they think our memories are? At least this spending is in the US of A instead of in a BS war we never should have been in the first place. At this point I say screw bipartisanship. They had 8 years and they blew it. In the words of my father "They flunked". Who gives a flying rat's ass what they think at this point. We have an agenda to strengthen the middle class and to lay the foundations for a strong economic future. And another thing. Why doesn't someone call Republicans on their BS position about supporting the president no matter what? What happened to that BS?
On other fronts Israel is pissed that new Sec. of State Clinton is not bowing to their every whim. I say rock on. US policy should be just that US policy and not be held hostage by Israel. Its time we returned to a more balanced approach and finally create a Palestinian state.
In other news if you haven't seen the John Adam's series with Paul Giammati you really should!!! Its on Netflix and its awesome.

Republicans take a risk in obstructionism

Well the stimulus has now passed the house but without Republican support AGAIN. It is also going through the Senate with only three Republican votes. Republicans argue that this bill was crafted largely without their advice or input. They also say that there is little in the way of actual short term stimulus in this package. Whatever their arguments do they run a risk by this allout opposition to a new very popular president. I believe they do. They are in exactly the same position as the Democrats when Republicans accused them of wanting the war in Iraq to fail. Clearly an economic bill doesn't carry the emotional baggage of sending our sons and daughters overseas to fight in a war but in this looming economic crisis do Republicans really want to be seen as the ones who are standing in the way of the "change " that the country overwhelmingly voted for. As usual they are playing to their base instead of reaching across the aisle and vying for the votes of moderates and independents who might support this bill. It seems a bit discourteous to me as a Southerner, to see Republicans turn up their nose to a president who has gone out of his way to include them in discussions. I heard shock in President Obama's voice this morning as he talked about Gregg stepping down from his post. He seems to be unsure of how to build a bridge to the Republican side when they keep cutting the ropes.
The greatest risk that the Reuplicans run, however, is being on the wrong side of history. If the stimulus bill does what it is supposed to then they will be at a loss to explain their lack of support. Im already sure they will argue that it was the tax cuts included in the package which kept it from being a total failure and that their package could have led to an even greater recovery. IN addition to this tone deafness on the part of the Republicans the greatest failure they have made is that they don't feel the sense of urgency that the public feels about pasing something even if only to change world perception. The twenty four hour news cycle also has contributed to this sense of urgency. Every day we are getting more and more bad news about the economy and our tension grows and the people are yearning for action.
We heard enthusiasm from Democrats about their chances in the mid-term elections. Obama's strategy of takinghis message straight to the people is very effective. He comes off as listening to the drumbeat on the ground. He is also an effective communicator and is putting the American people at ease about the walls crumbling around them as a President should. We get the sense that he actually cares and is working on our behalf. In contrast Bush looked liked he would rather not be bothered anytime he was questioned about his actions.
Finally Republicans risk becoming irrelevant through this action . Can a party survive in the 21st century with its platform consisting of cutting taxes and spending for the sake of cutting taxes and spending and gaybashing. Moderates and independents are beginning to realize that cutting spending is great and good but more than that we want a government that works on our behalf and that this is clearly not the time to cut spending. When we are facing a crisis of such enormity we have to pull together to get something done. I believe this was the same idea that Republicans put forward to support a war against a country that had done nothing to us.

Day Two (Turning the page on Bush)

Well it's been 48 hours since President Barack Obama took the oath of office. Wait a minute. Actually he had to take it twice out of an "abundance of caution". Could Mr. Gibb have squeezed those words out just one more time during his first press briefing today? I don't thnk so. Mr Gibbs performance today was sub par I haveto say. I realize that when confronted with a slobbering pack of pit bulls one's first reflex is to protect one's self but I expected more today. I wanted someone who spoke with honesty and transparency about the issues while still engendering hope and furthering Obama's message of change unapologetically. Instead we got a Leftist version of "say nothing" Ari Fleischer or Scott Mclellan take your pick. Dear God , he wasn't as bad as Scott in his first day however. At least Dana Perino and Tony Snow had a kind of easy affability to them. Anyway it was the guys first day, I can't be too hard on him right?
Well on to more important things. Like the Middle East. I spent the weekend researching the possible picks for Mid East Envoy. I was relieved by Obama's pick of Senator George Mitchell. It sends a good message to the Arab world that Obama is taking a different tack from "he who must not be named" thats a little HAHA for you Potter fans out there. Anyway I was deathly afarid that Obama might pick Dennis Ross who is clearly experienced but who has openly stated after serving his term that he worked for Israel's interests while advising the President. as everyone knows Israel has every right to protect itself but the job of Mid East Envoy must be more even handed if we are going to broker some kind of peace deal. I remain convinced that the latest Israeli incursioninto Gaza was strategically planned well in advance of the rocket attacks from Gaza and that the attacks only provided a more opportune time to advance their agenda. I don't believe that they were trying to retake Gaza. I simply think they were trying to hurt Hamas as badly as they could in the time they had allotted. Wasn' it nice how they finished their operations just in time for Obama'a inauguration. Wouldn't want to put the new president in an awkward position now would we? The sheer disproportionate size of the response in response to the rocket attacks as well as the timing are my reasoning behind this theory. The timing was perfect in that we have a lameduck president on his way out who was so Pro Israel they knew he would never question their response. The incoming president was an unknown quantity and Israel didn't want to take any chances. I can see how they reached this decision but It saddens me that their primary motivation was fear rather than well considered decisions that had a future peace agreement in mind. As things stand we are probably about to enter the next intifada which could take years to bring from a full boil down to a simmer. In any case the George Mitchell appointment was for me the biggest news of the day though it didn't receive the coverage of other stories.
Next up we've got the ever worsening economic crisis. It was clear from listening to Timothy Geitner's hearing yesterday that team Obama is not ready to roll out their economic plan. Geitner played footsie around the "bad bank good bank" idea that has been put forward by some. To try and give you an idea of what this concept is I found this excerpt from

Benchmarking & Restructuring Claims Services

Speech by Peggy Berton,
President of CNA Global Resource Managers
presented at a conference sponsored by
Global Business Research Ltd.

The concept behind the term "Good Bank Bad Bank" harks all the way back to depression days. In the 1930's, as bank after bank began to fail in the wake of stock market crash of 1929, the US government rode in on a white horse and acquired the failing bank's devalued assets. This allowed the still viable part of the bank to go forward with those of its assets which still retained their value, and with fresh funds. It then was able to satisfy its depositors, while shedding its underperforming portion, like a snake shedding its skin. With the government left literally holding the almost empty bag.

This concept became even further refined during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980's. Once again, with government assistance and approval, savings institutions were allowed to extricate themselves from the consequences of their own poor business judgment and some bad breaks in the economy. The rationale and driving force behind the governments providing a safety net to banks was twofold: first, to protect the depositors and second, to help break what could be a catastrophic death spiral in the US economy.

So that's what it is. Anyway yesterday they were trying to pin down Geitner on his ideas to save the economy. He only hinted that this might be one of the tools in his toolbox. So I gues its still wait and see.

Today was big signal day. Shutting down Gitmo was must have raised a cry of hurrahs from us lefties. We have been waiting for this for years. Its hard for the right to understand this stance. They think we are endangering American lives by closing down Gitmo. I can only speak for myself but I want democracy to be the envy of the world. That is only going to happen when we live up to the values we say we believe. I believe in the rule of law and that our justice sysetm tough flawed is the best in the world. How can we really exercise our soft power and onvice the world about the good of a democratic system when we are doing the exact opposite in secret prisons around the world. Yes the so called war on terror is unlike any we have faced but if they get us to lose our character of basic decency they will be well on their way to beating us. This is a war of ideas not only of weapons. We must live up to the high ideals set forth in our constitution or we are wasting our time. When we do that we give the world hope for a better future such as we saw with the election of President Obama. I really don't think I can say it any better than JOhn Mccain did: taken from USA Today

McCain wants to close Guantanamo, he says, because its existence is damaging U.S. credibility abroad. He also wants to speed up trials. "He would want to speed up the tribunal process for prisoners, because he doesn't support indefinite detentions,"

politically the country was pretty evenly divided on this issue so Obama may have shaved off a few independents but we'll have to see.

Obama sent a strong message today with the executive order to close Gitmo and the return to the army field manual and Geneva conventions with regards to torture . We have begun the process of repairing the terrible damage done to our reputation across the world during the last eight years.

So much to talk about today. Caroline Kennedy dropped out of the Senate appointment race. I have to be honest and say that I followed it only a little. But to me it seemed as if she leaned a bit to much on her name. I personally am glad because I don't think she had the stomach for it. I do hope however that the appointment will be a woman which I think it will though Mr. Cuomo seems to be moving up in the race. Another case of we shall see I guess.

As of an hour ago the AP is reporting that Obama is restating his commitment to abortion rights. Man this is one heck of a day in politics. I guesss he just wants to start putting all his cards on the table to prepare the American people for what is coming. Anyway more later, hands are tired of typing.

YES WE DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well the tide has finally turned! The USA has chosen a new path much to the bewilderment of the Right. Come on you guys had to see this coming. You spent years on divisive practically meaningless issues while ignoring the bread and butter stuff that elections always come down to. I realized with this election, which I was honestly sweating till the economic crisis threw it decisively in Obama's favor, that this country is not made up of rigidly blue and red states. At any particular moment when asked about any particular topic the different sections of the country are more blue or red depending on the circumstances. We are more purple than we think people. So much has changed in the last few weeks. Hillary as Sec. of State? Who would of thunk it? But I have to say it was an extremely shrewd decision on so many levels. He finally brings her die-hards into the fold as much as they can be anyway. He staves off a possible rival in 2012. He shows his bigness of spirit and widens the Democratic tent doors. He has done what he said and reachedout to the moderate and conservatives in these early days. Lets hope it doesn't come back to bite him in the ass. I thknk this picture of Jesse says it all. Black people in America felt this election on a much deeper level than most whites. For blacks this was the culmination of years of struggle and soul searching and prayer and suffering and tears. For some whites this was a patch to cover up the ugly past of this country regarding slavery and segregation and continuing racism .
Here in the South it sent shockwaves and fear throughout the white community. They thought the rest of the country had gone crazy to elect this guy. I heard people at work the next day talking in hushed tones about taking down their Mccain signs for fear of angry reprisal by blacks on the rampage since they now had a black president. Old white men at the entrance of BI-LO whispering to each other at how the country had gone nuts. Notice the high turnout for the Saxby Chambliss runoff. I surmise more than a few Republicans were scared to death after Obama's election and wanted to raise the wall at Georgia's borders.

Sarah Palin takes the stage

Well The Political season has just gotten more interesting. After a tempestuous battle by Hillary for the Presidency. Republicans make a play for the votes of Women by offering them a more conservative option. Clearly Mrs. Palin has the rhetorical skills to handle the job but as Charles Krauthammer a Fox news regular and Republican pundit points out, her nomination simply undercuts the Republican's whole argument that Obama isn't qualified enough. Peggy Noonan's ringing endorsement before her speech can be heard here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrG8w4bb3kg .

Problem #1: The majority of women who voted for Hillary are Pro-Choice and there is no way in hell they will vote for rabid right woman like Sarah Palin.

Problem # 2: Nobody votes for President based on the VP

On the other hand maybe Mccain just needs to eat away at Obama's women voters just a little bit just as George W. Bush did with Hispanics in 2000. If Palin is a net positive for Mccain even if only a few point its could turn the election.

As usual Obama's nimble campaign is right on top of the situation and targeting women who think that Mccain is pro-choice ( I have to admit I thought this was true early on in the campaign) . By agggressively putting out the message that Mccain is not Pro-choice in the key battleground states this may be enough to counter any bounce that Mccain might have enjoyed among women because of the Palin pick.

The other issue that remains an undercurrent is the public perception of the media as ganging up on this hockey mom. If the media goes too far it could backfire and get her more supporters. Biden also has to walkthis tightrope in the debate coming up. Again the Obama campaign is lowering expectations for Biden in the debate by telling him to say that she was an impressive speaker and that he will have to study up for the debate.

Personally I believe that Sarah Palin is a good representative of her party and its beliefs but I just see the same old right wing attacks on liberals as unpatriotic and stupid. After 8 years of Karl Rove style politics I'm sure I'm not the only person who's tired of this. I hear the same self-righteous crap about defending the country and brainwashed thinking that we must never question our nations policies and that somehow reassessing our goals periodically and changing course is weakness on our part. But I'll get of my soapbox for now.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN !!!!!!!!