Republicans Need Cuckoo part II

[Chris]

Jake Knotts, GOP gubernatorial candidate in South Carolina, calls both fellow GOP candidate Nikki Haley (who has her own sex scandal brewing, by the way) AND President Obama "raghead".

"We already got one raghead in the White House, we don't need a raghead in the governor's mansion." - SC State Sen. John "Jake" Knotts, Jr.

[TwoTongues]

Wow. Fucking wow. He said it like ten times and says "well it isn't the first time I've said it". And no apology a la Helen Thomas eh. And he's an elected official. Guess we shouldn't be shocked, didn't SC tell Clinton not to come visit SC because they couldn't guarantee his safety or some such shit?

[Chewycorns]

Except Thomas is a national figure with top-level access to the highest level politicians and has for decades. Surely, she should know better.

You're going pretty far down the food chain to find this Repub story. State senator? And if you read the stories, you'll see that pretty much the whole Republican establishment in the state has criticized him for the comments. It's not like he's a racist national figure in the Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson or Robert "KKK" Byrd mold.

[Chris]

And if you read the stories, you'll see that pretty much the whole Republican establishment in the state has criticized him for the comments.

Yup. It's the GOP establishment saying, "Shut up, will you? We're supposed to be hiding our racist tendencies!"

[Chewycorns]

And if you read the stories, you'll see that pretty much the whole Republican establishment in the state has criticized him for the comments.

Yup. It's the GOP establishment saying, "Shut up, will you? We're supposed to be hiding our racist tendencies!"

Chris, what an idiotic statement. As with any political parties, there are fringe elements within both parties. To be fair, both political parties usually try to distance themselves from such comments.

However, in recent times, I would say we've seen intolerance coming from the mouths of many more high profile Democrats. What did Joe Biden say about Obama during the last primary campaign ( you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man.")?

What did Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid say about Obama? (light skinned with no negro accent) And this is the leadership of the Democratic Party. Not to mention racists such as Sharpton, Jackson, and Byrd. However, what kind of example are VP Biden and Senate Majority Leader Reid setting by using such language?

Intolerance is on both sides to be sure, but I would say it's still more endemic on the Democratic Party. That's what happens with you have a loose coalition of special interests and minorities (the nature of the Democratic Party--coalition of different minorities, lawyers, teachers, union trades etc.)...less party discipline and people from wider cross segements of society--with all that baggage that accompanies that.

[TwoTongues]

Yeah but you know CC those quotes are a long way from "raghead", and it's mainly the way they were said and not the sentiment behind them e.g. use of Negro. What Biden and Hyde said had the aroma of old time racism but they weren't entirely off the mark in the intentions of their statements - Obama is more mainstream articulate than people like Jesse Jackson who ran before him, and without the urban black accent. But I agree with you on one thing, and that is that with few exceptions, Democrats should hold themselves to a higher standard if they want to keep the moral highground over Republicans - possible exceptions in my mind being those from discriminated minorities who should know better but who aren't entirely wrong.

[Jaboney]

None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A. It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart. After much thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could in effect be reduced to a single maxim, namely: "Four legs good, two legs bad." This, he said, contained the essential principle of Animalism. Whoever had thoroughly grasped it would be safe from human influences.
[...]
The birds did not understand Snowball's long words, but they accepted his explanation, and all the humbler animals set to work to learn the new maxim by heart. FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD, was inscribed on the end wall of the barn, above the Seven Commandments and in bigger letters. When they had once got it by heart, the sheep developed a great liking for this maxim, and often as they lay in the field they would all start bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad! Four legs good, two legs bad!" and keep it up for hours on end, never growing tired of it.

Intolerance is on both sides to be sure, but I would say it's still more endemic on the Democratic Party. That's what happens with you have a loose coalition of special interests and minorities (the nature of the Democratic Party--coalition of different minorities, lawyers, teachers, union trades etc.)...less party discipline and people from wider cross segements of society--with all that baggage that accompanies that.

Baaahh...
Discipline good, diversity bad!
The collective good, individual bad!

There was a deadly silence. Amazed, terrified, huddling together, the animals watched the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard. It was as though the world had turned upside-down. Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when, in spite of everything-in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining, never criticising, no matter what happened--they might have uttered some word of protest. But just at that moment, as though at a signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous bleating of--

"Four legs good, two legs BETTER! Four legs good, two legs BETTER! Four legs good, two legs BETTER!"

He'd prefer newspapers to be controlled by uniformed people that see things his way. China had its Red Guards, but Jobs would like the journalists of today to be black-uniformed Apple robots that exert the same kind of control.

Baaah....
Diversity good, uniformity bad!
Freedom good, control bad!

No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.

Just kidding, Chewycorns. Of course, in business, you want to run a loose ship; and of course, in politics, you want everyone goosepig-stepping in unison. Of course. Because that model works so well in Burma, worked so well in Chile, the Philippines, Brazil, Spain... and everywhere else an incompetent juanta has tried to run the government and economy.

Now, let's see. It's Sunday and I've had a bowl of beans, that means Chewy must be blowing in from....

thaddaway.

Charge!!!

[Chewycorns]

None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A. It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart. After much thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could in effect be reduced to a single maxim, namely: "Four legs good, two legs bad." This, he said, contained the essential principle of Animalism. Whoever had thoroughly grasped it would be safe from human influences.
[...]
The birds did not understand Snowball's long words, but they accepted his explanation, and all the humbler animals set to work to learn the new maxim by heart. FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD, was inscribed on the end wall of the barn, above the Seven Commandments and in bigger letters. When they had once got it by heart, the sheep developed a great liking for this maxim, and often as they lay in the field they would all start bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad! Four legs good, two legs bad!" and keep it up for hours on end, never growing tired of it.

Intolerance is on both sides to be sure, but I would say it's still more endemic on the Democratic Party. That's what happens with you have a loose coalition of special interests and minorities (the nature of the Democratic Party--coalition of different minorities, lawyers, teachers, union trades etc.)...less party discipline and people from wider cross segements of society--with all that baggage that accompanies that.

Baaahh...
Discipline good, diversity bad!
The collective good, individual bad!

There was a deadly silence. Amazed, terrified, huddling together, the animals watched the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard. It was as though the world had turned upside-down. Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when, in spite of everything-in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining, never criticising, no matter what happened--they might have uttered some word of protest. But just at that moment, as though at a signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous bleating of--

"Four legs good, two legs BETTER! Four legs good, two legs BETTER! Four legs good, two legs BETTER!"

He'd prefer newspapers to be controlled by uniformed people that see things his way. China had its Red Guards, but Jobs would like the journalists of today to be black-uniformed Apple robots that exert the same kind of control.

Baaah....
Diversity good, uniformity bad!
Freedom good, control bad!

No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.

But doesn't the market place thrive when it's completely open, democratic, and chaotic in many respects with minimal rules? To me, political parties don't--well, at least not as well. I'm not an anarchist or an extreme libertarian that believes in no government or party structures. Parties are tribal by nature and even in democracies, Parties function better when there is some semblance of control and a strong executive leader (hence my admiration of a president such as Andrew Jackson who I think combined both [free trade, low tariffs, and strong executive). I didn't make a strong value judgement on the Democratics in this area, as their diversity in the past in building coalitions (e.g. Roosevelt with Northern Liberals, Southern Conservatives etc.) made them America's party for so many years.

But with that diversity and numerous groups, comes a difficulty in controlling outbursts and achieving consensus. I still think you see that more of that in the Democratic Party than with the Republican Party.

Multinational corporations are supposed to be democratic, transparent and progressive with proper governance structures. I'm not saying Apple doesn't have these, but I always find it interesting that the stock price dips on just the health issues of one person. And isn't the main strengths of a MNC, it's ability to be flexible in different markets. McDonalds offers different fare in Italy than it does in India. Yet by engaging in strong arm tactics against underpaid journalists, by remaining so secretive, by launching aggressive IP lawsuits, and by valuing exclusionary rather than inclusive mindsets, Jobs comes across as an egomaniac. Perhaps this innovation has made him successful, but I don't admire the mindset. Way too large of an ego IMHO. Unlike in politics, I admire a consensus management, horizontal based, business team that values cooperation and inclusion. So yes, politics and business, whole different ball game IMHO.

Because that model works so well in Burma, worked so well in Chile, the Philippines, Brazil, Spain... and everywhere else an incompetent juanta has tried to run the government and economy.

You've got to be kidding here. Please tell me that you're kidding. Chile is one of the strongest economies in Latin America because of the University of Chicago boys. Spain? Moderate Francoist elements opened the country up to foreign investment, ensuring that tourism took off and opened the country to more liberal foreign ideas/engagement with the outside world. Furthermore, Francoist political leaders such as Suarez ensured the transition to democracy was quite smooth and successful. Shame that decades of socialist rule in Spain has damaged this spirit. So no, Pinochet and Franco were not imcompetent and their economic legacy is something to be proud of, something that would definitely have been a hell of a lot worse if Allende in Chile or Socialists/Communists in Madrid remained in power.

[Chris]

What did Joe Biden say about Obama during the last primary campaign ( you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man.")?

And guess who Obama picked as a running mate? Obama must not have been too offended by that comment.

What did Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid say about Obama?

Sigh... statements like that are not uncommon among people whose formative years were in the 1950s. Indeed, they were perceived as quite enlightened during a time when overt, vicious racism ran rampant across the country. We need to look at the intent behind such statements. In the case of Biden and Reid, the intent behind their statements was quite benign, and were said in his support, though stated in a regrettable manner. What awful racists they must be, saying such things in support of him!!

This is of a totally different level as compared to, say, "raghead", "rag-picker" (Neil Boortz), "macaca" (George Allen), "mud people" (a David Duke ad from this year), or the teabaggers yelling racial epithets. These are clearly intended as abusive insults. And Rush Limbaugh used joking terms like "magic N***o" and "Halfrican-American" which were intended to ridicule and insult Obama.

[Chewycorns]

And guess who Obama picked as a running mate? Obama must not have been too offended by that comment.

Political realities trump personal feelings.

You think Kennedy wanted to pick Johnson after Johnson's men (Connelly and Bobby Baker) spread well-founded rumours of JFK's myriad of health problems? Of course not, but they had to if they wanted to carry Texas. Most Kennedy insiders, which seems ironic by today's political divisions, actually wanted Scoop Jackson who is held in very high esteem by neoconservatives and whose political staffers (e.g. Richard Perle, Eliot Abrams etc.) held positions of high power in Reagan and Bush Jr White Houses.

Obama wanted to court the Catholic vote and was willing to overlook the comments.

Sigh... statements like that are not uncommon among people whose formative years were in the 1950s. Indeed, they were perceived as quite enlightened during a time when overt, vicious racism ran rampant across the country.

Give me a break!! You're talking about war babies/baby boomers here. They should know a hell of a lot better. We're not talking about people that were born in the 1920s and came of age in the 1950s. BIG DIFFERENCE. You're getting your generations mixed up me thinks. We expect this from our grandparents generation, definitely not our parents generation.

this is of a totally different level as compared to, say, "raghead", "rag-picker" (Neil Boortz), "macaca" (George Allen), "mud people" (a David Duke ad from this year), or the teabaggers yelling racial epithets. These are clearly intended as abusive insults. And Rush Limbaugh used joking terms like "magic N***o" and "Halfrican-American" which were intended to ridicule and insult Obama.

These Republicans are not national figues in the same way that a VP or Senate Majority leader are. David Duke was a Democrat for most of his life and mainstream Republicans in the early 90s such as Bush Sr. supported a Democrat with major ethical baggage (Edwin Edwards) over Duke in the Senate Race in the 90s. Limbaugh isn't even a politician, so I don't know why you're using him as a comparison. In any case, if you check out the entertainment news, Elton John is playing at his wedding, so I think he's able to build bridges with political opposites off the air.