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Garofalo: Tea Party Protesters 'Functionally Retarded Adults'; Says 'I Want My Country Back' Code for 'I Want My White Guy Back'
You probably already knew Jeanane Garofalo was no fan of conservatives, Republicans or just about anything that could be described as right of center. But the former Air America host and MSNBC regular really has a low regard for conservative activists.
In an appearance at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 21, Garofalo ripped into tea party protesters, or what some of the wizards of smart on the left have deemed "tea baggers" calling them "functionally retarded adults" and "racists."
"Do you remember tea baggers?" Garofalo said. "It was just so much easier when we could just call them racists. I just don't know why we can't call them racists, or functionally retarded adults."
Gov. David Paterson blames calls for him to step aside on race
New York Governor David Paterson
"The whole idea is to get me not to run in the primary," Paterson complained on a morning radio show hosted by Daily News columnist Errol Louis.
He suggested that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the country's only other African-American governor, also is under fire because of his race.
"We're not in the post-racial period," Paterson said.
"The reality is the next victim on the list - and you can see it coming - is President Barack Obama, who did nothing more than trying to reform a health care system."
Cynthia Tucker: 45-65% Of Townhall Protesters Are Racists
Are you opposed to ObamaCare? Willing to attend a town hall to express your disapproval? Odds are good you're a racist. Just ask Cynthia Tucker . . .
As Clay Waters has noted, Paul Krugman alleges that racist motives are at the heart of the town hall protests against ObamaCare. On this evening's Hardball, Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was willing to get specific, estimating that "45 to 65%" of the protesters are motivated by racism.
View video here.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Put 100 of these people in a room. Strap them into gurneys. Inject them with sodium pentathol. How many of them would say "I don't like the idea of having a black president"? What percentage?
CYNTHIA TUCKER: Oh, I'm just guessing. This is just off the cuff. I think 45 to 65% of the people who appear at these groups are people who will never be comfortable with the idea of a black president.
Paul Krugman Sees Racism Among Town Hall 'Mob' Protesters
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is not pleased with some of his fellow racist mobs -- er, U.S. citizens -- as he demonstrated in his column on Friday, "The Town Hall Mob," on loud protests that have met some Democratic congressmen who support Obama's costly health care ideas.
There's a famous Norman Rockwell painting titled "Freedom of Speech," depicting an idealized American town meeting. The painting, part of a series illustrating F.D.R.'s "Four Freedoms," shows an ordinary citizen expressing an unpopular opinion. His neighbors obviously don't like what he's saying, but they're letting him speak his mind.
That's a far cry from what has been happening at recent town halls, where angry protesters -- some of them, with no apparent sense of irony, shouting "This is America!" -- have been drowning out, and in some cases threatening, members of Congress trying to talk about health reform.
MSNBC Anchor: ''Socialist' Is Becoming the New N-word'
Did you know that when you refer to someone as a socialist, you're really calling them the N-word?
Such an astonishing hypothesis was offered by MSNBC's Carlos Watson Monday in a segment he refers to as "The 'C' Note."
Potentially even more shocking, after Watson offered this seemingly absurd opinion, Mort Zuckerman actually agreed with him (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, h/t HotAirPundit):
Today I want to talk about a word that we're hearing more and more, and that's the word socialist. You hear it from a lot of conservatives these days, that's usually critiquing the President, or more broadly Democrats. And while that's certainly a legitimate critique, there certainly is an ideology that can and should be critiqued at certain times, it also some times is just a kind of a generic conservative bludgeoning tool. And that's alright, too, because you hear it on the Democratic side as well: rightwingnut, what have you.
But what concerns me is when in some of those town hall meetings including the one that we saw in Missouri recently where there were jokes made about lynching, etc., you start to wonder whether in fact the word socialist is becoming a code word, whether or not socialist is becoming the new N-word for frankly for some angry upset birthers and others. I hope that's not the case, but it sure does say to you what David Brooks said the other day on T.V. which is that more credible conservatives have to stand up and say that there's a line that has to be drawn, that there's a line of responsibility that's important, and that extends to the words that we choose including how choose even legitimate words like socialist.
What?
So now that we have a black president, words that have been used in our country for decades -- words that have real meaning -- suddenly stand for something else altogether that includes a racial overtone?
What kind of nonsense is this?
Are we headed to a point in our history when any criticism about this president will be deemed racist?
Exit questions: is this really the change people wanted; where does it all end; where has America gone, and; how did this all happen in just six months?
As a post facto aside, I sincerely hope my parents didn't see Watson's "'C' Note" because I've been calling them socialists for years! :-)Olbermann: Fox News Watchers Are Paranoids and Racists
Did you know that Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC is the highest rated news program on cable?
You didn't?
Well, it is according to Keith Olbermann.
Honestly.
Even worse, in his view, folks that watch Fox News are "tin foil hatters, conspiracy theorists, paranoids and racists."
He said so Tuesday evening, so it must be true (video embedded below the fold, relevant section at 0:52, h/t NBer Brad90956):During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama’s supporters promised that his election would allow America to “transcend race." Among the headlines:
The Boston Globe: "Obama shows an ability to transcend race”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Obama's success suggests we can transcend race”
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