Left & Right Rhetorical Fail: Tea Party "Yup, I'm a Racist" T-Shirts

Hat Tip Racialicious for spotlighting "Yup, I'm a Racist" T-shirts for sale at a Lexington KY 4th of July Festival.  An Examiner writer moseyed over with his video cam to take a look at the merchandise and engage the sellers in some dialogue about them. 

 Its a very obvious satire that these Tea Party folks are engaging in with these T-shirts.  A very in your face politically incorrect satire.  The person who made the video wanted to pretend not to understand that and try to really leave the impression that these people were actively supporting the idea of being a racist.  Its disingenuous.

I don't think that the satire they are engaged in is particularly effective or subversive in a way that makes people think or be persuaded to their cause.  In fact, the nature of the satire highlights the insular, highly interior conversation Tea Party activists are having amongst themselves.  This is not a rhetorical approach that will attract people who don't already share their views. Its indicative of the tone deaf, tin ear messaging approach that plagues the GOP, from its rank and file all the way up to leadership in Congress, the recent attack on Kagan via Thurgood Marshal, an excellent case in point.

So I think it fails on the messaging score.  Its an inside joke.  But it is a very obvious satire which the Examiner simply didn't want to acknowledge.  Had he been more interested in examining and reporting what they thought instead of trying to insinuate with snark and contemptuousness what he believed they thought, this could have been an interesting exposition of their views.  Instead, the video represents a wasted opportunity.

Steele: The RNC's Inarticulate, Angry Black Man

I read Michael Steele's GQ interview finally. It pretty much left me with my jaw on the floor. I have a hard time believing that Steele will remain RNC chair after reading it and wondering very seriously if Steele should have this job at all. Right off the top, I was very disappointed with his tone :

I was kinda expecting hip-hop to be playing in here today. Aw, sh—. It’s on my, uh, computer there. I haven’t pulled it up yet, but I’ll get a little bit goin’ in a second or two.

Answering a question about other artists he liked to listen to: Love Dean Martin. He was one of these guys who just didn’t give an F.

How do you deal with the criticism?
I just pray on it.

You do?
Oh yeah. And I ask God, “Hey, let me show just a little bit of love, so I absolutely don’t go out and kick this person’s ass.”

First off, the slang references, the profanity and the really casual language were all turn offs. If I compare this performance along with his other media forays to prominent black republicans like Condi Rice or Colin Powell or J.C. Watts, this is below that standard. This is a guy who is supposed to be articulate and a communicator, but you would not know it from the quality of his conversation in this interview. I also thought he managed a series of silly questions ineffectively. If you’re trying to expand the tent, all of those questions need to be turned to getting the GOP view across to the people you want to entice in. I thought it was a very ineffective interview on that score. When the subject turned to abortion, it got worse.

The choice issue cuts two ways. You can choose life, or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life. So, you know, I think the power of the argument of choice boils down to stating a case for one or the other.

Are you saying you think women have the right to choose abortion?
Yeah. I mean, again, I think that’s an individual choice. You do? Yeah. Absolutely.
Are you saying you don’t want to overturn Roe v. Wade?
I think Roe v. Wade—as a legal matter, Roe v. Wade was a wrongly decided matter.
Okay, but if you overturn Roe v. Wade, how do women have the choice you just said they should have?
The states should make that choice. That’s what the choice is. The individual choice rests in the states. Let them decide.

This answer was incoherent mush delivered on a garbage can lid. Not to mention the fact that at the time he was born, abortion was illegal, so his mother’s choice would have been an illegal procedure in the shadows, something he ought to have an awareness of before somebody hands it to him in a rhetorical knuckle sandwich. He sounded like he was dodging giving a straight answer and in the process gave what sounded like a dishonest answer. A pro life stance means you would make it illegal to have an abortion. It would no longer be a legal choice women are permitted to make. Don't try to BS that. It makes you sound sinister. Really poor articulation of the issues and as an aside, too much about his position, not enough about the GOP's position.

The other thing going on here that is really blowing my mind is the HUGE racial chip Steele has on his shoulder. He is ticked off about the way the GOP handles black voters as a constituency and his anger is patently apparent in his comments.

Well, would you have this job if you were white?
Would I have this job? Now, that’s the reverse of the question I typically get. I usually get, would I have this job if the president were white? And my answer to that is yes. But would I have this job if I were white? [long pause] The answer to that is I don’t know. I don’t know. That’s a very good question. And it says a lot about, I think, where the party is right now that I can’t answer it.

Whoa, Whoa, WHOA!!! Let me get this straight. In the first example, if the president were white, you would have been elected to this job on your merits. But if the question, asked in the reverse is did you get this job not because you were the best, but because you were black, your answer is I don't know?!! This response was horrible, just really poorly delivered by a guy who has the job of RNC chair. I am the first to argue that the GOP has a problem with blacks. Its a fundamental problem that goes right to the issue of what the identity of the GOP is going to be. Steele clearly believes that too, but as the chairman of the GOP, he ought to articulate the concern and issue much better than this. Because if you want to address that, you are going to have to raise the issue in a way that is accessible within the party and the way he did it was not, at all.

You mean your Starbucks hasn’t closed yet?
No, my Starbucks has not closed. And it better not! You cannot close a Starbucks in a black community. We’ll riot!

I found this comment about Starbucks in a black neighborhood to be tasteless and inappropriate to the moment and its one of a string of comments he’s made now where he routinely throws into the public's face the self evident fact that he’s black. It is so unnecessary. Obama spent a campaign trying desperately to run away from race and Steele goes out of his way to remind us he's black and for the life of me I cannot understand why the guy is doing that, which began with his Kool Mo Dee stylings upon election, continued with his if we rap it, they will come strategy and now this interview. Its beginning to feel like his way of shoving his blackness down the throat of the party. I’m not sure why he feels that it is necessary to do that. But he keeps doing it, and the reason seems clear. He is angry at the party on the subject of blacks.

Give Steele credit for not just dealing with this issue in a passive aggressive mode however. He unflinchingly and candidly excoriates the GOP’s dismal relationship management with blacks as a constituency.

You made the comment at the convention about the sea of white faces. And you got a little bit of heat for that.
I sure did. And I looked at the people who gave me the heat and said, “What’s your problem? You tell me I’m wrong. Look at the room. Thirty-six black folks in the room? What, are you kidding me? Out of 4,000 people? Come on!”

Why do you think so few nonwhite Americans support the Republican Party right now?
’Cause we have offered them nothing! And the impression we’ve created is that we don’t give a damn about them or we just outright don’t like them. And that’s not a healthy thing for a political party. I think the way we’ve talked about immigration, the way we’ve talked about some of the issues that are important to African-Americans, like affirmative action… I mean, you know, having an absolute holier-than-thou attitude about something that’s important to a particular community doesn’t engender confidence in your leadership by that community—or consideration of you for office or other things—because you’ve already given off the vibe that you don’t care. What I’m trying to do now is to say we do give a damn.

His sentiments are probably shared by the majority of blacks and that includes black republicans. I completely agree with him here. Steele is speaking directly to the cognitive dissonance between the GOP's talk on race and the GOP's walk. The GOP is fundamentally disinterested in black voters as a constituency. That's not an accusation of racism. Its just the bald facts. The GOP does not believe that the black voter bloc is necessary or essential to their aspirations for governance. That is a sentiment held by both its leadership and by the rank and file.

While we're on the subject of cognitive dissonance, Steele has a bit of his own to grapple with as well. Talking to fellow blogger Sophia Nelson of Political Intersection in Essence magazine:

NELSON: What is your first priority with regard to changing the image of the RNC?

STEELE: Yes, we do have an image problem and the first thing I am going to do is take the GOP’s message to Black community. We are going to show up, spend time, and spend money. And most importantly, if we want our message to be heard, we have to talk to the Black media.

Its not an image problem that the GOP has with black voters. The GOP has made conscious decisions to use wedge tactics and divisive rhetoric that positions its base in opposition to blacks. Those decisions make it clear that the calculus of the GOP has been that they do not require the support of the black community to win governance. In an America of changing demographics, a political practice that seeks to overpower and ignore minority political constituencies is not a winning formula. The GOP will have to squarely confront the issues of concern to black voters in an effective way (Latinos as well) to harness their political power. Conservative ideology is more than equal to the task, but what passes for GOP/conservative political practice is not. The remedy for that is much more than a PR overhaul.

Steele's comments make me think one of two futures is possible. Future 1: Steele gets bounced from the chairman job, which I consider more likely if the fund raising numbers are not looking good. Future 2: Steele manages to stay on, but becomes marginalized and a token figure at the top of the party, and the real juice simply flows around him as the party avoids the funky atmospherics of dumping him. Because on the issue of race and the GOP’s relationship with blacks, Steele and the party's powerful right wing are worlds apart.

When Barack Obama gave the speech on race, did you agree with what he said?
I did. I mean, some of it. But my concern throughout this campaign was, people were treating him like he was going to be the Second Coming on the question of race. And because you have a black man as president doesn’t mean that tomorrow morning a black business is not gonna get redlined or a black family’s gonna be able to get their house. Those issues still exist. So the reality of it is, electing Barack does not necessarily change the underlying concerns and issues related to race. On one level it does, but I’m still a black man; when I walk in a room, you have attitudes about black folks. I can’t change that. And I’ve gotta deal with that reality regardless of my title. There are people in this country right now who would look at Barack Obama and still refer to him as “boy.” Period. That’s the reality of America [emphasis mine]. So my point is, just recognize that while the election is historic, while it is important, while it is transformative, it does not absolve us of having to deal day in and day out, in my life and your life, with the question of race.

Racism is the reality of America? He alludes to the idea that racism is institutionally embedded in our society. Agree or disagree, but I can hardly believe I'm listening to an RNC chairman. The consistent manner in which Steele reminds us of race both directly and with his cultural shorthand buzz words and slang, says to me that his party's stance relative to blacks really sticks in his craw and has done so for some time. Heck, look at his public statements about the issue of blacks and the GOP, its not like he is hiding it. The GOP remains in the grip of the sort of low brow conservatism represented by the Rush end of the spectrum and that sector of the party’s thinking on race and Steele’s views are like anti-matter to each other. Attorney General Holder caught flak for calling us a nation of cowards about race (from me included), but the GOP is looking cowardly right now, because everyone is savaging Steele for his abortion comments, but I have not seen anyone in the GOP say boo about his comments on race which are every bit as egregious. At Hot Air, look in the comments section on Steele related posts and you see repeated several times the idea that dumping the first black man to be RNC chair would make the GOP look bad.

He could finesse the issue by simply leaving it alone, but Steele is NOT doing that. He’s pushing it, but not in a smart way, and I’m not sure that will serve him well. He’s carrying his race on his shoulder and thats almost always not a good look.

My Black Conservative/Republican Soul

In a speech Lincoln delivered in 1858 in Charleston, Ill he said:

“I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races — that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this, that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equlity. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.”

Republicans often like to refer to Lincoln as a pivotal figure in the historic trajectory of black Americans from slaves to free citizens and so he was. But such hype should not be overdone. The above is a very sobering and clarifying statement of Lincoln's thinking on the status of blacks politically and socially. Given this, its foolish for republicans to expound about the GOP as the party of Lincoln as a rhetorical proof that the GOP's history should persuade blacks to flock to our banner. He was a great man, but in the matter of blacks, he was as small as most other men of his day. It is not his humanity that lifted him above his peers in making a historical impact on the lives of blacks, but rather his pragmatism in the pursuit of a goal to which he felt all others to be subservient, that of preserving the union. If the price of preserving the Union had meant leaving blacks in bondage for another 200 years, Lincoln would have done that, and he said so. "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union."

The freedom of blacks was entirely incidental to Lincoln's enterprise to save the Union. God be praised that the historical circumstances which shaped Lincoln's decisions inured to the historical benefit of blacks. GOP members on occasion put forth the argument that MLK was a republican, hoping that claiming this revered black historical figure will encourage blacks to join the GOP fold. The claim is not based on some facts such as registration with the party or even a statement by King himself as best I can determine. Instead, the claim flows from the fact that at the time of the Civil Rights movement, King and his supporters were opposed by a racist party establishment composed of Democrats. Therefore the logic goes, he must have been a republican, as he could not possibly have been a democrat, the party supporting segregation. It does not appear to be true. MLK Sr. was a registered republican, not uncommon at the time, but not his son. MLK Jr. voted for LBJ and Kennedy. In the book "The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.," which was published after King's death from his written material and records, King called the 1964 Republican national convention that nominated Goldwater a "frenzied wedding ... of the KKK and the radical right." Near the end of his life, his ideas about economic justice would certainly not have put him in the GOP camp. Clearly, King's views as a Christian would have been in line with GOP views, but that may be all that one can reasonably say.

For years before I decided to become a republican, I despised black republicans as sellouts and uncle toms. This derision didn't come from the simple fact of being a republican. No, my contempt had a basis in my distaste for blacks who declared themselves republicans and in doing so became screeching caricatures, individuals who took every opportunity to reflexively parrot right wing criticism of blacks as social and cultural degenerates, act as apologists for divisive GOP political tactics and promote revisionist historical myths like the above. Visit the National Black Republican Association website and you'll find my evidence for this criticism. The site is rife with parroted accusations of Obama as a Marxist and socialist. Elsewhere are articles dripping with derision for their fellow blacks by trumpeting the racist history of the Democratic party and ignoring GOP political tactics pitting the base against blacks, all delivered with a smug and condescending tone.

Black Conservatives Should Be Problem Solvers, Not Bomb Throwers. I routinely object to the tone and tenor of commentary on the right about the continued commitment of blacks to the Democratic party. The underlying insinuation behind conservative critiques of black allegiance to the democrats is that blacks are brainwashed dependents of the government and simply too stupid to recognize the superiority of GOP policy prescriptions for their lives. Many of our oft heard black conservatives/republicans co-sign this insulting meme to one degree or another and I condemn this rhetorical behavior. Being a black republican ought to mean more than simply parroting with great zeal and enthusiam the shibboleths of the right, especially when their potency is fueled by nasty racial undertones.

Being a black conservative/republican should mean that we take conservative values and policy prescriptions and apply those ideas to the problems encountered in our community and that in doing so, we are fundamentally more effective in solving those problems than Democrats, because we proceed from principles which are morally and ideologically superior. What is the point of being a conservative/republican if not to consistently be more effective, more successful problem solvers for our community? Solving problems ought to be the measure of relevance for black conservatives. Efficacy in the service of the black community and of our country in general should be the standard, not whether you have a recurring pinch hitter role on Rush, or can routinely deliver bellicose warnings about the socialist apocalypse to come that would make a Stormfront member stand up and cheer. I did not sign on to the GOP so I could dog out my own people. I went GOP to talk sense and reason with my own people and solve problems, not to become a right wing race hustler Ward Connerly style, or to parrot vicious, divisive rhetoric of the right like Mychal Massie or the now utterly hysterical Alan Keyes. Conservatism is for problem solving and that is what is down on the inside of my black conservative/republican soul.

Its Official: Alan Keyes is an Idiot

There was a time when I held Alan Keyes in some regard as a principled conservative, someone who was articulate and thoughtful. Thats over. He is clearly no longer principled or thoughtful.

If You Are Too Scared to Criticize Obama For Fear of Being Called Racist, Then Keep Your Mouth Shut

I listened to a right leaning talk show host whine repeatedly that any one who criticized Obama would be called a racist. I've heard this same complaint throughout the campaign and now that Obama has assumed the office, I'm still hearing it.

All I have to say is STOP YOUR WHINING AND MAN UP! No excuses, cuz here is the deal. If you got a valid critique to make of Obama's policies or decisions, then make your case. If you're afraid that whatever you have to say will get you called a racist, then keep your frikkin mouth shut, because chances are, whatever you have to say is lame. Because if you have something worth saying and you know how to communicate, it's credibility will be invunerable to serious attack on the basis that it is racist. Period.

A Really Good Point About the GOP and Race

The following is from ZootSuit at Redstate in a discussion thread. I don't like his references to racism because I think the use of the word has become meaningless, but I really like the way he points up how the GOP misapplies its conservative ideals with an illustration about agricultural subsidies, so I repost it here.

ZootSuit Monday, December 29th at 8:54AM EST (link)

PoliticalSeason is absolutely correct when he says that the GOP is tone deaf. It is amazing to me that anyone could send out a CD, parody or not, entitled “We Hate America,” containing a song called “Barack the Magic Negro,” even if originally written as a commentary on liberal racial hangups, is either tone deaf or just out-and-out stupid.

And this time, the guy who did it is someone running for RNC Chairman. And the really sad thing is is that some people here — dare I say, Republicans — even while they may agree that it was dumber for Saltsman to send out the CD, are madder at the MSM for reporting it. Quite frankly, the MSM should have reported it: it is news!

It might not have been racist, but it certainly was STUPID!

And to the second issue that PoliticalSeason attempts to bring up — and this somewhat follows up with what others on this page have brought up regarding reaching out — the Republican Party is insensitive to Black voters. And quite frankly, the Republican Party insults are intelligence. But the interesting thing about that is, Republicans do it by not sticking to their (supposedly conservative) principles.

In response that something Eric recently wrote, I was going to write a diary on RedState called:

“How Thad McCotter proves that Republicans are racists!”

Now let me first say that I do not think Thad McCotter is a racist. Nor, for that matter, do I think that most Republicans and/or conservatives are racists. (Although there are some, a very few, racists within the Republican ranks, they truly are extremely rare but to deny that they exist is foolish on are part: but regardless, that is another issue.)

But why I think Thad McCotter “proves” that the Republican are racists is because he was willing to abandon his conservative principles in support of an auto package that in the short-term would benefit his mostly White constituency. (In the long-term I would argue that the auto bailout would be to the detriment of the auto industry but that is also another issue.) Just using McCotter as an example, it seems to many Black people — and a few non-Blacks that I know — that conservatives and/or Republicans are not for less government; they are for less government for Blacks and other non-Whites. Pay people in urban areas not to work (whose “beneficiaries are thought of as “Black” or at least not White) and we have “welfare” that we must reformed, if not completely done away with. But pay people in rural areas not to work (whose “beneficiaries” are thought of as “White” or at least not Black) and we have a “legitimate government program designed to preserve the family farm.”

Do you really think Blacks (and others) don’t notice that type of hypocrisy?

And while I do not think the motivation is racist, Republican politicians are simply taking care of/bribing their constituencies who just happen to be mostly White, it sure does look that way.

Indeed, the interesting thing about Thad McCotter’s misguided support for the auto bailout was that he could argue that he largess (at taxpayers’ expense) would benefit Blacks, too. However, while true, it still does not change from the basic fact of how “constituency services” work and how, when Republicans use them in support of their mostly White constituencies while simultaneously arguing for “less government” makes them look like hypocrites and racists.

And, yes, Republicans seem to be totally insensitive to that.

And for those who asked how can the GOP reach out to Blacks and other Minorities, my answer is simple: be more principled. Decry both “welfare” and “agricultural subsidies” as well as “auto bailouts” and whatnot; and when the opportunities present themselves, vote against them.

(I also argue that conservatives and Republicans don’t realize and/or want to admit who generally-speaking are the most conservative elements within the Black community: “Black nationalists” such as myself. But that is an argument that I have had hear before and I really don’t want to get into again at the moment. Maybe later. Happy New Year!)

***** Unrepentant African-American nationalist, Unapologetic African-American conservative!

Brother On the Other Side

Hat tip Dirty Harry's Place



This was a fun and well delivered piece of rhetoric for the McCain/Palin ticket. Harry said he would vote for Palin-This Guy 08. I think I would reverse the order. He makes a good argument or two for the conservative viewpoint. I'm a conservative myself, so I enjoy hearing the case made. However, its major drawback is that it lacks authenticity in articulating the case for conservatism within the black community from our perspective. When you articulate the case for conservatism in the same tone of scorn and derision used by conservatives pursuing political advantage rather than positive outcomes in our community, you lose credibility with me.

His arguments about planned parenthood for example, while correct in their irony, are the same arguments served up by conservatives who will not contribute anything to the discussion about re-entry or justice system reforms while they pursue voter suppression strategies to beat back the exercise of black voting power. I'm all for arguing the conservative case because I am one, but I have very little patience for people who espouse conservative principles and their superiority for the black community (which is true) but turn a blind eye to conservative efforts to gain power using the black community as its foil.

Dark Horse Rising

I don't have an extensive knowledge of Mike Huckabee's positions or policy positions, though I'm boning up. I kinda of like the guy based on three things: 1. He showed up for Tavis's debate to put in work for the party, took his fellow republicans to task for not attending and gave some good answers, acquitted himself well. 2. He's got strong social conservative views and positions and I like that and 3. He is a fair tax advocate. While there are some who claim the fair tax is not a workable option, the present tax system is a nightmare that never ends and the fair tax can't possibly be worse.

He's been rising in the polls in Iowa, like his democratic dark horse twin Obama. Could an Obama, Huckabee face off for the Oval Office be in our future? I like the guy. Like Obama, he comes off more often than not as earnest and sincere. I think his Iraq position as stated on his website is on the weak side, but I don't expect anyone to be brilliant on Iraq given how screwed up it has gotten. But I like his conservative bent and I like his stand on taxes. He's my replacement after I threw Guiliani under the bus because he didn't show for Tavis's debate. Check him out.