DiscussMormonism.com

I'm making a prediction. Of course, since I don't claim to any pipeline to God's insight, this is a prediction based solely on my mortal powers of observation and reasoning, so I may be incorrect.

I predict that this will be the last race-baiting campaign that the US sees on a federal level.

in my opinion, Mitt and the republicans decided to make a wild gamble this election. They decided to try and win the election mainly through the power of the white vote. (by the way, this speaks to the truth that some have asserted, that this isn't really between conservative and moderate republican anymore, but between republicans who can count and those who cannot) In a way, Mitt was forced into this corner by having to present himself as even more extreme than the other radicals that ran with him in the primary in terms of immigration. But he wasn't forced into the African-american race baiting, and I think his father would have been horrified, so he has gotten what he deserved.

The overt race-baiting combined with the naked attempts to suppress minority voting backfired on the republican party. The turn-out on the democratic side was much higher than the republicans anticipated, and part of that was due to increased determination and energy as a reaction to the race-baiting and voter suppression. The minority community came to view this election as an important statement regarding the right to vote, and that increased participation.

Aside from this, the obvious fact is that the changing demography of the US ensures that race-baiting will be viewed as a certain road to defeat among everyone but the most irrational among us.

This prediction is for the federal level of elections, however. I expect that race-baiting will probably continue on some state and local levels. But I, for one, am very relieved that we most likely won't be subject to this particular form of political ugliness again.

(by the way, I consider the charges of race-baiting and minority vote suppression to be proven facts, and will not engage with the "birther/truther" mentality among some on this board that will lead them to insist this is all my imagination, or the bias of the liberal media)

beastie wrote:Aside from this, the obvious fact is that the changing demography of the US ensures that race-baiting will be viewed as a certain road to defeat among everyone but the most irrational among us.

Yet the most irrational among us constitute the power base of the Republican party. A sure path to defeat, sure. But will that cause them to stop being who they are?

Analytics wrote:Yet the most irrational among us constitute the power base of the Republican party. A sure path to defeat, sure. But will that cause them to stop being who they are?

Surely the mainstream republicans will at least find the backbone to fight THAT, if it happens again. This time the mainstream republicans were not only tolerant of the race-baiting, but sometimes engaged in in themselves.

beastie wrote:

Analytics wrote:Yet the most irrational among us constitute the power base of the Republican party. A sure path to defeat, sure. But will that cause them to stop being who they are?

Surely the mainstream republicans will at least find the backbone to fight THAT, if it happens again. This time the mainstream republicans were not only tolerant of the race-baiting, but sometimes engaged in in themselves.

If the mainstream Republicans can't do that they are doomed to oblivion. I wonder how they will accomplish the purging of the radical right.

For the last hundred years or so the Republicans have needed the 'uninformed' voters to bolster their votes. Emotional wedge issues (religion, patriotism, racism) are what they have used to convince the 'descamisados' to vote against their own interests.

The monster they created by pandering to that (Tea Party) is now threatening to take over and virtually guarantee no more Presidential victories for the GOP.

I'm wondering if we might see a third party emerge. One made up of 'rational' Republicans and conservative Democrats.

I'd like to think so, beastie, but stuff like this gives me pause. http://dailycurrant.com/2012/11/07/buchanan-white-america-dead/ Heck, he was a candidate for president once upon a time.

I fear it may get worse before it gets better.

I don't know. Even mentioning immigration reform and entitlements was labeled racist. Making fun of the president's golf game was said to be racist. Even Tagg Romney's joke about punching was called racist.

I'd hate to think what would have happened had the campaign overtly traded on racial fear.

Bob Loblaw wrote:I don't know. Even mentioning immigration reform and entitlements was labeled racist. Making fun of the president's golf game was said to be racist. Even Tagg Romney's joke about punching was called racist.

I'd hate to think what would have happened had the campaign overtly traded on racial fear.

Bob,

You're in denial. The campaign did overtly trade on racial fear.

Brad Hudson wrote:I'd like to think so, beastie, but stuff like this gives me pause. http://dailycurrant.com/2012/11/07/buchanan-white-america-dead/ Heck, he was a candidate for president once upon a time.

I fear it may get worse before it gets better.

My god.

Buchanan: ‘White America’ Died Last Night

Conservative political pundit Pat Buchanan stoked controversy today by claiming that Barack Obama's reelection has 'killed White America'.

The paleoconservative nativist is no stranger to racial controversy, having previously been accused of writing books with racist and anti-semitic undertones.

But the former Nixon advisor was more explicit on the G. Gordon Liddy Show this morning. When asked for his reaction to Obama's victory, Buchanan replied brazenly:

"White America died last night. Obama's reelection killed it. Our 200 plus year history as a Western nation is over. We're a Socialist Latin American country now. Venezuela without the oil."

Stunned by his clear racisim, Liddy tried to walk his guest back from the ledge:

"With what you just said right there...You seem to imply that white people are better than other people. That's not really what you're saying is it?"

"Of course that's what I'm saying," Buchanan replied "Isn't it obvious? Anything worth doing on this Earth was done first by white people."
"Who landed on the moon? White people. Who climbed Mount Everest? White people. Who invented the transistor? White people. Who invented paper? White people. Who discovered algebra? White people."

"And don't give me all this nonsense about Martin Luther King and civil rights and all that. Who do you think freed the slaves? Abraham Lincoln. A white guy!"

Carte Blanche

"But we're not led by Lincoln anymore, we're led by an affirmative-action mulatto who can't physically understand how great America once was."
"I cried last night G. I cried for hours. It's over for all of us. The great White nation will never survive another 4 years of Obama's leadership"

Liddy tried to reason with Buchanan, reminding him that he shares similar positions with the President on Afghanistan, Iraq, and relations with Russia:
"Of course I agree with half of what he does," Buchanan answered, "He's half white! That's not the half I'm worried about."

Buchanan served as a speechwriter in the Nixon White House. He was fired as an MSNBC analyst this year following the publication of a book many considered to be racist.

Pat Buchanan represents an ugly, extremist right-wing populism that is, in some ways, indistinguishable from left-wing populism. Please do not paint us with the same brush.

Gingrich responded, “I’m assuming there’s some rhythm to Barack Obama that the rest of us don’t understand -- whether he needs large amounts of rest, whether he needs to go play basketball for a while. I don’t watch ESPN--I don’t quite know what his rhythms are. But this is a guy who is a brilliant performer as an orator who may well get reelected at the present date. And who, frankly, happens to be a partial, part-time president. I mean he really is a lot like the substitute referees in the sense that he’s not a real president.”

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/gingric ... -president

Like many conservative pundits, Sarah Palin is criticizing President Obama for his administration’s inconsistent statements on the Benghazi, Libya, attack. Unlike many conservative pundits, Palin used the term “shuck and jive” to describe Obama’s behavior.

In a Facebook post today, Palin wrote: “Obama’s Shuck and Jive Ends With Benghazi Lies.” She also used the term in the text of the post, which concludes, “President Obama’s shuck and jive shtick with these Benghazi lies must end.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/eri ... _blog.html

Also compare "Welfare President" to "Welfare Queen":



And what do you imagine is the origin of the birther movement?