Republicans Still Trying To Blame Fiscal Crisis On Minorities

Conservatism, for all intensive purposes has been proven a failed ideology that has done nothing but tear America apart at the seams. Then it gets into the core of our nation and starts rotting the core of our democracy. The only purpose it seems to serve is to make the rich richer at the expense of the poor. One effective tactic of the GOP has been to use wedge issues (such as abortion, gay rights, etc) and exploited differences in race to hold onto their corruptive power. Now as voters are waking up to the realities of the fiscal nightmare they created, the GOP is trying to divert our attention by playing on their base's fears of minorities. Naturally, the right wing pundits and conservative elites happily pick up their party's baton.

From The Huffington Post:

The campaign is being conducted by such leading advocates of the right as Charles Krauthammer, Mona Charen, Jeff Jacoby, television hosts like Lou Dobbs, and the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily and the Washington Times.

Krauthammer, for example, makes the case that, "For decades, starting with Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, there has been bipartisan agreement to use government power to expand homeownership to people who had been shut out for economic reasons or, sometimes, because of racial and ethnic discrimination. What could be a more worthy cause? But it led to tremendous pressure on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- who in turn pressured banks and other lenders -- to extend mortgages to people who were borrowing over their heads. That's called subprime lending. It lies at the root of our current calamity."

For those inclined to blame Democratic liberals, this argument is appealing. Neither Krauthammer nor Charen quotes any sources to back up their respective cases, and the only expert cited by Boston Globe columnist Jacoby is Loyola College economist Thomas DiLorenzo. DiLorenzo is most famous as a defender of the Confederacy and for his anti-Abraham Lincoln books, including The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War and Lincoln Unmasked: What You're Not Supposed To Know about Dishonest Abe.

The argument is so ridiculous, it could only be picked up by the most vile members of our society. Most are afraid to accept the responsibility of advocating and achieving the de-regulation that put us in this mess. Instead of admitting their failures and the utter disappointment that conservatism is as a whole, people like Dobbs, Krauthammer et al. resort to the worst elements of our society.

The entire article by Thomas Edsell at Huffington Post goes into even more detail and sheds the appropriate light that their racism deserves.

GOP "Family Values" Summit Serves Up Obama Waffles, Lou Dobbs Loves Em'

Over and over again we hear that the Republicans are the party of family values and that Democrats are dirty hippies who want to rip apart the nuclear household. They have organizations with names to support that meme and talk incessantly that they are the ones that will hold the traditional family together. One thing that they forget is that they're also the party of not-so-hidden racism and bigotry, and it was on display at their latest even this weekend.

From RawStory:

An exhibitor at the 2008 Value Voters Summit - sponsored by the Family Research Council and counting among its speakers former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been selling seemingly racist anti-Obama waffles. The product is pictured below. Summit security would not allow photographs to be taken inside the exhibit hall. "I asked the 'chef'... if he was at all concerned that this might be viewed as a white man putting a black man into a frying pan," Raw Story reporter Larisa Alexandrovna wrote Saturday. "He laughed and said, 'I hope so.'" The first image shows a gaping caricature of Obama under the words "Obama Waffles," with the tagline "Waffling the World Over." The second shows Obama in a turban with the words, "Point box toward Mecca for tastier waffles."

At first a skeptic could just dismiss this as characterizing political waffling on issues. Yet taking a look at the product gives an instant indication as to what the creators of this garbage were meaning to do. Oh and this wasn't just for the fringe, even CNN personality Lou Dobbs loved the racially-tinged waffles:

According to the the site's blog, Lou Dobbs, who was also speaking at the convention, lauded the product Friday.

"My wife will love this," Dobbs purportedly said. A photograph of Dobbs with a box and one of the sellers is online here.

Lou (or his supporters) had it taken down, but thanks to the miracle of the Internet, you can see the screen shot...and the ugly truth of the racist right.

Lying Lou Dobbs

Oh Lou! Poor, poor, hate-filled Lou. Flag pins mean nothing to the hardships of the ordinary Americans you proclaim to care about. However if you do bring it up, try not to be dishonest about it.

The Myth Of Illegal Immigration

Media Matters covers the news like no other. The disturbing trends in many media outlets show that fear and hate are used in abundance to project ridiculous information in order to scare Americans:

The Hollow Economy

Under the direction of the Center for American Progress, Lou Dobbs tells his audience about the housing bubble and what is happening as it deflates:

You're Not Gonna Believe This One

President Bush, saying one thing and doing another.....over and over and over again.



It really does amaze me how Bush can talk tough about going after Iran for trying to obtain nuclear capabilities, while simultaneously funding their research. Wow.

Colbert Can Even Make Lou Dobbs Look Good

Colbert does it again, interviewing xenophobe Lou Dobbs, brilliance!

Spitzer Calls Out Venomous Lou Dobbs

Lou Dobbs is an interesting figure on CNN to say the least. Every couple of months he goes on a particular crusade of some sort (kinda like Bill O) that generally involves illegal immigrants. He masks his thoughts with clever slogans like "protecting our borders" and other isolationist crap. He denies that he hates brown people, but you know when it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and is covered in feathers...it's generally a duck.

His latest jihad has been about our Governor Eliot Spitzer and his highly controversial attempt to give those immigrants drivers licenses. To Spitzer's detriment, he has been going about convincing New York and the nation about the program. Nevertheless, on the face of it, I'd rather have someone that can drive safely after learning how to drive properly than just getting in a car without a license.

Lou doesn't give a flying ____ about the safety of our roads, just keeping people out of the country that come from south of the border. Spitzer was asked about Lou, and gave him an appropriate New York response.

From Crooks and Liars:

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SPITZER: Look, I’m not going to demean myself by getting into a back and forth with somebody who on TV spews venom, hate and fundamental misinformation. Of course not. He knows it.

As I said, it’s beneath me, it’s beneath my office, to, in any way, involve myself with Lou Dobbs. And I think his knowing spread of venom is beneath CNN as well.

Good for Spitzer, now if he could only communicate as effectively with New York and its legislators as he did with Lou.

Lou, They Aren't Aliens

Lou Dobbs is known in immigration circles (both hateful and not) for being a vocal critic of people crossing our southern border in search of a better life. Although he subscribes to the terms 'illegal immigration' and 'illegal aliens,' other people such as Laura Flanders know better. She also has the guts to tell him that his speech is dead wrong.

From Orcinus' discussion of Lou Dobbs' May 8th broadcast:

DOBBS: Well, I appreciate it. Thank you, Joe. Laura Flanders, let's talk about Mitt Romney at ...

LAURA FLANDERS, AIR AMERICA: I wanted to come back for a minute to the L.A. story, the last two stories. I think if Dr. King were alive today, he would be talking about what happened on L.A. on May 1st. When you talk about abuse, 240 rounds of rubber bullets and tear gas.

We've gone from legal punishment of illegal aliens to physical punishment, and it's not helped by language like yours, Lou, talking about these [marchers] as being illegal aliens...

DOBBS: Laura, Laura, Laura, that's ridiculous.

FLANDERS: They're not aliens, they're people. And the vast majority of people at these marches are utterly legal. They're not aliens, Lou. They're people, and you're dehumanizing them with that language.

That is exactly what Lou specializes in, dehumanization. It is why right-wing hate groups love to cite him (and appear on his show) in their publications to incite hatred towards the newest immigrants in our country. Due to a backlogged immigration system that does not let very many people in from the south, millions are forced to trek across parched and dangerous deserts to find jobs.

Instead of finding common ground with these immigrants, Lou conveniently forgets his own history (and many others) and chooses this absurd nativist route that helps no one. His type of dialogue only hurts all of us, whether directly from an immigrants' standpoint or collectively when it comes to the health of our nation and what America is all about.