# Buchanan: "White America died" election night \[satire\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 12, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746 "2012-11-12T03:25:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/21 "2012-11-12T07:22:13Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > And one of the first two people climbing Everest wasn’t white. Dead giveaway there, since climbing Everest could only have been picked for its supposed satiric value. Ditto ‘inventing algebra’, except… well, there are things I expect certain people to know and things I don’t expect those people to know. Who invented certain mathematical ideas I kinda expect to be out of Pat Buchanan’s mental map, especially when he’s saying things [“not intended to be a factual statement”](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/not-intended-to-be-a-factual-statement), as the saying goes. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/22 "2012-11-12T07:55:06Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > IIRC, he actually had his own special segment on her show originally. > > ETA: MSNBC [finally fired him early this year.](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0217/Why-did-MSNBC-drop-Pat-Buchanan) I’ve been a faithful Maddow viewer from the first show, and can confirm that Pat was a weekly guest, with his own “It’s Pat!” segment. She called him her “Fake Uncle”, and appeared to have a genuine friendship and respect for his opinion. And honestly, when he’s not in one of his danger areas, when he’s talking about political strategy, he is insightful and worth listening to. But there is that whole “being a racist piece of shit” thing as well. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/23 "2012-11-12T14:45:31Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > And one of the first two people climbing Everest wasn’t white. Dead giveaway there, since climbing Everest could only have been picked for its supposed satiric value. How does anybody even know who was the first person to climb Everest anyway? (I mean, unless it’s a flatly impossible task without modern oxygen-tank equipment.) Humans have been living in the region since time immemorial, after all. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/24 "2012-11-12T14:46:58Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Yeah, satire just can’t keep up with these people. Buchanan’s latest book, “Suicide of a Superpower” actually has a chapter titled “The End of White America”. He also wrote _Death of the West,_ wherein a very different word beginning with “W” is clearly intended. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/25 "2012-11-12T15:11:01Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > (I mean, unless it’s a flatly impossible task without modern oxygen-tank equipment.) Humans have been living in the region since time immemorial, after all. While humans have climbed Everest without any supplemental oxygen, it would be pretty much impossible without some sort of crampons and climbing ropes. It’s such an arduous endeavor that no one could casually climb any 8000 meter peak. It’s not impossible that there were climbers before Hilary and Tenzig but it’s extremely unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/26 "2012-11-12T15:18:14Z")
Hey, even the first black president was a white guy! ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/27 "2012-11-12T19:42:51Z")
The reference to algebra was also a dead give-away. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/28 "2012-11-12T19:55:29Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Hey, even the first black president was a white guy! Warren Harding? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/29 "2012-11-12T20:20:42Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > While humans have climbed Everest without any supplemental oxygen, it would be pretty much impossible without some sort of crampons and climbing ropes. It’s such an arduous endeavor that no one could casually climb any 8000 meter peak. It’s not impossible that there were climbers before Hilary and Tenzig but it’s extremely unlikely. Some people think it’s possible that George Mallory was actually the first person to reach the peak of Everest. Mallory was the leader of a 1924 expedition up the mountain. Mallory and another climber, Andrew Irvine, set out for the summit on June 8. They both died in the attempt. Most likely they died while heading up towards the summit. But some people think Mallory may have made it to the summit and died on the way back down. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/30 "2012-11-12T20:37:49Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Right. People keep missing the point: **For satire to work, it has to be something that’s a little bit beyond what the target would actually say or do.** > > Those remarks in the OP don’t qualify. > > (This also requires audience familiarity with the target. When Ebert attempted sarcasm, which is similar to satire, he failed because he came off like he was just another dumb old person mouthing off about gays. Not enough people knew his real position on the issue.) The English don’t know how to do satire. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/31 "2012-11-12T21:15:18Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > The reference to algebra was also a dead give-away. Ya think? It would be just like Pat to be ignorant on that point; and even more like him to be so false-sophisticated as to bring up something about [Diophantus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diophantus) (white guy if Greeks count), even though his explorations in algebra were forgotten as thoroughly as any ancient heliocentric theory of astronomy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/32 "2012-11-12T21:22:28Z")
Say what you will about PB, ignorant, he is not. He’s got a good, Jesuit education under his belt (in a manner of speaking). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/33 "2012-11-12T21:49:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But some people think Mallory may have made it to the summit and died on the way back down. My opinion is that they didn’t make it up; they died on the ascent. Based on where they found the bodies and what they had with them, Irvine is the likelier candidate for making it to the summit than Mallory, but the climbing may have been beyond their reach no matter what. Still, they had crampons and supplemental oxygen. Anyone before the first western climbers would not have had those tools. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/34 "2012-11-12T21:59:48Z")
Compare and contrast reaction to this thread and reaction to my thread about union crews being turned away in Sandy territory. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/35 "2012-11-12T22:12:26Z")
Nah, you go ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/36 "2012-11-12T22:14:43Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Compare and contrast reaction to this thread and reaction to my thread about union crews being turned away in Sandy territory. There does seem to be an element of “It doesn’t matter whether or not he actually did it. The important point is I believe it’s the kind of thing he’d do.” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/37 "2012-11-12T22:18:43Z")
Of course, Buchanan is a racist and an idiot. It just so happens that this particular incident is false. In Bricker’s thread, no one is in doubt that the particular incident is false, however, there’s no evidence that it’s “the kind of thing they’d do.” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/38 "2012-11-12T22:32:36Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Compare and contrast reaction to this thread and reaction to my thread about union crews being turned away in Sandy territory. “Come and see the hypocrisy inherent in the system! Help, help, I’m being repressed!” ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/39 "2012-11-12T22:36:29Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Compare and contrast reaction to this thread and reaction to my thread about union crews being turned away in Sandy territory. Bricker, you are off your rocker if you think that a thread where someone mistakenly posts a piece of parody as if it were fact is comparable to a thread where someone posts a made-up piece of “news” from a biased but real and unverified news source. Now, had this thread been a link to a reputable news source that actually takes itself seriously, claiming that Buchanan had actually said all this, you’d have a point. But it wasn’t, now was it? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746/40 "2012-11-12T22:41:19Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Compare and contrast reaction to this thread and reaction to my thread about union crews being turned away in Sandy territory. Mistake about taking a parody website seriously vs. posting from a website that lies through its teeth. Yep-exactly the same thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buchanan-white-america-died-election-night-satire/640746.md?page=3)