# Finally someone said it out loud \[racist opposition to the ACA\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 25, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230 "2014-02-25T16:12:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/21 "2014-02-26T03:17:59Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > As well as Maine, of all places. The red lobster meat should be kept separate from the white lobster meat! Miscecrustaceanation is an abomination! If you prefer your lobster bisque thicker you can use White Flour! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/22 "2014-02-26T03:26:40Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > The red lobster meat should be kept separate from the white lobster meat! Miscecrustaceanation is an abomination! If you prefer your lobster bisque thicker you can use White Flour! WTF does it mean, “red lobster meat?” ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/23 "2014-02-26T04:20:15Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Um…you are WAAAAY off base WRT to my post. > > The point is that it is my belief that the single ROOT of hatred of Obama is racist. > > This is apart from antagonism of the ACA-- which is a smoke screen and gives “letigimacy” to hating an uppity black man Harvard graduate who had the bare-faced nerve not only to run for President, but to win. I only quoted the part from the story about the ACA to give it context, and to show that Landrieu’s 20-year history of helping her constituents was negated/erased/blown to smithereens because she supported the signature achievement of this uppity black man who had the nerve to step out of his place. > > And this dumb shit’s racist opinion is, unfortunately, shared by many not-so-dumb people who won’t/can’t admit that they hate Obama because he’s an uppity black man. So they focus on the ACA. I have the misfortune to know some of these people, and I know there are more out there. At no time is this post/thread meant to make any comment on the merit or lack of merit of the ACA itself. > > That is my only reason for posting this story. Not to say that this guy’s opinion is worth squat. But to hear even a dumb shit like this guy say it on a national media outlet is ballsy of the network. I would expect any mainstream station to edit that out as… well, as a racist comment, the way the n-word might be bleeped. > > That is my point. I find this to be true. Most of the people I am related to ( conservates) hate the president with the passion of a thousand suns. They disliked Clinton but they hate Obama. Why? Ask about individual parts of the ACA and they like that.What don’t they like? Oh you know that other stuff. Taking 600 million away from my Medicare, making me lose my doctors and it’s going to cost me more money in taxes and raise the price of everything. So they are not sure what ACA does, but it is bad because they heard it in the echo chamber so it must be true. A nice white boy wouldn’t want to send grandma to a death panel. ---
**Author:** ![Qwisp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qwisp/32/397_2.png) [@Qwisp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwisp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/24 "2014-02-26T04:28:54Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > I’m guessing the point is to accuse anyone who opposes the ACA of being racist. > > The Democrats seem to realize that if the ACA is judged on its merits, that’s bad for them, so they prefer accusing anyone who discusses the merits of the ACA of being racist. I wish we could discuss it on its merits instead of the distortions and outright lies that have been told about the ACA. Is the law perfect? No far from it. But it’s a start and an improvement. The US has the worst medical system dollar for dollar than most other developed countries. We spend a higher percentage of our GDP and yet our people are sicker and less healthy. We need to get profit out of medicine. A healthy populace is good for productivity and national security, yet republicans seem to place illness as a moral failing,much like being poor or jobless. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/25 "2014-02-26T14:44:35Z")
> [@Qwisp](#): > > I wish we could discuss it on its merits instead of the distortions and outright lies that have been told about the ACA. So do I, but NPR doesn’t want that, so they run stories to push the idea that opposition to the ACA is based on racism. And I don’t think it took any balls to leave the line in - that was the whole point of the story. Throw that in there, and nobody is going to hear anything else. The ACA is a rather large debacle. NPR is sending out the signal not to debate that - the idea to push is > [@](#): > > that the single ROOT of hatred of Obama is racist. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/26 "2014-02-26T16:42:21Z")
If you don’t want us to think that racism is the reason why people hate Obama, then you have to tell us what the reason actually is. I’ve yet to hear that from any conservative. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/27 "2014-02-26T16:56:16Z")
Not everyone who hates Obama is racist. Some would hate any other Democrat, as we’ll see when President Hillary Clinton is sworn in. It is possible to oppose the ACA for rational reasons, but few do. A lot of it is “socialism!” “Death Panels!” and “Government takeover of healthcare!” If you can point to a specific feature of the law and say how you’d modify it to improve it, I can respect that. What I can’t respect is the lockstep unified opposition to it simply because it is associated with Obama when essentially it is the same as the Republican alternative to Hillarycare from 1993. That being said, much of the anti-Obama rhetoric is race-based. There was never any demand for the “long form” birth certificate for a white president. Executive orders from white presidents were never the sign of the End Times, but they are when Obama, who has used them less than any president in modern times, uses them. Never before in history has the opposition party met on Inauguration Day to vow inflexible opposition to everything the new president wants to do. If you think race has nothing to do with it, I think you’re fooling yourself. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/28 "2014-02-26T17:55:39Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Not everyone who hates Obama is racist. Some would hate any other Democrat, as we’ll see when President Hillary Clinton is sworn in. Yes, well, that will bring into play yet **another** factor that did not apply in Bill’s case . . . ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/29 "2014-02-26T18:10:22Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Yes, well, that will bring into play yet **another** factor that did not apply in Bill’s case . . . Oh, come now. You’re talking about the guys who didn’t hold Sarah Palin’s gender against her. I’m sure they’ll criticize President Hillary solely on her job performance. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/30 "2014-02-26T18:48:53Z")
[Wait! Don’t give up hope! The Pubs have a fix for the ACA!](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/todd-young-obamacare-bill-cbo-report) > [@](#): > > A Republican-led bill designed to “save American workers” would cause 1 million workers to lose their health care coverage and increase the deficit by $74 billion, according to Congress’ official scorekeeper. > > The legislation, offered by Rep. Todd Young (R-IN) and 208 co-sponsors as a tweak to Obamacare, would change the definition of a full-time work week under the health care law from 30 hours per week to 40 hours. The aim was to mitigate the effect of the law’s employer mandate, which says businesses with 50 or more workers must offer insurance to full-time employees. > > An analysis of the bill, released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation, found that it would cause 1 million people to lose their employer-based insurance coverage. The report projected that more than 500,000 of them would end up getting coverage through Medicaid, the Children’s Health Care Program or the Obamacare exchanges. The rest, CBO and JCT said, would become uninsured. > > The legislation would also lower the amount the federal government collects in penalties from businesses who don’t abide by the employer mandate. As a result, the report found, the deficit would go up by $74 billion over 10 years. > > Titled the “Save American Workers Act,” the bill was touted by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) as part of the GOP’s winter 2014 agenda. It cleared the House Ways & Means Committee on a party line vote earlier this month and was slated for a full House vote perhaps as early as next week. Of the bill’s 208 cosponsors, seven are Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/31 "2014-02-26T18:50:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If you don’t want us to think that racism is the reason why people hate Obama, then you have to tell us what the reason actually is. I’ve yet to hear that from any conservative. So you claim that no conservative has ever mentioned any reason other than racism for opposing Obama? Not only do I not believe you, I am having a hard time believing that you believe you. _:shakes head:_ The weird shit you people buy, and expect me to fall for. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/32 "2014-02-26T18:55:23Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > So you claim that no conservative has ever mentioned any reason other than racism for opposing Obama? Not only do I not believe you, I am having a hard time believing that you believe you. > > _:shakes head:_ > > The weird shit you people buy, and expect me to fall for. > > Regards, > Shodan Well, no other **believable** reason, because not only I do not believe them when they say “Socialist!” or “Muslim!” or even “Gun-grabber!” for that matter, I am having a hard time believing that they believe them. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/33 "2014-02-26T20:38:41Z")
Well, isn’t that the problem? The point is that the resistance to Obama and his policies is no more based on a belief that he is a Muslim or a secret socialist than it is on racism. Those are all things that the hard-line fanatics seize on because it is easier than dealing with the fact that it is possible to disagree with whatever the Dems come up with in good faith. As I said, that is the point of the NPR story, the point of this thread, and the point of much though not all the rhetoric of the SDMB. It is easier to simply yell “Racist!” than actually deal with disagreement in good faith, and the charge is so inflammatory that the race-baiters can get away with it. It’s easy to argue with the nutcases. Pretending that everyone on the other side is a nutcase is where things start to break down. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/34 "2014-02-26T20:48:13Z")
> [@](#): > > So you claim that no conservative has ever mentioned any reason other than racism for opposing Obama? Not only do I not believe you, I am having a hard time believing that you believe you. I do not claim that no conservative has ever mentioned such a reason. I claim that no conservative has ever told me what it is. And I note that you haven’t provided such a reason, either. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/35 "2014-02-26T22:36:49Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Actually, odds are the guy wasn’t born when the Civil Rights Act was passed. And having lived in the South for six years (and around a number of Kentucky transplants here in Northern Indiana) I’d have to say that racial tolerance would be the exception and not the rule. > > PS: Why would you socialize with people who hold racist political views? > Diversity? There’s not always a lot of CHOICE if you want a social life. I’m a native Georgian, and people in my family have learned not to say the “n” word around me, but I know damn well it’s not because their views have changed. I still hang with my family and talk to them regularly, because they are in many respects good people, but damn … racism is hard to get rid of, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/36 "2014-02-26T23:28:27Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Actually, odds are the guy wasn’t born when the Civil Rights Act was passed. And having lived in the South for six years (and around a number of Kentucky transplants here in Northern Indiana) I’d have to say that racial tolerance would be the exception and not the rule. Apparently. > [@Stupid Republican idea of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12394): > > _sigh_ My own state senator Mae Beavers sponsored this new bill to the TN Legislature: > > > [@](#): > > > > Several Middle Tennessee Republicans are taking on the Affordable Care Act, with a new bill that would bar state and local governments — and possibly also companies that do business with them — from buying health insurance through the federal website. > > > > State Sen. Mae Beavers and three House Republicans released a bill Wednesday designed to stop President Barack Obama’s health care reform law by discouraging use of its health insurance exchange, [HealthCare.gov](http://HealthCare.gov)… > > > > That could cause immediate problems for TennCare. Since Jan. 1, the state’s Medicaid program has been using [HealthCare.gov](http://HealthCare.gov) to sign up new enrollees until a new state-run website is completed. > > > > The bill also extends to state contractors, although there is some ambiguity about the extent to which private companies would be affected. > > They’re not even pretending that this bill helps Tennesseans. They’re just throwing a political snit and they don’t particularly care if poor people have insurance or not. > > There is a bright side though: unlike most of the Republicans named in this thread, here’s one I actually get to vote and campaign against! > > ETA: Oops, [linky](http://www.tennessean.com/article/20140116/NEWS0201/301160051/Tennessee-lawmakers-file-bill-block-Affordable-Care-Act). > [@Stupid Republican idea of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12409): > > As a recent citizen of Tennessee, I am not that surprised. > They REALLY hate Mr. Obama around these here parts. > [@Stupid Republican idea of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12413): > > Do they say why? > [@Stupid Republican idea of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12414): > > Well, it is primarily because “he ain’t our kind”. > I didn’t move here because it is a progressive community. > The place is beautiful and peaceful. > The land and the people I know are wonderful. > > But, the folks who have lived here for generations are somewhat backwards. > It is something of a timewarp to drive into town and shop for groceries. > The supermarket is relatively modern, but the clientele? Less so. > > It was only a decade ago that I first spotted a real live black couple shopping here. > Two of my close friends shopping with me (who happen to be black) noticed them first. > We debated whether we should say, “Hello” or just smile when we saw them. > We ended up saying “Hello” and gained a couple of new friends. They are from Indiana and apparently intend to retire here. Things have changed for the better since the 1990s but still, there is a strong residue of bigotry and racism remaining. > > But, I am from the city and was raised as anti-racist as it was possible to be in Atlanta in the mid 20th century. I am a fish out of water. I am sure all the folks around here consider themselves to be good people who are just worried about somebody they don’t feel comfortable with being President. > > And they vote. > [@Stupid Republican idea of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/12435): > > So, apart from race it’s not really political, and they might vote for a white Democrat? A white female Democrat, even? No response to the last . . . Anyone care to speculate? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/37 "2014-02-26T23:49:40Z")
Why the hate for Hillary Clinton from some Democrats? Is it because she didn’t show her Husband after Monica Lewinsky? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/38 "2014-02-26T23:56:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why the hate for Hillary Clinton from some Democrats? > Is it because she didn’t show her Husband after Monica Lewinsky? Probably lingering resentments from 2008; the primary fight got really bitter. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/39 "2014-02-27T00:01:41Z")
I’ll agree straight out. At the root of all the negative obstructionism of Obama for both terms is the simply matter of being racists. What is the big surprise? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230/40 "2014-02-27T00:13:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > So you claim that no conservative has ever mentioned any reason other than racism for opposing Obama? Not only do I not believe you, I am having a hard time believing that you believe you. > _:shakes head:_ > The weird shit you people buy, and expect me to fall for. > Regards, > Shodan I definitely think it’s ridiculous to say that the only reason people oppose Obama is racism, or that all people who oppose Obama are racist. Of course it’s possible to oppose a politician because their stances and actions are not in line with your political positions. BUT. There are people who go beyond opposing Obama, or even disliking Obama, who have an incredibly strong, _visceral hatred_ for Obama that is evident in what they say/write about him (or actions towards him if they’re actual politicians), with a lack of basic respect for him as a person or even the office itself. THESE opponents? I _absolutely_ believe racism is part of their opposition. But note that I don’t think this is every Obama hater/opponent, nor do I think racism is the only reason (or even necessarily the main reason) for their opposition. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-someone-said-it-out-loud-racist-opposition-to-the-aca/682230.md?page=3)