Hope for the Republican Party of the future?

[adaher]

@iiandyiiii

When did the President say or imply that inner city people are lazy?

Paul Ryan did, and he’s not the first Republican to do so.

He said there are a lot of men not working and not even thinking about work in the inner cities. This is statistically true. Now the reason for that could be something other than culture, and if you believe it is, then say so. but disputing the facts won’t get you anywhere.

Fact: inner city black male unemployment is sky high. And an even greater number aren’t even in the workforce.

Secondly, the President strongly implied that there is an anti-learning culture in black America. If that is okay, then it is not racist at all to suggest there is also an anti-work culture, since learning and work are pretty closely related. Both are work.

[iiandyiiii]

@adaher

He said there are a lot of men not working and not even thinking about work in the inner cities. This is statistically true.

Not working? Sure. Not thinking about work? Please… show me the statistics from the Bureau of Telepathy.

Now the reason for that could be something other than culture, and if you believe it is, then say so. but disputing the facts won’t get you anywhere.

Fact: inner city black male unemployment is sky high. And an even greater number aren’t even in the workforce.

The poverty rate is higher in rural than in urban areas, and this has always been so. Saying that inner city people are lazy helps no one and serves only to antagonize (and perhaps to appeal to racists).

Secondly, the President strongly implied that there is an anti-learning culture in black America. If that is okay, then it is not racist at all to suggest there is also an anti-work culture, since learning and work are pretty closely related. Both are work.

He did not imply this.

[adaher]

@iiandyiiii

He did not imply this.

How do you interpret his criticism of a black kid with a book being accused of acting white? Who is he criticizing here?

[John_Mace]

@Martin_Hyde

The GOP also shot themselves in the foot in the past cycle, Todd Akin should have easily beaten McCaskill and was polling ahead of her until he started talking about rape. I also believe it was Delaware (going by memory) where a viable Republican Senate candidate lost to a Tea Party loon in the primary and lost the general that could have conceivably been winnable.

Yep, Delaware, where Christine “I am not a witch” O’Donnell won the GOP nomination.

[adaher]

It’s hard to criticize that one, given that Mike Castle wasn’t much different from Chris Coons. Chris Coons is actually pretty pro-business, as all Delaware politicians have to be given Delaware’s special status as corporate HQ for like, everybody.

[iiandyiiii]

@adaher

How do you interpret his criticism of a black kid with a book being accused of acting white? Who is he criticizing here?

He’s saying that it’s slander to say a black kid with a book is acting white.

[Bellhorn]

@John_Mace

Yep, Delaware, where Christine “I am not a witch” O’Donnell won the GOP nomination.

Slight hi-jack on this one. Christine O’Donnell is just 5 years younger than Sarah Palin… so Ms. O’D is now younger than when Palin burst on to the public scene.

Isn’t O’Donnell a whole lot better looking than Palin, or is just me? And Christine may or may not be a witch, but isn’t Palin much more personally repulsive? And I really don’t think Palin is any smarter than O’Donnell – they’re both pretty stupid, IMO, it’s just that Palin seems to be “blessed” with a personality disorder that makes her a much more convincing liar than Christine.

I say this, because I would vote for O’Donnell if she was running against Hitler. But Hitler vs Palin, I’d probably write-in Joe Stalin.

[Little_Nemo]

@adaher

Then the President is racist for criticizing black culture on numerous occasions?

When a candidate tells a black audience what they need to do to fix the problems black people face it’s not racist. When a candidate tells a white audience that black people are the problem that white people face it’s racist.

The hope for the Republican Party of the future is that Republican candidates and Republican voters figure out the difference. We need a Republican Party that doesn’t need to explain how it’s not as racist as it sounds. We need a Republican Party that doesn’t try to claim that the other guy is racist too. We need a Republican Party that acknowledges racism is still a problem in this country and has a plan for doing something about it.

[adaher]

In either case, if the candidate is proposing policies designed to help, then it’s not racist. Paul Ryan made that statement as part of his anti-poverty rollout plan.

Now Obama, he was just trying to get an applause line. The Democrats probably figured it was good rube bait when Kerry needed to win some rubes.

[iiandyiiii]

@adaher

In either case, if the candidate is proposing policies designed to help, then it’s not racist.

Nope, it can be racist, even if the policies are meant to help. By your criteria, slave-owners were not racist as long as they thought slavery was necessary to help out black people (which many argued at the time!).

[adaher]

So Ryan is racist with good intentions. Okay. BTW, who was Obama claiming was slandering black kids?

[iiandyiiii]

@adaher

So Ryan is racist with good intentions.

I don’t know if Ryan is a racist, and I don’t really give a crap about his intentions (most people, including most monsters, had good intentions). He did say something that was racist.

Okay. BTW, who was Obama claiming was slandering black kids?

People who say that a black kid with a book is acting white.

[adaher]

Since you’re stonewalling a little here, I’ll complete this one for you: He was criticizing black culture, which is the sole source of ostracism for black kids who “have a book in their hand”.

And it’s not the only example. His post-racial identity was built on criticisms of black culture.

[iiandyiiii]

@adaher

Since you’re stonewalling a little here, I’ll complete this one for you: He was criticizing black culture, which is the sole source of ostracism for black kids who “have a book in their hand”.

And it’s not the only example. His post-racial identity was built on criticisms of black culture.

No, he wasn’t criticizing black culture. He even said that inner city people (e.g. black people) already know that it’s slander to say that a black kid with a book is acting white – so, according to Obama, black culture already knows this is slander (even though some people are still doing it, apparently).

You’re grasping at straws in an effort to excuse Ryan, and it’s not working.

[Little_Nemo]

@adaher

In either case, if the candidate is proposing policies designed to help, then it’s not racist.

Black people are lazy. So white people have to make them work.

I suppose you could stretch the definition broadly enough to call this a proposal to help. But it’s still racist.

So let me repeat myself. Until Republicans can look at something like this and see that it’s racist, they’re not going to get the black vote.

[adaher]

@iiandyiiii

No, he wasn’t criticizing black culture. He even said that inner city people (e.g. black people) already know that it’s slander to say that a black kid with a book is acting white – so, according to Obama, black culture already knows this is slander (even though some people are still doing it, apparently).

You’re grasping at straws in an effort to excuse Ryan, and it’s not working.

Black culture as a whole does not attack black kids with books. A subset of it does though, and “we know this”.

Perhaps the real issue is that Obama came at the issue from the side, whereas Ryan was too direct?

Although I suspect the real issue is simply that Democrats were to make allowances for Obama so that he could build his brand.

[iiandyiiii]

@adaher

Perhaps the real issue is that Obama came at the issue from the side, whereas Ryan was too direct?

No, the real issue is (to sum up) that Obama basically said “people who say this are really wrong and bad”, and Ryan basically said “this big group of people are lazy and don’t want to work”.

There’s a pretty big difference in what they said.

[adaher]

I don’t know if you seriously believe that white people accuse blacks of acting white if they read, but I’m pretty sure Obama doesn’t think that.

[iiandyiiii]

@adaher

I don’t know if you seriously believe that white people accuse blacks of acting white if they read, but I’m pretty sure Obama doesn’t think that.

Whether true or not, this does not dispute my point.

[BobLibDem]

Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can’t teach our kids to learn; they know that parents have to teach, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. They know those things.

Translation: Inner city folks are like anybody else, but WE have to be more tuned into the value of education.

We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work, and so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with.

Translation: THEY just want OUR money for nothing.