Namely, listening for the silent dog whistle sounds of racism and getting offended.
Is Hillary a racist? After years of the Clintons sticking the knife in other people, it's fun to watch them getting carved up over very little.
Liberal blogger Steven Benen is keeping a list:
Here’s a closer look at the most notable recent incidents, with my patented Willie Horton Rating System — 5 Hortons for the most offensive use of ugly, divisive rhetoric, 1 Horton for the most innocuous.
* Bill Clinton referred to Obama’s movement as a “fairly tale” — 1 Horton
This one has been misconstrued, repeatedly. Looking at the full context, the former president described Obama’s reputation as an opponent of the war in Iraq as a “fairly tale.” That, in and of itself, is a debatable point, but there was no racial subtext.
* Hillary Clinton downplayed the significance of Martin Luther King, Jr. — 4 Hortons
I realize the original quote has been taken from context in a variety of instances, but even in its full context, I think Clinton tried to make a point with some poorly-chosen words.
* Andrew Cuomo’s “shuck and jive” comments — 3 Hortons
It’s questionable, and the context helps make Cuomo look a little better, but he probably should have realized how comments like that could be construed.
* Bob Kerrey’s “Muslim” and “madrassa” comments — 5 Hortons
It’s hard to defend Kerrey on this.
* Billy Shaheen’s drug dealer comments — 5 Hortons
* Bob Johnson’s drug dealer comments — 5 Hortons
* Sergio Bendixen, a top Clinton pollster, on Latino and Black communities — 2 Hortons
Bendixen conceded the other day, “The Hispanic voter — and I want to say this very carefully — has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates.” He’s playing with fire, given the environment.
* Hillary referred to “spadework” on the Today show — 1 Horton
* Clinton aide on Obama as an “imaginary hip black friend” — Incomplete
An anonymous Clinton adviser explained what he/she sees as the difference between Hillary supporters and Obama supporters: “If you have a social need, you’re with Hillary,” the aide said. “If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you’re young and you have no social needs, then he’s cool.” I’d give it the full 5 Hortons, but I have no idea whether the person is a close aide or a tangential “adviser.”
* Bill Clinton referred to Obama as a “kid” — 1 Horton
Donna Brazille was emphasizing this one last week, but I think the subtext dealt with youth and inexperience, not race. (Still, given that Obama is older now than Bill Clinton was in 1992, it’s an odd comment, but that’s another story for another day.)
By the way, I predict that somebody will get in serious trouble within the next ten years for using the word "linchpin" (also frequently spelled "lynchpin").
Also, by the way, did you know that Sir Francis Galton invented the silent dogwhistle? And you know what that means! So, within 20 years, the term "silent dogwhistle" will be considered racist.
My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer
Posts
35 comments:
Hillary is not a stupid woman, and comparing yourself to LBJ and your opponent to MLK Jr in a negative way seems unconscionably stupid. She had to have been baiting Obama into playing the race card, which would in turn shore up her support among older whites. Even liberal whites are more sensitive to accusations of racism than to actual racism these days, and no matter what she says nobody can seriously accuse her of being a racist without looking ridiculous.
Whatever happens, I hope Obama comes out of this unscathed. Hillary would slit his throat if it helped her candidacy.
Unless they're genuinely baiting each other, they should all strive to be more articulate. Oops...!!
Speaking of "Hortons", it has become an accepted truth among right-thinking people that Bush Sr.'s Willie Horton ads were "racist", but have the factual content of those ads ever been disputed - that Dukakis gave cinvicted murderer Willie Horton time out of jail, during which he committed another killing - or is it just a case of you can't show a picture of a black murderer because to do so is racist?
I saw Dukakis on CNN yesterday talkinga bout those 'racist' ads and, as much as I dislike the Bushes, I thought, "Thank God that pompous moron didn't become president".
Liberals have, and always will, decide what and who are racists.
Neither logic, nor truth, nor fairness, nor reason matter. Liberals are always correct on racist issues because they make the rules.
Hillary Clinton, MTP, Jan 13:
"But I think it is fair to point out that he has not had a record of actually producing positive change. Translating those words into action is something that is the, you know, the slow, hard, boring of hard boards in politics, and I think that people, you know, deserve to ask themselves questions about that contrast."
Max Weber:
"Politics is a strong and slow boring of hard boards. . . . But to do that a man must be a leader, and not only a leader but a hero as well, in a very sober sense of the word. And even those who are neither leaders nor heroes must arm themselves with that steadfastness of heart which can brave even the crumbling of all hopes. . . . Only he has the calling for politics who is sure that he shall not crumble when the world from his point of view is too stupid or too base for what he wants to offer. Only he who in the face of all this can say 'In spite of all!' has the calling for politics."
Yes, we are all too stupid and base for what she has to offer.
So, within 20 years, the term "silent dogwhistle" will be considered racist.
Nope, the left loves that term too much when referring to any sort of Christian terminology that might pass the lips of a politician. FWIW, I think it's insulting whenever deployed.
loomata
You can substitute the word "neocon" for "liberal" without any loss in meaning.
The only difference is the neocons don't even make a pretense of intellectual consistency or honesty. Their ham-handed propaganda seems a throwback to the Soviet-era. A 1984-like war-is-peace speil aimed at the uninformed, uncritical and MSM-conditioned pesant folk.
It’s amusing to watch how apoplexic traditional liberals like Michael Moore or Jeanine Grofalo get when “media conservatives” like Fox, Malkin and Coulter use the same deceptive propaganda, demagoguery and other traditional tools of liberals against them.
The only difference I can see is that the “media conservatives” popularize their product by dumbing it down for the lowest common dominators while liberals try to dress up theirs in faux intellectualism just beyond the grasp of most college-educated sheeple to keep them cowed. Unfortunately, liberals are too clever by a half. Smart enough to see through “media conservatives” machinations, but too stupid/gullible/magically thinking to see the fallacies in their own arguments, especially around sacred cows like IQ, illegal immigration and crime.
“Media conservatives” stand in contrast to traditional conservatives who have a diminished voice today. Witness the groundless beatings Ron Paul takes from both the liberal (e.g. NYT) and “media conservative” (e.g. largely neocon NRO, WSJ) press because he is a traditional small government, fiscal conservative who wants America to avoid unnecessary and harmful foreign entanglements (e.g. anti-Semite).
Steve,
Your unfair criticisms of liberals makes you a real blackguard, and you have a niggardly spirit.
By Steven Benen's criteria, a completely innocuous statement still gets 1 Horton. So, merely criticizing Obama is racist?
"James said...
She had to have been baiting Obama into playing the race card, which would in turn shore up her support among older whites."
An interesting possibility, and a tactic which might well work. I get the impression that a lot of older liberals have essentially just given up on blacks, and have come to deeply resent them as ingrates.
".....nobody can seriously accuse her of being a racist without looking ridiculous."
I don't know about that. You might ask Paul Fray what he thinks. He was Bill's political stategist in his first congressional race. After Bill lost, Hillary reportedly called him (yelling at him, mind you) a "f***ing jew bastard". But then, I'm sure she was quoted out of context.
"green mamba said...
Speaking of "Hortons", it has become an accepted truth among right-thinking people that Bush Sr.'s Willie Horton ads were "racist", but have the factual content of those ads ever been disputed"
The add was true, in so far as Willie Horton did actually commit rape while on furlough from prison. I think the furlough program may have been started before Dukakis became govenor - but it's certainly the sort of thing that (ACLU member) Dukakis would have supported. Another fact which should not be forgotten: the Willy Horton charge against Dukakis was first brought up by candidate Al Gore, during the primary.
As they say: what's the difference between a regular political ad, and an attack ad? The attack ad contains a fact.
Hillary and Bill may not be winning votes among blacks, but I'd be amazed if Michelle Obama is winning many votes among whites. Her primary message seems to be: You whites are all a bunch of racists who may well kill my husband - and don't forget to vote for him.
What is the proper reaction to this shameful spectacle of prominent democrats like Clinton and Obama sniping at one another?
Unrestrained laughter, I think.
Benen's ratings need that "extra push off the cliff", a la Spinal Tap; picture a typically unctuous liberal type, bragging his moral outrage amplifier goes to eleven.
By Steven Benen's criteria, a completely innocuous statement still gets 1 Horton. So, merely criticizing Obama is racist?
-martin
Yes, it is.
We are watching the implosion of white liberalism as its internal logic compels it to consume itself.
Funny that in the midst of all this race baiting, I had my racist moment last night.
My girlfriend and I walk on the treadmill together at the gym before weight training. I was early, and was on the treadmill alone when two black members got on the machines beside me. After a few minutes, my girlfriend walked in and headed for the locer room. Because there were no open machines next to me, I stopped and went to the first row of treadmills right in front of where I was, where there were a bunch of empty machines. I had my MP3 'phones on, but no music playing, and I heard one of the black members say to his friend "Fucking cracker can't walk next to a brother!" I was branded a racist for changing treadmills!
Is this the world PC has created, where you can be branded a racist when a black feels uncomfortable, no matter how innocuous the circumstance?
The end of the story-I stopped my treadmill, climbed up on the ledge between the rows, and asked the kid, "Are you talking about me, boy?" I don't think he was in any way prepared for a middle-aged white guy to get up in his face. I told him to apologize for his stupidity, or I'd go up to the desk and report his racist comment. He apologized, but the whole thing leaves me with a certain uneasiness about the state of our society.
Bad minority behavior goes unsanctioned due to PC, but any slight, real or imagined, by the majority is punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Martin ...
I've not been able to find a video on the web of Michelle Obama exhibiting the behavior you discuss. Not that I don't believe you. Could you point us to a good URL?
Sanity Inspector:
Your use of the word "baiting" was anti-Semitic!! This was obviously a silent code for "Jew-baiting."
(Damn, it is with blackest despair that I acknowledge that Ron beat me to the niggardly punch.)
Go follow the links to the 5 Horton "Drug dealer" comments
There's nothing racist in them, and there's no mention of drug dealing, only drug use. Totally nonsensical.
Whites are guilty till proved guiltier where racism is concerned, but some won't let blacks make them feel guilty ("That's OUR job!") Here's Joan Rivers fighting back:
Howe: Since black offends Joan I will make it...
Rivers: Wait. Just stop right now, Black does not offend me. How dare you, how dare you say that. Black offends me? You know nothing about me, you sat down here. How dare you.
Howe: The use of the term black offends you.
Rivers: The use of the term black offends me? Where the hell are you coming from? You have got such a chip on your shoulder. How dare you say that to me.
Howe: I think this is a language problem.
Rivers: No I don't. I think this is a problem in your stupid head. You had a child, you left them, your wife said you weren't there. You married a woman, you deserted her, now your son comes back he's got problems. Where were you when he was growing up, until he was eight years old?
Howe: May we continue?
Rivers: How dare you. Please continue, but don't you dare call me that. Son of a bitch.
Purves: Right Darcus, can we just say you don't think Joan is a racist and then perhaps we can move on?
Howe: I don't know whether she is a racist or not. I don't care.
Rivers: You just said the word black offends me. That's the stupidest thing I ever heard.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4360054.stm
Did you know that SF writer L. Neil Smith began the practice of referring to very repressive people as "dogwhistles?" As in, his *ss is so tight his f*rts are ultrasonic.
green mamba: Speaking of "Hortons", it has become an accepted truth among right-thinking people that Bush Sr.'s Willie Horton ads were "racist", but have the factual content of those ads ever been disputed - that Dukakis gave cinvicted murderer Willie Horton time out of jail, during which he committed another killing - or is it just a case of you can't show a picture of a black murderer because to do so is racist?
Two points:
1) "Willie Horton" was first raised as a campaign issue by none other than Albert A Gore, Jr, in the 1988 DEM primaries.
2) The Bush Sr campaign never ran the Willie Horton ad; it was run [only very briefly] by an independent PAC.
The Wikipedia article does a pretty good job of summarizing the history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton
By Steven Benen's criteria, a completely innocuous statement still gets 1 Horton. So, merely criticizing Obama is racist?
It's not completely clear, but I think a "1 Horton" comment is harmless according to Benen.
What is really telling is that Benen thinks that a Clinton aide saying white people support Obama because they want to be cool is a 5-Horton offense:
* Clinton aide on Obama as an “imaginary hip black friend” — Incomplete
An anonymous Clinton adviser explained what he/she sees as the difference between Hillary supporters and Obama supporters: “If you have a social need, you’re with Hillary,” the aide said. “If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you’re young and you have no social needs, then he’s cool.” I’d give it the full 5 Hortons, but I have no idea whether the person is a close aide or a tangential “adviser.”
One guess what color Benen is.
What is the proper reaction to this shameful spectacle of prominent democrats like Clinton and Obama sniping at one another?
Unrestrained laughter, I think.
I'd join in the laughter, but unfortunately it is through psuedo-controversies like this that what one can say gets ever more limited. Who ever thought that "tar baby" or "niggardly" or even "Ten Little Indians" would get read out of the language?
Steve Sailer: Liberals doing what liberals do best
The really big story here is the Hispanic angle:
The Revenge of Identity Politics
corner.nationalreview.com
The Second Dark Age is arriving much faster than any of us could have imagined [even I, who am quite possibly the most pessimistic person on the face of the earth, didn't see this happening much before 2016 or 2020]: Already we are like the Romans, who failed to reproduce, and whose ranks were thinned to the bone by abortion, infanticide, sodomy, and a general loss of interest in the business of heir-making.
The last several centuries of Roman rule consisted of an ever declining core of Roman politicians manipulating the various external tribes against one another, culminating in [the half-Roman] Aëtius's alliance with the Visigoth king, Theodoric, against Attila, followed by the murder of Aëtius by Valentinian, and the end of the Roman era.
With the Blacks & Hispanics now effectively almost half of our population, we* [certainly in the Blue States] have begun to practice extra-tribal manipulation as a last, desperate [but doomed] attempt to avert our own decline into extinction.
The fascinating thing about the rise of Obama - as Hillary is discovering [and as I am discovering as well, in that Obama has accelerated the timetable much more quickly than I would have thought possible] - is that it may already be too late: It may be that the tribes are already tired of waiting, and that they are prepared to flex their muscles and overthrow the rule of their white masters once and for all.
If yesterday's Rasmussen numbers are at all accurate [showing that the Black vote has shifted 66-16 in favor of Obama], then, as Sergio Bendixen intimated, Hillary's only chance is to set the Hispanics & the Blacks at one another's throats.
Compare:
Gang mayhem grips LA
A bloody conflict between Hispanic and black gangs is spreading across Los Angeles. Hundreds are dying as whole districts face the threat of ethnic cleansing. Paul Harris reports from the epicentre of America's new urban warfare...
Sunday March 18, 2007
observer.guardian.co.uk
*PS: With the proviso that the future is a notoriously difficult thing to predict, it is easy to envision a 21st-Century secessionist movement in which Red States [with fecund white populations] and Blue States [with barren white populations] choose to go their separate ways.
jesus christ, liberals have really become mega-faggots, haven't they?
Well put! Beyond my racialism, I'm still continually agog at what simpering, unctuous, sniveling little cowards whites have become in this context.
Funny how EEEVVVERRRYYTHIIING is fair game for comedy writers, except the tender liberal bits, innit? Drag nuns behind a bus through a sewage treatment plant, then sell them to Arab sex-slavers: haha, a riot! Throw hillbillies down a well: a million laffs! Piss on the Pope: what a gas!
Touch tender black or Jewish parts? Some things are too sacred for humor, you neanderthal.
Lol, Dennis, I used "unctuous" in my post before I even scrolled down, I swear!
Whites are guilty till proved guiltier
I frickin' LOVE that. It's so true and so obvious, but I've never seen it phrased so simply.
I'm unashamedly swiping that one, whole cloth.
An anonymous Clinton adviser explained what he/she sees as the difference between Hillary supporters and Obama supporters: “If you have a social need, you’re with Hillary,” the aide said. “If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you’re young and you have no social needs, then he’s cool.”
That is a remarkable statement coming from a liberal Democrat because, depending on your understanding of 'social needs", it is pretty close to the truth. Lower-income victims-for-life are drawn to Hillary's handouts, while cosseted young leftists groove on Obama. The Democrat special interest groups of the 2008 primaries!
"RobertHume said...
Martin ...
I've not been able to find a video on the web of Michelle Obama exhibiting the behavior you discuss. Not that I don't believe you. Could you point us to a good URL?"
Here is a clip from their 60 minutes interview:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Yrmzl11LqiI&feature=related
I don't exactly know what she means by her statement about the gas station. Perhaps she's referring to the Beltway snipers. Except that they were black.
Mrs. Obama might ponder the fact that a white man can get killed going to the gas station too.
As for the unit which measures trumped up white-on-black outrages - the conjugate quantity to Mr. Benen's "Hortons" - may I suggest either "Sharptons" or "Nifongs"
me: If yesterday's Rasmussen numbers are at all accurate [showing that the Black vote has shifted 66-16 in favor of Obama], then, as Sergio Bendixen intimated, Hillary's only chance is to set the Hispanics & the Blacks at one another's throats.
Actually, it's looking like the Rasmussen numbers might be understating the phenomenon, at least in the state of Michigan:
Potentially troubling news for Clinton in Michigan 'win'
CNN Political Producer Alan Isenberg
January 15, 2008
politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com
Hillary Clinton faced a grim statistic in Michigan tonight, despite her primary "win" there: results revealed that she may have reason to worry about her grasp on the African-American vote.
The Michigan primary vote was essentially meaningless: the national party stripped the state of its delegates because it held its contest too early in the election season, and Clinton was the only major Democratic contender whose name appeared on the ballot.
Even so, roughly 70 percent of Michigan’s African-American voters — a group that makes up a quarter of Michigan's Democratic electorate — did not cast their votes for Clinton, choosing the "uncommitted" option instead. Yet these voters weren’t uncommitted at all: in fact, according to CNN exit polls, they overwhelmingly favored Barack Obama, whose name did not appear on the ballot.
Had Obama’s name been on the Michigan ballot, CNN exit polls show that he would have won an overwhelming 73 percent of the African-American vote, in contrast to 22 percent who say they would have voted for Clinton under those circumstances. If South Carolina's large African-American community votes as Michigan’s, Hillary may not be feeling much 'southern hospitality' in that state.
The other obvious question is how Dearborn's massive Muslim population voted, and whether they were classified as "White" or as "African-American".
The bottom line, though, is that, given current fertility rates, Michigan offers a rather profound insight into one very possible future for the United States [and for civilization in general]:
The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit
Okay, let me put it another way.
Joan Rivers is a Jew; jews don't suffer from white guilt and they aren't the racial babes in the woods white Americans are.
So, Rivers giving the professional black both barrels in the face says nothing about racially tough whites, and everything about racially tough Jews.
me: The fascinating thing about the rise of Obama - as Hillary is discovering [and as I am discovering as well, in that Obama has accelerated the timetable much more quickly than I would have thought possible] - is that it may already be too late: It may be that the tribes are already tired of waiting, and that they are prepared to flex their muscles and overthrow the rule of their white masters once and for all.
If yesterday's Rasmussen numbers are at all accurate [showing that the Black vote has shifted 66-16 in favor of Obama], then, as Sergio Bendixen intimated, Hillary's only chance is to set the Hispanics & the Blacks at one another's throats.
You know, this thing with the Culinary Workers voting in the casinos in Nevada is pretty fascinating:
Bill Clinton gives heated response on voter disenfranchisement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uthdea6X2PE
Presumably the Culinary Workers in Nevada are going to be overwhelmingly Hispanic, so that could be evidence that Hillary can't even count on the strategy of setting the two tribes at on another's throats.
Instead, Hillary is having the Teachers' Union sue the Culinary Workers, and, presumably, the Teachers' Union in Nevada is overwhelmingly Caucasian:
Clinton-Obama battle moves to the courtroom
guardian.co.uk
So this is getting into some pretty serious political genocide on the DEM side of things.
Seems like the GOP ought to be able to use this to their advantage - something along the lines of, "We're the party of principles, and we eschew racial bloodletting in politics".
Ron Gunhame wrote:
Your unfair criticisms of liberals makes you a real blackguard, and you have a niggardly spirit.
Hear, hear.
I haven't been this spooked in a coon's age.
Here's an odd pair of headlines:
Jewish Voters Lean Toward Clinton
cbsnews.com
Barack Obama: I'm no Muslim
timesonline.co.uk
Wow - this thing is really snowballing [by the way, Ben Smith, of Politico, also wrote that Jewish/Nevada piece for CBS]:
Ad: 'Hillary Clinton does not respect our people'
Ben Smith
January 17, 2008
politico.com
The radio ad aired by one of Obama's labor allies re-injects ethnicity into the Democratic primary contest in sharp terms.
"Hillary Clinton does not respect our people," the ad says in Spanish (original and Clinton campaign translation after the jump), referring to the lawsuit that failed today to shut down special caucus sites on Las Vegas' strip. "Hillary Clinton is shameless"...
Rush & Sean were all over this Spanish-language radio thing today:
Clinton slams "shameless" pro-Obama ad
news.yahoo.com
ELKO, Nevada (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton called on her chief rival Barack Obama on Friday to denounce ads being run on Spanish-language radio that accuse Clinton of not respecting Hispanic people...
Wow, it's starting to sound like Nevada was ethnic genocide for the DEMs.
Welcome to the future:
Hillary's Nevada Win and an Uncomfy Identity Politics Question
Andy McCarthy
January 19, 2008
corner.nationalreview.com
I'm not one of those enthralled by the Frank Luntz focus groups, but I did happen to catch the Democrat one two debates ago — or maybe it was the last primary, I'm not sure. But I recall one of the Hispanic members of the group pooh-poohing the idea that the culinary workers' union endorsement was such a coup for Barack Obama in Nevada. The union's rank and file, the panelist explained, features a very large Hispanic contingent and there was simply no way this bloc was going to support a black candidate, no matter what the union's leadership urged.
I remember thinking at the time how extraordinary this admission was, and how nuts the media would have gone if it had been uttered by a Republican voter. Instead, one black member of the focus group made what seemed a pretty half-hearted retort (really, a mild press for more of an explanation from the Hispanic panelist, if I'm remembering this right) before Luntz, looking uncomfortable (though maybe I'm projecting) cut the discussion off quickly and threw the coverage back to the Fox studio, where no one seemed anxious to wade into the matter.
It was remarkable to see members of the Party that lives and breaths racial and ethnic bean-counting slough this off as if it were just a fact of life. And maybe it is. Living by identity politics is the surest way to die by identity politics.
UPDATE: Here's the video...
Luntz focus group: Latinos won't vote for Obama?
youtube.com
Robocall trashes "Barack Hussein Obama"
January 19, 2008
politico.com
The Obama campaign has released a recording (mp3) it says came from a Nevadan's answering machine of an anonymous robocall that criticizes Obama for taking money from special interests while repeating, four times, his rarely used middle name: "Hussein"...
Nevada tussle signals rancor for Dems
January 19, 2008
politico.com
...The results reflected the key demographic realities that are coming to define the primary contest, according to early exit polls and observations. Exit polls showed 65 percent of Hispanic voters supported Clinton, while 83 percent of the state’s smaller number of African American voters largely backed Obama...
This whole Hillary-Obama mess is starting to look like an episode from Showtime's Brotherhood.
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