Tennessee GOP Attacks Michelle Obama, Obama Camp Hits Back

The Tennessee GOP hasn't yet had their fill of Obama dirty tricks. A few months ago, they circulated a photo of Barack Obama in traditional Somali garb. Now, they are going after his wife.

Today they have circulated a video of Michelle's now-infamous 'proud' comments, which have been combined with shots of Tennessee voters describing why they are proud of their country:

[WATCH]

The video came bundled with a sarcastic press release, which you can read after the jump.

The Obama camp fired back defending Michelle Obama:

This is a shameful attempt to attack a woman who has repeatedly said she wouldn't be here without the opportunities and blessings of this nation. The Republican Party's pathetic attempts to use the same smear tactics to win elections have failed in Mississippi, failed in Louisiana, and will fail in November because the American people are looking for a positive vision of real change. And if the Tennessee Republican Party has a problem with Senator Obama, maybe next time they'll have the courage to address him directly instead of attacking his family.

Tennessee Press Release:

NASHVILLE, TN - The Tennessee Republican Party welcomes Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama, to Nashville today, where she's the guest of honor at a Tennessee Democratic Party fundraiser.

To welcome Mrs. Obama to Nashville and Tennessee, we asked a few Tennesseans to take a few moments to tell her what makes them proud of their country. Viewers will find their statements stand in stark contrast to two incidents in February when Mrs. Obama announced that for "the first time in my adult life" she was proud of America.

And while Mrs. Obama has trouble being proud of the country where she earned degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School and then became a multi-millionaire, her husband makes statements that belittle average Americans' response to the difficulties of life, including his recent statement that, in tough times, "it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

The Tennessee Republican Party has always been proud of America. To further honor the occasion of Mrs. Obama's visit, the Tennessee Republican Party has requested the playing of patriotic music by radio stations across the state.

Comments

[surrytops]

I have to say that this commericial makes me ashamed to be from Tennessee. I completely understand what Michelle Obama was saying. When Obama first came around, I thought that he could never be elected because of the racism and fear in American, but his success thrilled me and made me proud. That is where she was coming from. Rocognizing our sins as a nation doesn't make us less patriotic. I am proud that we helped to defeat the Nazis, but it wasn't our love of others that led us there. It was Pearl Harbor. And it wasn't love of freedom that led us to Iraq. It was reactionary fear and deceit. I'm proud of our soldiers, but I'm ready for them to come home.

[prcleburne]

In defense of Michelle Obama's statement, considering the way Blacks and women have been treated in this country, she probably has less to be proud of than most.

[McLaren]

Michelle is an angry woman. So what? Lot's of people are angry. Look at the posters on this board.
The problem is that when Barry puts his wife out there, she's going to be grilled for her words. Imagine if Barry and Miche got the treatment from the Republicans that George and Laura get from the Dems and their pals in the press. You guys would resemble Alien as it slithered out of Ian Holmes's stomach at the lunch table.

[CubanPete]

Obama want some cheese with that whine?

[HillbillyBob]

Having had personal experience with kkk / kristians, they dont deserve to vote, hateful spiteful tools for the Repugs.
I really hope that we are up for a change, and that Obama is not too nice, the architects of PNAC and the rise of the neokon facists all need to be punished. As they have punished us.
They are the monsters and bombers, Shock and Awe anyone? Their corporates go into other countries lie and steal and put / keep despots in power. Noriega ring a bell anyone? He was GHWBs bff and on the cia payroll for years at 100,000 a year, all, the while helping/letting the drug cartels run free, untill he tole daddybush no one time to many. What hypocrites. sodam insane was a best bud too where do you think he got his WMDs and poison gass from the bush and reagan administrations. I am sick unto death of the konservatives.

[Forester]

Every attack is an opportunity for BO to show a strong response and a repudiation of the haters. The risk is getting drawn into an endless defensive responses to irrational nutjobs. BO needs an attack dog like Rush so he can stay positive and appear presidential. Don't give mcnutjob's people the opportunity to characterize BO as hysterical. His attack on Bush's Israel "speech" was affective and Bush/cain had nothing in response. He needs Edwards out front shooting down the BS.

[karela]

Pigs! And I don't mean that as a feminist comment. I mean it as a farm girl who has slogged through the muck to carry the slop. The people who put that ad on the air are showing that they are more than willing to slog through the muck and carry the slop. These are truly disgusting human beings. They have previously been able to frighten Americans into voting against their own economic interests, but it looks like this time maybe we'd rather have jobs and money in our pockets than react to all the dirt that republicans use to control us. Michelle Obama's speech, if you were there, was clearly about being really proud that Americans had become so active in choosing a president this year. The pigs chopped out words and took it out of context. When I was a kid in the fifties, we used say the names of hymns and add the words, "under the bedsheets". It felt deliciously naughty to a seven year old. But when adults do it to manipulate people about how to vote in a presidential election, it's contemptible. Down by the Riverside "Under the bedsheets" is to religion as republican swift boating is to democracy.

[PigsOnSoma]

Well, they had the token hispanic - but what of the black people? None were interviewed here - perhaps because their experience is a tad bit different?

Of course we all want to hear what the hillbilly redneck KKK member has to say. So informative, thank you, heartland, for showing us what it means to be proud of America.

They all listed things that they gained, their "rights", their careers, the things they got from America. But what of: " Ask not what your country can do for you..."

[uvymopkq]

With Obama we started out, we couldn't talk about his big ears 'cause that made him nervous. We've gone from that to this: Not only can we not mention his ears...We can't talk about his mother. We can't talk about his father. We can't talk about his grandmother unless he does, brings her up as a "typical white person." We can't talk about his wife, can't talk about his preacher, can't talk about his terrorist friends, can't talk about his voting record, can't talk about his religion.We can't talk about appeasement. We can't talk about color; we can't talk about lack of color. We can't talk about race. We can't talk about bombers and mobsters who are his friends. We can't talk about schooling. We can't talk about his name, "Hussein." We can't talk about his lack of experience. Can't talk about his income. Can't talk about his flag pin. This started out we can't call him a liberal.
Now we can't say anything about him, NOW THATS CHANGE WE CAN BELEIVE IN!

[tonycd]

You just talked about all of them. Everything that's absolutely essential to his qualifications for Presidentlal leadership, including:

His ears, his mother, his grandmother, his preacher, what one of his supporters did when Obama was 8, his religion (Christian, by the way), appeasement (which he never, ever favored in any way -- he has advocated NEGOTIATION), race, his middle name (which means "dear one" in his dad's native langage, where it's about as common as "John"), his income (he's the only one of the three presidential contenders who isn't married to a multi-millionaire), and his flag pin (which he's now wearing -- whew!).

Things you DIDN'T talk about: McCain's advocacy for the biggest deficits ever, McCain's support of continued blood-for-oil warfare, McCain's support for continued tax break for the rich so obscenely big they didn't even ask for them, McCain's stated desire to appoint more proto-fascists for life to our Supreme Court, McCain's embarrassing (and multi-repeated) ignorance of who's fighting whom in the Middle East, McCain's unseemly (sexual?) relationship with a lobbyist for whom he performed clearly inappropriate legislative favors, and McCain's campaign finance scam that has included renouncing the reform law HE SPONSORED HIMSELF.

Clearly, Obama's ears, wife, mom and costume jewelry trump all this with ease. You tool.

[timinhi]

Interesting how if someone disagrees with you and voices their opinion, you agents of "change" call them a name ("tool"). You are a hypocrite. Also--talk about parsing your words--Michelle may not be a "multimillionaire" in her own right, but between all the millions from Barack's books, not to mention her own earnings as a high-powered attorney and from the several corporate boards of directors she sits on, she's doing a whole lot better than the vast majority of Americans--you know--the "bitter" ones?

[WaspMan]

Tonycd,

That was fantastic. I hope you don't mind but I'm saving a copy of that.

Thanks.

[riley85]

If you can't stand the heat....she's a fair target just like Bill Clinton.

[Gericault]

But not Cindy McCains Tax returns... Right?

[StephenJK]

Michelle Obama is a flat-out racialist. Everything in her life finds it's way through the racial aspect of her life. It's not only her fault. Look no further than people like Wright, Farrakhan and whoever else has been filling her racialist head. If you want proof that she is a racialist just look at her Princeton thesis. Poor Barack with his self-esteem problem never had the nutsack to stand up to her, Wright, Farrakhan or anyother racialist heathen he's met up with over the years through Wright and Farrakhan. He can no more disown them than he can disown his own white racialist grandmother. Now Baracks mind and life has been infected with this poison. So much so that he's got no clue who he is or what he stands for. If he's being honest with us about who he is and what he's about. I have my doubts, to be sure.

[Khrish]

Maybe someone should ask exactly what Mrs. Obama meant by her comment before you jump to conclusions by putting words in her mouth. I, like someone who responded below, didn't happen to see Black Americans in that little ad ......wonder why? I found it wonderfully strange the night that Mrs. Obama made that speech because I too, was extremely proud to be an American. To see Americans of all colors, ages, rich, poor, short, tall standing together admitting that there are indeed things in our wonderful country that need to be fixed. and feeling that we have found someone who sees things as we do and wants to help fix it. The scores of young people taking a real active interest in their country....some able to vote for the first time......at 66 years of age.....I wept with pride. I could hear the words of Robert Kennedy when he said "George Bernard Shaw wrote :" some people see things as they are and ask why, I dream things that never were and ask why not" . that is what I saw as probably Mrs. Obama saw. How dare you refer to this lady as a racist. I find Mrs. Obama a woman who could not even fashion your way of thinking. Only people who would indulge or take pride in that muck that has been concocted could get to your level of thought ..or lack of it.

[SpencerCat]

"Racialist" is not a word. Nice try.

[tprochko]

in ref to stevenjk's sophmoric comment; I'm sure you and a lot of Tennesseans were proud of America when they were hanging strange fruit from their trees, or when Blacks had to ride on the back of buses, or when my cousin was decapitated because of a bi-racial relationship, or when a Black man was drug to his gruesome death by possibly hard working grassroots workers in Texas,or where all of Americas children are not educated equally, or how seniors who've worked hard all their lives, but living in a predatory nation and after falling on hard times suffer painfully, lacking proper healthcare and medications and die. All because of the callous spirit and vote of people like you. War-loving demons wearing selfish and bigoted, hate-filled fleshly suits of skin, totally ignorant of any spriritual love, truths or sense of true citizenry. Thanks to your kind we've walked into the 21st century backwards.

[jimchap]

so you would be both a racist and a misogynist? You better get back to fixin that mullet up and wipe them beer butt chicken stains off your NASCAR tee. Golleee! Look how easy it is to stereotype!
Now gwan and kick up your hind feet and set a spell with a book. Go ahead, open it up and read a bit. Start with a history book. You'll feel like jimmy cracked corn.

[knixphan]

jin·go·ism

n.

- Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism.

- Extreme and emotional nationalism, or chauvinism, often characterized by an aggressive foreign policy, accompanied by an eagerness to wage war.

[Gericault]

Michelle Obama is a proud, admirable woman. She has accomplished much and yet still appears as down to earth , gracious, and a great mother. She's got my vote too.

Laura Bush always looks like she just threw up a little vomit in the back of her throat.

Cindy McCain .....release you tax returns because I know you're hiding something.

[newunderground]

Cindy McCain is a demon. Spread the word. Look into those pitiless eyes... If you dare.

[pupbayer]

This just shows how different people have different perceptions. To me Michelle Obama is none of the things you see. I just see an angry person.

[Gericault]

I must hang out with a better class of people than you.

[janinflorida]

do you see "angry" because it is what you want to see?

[EPHowe]

This is REALLY something: I was shocked to realize that the Tennessee Republicans not only twisted Michelle Obama's words, they actually edited them! When I saw the ad here in Michigan, the word "really" had been deleted. In fact, It was so poorly done you could even hear the splice. Thus, Mrs. Obama's enthusiastic comment was turned into something negative. Are these the same people who produced "Call me, Harold?"

[janinflorida]

What do you expect from Tennessee Republicans? Do you really believe they will ever embrace a black man and his family . It isn't going to happen.

[newunderground]

That ad was terrible, but we dodged a bullet when Ford was defeated. He really is LIEberman in blackface.

[StephenJK]

And this language is acceptable how?

[sowhatdemos]

"Raymondf See Profile I'm a Fan of Raymondf
The Native Americans Land was stolen by the Whites. Then you ask me why I hate blacks so much. I hope this will answer the Questions of why I will never vote for a black for any office. they have no reason to gripe. None what so ever."

Unless you are native American you are a fool. Probably a Rethug white supremeist. Go back to faux news where you belong...

[Khrish]

who the devil are you. You sound confused. Are you Native American...your statement above makes no sense. What are you talking about....did you get in the wrong discussion?

[RussT]

Michelle Obama comes across as angry and bitter. She will make a terrible First Lady.

[SifSkade]

Yes, I think Laura Bush, a nipped-and-tucked moron who somehow managed to turn a press conference about the tragedy in Myanmar into a gossip-fest about her daughter's upcoming wedding, is more what we're looking for. And of the potential first spouses, only Cindy McCain can fill Laura's shoes.

[RussT]

Laura Bush has been a fantastic First Lady. You may mock her because she answered some questions about her daughter's wedding at a press conference, but I assure you Sir, she has ALWAYS been proud to be an American.

[skysage]

Laura Bush "a fantastic first lady." I guess a fantastic first lady is willing to let her husband slaughter little children and women in Iraq and be proud of that. And it's okay to let her husband lie to the American people and create a war so his corporate thieves can take our money, rape their employees, and hire mercenaries to kill innocent Iraqis. What a fantastic first lady. She stands by her man. I am proud of a first lady who stands for an America we can be proud of!!!

[SpencerCat]

You bet I mock Laura Bush. She has not been a fantastic First Lady, she has been a nonentity.

I'm not proud to be an American, so I really don't care if others are or not. When we get a President I can be proud of, and this country changes its policies, maybe I'll change my mind.

[janinflorida]

Laura Bush is a stepford wife....just check out that smile of hers.

[newunderground]

At least Michelle never killed anyone.

[texastornado]

Laura Bush is a stepford wife who's as shallow as her Dimwit husband. Birds of a feather fly together.