Con Games: How Conservatives Play the Race Card

In case you missed it, the latest attack tactic deployed by conservatives is to play the race card by saying that liberals and Democrats are playing the race card--racial jiu-jitsu far too lame to work anywhere but in the echo chamber of conservative self-love.

The problem for the conservative conspirators: President Barack Obama is black, and that is very bad news for their tighty-whitey movement, because it makes him very difficult to defame in their best Kennedy-Clinton manner. By all appearances, he is also a righteous family man in his marriage, so there is no Monica Lewinsky or Mary Jo Kopechne to invoke for the moral outrage these raging amoralists so covet.

So the co-conspirators have moved against Obama racially by acting in code. Keep in mind that 40 percent of the Republican party is in the South and that the successors to the old Southern Democrats are now all Republicans. (The Senator from the State of Segregation, AKA Strom Thurmond, had to literally leave the Democratic Party for that reason.) The only black Republicans you ever meet are on Fox News, and two out of three Latinos voted for Obama in 2008. All of that is not exactly an endorsement of conservatism from the people of color in the United States.

When the punditocracy talks about conservatives "playing to their base" in the Obama Presidency, the racial card is always on the table. Why did Rush Limbaugh fall in love with "The Magic Negro," an essay about Obama? Because it allowed him to call Obama a negro for months and months, with all the denigration that term implies in the 21st Century. In fiction, in fact, the "magical negro" is a character who helps the white protagonist get out of trouble.

Two incidents of a magical nature for conservatives transpired over the weekend just past: the meltdown by Serena Williams, who is black, at the U.S. Open, and the rude behavior by Kanye West, who is black, at the Video Music Awards.

First understand how the co-conspirators play the racial game: by not mentioning it.

These were two bad moments for two black people, but it is no coincidence that Sean Hannity's radio program and television show on Fox News paired them together Monday under the general heading of what's wrong with America -- and no coincidence that that incidents pitted two people of color against two women not of color. Nor is it a coincidence that Hannity had two blacks on a panel of three to discuss the incident on Fox News.

See? Fox News is racially fair and balanced because Hannity and the other panelist are white.

Kanye West, you'll remember, said George Bush hates white people after Katrina, an unfortunate outburst that Hannity put on the table on his radio program. But that little tidbit, though certainly relevant in the context of Conservative Racial Theory, was left out of the panel discussion, perhaps because it would have seemed...racist. In fact, Hannity and Dick Morris talked about race earlier on the television show by agreeing liberals say all criticism of Obama is now racist -- then Hannity did not even mention race in a context where it was clearly relevant. A pretty neat trick, stop to think. Hannity could not mention race in the Serena-Kanye segment because the part of the program was entirely about race. Not mentioning race was actually an act of racism.

Remember too that Kanye West said a black singer, Beyonce, should have won the Video Music Awards instead of the young white woman who did.

Two more things. It's no coincidence that both segregationist Strom, the Democrat turned Republican, and Congressman Joe "You're a liar" Wilson are both from South Carolina, in what remains the white heartland of the shrinking conservative base. And it's no surprise to look at the tens of thousands of protesters in Washington, D.C., over the weekend and see almost no white face.

Ever since Barack Obama arrived on the scene, the race card has become magical for conservatives.

Comments

[jade7243]

Kweisi Mfume, the former president of the NAACP, was just on Hardball, with the best line of the day " Bigots now feel free to be bigoted."

How true. The second best comment was from the other guest, who said Democrats are partly to blame. I felt the rush of disagreement until I heard the rest of what he said. Essentially, if we are denying that there is racism as a part of this, we are giving license to for the rightwing to keep going.

I do not know about you, but I have no interest in having anyone martyred again.

Speak up, Speak out, Speak loudly.

[jade7243]

There are two books about playing "the race card." One by Richard Thompson Ford argues that "playing" it too much disminishes the impact of real racism. The second, by Tali Mendelburg, i highly recommend because it speaks to exactly what is going on now. Her book is "The Race Card:
Campaign Strategy, Implicit Messages, and the Norm of Equality."

***"Did George Bush's use of the Willie Horton story during the1988 presidential campaign communicate most effectively when no one noticed its racial meaning? Do politicians routinely evoke racial stereotypes, fears, and resentments without voters' awareness? This controversial, rigorously researched book argues that they do. Tali Mendelberg examines how and when politicians play the race card and then manage to plausibly deny doing so."***

The sad fact is it is not just politicians doing it, but what purports to be "mainstream media," too.

***"Mendelberg's conclusion is that politician­s--includi­ng many current state governors--continue to play the race card, using terms like "welfare" and "crime" to manipulate white voters' sentiments without overtly violating egalitarian norms. But she offers some good news: implicitly racial messages LOSE THEIR APPEAL, EVEN AMONG THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE, when their content is exposed."*** (emphasis mine.)

Conniff's examples to me are a little stretched, to Ford's point, but Jimmy Carter's critique -- and this is not the first time he and others have made it -- is right on point.

[Policon]

"The only black Republicans you ever meet are on Fox News"

And this proves Republicans are racist how? If anything, this just proves that MSNBC is racist since they don't have any black conservatives on the show.

And all southern Democrats became Republicans? I didn't know Robert Byrd was a Republican.

Kanye West? Anyone who points out what he did was wrong must be a racist. Somebody tell Jay Leno.

[sjones66]

I love how Cons use one negative as "proof" that a theory or suggestion can't be true. Forget the overall trend, the glove doesn't fit!

Cons can scream all they want, but the truth is the conservative movement is made up largely of white supremacists at this point.

That's nothing to be proud about or smirk over, or even defend. It's shameful.

[littleolwinemakerme]

MSNBC allows Ron Christie make a fool of himself on a regular basis. Watch Ed Shultz & you'll see.

[Virgil Kane]

This blog post is really stretching to find a connection. Is it now racist to criticize the president and his policies? That's the point Limbaugh was making on his show. Are we that much of a politically correct society now that we can't criticize anyone that isn't white? Truth is, the right goes after all democrats regardless of color. Remember Clinton in the 90's? If Hillary was president they would be just as hard on her. Of course then, the left would probably call that sexist.

By the way, isn't the chairmen of the RNC an African-American?

[sjones66]

Yes, and in the Con mind, that one African American makes up for all of their policies, attitudes, christmas cards of WH with watermelons on it, etc.

In reality, that's called having a "token" minority at the helm, while your policies and practices remain racist, bad for minorities, etc. Cons never get this, wthat is why they though Sarah Palin was a poster child for how they were feminists now.

never mind that they wanted to get ownership of a woman's body back, and were using a woman dressed in tight skirts and high red spike heels to get it. the ignorance of that hurts.

[AngelaQuattrano]

Hanging out on sites where conservative trolls hang out and feel free to post anonymously, I have observed the pattern repeatedly. People who complain about being called racists may have been called out for behaving like racists, or they may be "pre-emptively" attacking for what they are going to do. Complaints of being called "racist" outnumber such accusations about 100 to 1, since the people they are accusing of calling them racists actually are loath to do so. So it only happens in the most egregious of circumstances.

But they also think all blacks who voted for Obama did because he is black like them (although they insist he is "half-white"), and all whites who voted for obama did so because they were trying to appear open-minded. Thus, everybody who voted for Obama did it because they were racists.

People like these anonymous posters were unable to examine Barack Obama the candidate beyond his skin color. It's not that nothing else mattered to them, but that there is nothing else. The fact that he is black means he is "an empty suit", an idiot, uneducated, and they cannot understand how other white Americans can see his supposed achievements in higher education and not realize that everything he achieved must been faked, a result of trickery or affirmative action. They are one issue voters, and in this case the issue is race. They can't imagine the state of mind of people who consider more than one issue.

[daultman463]

wow angela,as one of the trolls on here you kinda lost me there. I have been called a racist on this site for simply disagreeing with libs.I think obama life story is a great story of how wonderful this country ST
iLL is.You seem to be saying that any white person who didn`t vote for obama is well lets just say not a nice person.I have been called on here ignorant,s­tupid,thic­k(like that one)rethug and several other things worse than that.I have problem with obama because i don`t want govt. healt care,cap and trade(what a joke),the 32 czars(bush was wrong on that too).The racist remarks are made against us for simply disagreeing with libs.

[FirstNation]

...and because there is a racist element inside the conservative movement that shows itself frequently at protests like the tea partys, the 9-12 gathering, in discussion places like this one. That term is overly and mis-used by both partys, but for the most part, the racist actions and perspectives that I see are from the republican party.

[sjones66]

everything you guys write is like your post, even down to the "libs". Now, how about if we call you "cons" from now on, in normal conversation?

As for your claim that this is a great country because a black man got elected, you are wrong.

it is a great country because the best person got elected.

See, everything is still divided for cons.

[daultman463]

I have been called a racist on here even when it was not about obama.As a troll you kinda lost me on this. I think obama is a great american story. I didn`t vot for obama because i don`t like his policies.Are you saying that if you didn`t vote for obama there was something wrong with you? You sure seem to have a lot of theories on why we don`t support him.I don`t want govt. health care, cap an trade(thats just stupid), i`m against 32 czars(bush was wrong on that to).So why would i support his plans?

[argon66]

No, most conservatives dislike Obama for his leftists views, his 20-year relationship with a racist pastor, his ties to the radical activists Bill Ayers, and is disingenuousness with regards to ACORN not being an arm of the liberal agenda, and his limited experience.

Other than that, he is a swell guy.

[protagonia]

False.

[ggirl]

Groups have been going after President Obama like he is Public Enemy No. 1. He was left a mess by the previous administration and he is really trying to fix this nation's problems. I am trying to understand if this is not racism, then someone should explain to me like I's a 6 year old what is going on. These groups show no respect at all and it is not right. America should be better than this.

[EdinNJ]

It's pretty easy to see through all the racial hatred. Just look at the signs at the teabagger gatherings.

When someone who is black does something intemperate, or says something racially charged, no matter how inconsequential they or the actions are, all blacks and all liberals are held responsible for that person's actions and they are treated as Democratic policy makers by the right wing press.. See Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Rev. Wright, Serena, Kanye. When an actual white legislator or prominent right wing supporter does something racist, it's the actions of a single individual exercising their First Amendment rights who doesn't speak for everyone. See Inhofe, Tancredo, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Pastor Anderson, Rush Limbaugh, Beck etc. etc.

[Kelly Virella]

I understand what you mean when you say "These were two bad moments for two black people ..." But I have to push back on that statement a little. I'm black and neither Kanye West, nor Serena Williams represent me, inasmuch as, Joe Wilson, doesn't represent you.

[buddhakan]

THank you for stating the obvious. All you have to do is look at the posters displayed by the tea-baggers, and other astroturfers. I come from a large family of midwesterners who have been democrats since the beginning. Big Roosevelt, union, etc. supporters and all the rest. Not this time. It was all McCain, all the time, and they were all at least more honest than conservative talking heads are being about this issue. We just don't want a n****r in the white house was their blunt excuse. Remember when the pundits were arguing whether the USA was ready for a black president? Anyone care to try that one again? So no one is fooled. The fact that they are trying so hard to convince everyone that it is not about race tells it all. I guess we should pass a resolution in the congress prohibiting members from referring to president Obama as "boy" because that will be Wilson's next stupid pet trick.

[daultman463]

the only thing obvious is this site doesn`t believe in free speech anymore.

[FirstNation]

Can you explain that? It is not so obvious to me.

[sjones66]

and yet you are allowed to post.