Virulent Barack Obama opponents won't go away

[snowbear]

Virulent Barack Obama opponents won't go away
Tribune staff report
December 7, 2008

Silly me. Here I had been thinking that the wild-eyed foamers at the mouth who were driven nearly to madness by the prospect of Barack Obama's election to the presidency were going to wait until Obama actually did something to offend them before going nuts again.

But no.

Those who spent most of the 1990s seething that Bill and Hillary Clinton were serial murderers and who devoted the entire 2008 campaign cycle to painting Obama as a mysterious radical aren't relaxing during the transition.

Much of their energy these days is devoted to the effort to block Obama from assuming the presidency on the grounds that he's not a "natural-born citizen" of the United States, as the Constitution requires.


Their hopes rest on several false and farfetched propositions. And they rely, in the end, on either the Supreme Court or Congress being willing to create political chaos during already very frightening and perilous times based on various idiosyncratic interpretations of constitutional language and other statutes.

The Tribune has explained the error of their ways in several stories, and after I added an approving "me too" at Change of Subject last week, I was flooded with furious and patronizing e-mail from all over the country.

Many of these zealots claim to be mere defenders of the Constitution. But poke them, as I did in some instances, and out rushes the gassy blast of Bill-Ayers-Reverend-Wright-Tony-Rezko-Rashid-Khalidi-Occidental-College-Records and other points of concern that did not, to their dismay, turn the electorate against Obama.

Their little crusade won't go anywhere. But to them that will mean only that the Supreme Court has joined the mainstream media and perhaps Congress in a great conspiracy to put a foreignlike man in the White House to launch a Marxist revolution with the help of his terrorist friends.

For four years, maybe eight, we'll be hearing their shrill, tedious accusations, their daffy theories rooted in parsing and paranoia. Up until the day Obama's successor is sworn in we'll be hearing about his middle name—it's Hussein, have you heard?—and why he shouldn't be counted as fully American.

I wish we had the luxury to be amused.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-change-obama-bd07dec07,0,5348796.story

Good job Chicago Tribune! ~~

[sohndrsmith]

1. ...and expecting them to just sets one up for disappointment. They're not

going to go away, ever. Knowing that (and knowing how inane most of their arguments are) does a lot to diffuse their bite. Now, I have no problem with anyone who has a legitimate argument/disagreement with Obama, I have a couple of minor ones myself... very minor, so they don't really count. But the bigoted nitwits are going to keep yelling irrelevantly. Count on it. If you expect it (and you should) it won't matter as much, or be as big a surprise...

Just because he won, or even does everything right (which he won't - no one does or can) will not make them go away. This shouldn't be a shock to anyone.

[NYC_SKP]

2. The longer they keep this up, the more stupid they look to everyone,

as our president sets new levels of leadership, not seen since before many Americans were born.

Let them keep it up, it matters not.

Thanks for sharing, Larissa, and I'll recommend this post1 :hi:

[snowbear]

49. You're right NYC_SKP ..

Bunch of sick freepnoid types trying to create a bogus controversy..

Even a teensy fraction of threads seen over here.. mostly by people with a couple of posts under their belts actually seemed to be promoting the POS story.

[Undercurrent]

3. Unfortunately these idiots will be circling around

the periphery for the duration of the Obama presidency. They never went away after they stalked Clinton for eight years straight, they only got quieter. Now they are back trying to full throttle screeching.

You just have to accept that a certain percentage of the population are either dumb, mean, or selfish, and let it go at that.

[OnionPatch]

15. Yes and no.

I wouldn't exactly "let it go." Let it go as far as accepting there will always be desperate, rightwing nutbags, but don't let it go as far as keeping a watchful eye out for their propaganda. In many cases, their lies will swell and fester if not quickly and efficiently debunked.

[Undercurrent]

20. I don't say let them run amok.

They need to be challenged and discredited at every turn.

At the same time a lot of folks seem inclined to use the same tactics the neocons have used against the rest of us. Threats, "free speech" zones (that are anything but), harassment, intimidation, police brutality, tasering, arrest for peaceful activities, character assignation, and a lot more have been used to shut us up. Such action is wrong.

There is a certain amount of mess around the edges of a vibrant democracy that has always been part of the process.

[AndyTiedye]

4. I Hope the Secret Service Keeps Them Away From Obama

[Captain Hilts]

5. Welcome to the Clintons' world. nt

[Skittles]

6. exactly

very disconcerting to see so much garbage about them coming from DUers :puke:

[Captain Hilts]

7. They only believe the rt. wing press when it's about the Clintons. nt

[Skittles]

8. some criticism is warranted, as is with any politican

but the sheer hatred displayed by some is certainly repuke propaganda-induced

[Captain Hilts]

13. Absolutely! nt

[DutchLiberal]

53. I find it more annoying when people like you purposefully conflate...

'garbage' with rightfully criticism.

[Skittles]

60. LOL

:rofl:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. well we all saw what happened to hillary and bill. we shouldnt expect much different from some

people.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

21. Yeah of course Hillary and Bill can do no wrong

And when anyone on DU levels any criticism against them, they are closet republicans and should be kicked off of DU. I forgot. Hillary and Bill are perfect beings!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

22. did you read the article? this is what i mean by clinton bashing. you dont read the article

and you just assume that i am bringing up clinton out of context

:eyes:

[spiritual_gunfighter]

23. What are you talking about???

The Clintons aren't mentioned once in the article and yet you felt the need to serve them up as some kind of martyr. You brought them up up out of context I might add so you could equate what the article is stating about what is happening to Obama and comparing it to the Clintons. I am not saying that the Clintons havent been unfair targets by the right wing, they most certainly have. But why bring them up in context to the Obama situation. Just another reason to martyr them I suppose.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

25. does this para exist in my head?

"Those who spent most of the 1990s seething that Bill and Hillary Clinton were serial murderers and who devoted the entire 2008 campaign cycle to painting Obama as a mysterious radical aren't relaxing during the transition."

[spiritual_gunfighter]

37. I spent the entire 08 primary lauding Obama and knowing he was the right choice

Hillary Clinton spent the entire 08 primary campaign bashing Obama, saying he wasn't a muslim "as far as I know" and other various things I dont have to drag back up at this late date, I am sure you remember it well. By the way James "Big Cat" Williams is on TV right now!!!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

39. now see that is an unrelated response. nt

[spiritual_gunfighter]

41. English please n/t

[La Lioness Priyanka]

43. replaced a t with an s. hope fixing the typo will enable you to read. nt

[spiritual_gunfighter]

47. Oh okay I understand now

Maybe you are right, my whole premise for my post was that I wasn't sure why the Clintons were being brought up, but now that I see they are mentioned in the article. I was wrong so disregard what I was saying. Sorry.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

30. seriously i have heard of blind hatred, but i didnt think it was literal nt

[charlyvi]

31. Um....the Clintons are very much mentioned in the article

Your Clinton bashing is showing.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

36. I know we are in the middle of yet another Clinton war but

I want you to know that James "Big Cat" Williams is on TV right now, and that is pretty cool!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

38. what clinton war are we in the middle of? i mean besides the one you just created

w.your inability to read.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

42. Yeah but what about James "Big Cat" Williams?

[charlyvi]

44. No war on my part.

I give them credit for what they did right, no credit for what they fucked up. But you made a misstatement of fact, and typed some fairly hot words because of it. (not hot in a good way, heh) That's how flame wars start.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

40. I stand corrected

They are mentioned in the article, sorry for the mix up. Didnt see that. I am wrong you are right.

[charlyvi]

45. Good for you.

Truly. Don't mean that in a sarcastic way.

:toast:

[spiritual_gunfighter]

46. Thank you

I can admit when I am wrong and I was, my thread is void hope you accept my apology.

[charlyvi]

48. Sure do. n/t

[mopinko]

10. please god tell me that we have outgrown

feeling like these people have a legitimate point of view, and deserve a seat at the table.

[wyldwolf]

11. ..and if history keeps repeating itself this way...

... in 8 years we'll get to her the Sirotas and dailyKos's of the world join with the right to tell us how the Obama administration, successful in every measurable way, was actually a disgrace.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

27. yup. nt

[NoPasaran]

12. They're just the flipside of the coin

From the crowd that blames the "BFEE" for every crime of the last hundred years, whether it's the rise of Hitler, the JFK assassination, or the last episode of the Sopranos.

[ecstatic]

14. What gets me is--Do those people really think McCain/Palin should be in charge

the thought of that frightens the hell out of me! I know PE Obama isn't perfect and will make mistakes, but the foundation he has (intelligence, wisdom, background knowledge, curiosity, temperament) is 1000X stronger than McShame's.

[nichomachus]

17. But, if you talk to these people

they feel the same way about Obama as you do about McCain-Palin. The big difference is that their fear and loathing is based on made-up stuff that they heard on talk radio or got in the mail.

[snake in the grass]

24. It's worse than that.

They think Palin should be POTUS. If anything, this reflects the poor state of education in the U.S. At this point nothing will convince them and we must remain on our toes when they start flinging shit.

[nichomachus]

16. Heck, there are still people around who hate FDR n/t

[WinkyDink]

35. Yes, but they don't send back their S.S. checks, do they? Heh.

[Jakes Progress]

18. Back during the election

this is what I argued. I was (and am) wary of the whole "get along" and "cooperate" theme. No one wanted to do that more than Bill. To think that the crowd of neocons and their servants will not go after Barack with the same bile and lies that they attacked Bill and Hillary is a case of willful ignorance. The really galling part is how well it works. Even on DU there is a large contingent of political neophytes and easily duped who buy all the crap about the Clintons. Now they are aghast that the Washington insiders will go after their Obama. Talk about naive.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

26. exactly my sentiments. nt

[mkultra]

19. crazys are to be ignored

acknowledgment brings them from the fringe into the discussion. Some people will always criticize Obama no matter what the world around them changes into. They want to hold onto something from the past like sad adults who try to relive high school.

This is why Obama chose to go light on the negatives which, imo was a brilliant move politically. Getting dragged into the mud with Palin would have been a real problem. Instead, she just ended up looking like a kook to the indys.

[WeDidIt]

28. I ADORE the Birth Certificate Cultists

They'll scream loudest and hardest during the 2012 re-election campaign.

That should pretty much INSURE Obama gets a second term.

[Tutonic]

29. All 15 of them huh?

[WeDidIt]

33. That's a blatnatnly biased attempt to discredit their movement

There's 23 of them.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

34. ...

:rofl:

[DevonRex]

63. It took me about 10 seconds to figure out what blatnatly was.

Need more coffee. :)

[DevonRex]

50. I think they're hilarious.

Great for a laugh. I don't even have any sympathy for them anymore.

[WeDidIt]

56. Hell, whenever I find their bloviations posted, I SIGN UP

and egg them on.

I figure they may be able to convince somebody as stupid as Palin to start spouting their tinfoilhatnuttery at some point in the future which will result in the end of that person's political career for all time.

My greatest hope is that they find some idiot rightwingnut senator to take up the case when the joint session of Congress meets on January 8 along with a wingnut Congresscritter or two. The tinfoilhatnuttery will be too thick for the wingnuts to ever get it off them after that kind of shit.

[charlyvi]

32. If Thomas Jefferson were brought back to life and ran for office,

he would be subject to the same treatment. He doesn't believe in Jesus! He's an elitist....reads too many books! My God, he has a copy of the Koran! He's got a black woman for a mistress! And on and on and on. It's been their MO since Poppy Bush's Willie Horton moment. Any Democrat would be subject to it.

[DutchLiberal]

54. A black woman for a 'mistress'? A 'MISTRESS'? Oh come on!

You've GOT to be kidding me.

[DevonRex]

51. And they don't seem to be going away here, either, unfortunately.

[ellacott]

52. Some of them post on DU

[snowbear]

55. Yep.. Our moderators have their hands full..

Good thing DU's Pizza Parlor stays open 24 hours a day! ~~

[MiniMe]

57. What happened with the Supreme Court on Friday?

I must have missed it. Did they decide not to hear the case?

[Jim Lane]

61. We don't know for sure but it's almost certain the Court decided not to hear it

The Court's normal pattern is to conference such cases on Friday morning. Later in the day on Friday, the Court's website lists petitions that have been granted. On Monday, the much longer list of denied petitions becomes available.

On December 5, the Court listed only two cases as "certiorari granted". Neither of them was the Obama eligibility case. (One of those the Court will hear looked pretty interesting, about yet another Bush Administration assault on the Constitution.)

It's remotely conceivable that they deferred decision on the Obama-related case. It's vastly more likely, however, that they decided not to hear it, and that it will be on the list of denials released on Monday.

[MiniMe]

62. Thanks! I'll be looking for the news today.

[stillcool]

58. they need to be ignored..

no ink, no face time, and 'let it sink'. Their heels are dug in quick sand anyway. The squeaky wheel doesn't always get the grease.

[DeepModem Mom]

59. K&R