Do you know what's clear to me after watching Obama talk to Republicans in Baltimore?

[onehandle]

Republicans hate an 'uppity negro.'

That's why they regret letting this be televised. You could see it on all the faces in the room.

They were uncomfortable because this black man doesn't know his place.

'Why am I being forced to listen to this uppity negro?'

That is what was in the forefront of their minds.
______________________

On edit: Below I added a comment that I think fits here:

I live in the deep South. I know what racists look like when they are 'forced' to deal with African Americans as superiors or even equals.

That was it.

[polichick]

1. That room was filled with throwbacks to a time and place most of us don't want to revisit. nt

[EFerrari]

2. I would think, by that logic, they would be happy he showed their base

how "arrogant" he is, which is how they hear everything that comes out of his mouth. :shrug:

[SunsetDreams]

3. onehandle, I think what was in the forefront of their minds is

oh @%*# we are f--#@%*!

[dkf]

4. That didn't even occur to me.

I think they were bummed they got seriously out debated on nAtional tv.

[onehandle]

21. You could see it in the crowd from the start.

Long before they realized they shouldn't have let this be broadcasted.

[dkf]

23. Hmm. Must review later for crowd reaction.

[goclark]

39. I may be naive but I think they would have been just as shocked

if Bill Clinton had done it.

By this time they should have known that he is brilliant.

And that he is much smarter( Black, White or Purple) than they will ever be --

Have they read his Bio or are they too busy reading Palin's book?

[TTUBatfan2008]

42. Too busy listening to Limbaugh...

and his ridiculous teleprompter jokes. What those morons don't realize is that most of the material in the teleprompter is written by Obama himself. Idiots.

[MadMaddie]

47. I still don't see why no one says that the all presidents

have had hand held cards or paper in front of them with their talking points. I have never understood the stupidity of this argument.

[TTUBatfan2008]

50. I don't understand it either...

Reagan used teleprompters. Reagan didn't even write most of the stuff he was reading though, which is why the criticisms of Obama are so ironic coming from the Cult of Reagan crowd.

[Jennicut]

5. They didn't like that the Democrat who was a black man didn't know his place.

[liberaltrucker]

6. Mark my words. One of them WILL drop his guard and utter the "N" word

I'm surprised it hasn't already happened.

[onehandle]

7. There have been carefully used code words from the day he announced his campaign.

The closest we've come to the actual word was in the 'you lie!' moment.

[Tippy]

13. I'm sure that word is only used behind locked doors

but one day someone will slip....

[Auggie]

8. Absurd observation

They regret letting it be televised because a Democratic President beat the crap out of them.

I dislike repukes as much as anyone, but to label all those people in the room as racists is not right.

[onehandle]

14. Whenever they panned the room even the non-particiants were shaking their heads and....

...looking as if they were in disbelief and sucking lemons.

Until this event I would had said that unlike their base, the Republican leadership and their friends and family were not largely racist.

But now it is clear to me that I was wrong. It's not just the drooling Fox News audience. It's throughout the party.

I live in the deep South. I know what racists look like when they are 'forced' to deal with African Americans as superiors or even equals.

That was it.

[Auggie]

22. If that was true Ron Christie would not be a talking head

I don't agree with your generalization

[Diamonique]

34. That's a terrible analogy.

Trying to understand the Ron Christies of the world is like trying to understand Log Cabin Republicans.

I know the Rethugs hate gays. But the LCR's do exist.

There's simply no accounting for people who support organizations that openly hate them.

[Auggie]

36. I can't believe it...

the majority of responses here are leveling sweeping generalizations of racism against every Republican in that room -- without any basis in fact.

I thought we were better than this.

And I don't get your issue with Ron Christie. He has represented GOP talking points for years.

[Diamonique]

52. Please don't misunderstand me.

I don't believe all Republicans are racist.

I just didn't feel that the Ron Christie analogy fit.. that's all.

But it is strange how the GOP uses race a lot to scare their base into continually voting against their own best interest. It's entirely possible that they (the GOP leaders) aren't racist, but simply see a winning tactic.. the southern strategy is alive and kicking.

[Solomon]

37. I don't think you understand white supremacy

and how it operates.

[Hansel]

40. I saw some of this at the SOTU speech to.

The body language and facial expressions said it all. It is clear that most of the Republican "leadership" has no respect for him as a person, or at least think it's a winning strategy to pretend they don't.

Their constant complaints about being "lectured" by him or about him being "arrogant" have to do with a profound lack of regard for this person being in the position President of the United States. Who does he think he is, doesn't he know his place? "Arrogant" is no different than "uppity" in meaning. They are trying to make the point to their racist constituencies.

When Obama says "they don't know you are just being political" I think he is addressing this. Even though some of these Republicans might not be racist themselves (and I'm giving them a huge benefit of the doubt here) they know that a large segment of their voters are. And they are blowing the racist dog whistle as hard as they can.

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. Agreed.

They hate Obama about as much as I hate GW.

[Hansel]

43. The reasons for hating GW were much more profound.

Telling huge lies and fabricating evidence to start a illegal war where over a million people were killed or maimed and his constant wiping his ass with the constitution were reasons to hate Bush. And to be quite frank, I did not hate Bush during his 1st year in office and most people did not. I wish he wasn't installed as president, but I did not hate him. And the congress treated him with respect the 1st year. It wasn't until his 2nd year and his asinine handling of 911 that he started garnering hate from the congress.

The reasons for hating Obama are not very clear cut. He spends a lot of money? So did Bush. He helped bail out the banks? Well actually that was Bush too? He did a stimulus package? Boo hoo. He tried to get health care for the American people. WHAT AN ASS!

There is nothing that Obama is doing in and of itself that should be generating that level of hate from the right.

[lumberjack_jeff]

49. Not all irrational hate is racism.

They hate Clinton, Pelosi and Carter too.

[Hansel]

44. No one said every person in the room is a racist.

But the Republicans are using racism as a tool and a strategy. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not happening. I spent too much time around too many racists both in the North and the South while segregation was still around not to see what is going on.

"He's arrogant, he lectured us. Who does he think he is? Whaaa." Well, he is the President of the United States, that's who. And it's time for the Republican "leadership" to grow up and realize that they are not his superiors.

The head shaking and eye rolling and offensive body language was going on well before Obama "beat the crap out of them". So that doesn't explain it.

[Auggie]

46. "Republicans hate an 'uppity negro...' You could see it on all the faces in the room." n/t

[rhett o rick]

55. Yes labeling ALL those people as racists is wrong. There was at least one or two non-racists.

If you think that all republicans arent racists then you arent paying attention.

[Tippy]

9. This is from my blog post the day after the SOTU

"As the President spoke, many times the camera was panning the Chamber so I could see the reactions of Congress. It was sickening to see the open glares, sneers and open hostility, these people really do HATE, they hate President Obama, they hate their Democratic counter parts and they hate, "we the people". Obama ran his campaign on Change. The only way I see this changing is if WE change it, President Obama can't do it all. We must do our part."

Living in TN you learn to recognize a racist when you see/hear one. I saw the same when the President met with Republicans in Baltimore. I am glad more of you see what I have seen for a long time.

[mucifer]

12. I gotta say if I was forced to watch a speech of george w. I'd be glaring with hate.

I do hate w. I'm not saying they aren't racists. I just know that people do sometimes hate those on the opposite end of the political spectrum.

[onehandle]

18. Exactly. I'm in Georgia. I know that look. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Amen

You could tell by the looks on their faces.

[treestar]

11. Joe Wilson kept his mouth shut, I guess

And I suppose he was there.

IMO for most of them, they would treat any Democratic President like that, but there is an extra fear in some of them - they got bested by a black man and that does not fit their world view.

[housewolf]

15. And the code word for "uppity " is "arrogant"

How many times this week have you heard his opponents refer to him as "arrogant"?

I've caught Cspan's Washington Journal the last couple of mornings, and about every other caller says "he's arrogant". Just a code word for "uppity."

[onehandle]

17. Yep. nt

[Frustratedlady]

19. They do not like for Obama to stand before them and "lecture" them.

The word "lecture" has been used by them since before the election. They don't want him in the White House and they don't want him acting as though (portraying) he is more intelligent and is talking down to them.

We need to make up a Republican dictionary.

Arrogant is "uppity"
Lecture is "talking down"

There are many words they use to show their distaste for the Obamas and the people they brought with them.

Shame on them. They continually insist on showing their ignorance and never disappoint in that regard.

[madamesilverspurs]

20. Under Cheney/Bush

they got used to seeing themselves as the "smart ones". They became accustomed to speaking to us as though we were stupid. In November '08 we told them otherwise and they somehow didn't get that message. They clearly expected Obama to be a 'stupid foil' for their contrived umbrage, an expectation that demonstrates the breadth of their disconnect. At present, they hate him because he showed them up on their own turf.


---

[GoCubsGo]

32. Yes, and may I add...

They still think they are in the majority, and they are whining about being "ignored" because they aren't getting everything their own way. As President Obama had to point out to them, they are not going to get everything they want, because they are not in the majority. "That's not how democracy works."

You are right about them believing Obama to be a "stupid foil." As he pointed out, they believe their own BS about him and his party. And, I would add that although the racism claim is not the main reason these clowns were glowering at the President, I strongly suspect that with many of them, it was a major reason for the sour looks on their faces. As another who lives in the South, I'm familiar with that look, too.

[HopeOverFear]

24. Racists can never help themselves.

it has to come out some way, their hatred.

[Beacool]

25. I guess Bill Clinton must have been an "uppity negro" too.

Ditto for Hillary. Neither one got a break from the Republicans. Obama has gone through nothing comparable to what they went through: a special prosecutor persecuting them and their staffers for years, leaving them almost $2M in debt. Also leaving many staffers with a debt totaling in the thousands for each one of them (Maggie William's legal bills were close to $250K). Dragging a first lady to testify in front of a grand jury and all for what? To find out that the president got a few BJ's from some ditsy girl? That's all we found out after 5 years and many millions of our tax money spent on this witch hunt.

By comparison, Obama has had it quite easy........

:shrug:

[Voltaire]

56. Heh heh, give them time, he's only had a year

finding impeachment material might take some time with this one (tongue FIRMLY in cheek).

[Beacool]

58. Nope, they wouldn't dare.

;)

[The Wizard]

64. What percentage of publicans

think the President should be impeached?
Other than being a Democrat, they impeached Clinton on bullshit charges. Believe me, if they regain control of the House impeachment will soon follow. We're talking about a cult with hatred toward everyone who is not in line with their distorted view of themselves and the world.
It was during the Clinton impeachment circus that I concluded the media was controlled by the Republican jihad. Not once did and news agency question why Clinton was being impeached. All they wanted to talk about was when he was going to resign.
This country owes Bill Clinton a debt of gratitude for not caving in to the wild eyed crackpot fascists who wanted him deposed.
Given the chance to abuse the process, Republicans will attack like hungry dogs on a steak.

[hollowdweller]

60. Obama hasn't given them enough to work with

He doesn't have the baggage Clinton did.

They tried to make a big deal out of Ayers , Wright and Rezko but there just wasn't enough to work with there.

If he had anything they'd be on it.

[rucky]

26. What I got from it is...

They're like the disruptive kids in a classroom - they crave attention. They don't care if it's good attention or bad attention as long as it's attention. I think they're hungry for approval, but too stubborn and lazy to actually earn it.

[skorpo]

53. I agree with you rucky.

[Hamlette]

27. they also think democrats are beneath them.

Obama, able to answer their charges without getting pissy, showed we are not all smug idiots. And the whole world to could see it was the republicans (like that idiot from Utah) who are smug and dishonest.

[safeinOhio]

28. May all of their grandchildren be brown.

[Clio the Leo]

29. Then why did they pick one as their RNC head?

..... I've seen enough prejudice in my time to know that we dont live in a post-racial society and wont any time soon (if ever) but I think this has more to do with Obama being an "uppity liberal who beat us" than anything else.

[GoCubsGo]

33. Why do racists claim they have black friends?

It's just show.

[Hansel]

45. Why did John McCain pick a woman as VP?

It's part of the game. It doesn't mean McCain has a respect for woman as his equal.

They also pick Alan Keyes to run against Obama. Alan Keyes is probably one of the most ridiculous persons on the face of the earth. As is Michael Steele. As is Sarah Palin. Seeing a pattern here? If they really respected woman and blacks, why do they always pick the most ridiculous to put front and center? Because they don't respect them. They are a tool.

The very fact that you included "uppity" in the description of what they dislike about him seems to come across as conflicted. The word "uppity" is a term used almost exclusively to describe a black person who doesn't know his placed. That is the common understanding of the word. People do not generally use the word "uppity" to described Liberals.

It's very hard not to see that some of the people in that audience do not believe that Obama has the right to be President nor that he is entitled to their respect, simply because he is black. This came out during the town halls and in the code words they use. Why try so hard to ignore that likelihood?

[AspenRose]

57. You "get it."

Yes, indeed...you "get it."

Props. :applause:

[olegramps]

63. I am automatically suspect of any minority that belongs to the Republican Party.

It is inconceivable to me that any minority would ever consider belonging to a party that has absolutely no use for anybody except wealthy white males and bleached blond bimbos. I feel the same way in regard to working class people who belong to a party that has consistently opposed every measure that was responsible for creating the Middle Class and which they are dedicated to destroying. I have a hard time feeling too sympathetic when these people's jobs are outsourced, their pensions cut and the health insurance canceled. In the case of Blacks, its as if they have sold their soul to ingrate themselves to the very people who actually despise them. I guess I am too old and stupid to get it.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

59. Actually, that only bolsters the argument that they are racist.

Twice now they've essentially said that one black man is as good as another.

[peaches2003]

30. Not only do I know 'the look' here in GA,

but the first words out of their mouths is always, "I'm not a racist, but......"

[Jade Fox]

31. It's also the look of entitled white men everywhere.....

and yes they hate having to take people not like them seriously.

[tledford]

35. I agree, except that the word in their minds isn't Negro...

...it's one letter longer, but still starts with 'n' and ends with 'r.'

Edited for typo in subject (typed 'work' for word')...

[Zoeisright]

38. Also Repukes are stupid and smug.

And think that they're something special because they were born rich. And white.

[BlueIdaho]

41. Wow - you said a mouth full.

[Fire1]

48. Now, tell me something I DON'T know! n/t

[Skittles]

51. that may be true, but they just cannot take someone who TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

[donheld]

54. That's a large part of why they're the party of NO

[old mark]

61. That's why they oppose everything he wants to do. He is black, smart and in charge.

I am sure that just makes them steaming mad.

I bet many of them wear their sheets in the privacy of their own homes.

mark

[JI7]

62. They act like he owed something to them, as if he had no right to be up there , to be President

they acted like he didn't win the election in a huge landslide.

like he needed to apologize to them.

fucking racist scumbags.