Morgan Freeman: Tea Party Controlled GOP's Anti-Obama Goals Are 'A Racist Thing'

[cal04]

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/morgan-freeman-tea-party-controlled-gops-anti-obama-goals-are-a-racist-thing.php

Morgan Freeman thinks that Barack Obama's presidency has "stirred muddy waters" and inspired a certain racism amongst republicans and Tea Partiers who say, "Screw the country; We're going to do...what ever we can to get this black man out of here." Talking tonight with Piers Morgan, Freeman somberly suggests that Republican anti-Obama goals are "a racist thing" that show "the weak, dark undersides of America."

"We're supposed to be better than that," he mourns. "We really are."

Citing the Tea Party and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell specifically, Freeman says that, "Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term," and that, "It's a racist thing."

Asked if he is disappointed with Obama, Freeman is keeps close to his idealism. "Kind of, but I so understood that he was trying to hold onto his own promise," he reasoned, presenting Obama as more than just a black president. "He would be the President of all the people."


(video at link)

[EFerrari]

1. He's right, of course. The tea klan couldn't exist without their racism. n/t

[badtoworse]

2. That argument is a loser

The racism charge has been so overused that many people would interpret the claim as a tacit admission you can win based on the facts.

[truebrit71]

3. Doesn't make it any less true though...

...the teanuts are a bunch of racist thugs..

[madamesilverspurs]

6. We can neither prove nor disprove

racism as a cause of McConnell's frequently stated ambition to hold Obama to one term. That said, supremacist groups have been pleased with the implication. As for the Tea Party, their events have included those who make no effort to hide their racism; and the presence of those racists has not incurred any serious disinvitation. We do ourselves no favors by pretending that racism isn't continuing to infect the country.

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[marginlized]

7. "neither prove nor disprove" give me a break! n/t

[badtoworse]

9. I'm 61 and I see racism as far less pervassive than in years past

It's still around for sure, but opposing Obama's agenda and seeking to beat him in the 2012 election is not racism. Asserting that makes you look weak and stupid.

[madamesilverspurs]

10. I'm 63, and the racism I see

is still as pervasive as ever. It's learned a bit of subtlety here and there and cleaned up its language a bit, but it's still with us. More's the pity.


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[jaxx]

14. I am 64 and I see racism as blatant as it was in the 50s and 60s.

It is about racism and I am neither weak nor stupid. The stuff out there today is the stuff they had to put away when the people got behind the Civil Rights Act and the Civil Rights Voting Act. There were always the overt racists who couldn't talk without using the n word, but now it is out there and acceptable to the bigots.

No one who supports civil rights can poo-poo the racism we are seeing again.

[badtoworse]

16. You are ignoring a great deal of progress that I see

When I started my career 40 years ago, it was rare to see people of color in anything but menial jobs. I'm at a relatively senior level now and I see people of color all through the organization including senior management. I've seen that in a number of companies. That would not have happened 40 years ago.

[jaxx]

18. This is true, and it is also true that people use racial comments like

was done before. Refusing to look at the issue won't make it go away. How many pictures of Clinton did you see with a bone in his nose? How many placards at rallies did you see saying we didn't bring our guns this time? How many presidents have had their nationality questioned? How many watermelons have you seen depicted on the White House lawn? That stuff is pure racism.

[badtoworse]

20. There are always going to be assholes. but that isn't important

I draw my conclusions based on what I see and what drives peoples' success in the job market. I see many, many more minority people (I've expanded the umbrella) holding down responsible, professional jobs. That is where the rubber hits the road. From what I can see, tha barriers to entry into a decent, professional job are largely gone. That assumes you've got the quals to compete on a level playing field for the job in question. In advance of any flaming, I've always believed that institutional racial bias will end when minorities have an equal shot at job opportunities without any bias or other government influence trying to move hiring decisions one way or another. I believe we are there or close enough that it is time for government to bow out. The flip side of that is it's a pretty competitive job market and the onus is still on you to close the deal. In other words, you've got to play by the same rules everyone else does and win.

I'd be interested to hear from some successful, minority professionals on this matter.

[Karenina]

21. Such a classic steaming heap of denial!

:applause:

[Strelnikov_]

26. "Asserting that makes you look weak and stupid."

I agree . . with the first sentence of your subject line.

[roguevalley]

19. I grew up under Jim Crow and sundown laws, segregation and

lynching. It will never be a loser.

[NYC Liberal]

22. Isn't it funny how people acknowledge that "Of course racism still exists!"

but whenever examples of racism are pointed out, it's always, "Well THAT'S not racism" or "Let's not say that."

I think it stems from the notion that if someone isn't wearing a white hood and sheets, they aren't "really" a racist.

Racism is often much subtler than that - especially these days. Racists have (for the most part) learned that they can't go around being blatantly racist, so they use code words and discriminate much more subtly.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[opihimoimoi]

4. Bravo for MF to state what many others feel is true...KnR

[ellisonz]

5. Wise words from America's "Second Black President"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hleji2cUm8

[jaxx]

8. Morgan Freeman is correct.

The absolute disrespect shown President Obama is unprecedented. And why? The pubs can't stand to have an African American in the White House. They have been open in their racism, as in their deeds and their words. Let alone their posters they haul around to the rallies. A bone in his nose? You need to not ask any further.

[loyalsister]

13. I agree

One of the most disgusting things I have come across was a bumper sticker that said "Vote Republican in 2012. Don't renig" No mistaking the racism there.

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. Morgan Freeman is indeed correct. My brother, his wife,

what they tell their children, some of the people I used to work with. Ignoring the element of racism is just being foolish. It is there, and it is real....and it is deplorable.

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. There. You heard it from god, himself.

[Wait Wut]

15. Whatever.

It's Morgan Freeman. I'd agree with anything he said. Somewhere, deep in my soul, I want to say not "all" of it is about our President being black, but I can't. Not when Mr. Freeman tells me it is.

What?

[whosinpower]

17. They have NEVER considered him legitimate

Put aside differences in policy and ideology for a moment.
Who brought up the birth certificate?
Who insisted he was muslim?
Who has repeatedly, consistantly maintained that he is BAD for America?
And when Obama bends over backwards, risks abandonment from his base - to mollify them, to try to get them to work together, their response is er......no. To the point of risking a full default of the US.......

Do not try to tell me it is just politics. It isn't. I do not believe that. They have never ever considered him legitimate. They have never respected him, nor the electorate that put him there. It goes beyond his birth place, beyond his education or intelligence, beyond his party affiliation.

When left with no other reason why they would disrespect him....the President of the United States wants to Address Congrss - and is told to wait until AFTER the republican debate???!!!???
The gall is breathtaking. Obama lets it slide, because he must - but the undercurrent is definately is race related.

[malaise]

24. Duh!

Glad he wasn't afraid to say it publicly - it is what it is and it is racism on steroids.

[Control-Z]

25. God has spoken,

my teenage daughter would say.