And of course if you call them on their racism, they — and their fellow travelers who are overtly Republican — scream like vampires hit with a garlic firehose.

Considering our country’s present trajectory, it’s entirely possible those tea-baggers are about to see how it feels swimming up-stream in a cold rushing current.

From what I’ve seen, most tea-baggers aren’t exactly over-qualified to compete in the present ‘free market’.

I can’t wait to see who get’s the blame when they have to park the motorhome because they can’t afford the gas?

Right.

That’s really not the case here in the deep south. Those views are held by business and political leaders alike. And don’t forget we are just 2 years past having them in the White House. Listening to C-SPAN one can believe most of the GOP in Congress hold the same views. Yes their stupidity has and is running the country into depression. But don’t underestimate their power to have their ideas applied.

Do we really need any more proof that the Tea Party is a racist hate group?

LOL

Teabaggers have never been anything more or less than Republicans clandestinely exploiting the racists in their party to oppose Obama, just like they exploited the bible thumpers previously. Anybody who says differently is selling something, presumably tickets to the next tea party event.

It would be a mistake to think that this attitude they hold is restricted to race. They think ALL poor are lazy by definition, and that anyone who is unemployed doesn’t have a job because they are simply too lazy to go to work.

Only the white and wealthy deserve a handout.

Uh, that’s true – but given the context of the other two polls…there’s something going on with race.

The poor white GOPers believe they are poor because the African Americans are getting all the good jobs and handouts. That is in my view what really drives the grassroots of the GOP.

This supports my hypothesis–that the Tea Partiers are cryogenically frozen citizens of the 1950′s who’ve been thawed out.

Without question they are racists. I was pointing out that they think the poor generally are lazy (after all, hard work is ALWAYS rewarded, right?), and since blacks are generally poor, they are lazy by definition. They hold the same attitude towards Latinos and poor white folks, although the thinking is most pronounced when it is combined with race (that is, poor white folks may also be unlucky, but blacks & Latinos are simply too lazy).

Exactly. They are no different than the GOP has been for years. Just more bold.

We Democrats and liberals must consider why they have become so overt?

Um, but in the ’50s, over a third of the country was in a union and tax rates for the riches Americans were in the 90s.

Socialism!

I don’t think anyone’s arguing that. Being conservative has always meant being a bit of a sociopath who is incapable of thinking about other people. What these results show is that racism is also an expression of that attitude

In their mindset, it is not just the African Americans, but also the illegal immigrants (specifically Latinos) that are getting the handouts and “their” good jobs.

Well, duh. If only we deported them and cut all the welfare out, this country would be great again.

[/Teatard]

Not only them but their *shudder* brown offspring who were born here…

I see your point. Yes, I would agree with that. I tend to see this a little differently than many (mainly because I’m a white male who comes from an extremely conservative family, so I’ve seen some of this first hand).

I think that in most cases, it isn’t even something that they are consciously aware of as a part of their thought process. It’s simply a frame that is invoked when talking about poverty.

Yes. You are correct. I used African American reflexively because in my region they have been and remain the primary scapegoats. There is however much the same attitude toward all our Latin immigrants.

To what, I wonder, does the other teabagger half ascribe African-Americans’ “lag in jobs, income and housing,” just offhand?

Disdain for the poor is deeply embedded Calvinism in the GOP. However to simply view white conservatives as all well off is a mistake. Here in Appalachia the poor white are also Conservative They claim special privilege for dark skinned as an excuse to God and communitiy for their poverty.

Psychological dependence on welfare programs.

I’m Caucasian and come from a long line of very conservative, mostly career military men. I grew up around it as well. One thing all conservatives seem to have in common is the lack of empathy or the desire to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. One example: Poll after poll of conservative voters show that they feel that LGBT Americans don’t deserve full civil rights, have made a “lifestyle choice” and so forth. Until you get to the ones who have an out of the closet family member, then support grows to almost equal to what you would find among liberals. Until it affects them directly, they don’t know or want to know.

I think the reason they are so much more overt, is because of the unending media attention with no counter balance showing how many more people have moved beyond this kind of thinking.

People who disagree on points of discussion alone would make for a very slow news day in a media driven by sound and visual bites and since most American get their skewed perception of reality from these bites it seems to everyone that major progress has not been made. (not to say more change is not needed, it always is)

Also, it is in the interest of politicians and other special interest groups to insist that things have not changed because by not admiting things have changed, they don’t have to change either and the funds keep coming in. You can control the masses better when they are convinced they are victims of whatever and when a true victim shows up, that person will get lost in the shuffle of what is being portrayed as normalcy. JMHO.

Think Calvinism.

Of course, the teabaggers of our great-grandparents’ generation didn’t have Hispanics and Latinos to knock around with these stereotypes, so they picked on Eye-talians, the Irish, and Greeks: lazy and shiftless peoples all, in their view. But, still and also, African-Americans.

Funny how everyone gets to graduate from immigrant jail but the descendants of those whose forced immigration is our national shame.

unending media attention with no counter balance

That’s the operative phrase.

This is why Harvey Milk insisted everyone come out, and why we must drag some people out when they fight our getting our rights. I cannot tell you the number of bridge-playing conservatives my mother has shushed at the card table by quietly interjecting into a bigotfest, “That’s my son and the man he loves you are talking about now, you know.”

But…but…they all came here “the right way.”

[/Teatard]

Its hard to convince someone who lives in a shack that they are privileged because of their race. It is easy to direct their anger at incentive programs that favor others over them. It takes some time being dirt poor to understand, that’s why liberals have a hard time reaching those people. There is too little empathy on all sides, not just tea partyer’s.

I’ve been reading Standing at Armegeddon (great book) and it was the same thing in the 19th century. The groups who wanted blacks to have the vote never teamed up with the women’s movement because well, that’s just crazy letting women vote, am i right?

Many African-Americans have ancestors who were here long before many white families which in my book gives them full and equal citizenship and rights. The myth that AAs are lazy has been around for a long time
but I have seen some working harder and longer and in bad conditions for many years. It shouldn’t matter one way or the other – if they are hungry or sick the skin color shouldn’t make a difference. Am I my brother’s keeper? Yes.

Exactly, and even when it does affect them directly, they often engage in denial unless it hits them HARD in the face (I can’t tell you how many gay men I know with conservative family members trying to hook them up with nice girls because “they just haven’t met the right one yet”).

As relates to this story, I don’t see how they will ever change their position, simply because most of them will never be a poor minority, or have one as a close family member, so they simply will never be forced to confront the rampant discrimination that faces those minorities.

Does anyone have the actual questions that Blue Texan is referencing? I went to Gallup’s website and couldn’t find it.

They have a link described as: “View methodology, full question results, and trend data.” which attaches to a .pdf named, “Tea_Party_Support_July_2_2010.pdf” but it only contains one question: “35. Do you consider yourself to be – [ROTATED: a supporter of the Tea Party movement, an opponent of the Tea Party movement], or neither?”

When I see polling comments like:
“Nearly half say blacks lag in jobs, income and housing ‘because most African Americans just don’t have the motivation or willpower to pull themselves up out of poverty.’”
I have to ask myself, “How was the question framed?” Since I can’t find it I’m stuck and any help would be greatly appreciated.

As an aside, I highly doubt that it was phrased: “a. no motivation or willpower, b. any other possible reason”. Similarly, when people say things are “Without question”, there’s often a hole in their analysis that is filled with personal opinion or interpretation.

In other news, water was found to be wet.

But…but…they all came here “the right white way.”

Fixed it. heh…

Jane has a new post ready: Letter from the Hill: Why FDL Matters

ts hard to convince someone who lives in a shack that they are privileged

You are right. Having been there it took me a long time to recognize it is poor whites that are as cruelly manipulated by conservative economic, even racial, philosophy than the more visible targets. And I still feel emotions flare when some Liberal Elite starts to lecture on matters he/she knows nothing of. FDR, perhaps because of his many months in Georgia among the poor did the best of any leader I know in empathizing with us..

I’ve been reading Standing at Armegeddon (great book) and it was the same thing in the 19th century. The groups who wanted blacks to have the vote never teamed up with the women’s movement because well, that’s just crazy letting women vote, am i right?

I am a great Cady Stanon fan and have done some reading. The book sounds fascinating.

I, red faced, confess I bet some of my female friends that the US would elect a black man before electing a woman. Wish the stakes had been higher.

that’s quite true, the poor person being a minority is just an added bonus. like adding honey to their tea.

Our history of raft with issue beyond issue of underclass people. Yes we have all never teamed up together and that’s why there is no united front against these people.

I don’t understand it. They tried to say White Women were upset that Obama and not Hillary was going to win the nomination. Was this true? Maybe among Conservatives it was true like Laura Ingram who openly wanted Hillary to win and run for the White House, in fact most Conservatives licked their chops at another Clintion running for the White House.

The point is, that all those put under thumb by evil White Men (noticed I didn’t say all) should be working together on the things they agree with, not get into these petty arguments over abortion, LGBT rights, who’s first in line to get help from the Government, etc, etc.

I support a Woman’s Right To Choose, full stop

I support LGBT Rights, full stop

Now you can’t put me over a barrel on those issues. I supported not bailing out the Banks but bailing out average Americans it would have made much more sense. I supported bailing out Home Owners, who cares if its “moral hazard”. I support a full bore push into Green Technologies and Renewable Energy.

I’m also Black and Unemployed. I worked for over 5 years for the same company for $10.05 an hour. How do you think I was impacted by $147 a barrel oil? When the shit in the hit the fan, my hours were reduced. What the fuck am I suppose to do? Is that being lazy? When Sharron Angle says shit like “They just wanna live on Unemployment” well it makes sense to me! Why work part time for the same wages the Government is willing to give you? I’m not saying there’s no incentive but we need to get out of this mindset that says “Take What You Can Get”. The jobs they want to give you are shitty low paying jobs. They want to make a permanent lower class, I don’t see how anybody can’t see that. That includes college educated workers.

What we should be talking about on FDL is how do we get from point A to point B, not constantly complain about what Congress or Obama is not doing.

Also why so much time spent on the oil spill? How about solutions to get off of Peak Oil and how we can do it and not pie in the sky Electric Cars that haven’t even hit the market yet and with no jobs for people to earn money to buy them with.

Yes. It is all about cheap labor and concentrating wealth. The multinational/supranational corporations want to continue to destroy unions and other worker rights thus lowering wages further. They and their executives have no concern for standard of living. It is what globalization is about. It is what corporate ownership of national governments is about.

Somewhat tangential if not OT but I keep hoping someone in the media and blogs will pick up on this outrage. No better proof of corporate ownership of at least the conservatives. Link Here.

You have to look into the mind of a conservative. Since the war on poverty, the black population has suffered. This poll really means that the govt will make people lazy cuz of handouts. It is more of a knock on govt. than it is blacks.

Clinton said today that Byrd joined the KKK to get elected. And he made it sound ok. Gallup is a left wing poll.

I know some of these tea party creatures and their all Gopers or worse. Disgusting aholes to a person.

African Americans have not suffered as a result of the War on Poverty. Just another conservative delusion.

Under Jim Crow virtually all southern business and political leaders in the south belonged to the KKK. Byrd was just doing what one had to do to get elected. That said, he never denied favoring segregation as a young man. He changed his mind, unlike Goldwater, Thurmond, Stennis and a number of others.

Clinton said today that Byrd joined the KKK to get elected. And he made it sound ok.

That’s true. If Byrd got elected as a member of the KKK, what does that tell you about a) the times and b) West Virginia during said times?

KKK does not like many things. Jews are high on their hate list. Catholics. I think WASPS are about all they like. Kinda extinct I do believe. Every country has their crazies.

This poll should be of concern to Obama because that attitude will rub off on him: His cerebral approach to a crisis will be interpreted by some as a sign that he is lazy and not really engaged in solving the nation’s problems. Obama’s crew (Plouffe et al.) need to figure out a way of changing the optics on this– not so much to attack the Tea Party opinionaters, as to show Obama “hard at work” in terms that the average American understands. This will not be easy, because the ordinary way executives “work hard” does not look like “working hard” to the average American.

Bob in AZ

I think Dylan Ratigan has the best show on MSNBC right now. Maddow is not presenting solutions she’s clearly leaving that to somebody else, she just reports what’s wrong and gives opinions, which is fine. Keith Olberman is the “attack dog” we have been missing for awhile, he’s tried to advocate when he can and when his owners allow him too (see Health Care Reform).

Largely besides Dylan who had “Fix It” week and at least gave some suggestions about what to do, I see little action. In fact I stil little action anywhere. It seem FDL, Kos, MoveOn and the rest of then are bent on doing it the hard way (herding cats) through net activism.

I would say Net Activism has failed. It put the Public Option back on the table but ultimately failed the acid test and is not in the current law.

It failed to remove Michelle Bachmann from her House Seat.

It failed to get tougher Financial Services Regulation.

Its not out on the Code Pink only gets coverage on Left TV. There outburst are not large enough for the MMS to cover their anti-war stance. The anti-war stance was much LOUDER when Bush was in office. One would think after the red meat the left was feed with the Rolling Stone story which is almost yesterday’s news with the firing of McCrystal, it would have a million anti-war people out in front of the Lincoln Memorial, but no it will be Glen Beck and a bunch of largely racist White folk marching on Washington.

I can’t be the only one that sees the Left constantly asking for financial help. I get emails on a daily basis from those fighting for Progressive reforms. That’s great but I have no money, I have down to my last $2. Lucky I’m a looser and live at home, so I won’t starve or get kicked out of my apartment. With almost 2 million unemployed, you mean the tell me the Left can’t give us something constructive to do?

I have no clout, nobody will listen to me. Why should I waste my time giving suggestions?

KKK does equal opportunity hate. They are apart of the New World Order Conspiracy. Not quite sure Alex Jones is racist but…

The history is clear and LBJ’s War on Poverty did more in that short amount of time than any Administration has done SINCE and those are the facts.