Eight Reasons America Is On Edge

[Martinus]

Do you think it's possible Bush favored whites over others?

Sure, it's possible.  Can't think of any evidence, but it's possible.

Can you think of any evidence that Obama favors blacks over others?

[citizen k]

Do you think it's possible Bush favored whites over others?

Sure, it's possible.  Can't think of any evidence, but it's possible.

City of New Orleans.

[Razgovory]

I found out that smilie is named after me.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah, I don't really think so, Shelf. This shit is mostly about economics. If there are any race-haters, it's just fringe dudes trying to piggyback on the events the same way that commie party supported by North Korea does at Obama rallies and WTO protests.

If it was about economics it would have started some time in the Bush Administration, at the very least in October.  And I reject entirely that the tea partiers are mostly about economics I've watched a few speeches at tea parties.  The biggest lines are anti-abortion and foreign policy.  Economics was the catalyst of a far wider movement.

Though of course as I've said I don't think they're all racists but that is an element of the protests.  This seems to me like left-wingers denying that anti-Americanism played a part in the anti-war protests in the run up to Iraq.

[derspiess]

Can you think of any evidence that Obama favors blacks over others?

His entire time as a community organizer.

[derspiess]

If it was about economics it would have started some time in the Bush Administration, at the very least in October. 

The whole thing started in response to the TARP bill Bush signed. 

And I reject entirely that the tea partiers are mostly about economics I've watched a few speeches at tea parties.  The biggest lines are anti-abortion and foreign policy.  Economics was the catalyst of a far wider movement.

I think you're seeing what you want to see.  The core of the movement has always been economic libertarian in nature.  The rallies didn't spike around April 15th out of sheer coincidence.  There are others trying to piggy-back on the movement with their own pet issues, as MiM mentioned, and that is providing some fodder for critics.

Also, it is not really a unified movement, so individual rallies are going to vary to some degree.

Personally, I think the movement proved its point long ago & needs to redirect its energy.  I'm not really a fan of permanent protest movements.

[Sheilbh]

The whole thing started in response to the TARP bill Bush signed. 

The reaction, perhaps, started then.  The protests started after Obama came in and the identification of Tea Partiers starting after Rick Santelli's tantrum.

I think you're seeing what you want to see.  The core of the movement has always been economic libertarian in nature.  The rallies didn't spike around April 15th out of sheer coincidence.  There are others trying to piggy-back on the movement with their own pet issues, as MiM mentioned, and that is providing some fodder for critics.

Also, it is not really a unified movement, so individual rallies are going to vary to some degree.

I agree on the latter point.  But I think part of its free-wheeling nature is that it's become a movement for wider conservative dissatisfaction and anger.  So it's not just economics.  As I say certainly at the 'Tea Party Conference' which was an attempt to make money on the movement and, to some extent, to make it cohere.  There the big issues were social and foreign policy, not economics.  So I don't think you can clarify an un-unified, disparate movement as being essentially economically libertarian.

Personally, I think the movement proved its point long ago & needs to redirect its energy.  I'm not really a fan of permanent protest movements.

I like protests and I think they're generally rather useful.  The danger is that they become perceived as being dominated by their most extreme elements - which is always a danger (and an easy target) with protest movements.

[CountDeMoney]

Is Obama really oblivious of the fear he inspires in part of the electorate?

You're an idiot.

[jimmy olsen]

Is Obama really oblivious of the fear he inspires in part of the electorate?

You're an idiot.

For disagreeing with Fineman?

[CountDeMoney]

Is Obama really oblivious of the fear he inspires in part of the electorate?

You're an idiot.

For disagreeing with Fineman?

You're an idiot on general principle.

[CountDeMoney]

Oh, and for the record--since I don't feel like addressing every post in this thread--the recent phenomenons of teabaggers and right wing nuts are all about racism and sore losing.

[CountDeMoney]

This thread is an example of why we can't have nice things.

Goddamned right you can't.  You'd just fuck it up and put 22" spinners on it anyway.

[grumbler]

He's tired of all the age jokes, so he's going to ignore half of the forum.

I am?    Didn't know that.  I didn't know I was going to ignore anyone, for that matter (DGuller is the ostentatious ignorer).

The "grumbler is so old he was a _____ at the battle of _____" meme is funny.  It doesn't bother me a bit (just like the "tackling" meme shouldn't bother Marti) . Some people run memes into the ground, but that also doesn't bother me.

[Caliga]

Fate/Raz rule, remember?

Actually it's the Fate-Alexandru Rule.  Raz sometimes says silly shit, but so do a lot of people.  I have never even considered adding Raz to Teh Rule(TM).

Fate and Alexandru are Ruled because they both contribute to political threads (or really any thread involving controversial topics like politics, race, religion, etc.) mainly by adding throwaway comments that aren't funny, insightful, or of any use to anyone.  Some people still feed their trolling for some strange reason, but I'm just trying to help all y'all bitches out by continually pointing it out (my latest tactic is to post pictures of television static, since that's what their posting equates to in my mind).

[Eddie Teach]

I am?    Didn't know that.  I didn't know I was going to ignore anyone, for that matter (DGuller is the ostentatious ignorer).

You do ignore Fate, well kinda. I was just fishing for a reason you might want to extend the same treatment to Raz, that's all.