If all this crap is true, Nikki Tinker is just a disgraceful, awful, immoral person.
*** Update ***
This TNC post made me laugh:
Frankly, I’ve always doubted the power of Jew-baiting as a method of scaring up votes in any black community outside
of the tri-state areaGotham. That’s not because blacks aren’t antisemetic, it’s because–in the words of the great Jimmy Baldwin–they’re antiwhite. Jew-baiting against a white Jewish guy in a majority black district, is like attempting a 360 dunk. Why go through all that when the the plain-old race-baiting layup will suffice?
Damien
Not every racist is white and this bitch (I use the word rarely, but in this case… yeah, perfect fit) is the perfect reminder of that.
Zifnab
See, now THAT is playing the race card.
Genine
I agree that her tactics are reprehensible. Steve Benen just noted her recent Jew-baiting.
Its really awful and I sincerely hope she doesn’t win.
greynoldsct00
Good morning, John.
This is hideous. I’m so sick of members of the African American community who just seem to live to drag them back down – for their own personal agenda. I hope she loses big.
linda
she also ran an ad about cohen attending ‘our churches’ (jewjewjew) that was equally rancid; but has apparently taken in down. emily’s list has supported her and has released a statement about how mortified they are by her ad.
wapo:
And Tinker’s most recent ad accuses Cohen of voting against allowing children to pray in schools — a charge his campaign denies — even “while he’s in OUR churches slapping hands and tapping his feet.” Is the “OUR churches” line a reference to Cohen being Jewish? It’s not exactly clear, nor is it clear whether Tinker’s late attacks will do her campaign any good.
olbermann tagged her as worst person in the world last nite.
Punchy
Fixed the template for a much more general usage.
TCG
It is True. She has been condemned by her hometown newspaper TWICE but is unrepentent.
Not only is Cohen linked to the Klan, but apparently he and fellow jews hate Jesus and won’t let children say the lords prayer before bed time.
Yep. The allegations about Tinker are true. And very sad.
Halteclere
The little I understand about Memphis politics is that it is just plain messed up, with significant issues centering around race.
My wife and I spent a couple days in Memphis last summer visiting family on her side, and the racial tensions in and around the city seemed ever present. We then drove up to St. Louis for a few more days and was happy to see the contrast.
The Other Steve
I saw the video last night up on youtube. It’s been taken down since then.
This is Tennessee, seems to me this is the way politics plays out in the south all the time. Up here, such a video would pretty much destroy a politicians chances of being served at the local restaurant, much less winning.
libarbarian
Low blow, but still….
Nathan Bedford Forest was a scumsucking piece of shit animal and a national disgrace. The fact that people name parks and schools after him is disgusting.
libarbarian
“Confederate Vermin Park”
“Subhuman Traitors Park”
“‘The Original McVeighs’ Park”
The alternate names are endless.
The Grand Panjandrum
I first read about this through Oliver Willis. TPM was all over this yesterday. The “our churches” video has been taken down.
I’m never surprised when Republicans do it, but it still gets me when Dem’s do it.
This is the seat of former Congressman Harold Ford who was the victim of race-baiting in his own campaign for the vacant TN Senate seat. His family backs the Tinker campaign. Of course, Ford himself is now a “respected” member of the DLC. The Tennessee Democratic party is a fucking disgrace for not shooting down these sorts of attacks from within its own ranks. But that particular state party is rife with criminals and hangers-on, many of whom are related to Harold Ford, Jr.
Why didn’t Tinker just call him a no good “kike” and be done with it. Very little escapes the scrutiny of the blogosphere so you better say what you mean and mean what you say or you’re going to have your head handed to you. Its getting more difficult to put out these sorts of not-so-subtle messages in the intertubes era.
Karl Rove probably got a good chuckle from that video.
dbrown
A little more background on Bedford.
While Nathan Bedford Forrest was a principle founder of the Ku Klux Klan he did, after a while, became outraged by its violence against blacks and their supporters and he denounced the KKK organization and quite. This does not excuse the man but it paints a more complex character who did want to re-establish southern (white) rights but I do not believe that he was a blind hater of blacks like so many ex-confederates (and current republics.)
demimondian
No, Tinker is not a bitch; she’s not a dog. Yes, she’s an antisemitic bigot; no, she’s not a racist. There are differences.
And, yes, she should lose. EMILY’s List should be ashamed of having supported her, particularly since the entire progressive community came out in favor of Cohen — and against her, precisely on the basis of her past behavior — from the get go.
Sirkowski
You’ll have to explain that colossal nuance.
airmail
As a native Memphian, yes it’s true and yes she is. Problem is that it is not just Tinker spewing this crap. This is from some of the more God fearing folks in Memphis:
Steve Cohen and the Jews Hate Jesus
I shall go vote today. Mornin ya’ll
The Moar You Know
No, demi, she’s a racist as well.
mellowjohn
“Yes, she’s an antisemitic bigot; no, she’s not a racist.”
i think the point demimondian was trying to make is that tinker may not (emphasis on the “may”) hate all white people…
just jews.
mannemalon
Nikki Tinker … sounds like she makes adult movies.
Mrs. Peel
OK, who’s the freaking idiot who broke the blog? Learn how to correctly insert links – m’kay?
Xoebe`
Unfortunately, it’s crap like this that makes it possible for right wing bigots to paint the Obama campaign with the same brush. There are a number of “you may be a racist” memes floating around that capitalize on white resentment and frustration, suggesting that the Left will call you a racist if you criticize Obama for any reason.
Politics is a nasty, nasty business.
libarbarian
“The slaughter was awful. Words cannot describe the scene. The poor, deluded, negroes would run up to our men, fall upon their knees, and with uplifted hands scream for mercy but they were ordered to their feet and then shot down. I, with several others, tried to stop the butchery, and at one time had partially succeeded, but General Forrest ordered them shot down like dogs and the carnage continued. Finally our men became sick of blood and the firing ceased.”
– Clark, Achilles V., Confederate Soldier at Battle of Fort Pillow
D. Mason
Black people can’t be racist. Duh.
libarbarian
Sadly, some people actually believe that *eyeroll*
johnosahon
this woman is disgracing my race, why is she in the democratic party? is there no way to throw this idiot out of my party?
she is needed ASAP in the rpeublican party.
Dreggas
I know a few. They only think whites can be racists, and no other race can be.
Tsulagi
I’d go with that. Seems all she needs now is to also run an ad with Cohen’s face morphing into OBL to fully capture the Party of Bush spirit.
Napoleon
I guess if the voters slap her down in a manner of speaking she will be. The real disgrace will be if she wins with these tactics.
A couple of months ago (and it has been clear all along that some black politicians and ministers in Memphis wanted Cohen out because of his complexion) I started wondering if the fact the top of the ticket was going to be an African American would help Cohen. I like to think that most people most of the time try to do the right thing and in this year maybe her thinly disguised message will find less of an audience for it then in may have in past years. If you are African American will you really feel like you need to vote for the black guy in an congressional primary when in the fall you are going to be able to vote for a black guy to run the whole show, and there is a pretty good chance he will win it? (By the way, something else I have thought about is how ugly the story can be portrayed if she wins – “nation on the edge of electing African American while AA district rejects candidate based on the fact he is white” – I am sure there is zero chance that you will see that story line on Fox).
Cassidy
But wait a minute….
I thought only white people were allowed to take responsibility for bad behavior around here. Am I reading that some of you all are actually saying someone with a brown skin tone should be held responsible for their own actions? Good God! This kind of thinking might lead to thinking that non-white criminals should be held responsible for the crimes they committed.
What day is it? I need to write this shit down.
jake
The attempt to link a guy named Cohen with the Klan tells you all you need to know about Tinker Belle.
And yes, she’s two, two, two bigots in one. I’m sure I don’t want to hear her views on Koreans and other Asian-Americans, either.
Paul in KY
It’s a shit-ad, probably by a shit candidate.
I wish Mr. Cohen had figured out back then that there was more downside in Memphis opposing the renaming of the park than in advocating it.
You could still leave the traitorous murdering scum Forrest buried in there & change the park name. It would really steam Forrest & his ilk if he was buried in Keith Lee Park, IMO.
Just Some Fuckhead
The fact she is a corporate lawyer should have been the first clue.
D-Chance.
Welcome to the party, Mr Cole. They’re your kind of folk.
And, remember, a vote for McCain (or ANY whitey, even a good Liberal Democratic Jooooooo) means you’re racist.
D. Mason
I know a few as well. Irony is completely lost on these bigots.
ThymeZone
I’m a little confused. Did we just wake up and discover that a lot of American politics is just dirty, unprincipled smears and telling lies about opponents?
Look, you have two-party, machine politics in this country.
At least one of these parties has a long and storied track record of this kind of thing, and by and large, it’s a record of success. Why should we expect anything different?
When this type of thing stops working, then politicians will stop doing it.
Blaming politicians for bad politics is like blaming McDonald’s for your crummy diet. Stop eating there. Stop electing bad politicians. Work for the election of good ones.
While you are clucking your tongues over some asshole politician in Memphis, another one in your town is doing the same frigging thing. Work to elect that person’s opponent.
Brachiator
Fixed.
The sad thing is she looks kinda cute (yes, I am that shallow sometimes).
The Gods of irony are working overtime on this one. Tinker is using a racist appeal to accuse her opponent of being … a racist.
A local blog nails it (Nikki Tinker, After Toe-Tapping Around Race, Moves On To Religion):
This woman should be officially rejected by the local Democratic Party. And it would be truly sad if she ends up winning the election.
Blue Raven
I’ve seen this idea argued out and about on the ‘Net. The sanest explanation I’ve seen is that it’s an application of a social science definition that requires race hatred combined with the power matrix of being the “superior” class in the system to have racism. Extending this to the individual, while people of color are capable of gross acts of bigotry, they are incapable of acting in a racist fashion in the US because they are not in the “superior” class. I find that simplistic, since a Korean grocer certainly has power over his customers and any area where people of color are the majority shifts the power structure, if only within the microcosm. But I’ve been willing to operate under that definition in discussions where I know the other parties involved will admit freely and gladly that bigotry knows no skin color. Sadly, that hasn’t been many.
Cain
This is where shit goes wrong. Let’s say she loses and then there’ll be hand wringing about racism and crap. The black community then instead of saying “no, you were being stupid” instead will back her up regardless of whether she was doing something wrong or not. Thus the entire community loses credibility in their quest for solidarity even though they probably think she’s probably full shit.
Welcome to race relations in America. A soup best served hot. *frustated look*
cain
jake
You know I’ve heard about the black community my entire life but it doesn’t seem to have a location outside of some people’s heads.
Take Marion Barry (please) for example. I constantly read and hear that the “Black Community,” still supports him, but I’ve only ever spoken to people who are members of the supposed community who can’t understand why anyone voted for him to be anything, including dog catcher, ever again.
And then there’s Michael Steele, Ken Black and professional lunatic Alan Keyes.
Some people (of various races) might support her for whatever reason, some people will think she’s a stupid cow.
Napoleon
Huh, I am not sure I follow that logic? It’s a majority black district, and this is the Dem primary in that district. In order for him to win the primary he will either need an outright majority of blacks, or something pretty close to it. Pretty much by definition this would mean the black community is not on Tinker’s side (that is not to say certain segments of the black community maybe, and some of them may be loud about it).
NonWonderDog
The “blacks can’t be racists” line is about semantics, not anti-white bigotry. The people that say this define “racism” as support or enforcement of culture-wide oppression, which is distinct from “bigotry,” or individual hatred based on race, ethnicity, religion, etc. There are zero people who argue that blacks are incapable of bigotry, and very few people who argue that anti-white racism would be impossible in a black-majority culture. Disagree with the definition if you want (I do), but please take pains not to reinforce the “all blacks who say racism is primarily anti-black are racist” meme.
jake
I could introduce you to non-Caucasians who say they can’t be racist, women who say they can’t be sexist and gays and lesbians who say they can’t be … um … biased against people based on their sexual preference (bisexuals may laugh bitterly). I could also introduce you to people who say that if any of the minority groups do display unpleasant behavior, they caught it off the dominant members of society.
The basic question is: Are there any limits to the amount of ignorance human beings can display?
Since we know the answer (NO), supposing that certain groups are incapable of bigotry isn’t a stretch.
Bubblegum Tate
Yes, she’s a terrible person, but she’s got an awesome campaign ad.
Dreggas
*laughs bitterly*
Actually it hasn’t been too bad with the people I’ve been around but there definitely is the whole “breeder” sneer and we get it from Hets and Gays. However I like how George Carlin put it, I’m not bi anything, I am just greedy.
NonWonderDog
Again, there is a difference between “blacks can’t be racist” and “blacks can’t be bigoted against other races”–or at least there is in the minds of those who say that “blacks can’t be racist.” The argument is that “racism” means more than just racial hatred; it means oppression based on racial hatred. The argument goes that blacks do not have enough power to oppress, and thus their individual bigotry cannot graduate to “racism.”
I’m sure there are learning-disabled people who would say that “blacks are incapable of hate,” but they don’t make up more than a tenth of a percent of any community. That’s close enough to zero as to be politically nonexistent. There may be more that say “blacks never hate whites irrationally–whites always give them a reason,” but focusing on these people for derision still seems far too much like an attempt to tar all with their brush–especially when there are far more whites with the reverse attitude.
None of this is to excuse Tinker; I think it’s disgusting that she could run a campaign based on that. I just think it’s entirely uncalled for to turn this into a discussion of how terrible some/all blacks are for hating whites. (Then again, I grew up in the Detroit suburbs. I’ve heard enough disingenuous “Coleman Young was a RACIST!” nonsense to last a lifetime.)
D. Mason
Bullshit.
airmail
For what its worth, Cohen just beat the hell out of Tinker. 78-22?
airmail
Results
Church Lady
Yes, reporting from ground zero of TN’s 9th Congressional district, I am happy to report that Steve Cohen kicked Nikki Tinker’s skinny ass to the curb. Even with the race baiting and anti-semetic commercials, so far she’s garnered less than 30% of the vote, with about 90% of the total in. This is a district that is over 60% black and tends to vote based on race (e.g. Harold Ford, Sr. and Harold Ford, Jr.).
Of course, it didn’t hurt that she really pissed off a lot of Republicans with her actions, and they didn’t hesitate to cross over and vote in the Democratic primary (there isn’t a viable Republican running and even if there was, there is no way in hell that one could win in this district).
Hopefully, we have finally seen the last of Ms. Tinker. Steve Cohen is a very good Congressman and deserved to be retained.
Ed Marshall
There are zero people who argue that blacks are incapable of bigotry
No, you are ignorant. You are equating bigotry and racism. If you are unwilling to entertain the idea the idea that these two words have different meanings full stop. Go away and feel correct.
I’m of the “imprecise use of language leads to imprecise use of thought” school and if that all sounds like a bunch of long-headed bullshit than I’m not going to waste my time and try and explain anything.
If that’s not the case explain why you are certain that your definition of these two words as absolute synonyms is the correct interpretation of the English language.
Alternatively, find me someone who would accept the synonym and find non-whites as incapable of expressing that tendency.
Ed Marshall
I totally fucked up whoever I was trying to quote :\ I meant to catch the response that said that was bullshit.
Church Lady
Some interesting points about this race and what Steve Cohen was up against:
1. The democratic Congressional Committee refused his request for re-election funding. The Congressional Black Caucus (the same group that refused to admit Cohen because he is white, even though he represents a majority black district) gave Nikki Tinker a $30,000 campaign donation.
2. Only three members of the CBC supported Steve Cohen in his re-election bid. All other members of the CBC supported Tinker.
3. Steve Cohen was the original sponsor of the bill recently passed by voice vote in Congress that apologized for slavery. It was a bill that all members of the CBC signed on to as co-sponsors.
4. Cohen cast his “no” vote concerning the renaming of Nathan Bedford Forrest Park while a member of a Downtown Redevelopment Committee and he had very valid reasons for doing so. One, his position was that the committee itself didn’t have the authority necessary to rename any city park, much less this one. Only the city government has that right, and no one, including our black mayor and our majority black city council, wanted to enter that hornets nest. Two, the park (where Forrest and his wife are buried) was given to the City by the Forrest family and there is a clause in the gift that would cause the land to revert back to Forrest family heirs if the park were to be renamed, i.e. rename the park and lose the park.
5. Cohen was an early and vocal supporter of Barack Obama, coming out prior to the Tennessee Democratic Primary. Obama, finally today, wimped out while making a very vague statement concerning Tinker’s disgusting ads, saying that there was no place for stuff like this in politics, but managed to do so without mentioning either Tinker’s or Cohen’s names, nor specifically endorsing Cohen. Gee, thanks for all your effort, Barack.