With a helping of gay-bashing.
Reggie Brown, the Barack Impersonator who debated Gary Johnson last Sunday yukked it up for white folks once again, this time at the Republican Leadership Conference.
From The Washington Post:
The impersonator, Reggie Brown, took the stage at the annual presidential cattle call to the Bruce Springsteen song “Born in the USA” — an allusion to the birther controversy.
A sampling of what followed:
• On Black History Month: “Michelle celebrates the full month. I celebrate half.”
• “My mother loved a black man,” but “she was not a Kardashian.”
• A picture was shown of Obama and the first lady when he took office. The impersonator then showed a picture of what the Obamas will look like when the president leaves office, and it was the characters of Fred Sanford and his sister-in-law, Ethel, from the show “Sanford and Son.”
Race wasn’t the only subject where the impersonator pushed the envelope.
• Of Tim Pawlenty’s decision not to criticize Mitt Romney at Monday’s debate: “[CNN’s] John King served him up a ball softer than Barney Frank’s backside.” (Frank is a gay member of Congress from Massachusetts.)
• Of Newt Gingrich’s approval ratings: Dropping “faster than Anthony Weiner’s pants in an AOL chat room.”
• There was also one moment where the original Weiner twitpic was shown on the large screens on either side of the impersonator, with no blurring.
Apparently Brown was interrupted and hastily ushered from the room. Presumably, these assholes are trying to get their story straight regarding whether or not this racist bullshit was pre-approved or whether Brown hopped on stage and started riffing — you know — like off the top of his head.
Yeah right.
Blame it on the black guy. It works every time.
Fauxbama or Obama: One of ’em is to blame — somehow.
It’s going to be a long and angry road to the Republican primary.
Oy vey.
Anyway, here’s a good Barack impersonation from Iman Crosson, whom I follow on Twitter and whom I doubt would participate in the sort of bullshit Reggie Brown has apparently signed himself up for:
And here are two videos of Kyle Grooms doing his best Obama impersonation:
You’re welcome.
[cross-posted here at ABLC]
Yutsano
Oi. They’re not even bothering to hide it any more. The Republicans are no officially a de facto Klan organization. I hope you feel right at home Marco Rubio, because you’ve risen to where they will allow you to go only because you are useful to their ends. Notice how he hasn’t introduced a single damn thing in the Senate? I don’t think that’s an accident.
BGinCHI
This is good news for Herman Cain.
Sophist
Uh huh, he just hopped up on stage and the images for his act just sort of materialized in the projectors.
Yeah, lets go with that.
jacy
Fucking hell. Problem is, this is just a preview. It’s going to be an ugly, ugly year.
BattleCat
I hope Reggie Brown is getting paid with palettes of hundred dollar bills. When he looks back on this time in his life, that money is all he’s gonna have.
eemom
oh please Lord don’t let this thread turn into another “calling out racism is SO 2008” freak parade. kthxbai.
Beauzeaux
Somebody had to think this was a GREAT idea!!
Clueless is too kind. Yes, I think they’re just not bothering to hide it any more.
AJ
Bwahahahahahaahahaha! Republicans using Bruce Springsteen’s anti-Vietnam anthem, “Born in the USA”.
I’ll bet not one war-lovin’ Repuke caught that one.
Yutsano
eemom:
It’s an ABL thread. You might as well wish the moon was your wedding ring.
The Spy Who Loved Me
So he’s a self-hating black man?
stuckinred
Vaughn Meader
stuckinred
The First Family
PS
Thanks for this, ABL. I might have missed it. I really did not want to know this, but it is important that I do.
Listen, folks: This will pass. This is the flailing of a failed empire whose oligarchs have not yet come to terms with its passing. The next few years, maybe the next couple of decades, will be hard, but it will pass. These people need to know that we despise them. We do not respect them. Yes, we have some justifiable fear for the damage they can do to us and to our loved ones. But that will not stop us. They are wrong and we are right.
Cliff
God help us, the Republicans have gone Full Metal Cunt.
(Am I allowed to call fat old white southern dogfucking scum “cunts”? I just can’t keep track of what words are not allowed anymore.)
Evolved Deep Southerner
They’re testing the boundaries here. Or not testing them so much as trying to establish them.
“Oh, it was all just good fun! Look at some of these liberal impersonators and what they say! They can dish it out, but they can’t take it.” You watch.
In the meantime, it’s disgusting. Can you imagine how these ‘establish the racial perimeter’ strategy sessions sound?
“OK, people, clearly ‘Gimme Your Cash Bitch So I Can Buy Some Mo’ Heat’ isn’t gonna work, but this guy Brown, Reggie Brown … I’ll tell ya, he’s getting some attention out there!”
Warren Terra
@BattleCat
Given who’s paying him, and his skin color, I assume they tried to pay him according to the method demonstrated in that awful anti-Janice Hahn ad.
batgirl
@BattleCat
http://www.obamaimpersonatorlive.com/presskits/barack-obama/Barack-Obama-Information/Barack-Obama-Pricing.pdf
Anya
I read somewhere that the Brown was escorted out of the stage, when he started making fun of Michele Bachman.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@AJ
The GOP has been using it since ’84.
ruemara
I think I’ll just log into wow and kill things. This is too tiresome. And fuck this idiot sell out impersonator with 2 rusty chainsaws.
Warren Terra
@AJ:
You underestimate the Republican capacity for historical re-imagination. Sure, Born In The USA was written and intended as a criticism, but all the Republicans remember is that it’s got this full-voiced cry of “Born In The USA”, that it came out while Saint Ronnie was in office, and that Republicans used it (unironically, of course) at their rallies. Springsteen got the Republicans to stop with a copyright complaint, but the Republicans won’t remember that, either.
rikyrah
Well, the slave catcher who did this needs to have his ass lit up as the coon that he is.
outside of that, ABL, what else did you expect from this bunch of racist mofos?
Linda Featheringill
Battlecat:
I agree. I fear that Reggie Brown may have made a bad bargain.
[If you want to get biblical about it, try “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?”]
Redshift
This is just sad; about as sad as a “conservative online media conference” that still has to book a few conference rooms in the hotel next to the convention center where the liberal bloggers are gathering to get any attention at all.
Congrats for getting paid for the least effort, I guess. I mean, there are plenty of ways you could make fun of Obama, even if you wanted to be cruel, but when your whole schtick is “hey, have you noticed he’s black?,” well, I’d call it lazy, but more likely it’s knowing that for this audience it isn’t about anything else.
Evolved Deep Southerner
@ stuckinred 5:26 p.m.
I vaguely remember seeing an album advertised on TV when I was a boy of someone mocking the fuck out of Jimmy Carter.
I don’t know if it was this guy but I think that’s him. The presidential impersonation business if a pretty thin market.
eemom
Are you at NN this year, Redshift?
Linda Featheringill
Anya #17
re: Michele Bachman
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2005153/Republican-leadership-conference-Michele-Bachmann-supports-intelligent-design.html
hamletta
Shit, he didn’t even get Wales.
Commenting at Ballon Juice since 1937
Obama has created a job for at least one African American.
Felanius Kootea (formerly Salt and freshly ground black people)
I’ll admit I don’t have the stomach to click on that Reggie Brown link just yet. But from the Daily Mail article that Linda linked to, there’s this:
Cermet
Cliff, if you don’t know – know now: that is never allowed – ever. It shows ignorance that is no better than any low educated red neck yelling the N word at little black children. No one can match the elite white males for the ignorant language they develop for everyone else – woman are the subject just as much as blacks, Latinos or Asians as well as lower class whites (as in every one without their money, like you, too.) That is a sick, foul word that no one should use – period.
Steve
I don’t really see what makes any of that racist.
Joel
You missed the most important part.
The organizers only cut the guy off once he started zinging Republican candidates…
ETA: someone educate me on the FYWP blockquote deal…
JPL
ABL.. Thanks for the post but OT>> The NYTimes has an article about Thomas and questioning his friendship with a Real Estate magnate..(Harlan Crow)
link
They might be taking Weiner’s place and doing some actual reporting on Justice Thomas…
stuckinred
Yea, Meader’s career wasn’t too hot after Nov 22, 63.
Evolved Deep Southerner
Re: Born In the USA by Springsteen:
Look, it’s got a catchy, patriotic-sounding chorus: “Born In the USA!” America, fuck yeah!!!
The chorus is all they want to hear. Listening to all those other words? Shit, that’s hard. Nuance is for the libtards. Just gimme the chorus.
As it goes for those afraid-to-think fuckers in music, so it goes for them in stump speeches and political advertisements/rhetoric.
Comrade Kevin
@Linda Featheringill there’s a photo with that article of a phenomenon usually done in private: Michele Bachmann getting ready to sink her fangs into a baby.
stuckinred
Evolved Deep Southerner
They know, they just don’t give a fuck.
Athfest is next week BTW.
stuckinred
What do you want to know? It sucks.
Linda Featheringill
BTW, I did notice the audience convulsing with glee while the racist shit was being directed at Obama and family.
I really wish I could say those hyenas will pay for that but probably not.
On the other hand, if you believe in reincarnation, perhaps you can hope they all come back as real hyenas. Nah, real hyenas probably have too much dignity to tolerate them.
lamh34
Ok, I know that times are hard, and a brotha needs a job, but damn. I hope the money was worth it.
I know I should probably get a sense of humor or something, but just reading the write-up on this pissed me off.
Maybe I take things too seriously, but I am really just bone-weary of the subtle acceptance of this type of stuff by GOP.
Oh well, I’ll get over it…freedom of speech and all… but I certainly DON’T want to see the video of this.
mclaren
This is marvelous. These slimeballs are showing us who they really are. Keep it up, assholes. Show everyone you’re a bunch of racist pricks. You’ll get David Duke and three mentally ill guys voting for you in November 2012.
If we’re really lucky, maybe they’ll bring this guy back to do the Republican National Convention, and then they’ll cap it off by beating some poor people with baseball bats on camera and then they’ll try to set a homeless person on fire during the keynote speech.
It’s going to get harder and harder for fellow travelers like David Brooks to ignore this evil shite, and sooner or later, every human being with a conscience will stop voting for the Republican party. Sounds great!
hamletta
Good point. Lee Atwater didn’t bring it down to dog-whistle level because of his good taste; he did it because it was smart. Alienating nice suburbanites who don’t think of themselves as racists is no way to win elections.
But they’ve tossed the dog whistles and gotten out the vuvuzelas.
Anya
@Linda Featheringill #26 ~~ I guess they turned on him when he started making fun of the racism of the teabaggers.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2005153/Republican-leadership-conference-Michele-Bachmann-supports-intelligent-design.html#ixzz1PfWGSEnx
JPL
Stuckinred..My tornado sirens just went off for about 5 minutes… The animals are not happy.
jazzgurl
Poor poor fool! Playing suck-up to the white thugs..and being hustled off the stage. Good! It serves him right! Feel no sympathy for him whatsoever. Why denigrate your own kind? Does any white folk go on stage denigrating their own? Surely,not a Republican.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
conservative comedy isn’t funny.
even conservatives know their stuff just isn’t as funny, they don’t get is that it isn’t funny because good comedy reveals a truth, not obscures it.
those laughs at the rlc were more forced than sex scenes in a ross douthat novel.
JPL
McClaren @ 43…
It won’t happen unless there is an effort to support Huntsmen. The republican base is racist and it’s time to recognize that fact and Brooks won’t jump ship. IMO
Donald Douglas
Stupidity, pure and simple. Gives the Dems a rare chance dis Repubs:
http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/video-actor-reggie-brown-obama.html
Warren Terra
Oh, dear. Since when has The Donalde trolled this board? I don’t remember encountering his fetid stench before …
Ben Cisco
@ mclaren:
No, it really won’t. His paycheck depends on him either ignoring it or doing the false equivalence bit. In total agreement with the rest of your post, though.
Joel
In the modern Animal Farm, Brooks is motherfucking Whymper.
Felonious Wench
No. The part of my body that was my son’s entrance into life deserves a bit more respect.
Not to mention, lady parts seem to give a lot of pleasure to many men, and women, so why insult it? Respect it for the gift it is.
Cliff
@ #30 Cermet
Can I call them whores?
stuckinred
efgoldman
No judgement here, if it pisses you off it pisses you off.
stuckinred
Felonious Wench
Yea, what a dickhead that prick is for using a word like that!
Redshift
eemom@25 No, but Ms. Redshift is, and I’ve been getting reports.
I remember the first time they scheduled the wingnut blogger gathering opposite DailyKos/NN, and it just served to highlight that nobody cares enough about them to come out and get involved. Pretty weird that a couple of years later, they keep proving it over again.
JonF
Maybe they should get an impersonator who looks like Obama, not Obama and Liza Minnelli’s love child.
Redshift
Felonious Wench@56
Not to mention, as a good friend of mine is fond of pointing out, that it’s a much tougher part of the anatomy than the “balls” that males so often use as a symbol of toughness.
Lancelot Link
Stepin Fetchit would have been embarrassed.
JPL
OT..The NYTimes article that I linked to @ 33 on Justice Thomas has enough questions that if we had an investigative arm of congress they could question some of his travel expenses and fund raising, of course they won’t. I have to wonder if the NYTimes received some of the information from Weiner. The next open thread..I’ll copy and paste.
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
I had a female friend who, when I referred to our dick of a boss, would say, “Don’t say that. Dicks are useful things. He is fucking useless.”
Brian S
Ivan, yeah but calling a person an appendix just doesn’t feel the same, you know?
ABL
thanks JPL. i sent that to my Instapaper already.
Disgruntled Lurker
The two and a half men joke was pretty good.
Cassidy
Oh ABL, haven’t you learned already. You aren’t allowed to get mad at racism and bigotry. You’re not white. The commentariat will tell you when you can get outraged.
Bender
For all you who claim the media loves Republicans, prepare to witness reality:
A big, ex-TV-star comic made the remark last week that he would assassinate Sarah Palin if she were President. I know — outrageous! The media furor must have been… uhhhh, zero, except on Fox.
Another famous comic made a joke — more of a threatening tirade — in her act about how Palin would be “gang-raped by my big black brothers” if she dared come into NY. The media went craz — oh, no, they went “meh.” Not a word in the Big Media. The story was, predictably, buried.
Of course, the media jumped all over Tracy Morgan, who offended their leftist sensibilities over his threatening a imaginary son of his who was hypothetically gay talking in a “gay voice.” That made every news broadcast, and every paper, but not death/rape threats against Sarah Palin, a living, breathing non-hypothetical person.
Compare these “jokes” about Palin with the “jokes” about Obama.
These jokes aren’t very funny or politically correct, but what definition of “racist” do they satisfy, besides “It’s Not OK If You’re A Republican, Even If You’re A Black Republican.” (Of course, I realize that the Ball-Juicer default answer, “Shut Up, That’s Why, You Racist!1eleventy1!” is the odds-on favorite here.)
The GOP officials were smart to kick him off the stage, but as a comic, he should be pissed off — this was innocuous material.
It’s very demeaning toward this adult black man (and by extention, all blacks) to assume he isn’t mentally capable of being in control of his own actions. Congratulations — you just satisfied a definition of racist content! You must be so proud!
LesGS
After reading the article that Anya @ 45 linked to, I really doubt Mr. Brown will be getting any more gigs at Republican events. Looks like he managed to piss everyone off.
Evolved Deep Southerner
@ Bender
If you’re black, then I am. And my ass is also a Chinese typewriter.
Look, do your paid-hack thing, but don’t try to perch from the fictional position of being a black conservative offended. It’s a step too far in your schtick.
Sheesh
Redshift #62
“Yeah, those things can really take a pounding.”
Yuk-yuk.
Lojasmo
@bender
Were those “jokes”about palin made at a big DNC soiree?
No? False equivalencies are the tool of dipshits. Kindly shut the fuck up.
Alex S.
So the Republicans found their House negro.
srv
They missed a major opportunity here by not having teleprompters.
jaywillie
@bender: They only removed him from the stage after he started making fun of the GOP’s presidential candidates. But if it was such innocuous material, why would you say they were smart to kick him off the stage???
Otherwise, I’m pretty sure this is just another example of how there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Ruckus
Felonious Wench
The only part of the body that we probably should use to describe someone in a negative manner is asshole. We all have one, and it works as an adjective because shit comes out of every asshole. IOWs 99% of rethuglicans can be described as having two such orifices.
hamletta
ABL, you know I love you, but TNC has got you beat in the brevity department.
Ghanima Atreides
This is nothing. In the run-up to November 2012 we will witness men barking like dogs and speaking in tongues while cannibal libertarian free market zombies roam the land.
50 years of dogwhistle racebaiting have lost the black, brown and youth vote forever and conservatives are mighty pissed off.
The Wingularity is near.
Ghanima Atreides
TNC is an asshat that sukks Douthats and Weigels cocks.
And Sully’s.
JPL
From the NYTIMES hahaha
‘Obama’ Stuns Crowd at Republican Event
By JEFF ZELENY
NEW ORLEANS – The Republican Leadership Conference was interrupted on Saturday by a visit from an actor impersonating President Obama, who offered a mocking assessment of the Republican presidential candidates and joked about the real president’s biracial heritage.
The Louisiana Republican Party hired the impersonator, whose name is Reggie Brown, to appear during the afternoon session of the party’s three-day gathering here. He made derogatory comments about Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich and Mr. Obama before organizers cut off his monologue by loud music and he was escorted from the stage.
First, he showed obscene photographs of Anthony Weiner, a Democrat who resigned his seat in Congress last week because of lewd pictures he sent to some of his Twitter followers. Then, the impersonator turned to the implosion of Mr. Gingrich’s campaign, after many of his aides resigned last week, saying: “His supporters are dropping faster than Antony Weiner’s pants.”
The performing act, which included a fake Secret Service detail and presidential seal, came one day after Govs. Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana urged party activists to stay disciplined – and focused on issues – in their quest to defeat Mr. Obama.
The audience, which had initially greeted the impersonator with a stroke of curious applause, ultimately seemed puzzled by what was taking place before them. The impersonator took aim at Mr. Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor, and criticized his performance in a debate earlier in the week when he seemed to soften his criticism of the health care plan Mr. Romney signed into law in Massachusetts……….
karen marie
@Bender:
If you read the article at the Mail, they kicked him off because he was making fun of Republicans.
Having read the article, I have to hand it to Reggie — his material slamming Republicans was hilarious. I’m not surprised they yanked him. Republicans are not known for their sense of humor, especially when they are the butt of the joke.
Can someone explain the Kardashian reference?
Bender
@jaywillie
Ah, then I guess AngryBL’s “white man plotting” bit was just utter stupidity then. I should have known — oh, wait, I did know.
Because of how it would be reported by the media. A Republican, even a black Republican, can’t mention the President’s race without being called a racist. “That black man must be racist against himself!”
hamletta
Bender, how do you know he’s a Republican? He’s an actor who got a gig at a Republican event.
Bender
@karen marie
Still lame that they booted him for jokes. That’s distasteful to me. I mean, unless his Romney “religion” jokes were a lot more offensive than the innocuous Obama jokes.
Kim dated NFL’er Reggie Bush for a long time, now is engaged to Kris Humphries, a bi-racial NBA’er. One of the others is newly married to Laker Lamar Odom. They were on Stern one time talking about how “once you go black…”
Yutsano
Khloe is married to Lamar Odom. Kim is engaged to Kris Humphries. FSM curse me for knowing this. :)
Bender
@hamletta
You’re right. I’m was assuming, since he’s done Fox News “debates” before.
But if you’re an Obama impersonator, making jokes about him, you’ve got to do it in front of Republicans, because as Obot Chris Rock (and Conan’s writing staff) famously said, there’s nothing even a little bit funny about Obama, so you can’t make common jokes about him, because he’s so unarguably classy and dreamy and smart and honest and brave and beautiful…
JPL
Bender..It is a false equivalency and it is unfortunate that you are not brave enough to admit. Unlike what the NYTimes reported that he was met with curious applause, the audience laughed until he joked about the republican candidates. Death threat jokes are not something to be laughed at and I certainly would not applaud an event by the DNC that allowed that. IMO… Oh by the way don’t get caught in the crosshairs.
karen marie
@Bender, @Yutsano I still don’t get it. Maybe it’s because I don’t have TV that I’ve never heard of any of these people, except Kardashian which is splashed all over the tabloids at the grocery store checkout.
Also, too, Bender, you’re not very coherent in your defenses. Not that your original comment was particularly coherent.
JPL
Karen Marie @ 89…according to wiki, they have a reality series…
That’s all I know..
Edit…It’s on E which I assume is a channel on cable since my antenna doesn’t pick it up.
BO_Bill
All is quiet on the McDonald’s front. Now we behold the good kind of Change.
An inspiring story of a community coming together to improve itself. Balloon Juicers should look to this example of how to take positive action to give back to our neighborhoods, instead of simply complaining about perceived inequities.
Karen
I’m on the boat of, as horrible as this overt racist shit is, the more obvious they are, the better it is. A dirty little secret is that as much as people may actually have racist beliefs and prejudices, as long as it’s dog whistled or coded or euphemized or any other way to hide it from themselves they can lie to themselves about actually being racist. But once it’s overt and as subtle as an anvil and there’s no way to hide how racist it is, it’s a turn off.
It’s been escalating since Obama became President but I figure that we’ll reach DEFCOM levels around the end of 2011 because they’re ramping it so fast that there’s nowhere left to go but to the one place I don’t even think all the GOP wants it to go. I’m sure Palin would pop the chamgagne but racism is one thing. Using language to lead to murder is something the forced converts to John Birchisms can’t stomach.
Yutsano
I don’t either, though I don’t fault Kim’s taste in men. I wouldn’t kick Kris out of bed for eating crackers.
Gatsby
Racist indeed! The Rpublicans are really P.O.’d that a non-white person is actually the “leader of the free world” and have been showing their despicable racism at everyy turn. As for the vitriol being thrown on a daily basis on the First Lady, it is worse than despicable. I cannot find a word to describe my disgust.
Cain
@stuckinred #12
Dude, thanks for putting that up! My dad used to imitate that whole routine with us kids back in the day. Bought back some memories. We have a tape of him doing that with us kids screaming our reaction to him as kids.
Dream On
Hit and miss. More dumb than anything. I’m too old to be so easily outraged.
Cacti
Issues?
Uh-huh.
The Repubs need incoherent white rage and lots of it to stand a chance in 2012.
stuckinred
I’m glad somebody got it.
JPL
Stuckinred.. We had the albums and used to laugh as kids. We were also big supporters of the Kennedy’s. I don’t remember the albums stereotyping the candidate as poor white trailer trash though. Reggie Brown’s routine on the President crossed that line with the Sanford and Son analogy. IMO
gwangung
efgoldman: TNC is insufficiently ideologically pure and more nuanced than ideologs like. Also, he’ll given even libertarians the time of day.
opal
@bender
Would you be happy with a President Romney?
Can I make fun of you when it happens?
eemom
@ efgoldman
in toko-loko’s little snow globe world, anyone who doesn’t join her in jihad against an accused “libertarian” is a reach-arounder to, and/or a sucker of, the cock of such accused libertarian.
For example, Cole and DougJ are reach-arounders because ED Kain once blogged here.
It’s really kind of cute once you get used to it.
Cliff in NH
Questions like those are why I had to change my name to specify that I’m not that Cliff.
agrippa
very interesting – but stupid.
The GOP has been seinfelded to death
gwangung
eemom: well, at least you dig down into her streak of bigotry and racism.
Laertes
I’d be surprised if they pulled him because of the racism. Being a white man, and of a certain age, I often miss racism that’s obvious to others, but I can usually spot it more readily than white republicans.
If I’d been watching this bit myself, I’d have found it to be fairly harmless and mostly lame political humor, but I wouldn’t have been outraged by the racism, and so I’ll be surprised if a bunch of white republicans were.
Here’s a good example. Take the photo of Redd Foxxx and Beah Richards, for instance. That’s not blatant enough that I’d notice the racism. I’d just figure that same joke would get about the same laugh from a Dem crowd if a Bush impersonator had put up a photo of Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton. (Of course, Will Ferrell would have done a much funnier joke instead.) You have to be more sensitive than me to see it, and I find it implausible that a whole bunch of people in that room are.
I bet it was the shots fired at Republicans which set them off. That room would definitely be offended by the sight of a black man–one doing a spot-on Obama impersonation no less–up there on their stage cracking jokes about their (mostly) white candidates.
Cassidy
Yeah, but that’s an unhealthy porn obsession.
Bender
@Evolved Deep Southerner:
Moron. I was obviously referring to the comic, not myself. ABL was insulting the comic’s intelligence, saying he, as a black man, couldn’t be capable of being responsible for his actions. He had to be in the control of a white man. That is ten times more overtly racist than anything the comic said, as the comic said nothing at all insulting the worth, value, and capabilities of black people.
ABL is a typical race-baiting hypocrite, projecting racism in her political opponents where none exists, while spouting racist drivel herself. Everyone can now see it, I hope. If she were white, brown, coral, or green…that chick is one huge waste of carbon.
Seanly
I think Brown’s jokes about Obama were actually poking fun at the Repubs. Then he attacked the presidential candidates. He played along for the “Obama” debates, got into the RLC and purposefully threw it.
Some of his jokes were a bit over the top, but I think we are missing a little subversion.
Think about it – saying the president was born in HI or as the tea party calls it, Kenya, is making fun of the tea party.
Or maybe I just take a too nuanced view…
PS
@Bender, at 117: You are lying. Shut up.
Bender
Spare me the “they’re so racist” bullshit on a thread where you keyboard-cowards refer to GOP “house negroes.” If you were capable of shame, you’d be feeling it now.
Almost all Republicans would vote for Allen West and Marco Rubio (and many would pull the lever for Condy Rice, Herman Cain or Bobby Jindal) in half a heartbeat whenever they run for President, so you’re full of shit. At the same time, we spit on statists and s*c**l*sts of all colors.
Bender
@PS:
Nice one! Convincing!
MonkeyBoy
For an unknown Obama impersonator, I think Reggie Brown did a great job as a standup.
First off, he knew his audience and prepared some mildly racist material that would draw laughs. Just because a comic makes a joke doesn’t mean he thinks it is funny. The joke may be that the audience laughs at it.
All through out his routine he had some zingers at Republicans that seemed to go over their heads. I took the “Obama initiative to build bridges so people would have some place to sleep under”, which drew laughs, as a zing against heartless Republicans.
Only at then end when he was winding up to attack Bachman was his humor deemed “out of bounds”.
Try watching his whole act again to see if he has respect for his audience or is making fun of them.
Allan
@Bender:
I see it now! Thank God a white man stopped in to educate me on what constitutes racism.
What plans do you have for the carbon in ABL’s body that she’s inhibiting by, you know, existing?
gwangung
Dear, we all LOVE your self-description. But run along, now….this thread is NOT all about you.
Bender
It should’ve been two separate posts, cut in the middle. I can see how it seemed disjointed.
Point 1) was about media bias. I predicted that the media would cover this story heavily, as they did with the Tracy Morgan story (because the “insulted” parties were groups the leftist media “protects,” namely Obama and gays), while ignoring the leftist comics who threatened gang-rape and murder on Sarah Palin, because she is hated by the leftist media.
Point 2) was regarding the utter brainlessness, hatefulness, and overt racism of ABL’s post, which should be evident to everyone by now.
Bender
@gwangung:
Haha, that famous gwangung wit. Well, half of it, at least.
PS
@Bender. OK, I shouldn’t bite, but … you said, ” ABL was insulting the comic’s intelligence, saying he, as a black man, couldn’t be capable of being responsible for his actions. He had to be in the control of a white man.”
I’m not going to cut and paste the entire opening to the thread, I will simply say that this characterization of her remarks is absolutely incorrect and untrue. Please — go look, it’s still up there. Then apologize to her.
You lied.
WarMunchkin
Um, an AOL chat room? Did he write this routine in the ’90s?
Bender
@Allan
Well, granted, it did take a white guyand a dictionary.
Have you sorted out yet what definition of “racism” that comic satisfied, because none of the super-smart (just ask them!) race-baiting Ball-Juicers seem to be able to come up with anything! “He’s racist because we say so, dammit!”
I’m not talking about harvesting her carbon, but hypothetically, I’m just saying it would probably have made a whole load of cute little bunnies, one would think. And those are good — they’re not bitter, not angry, don’t spread hate. Bunnies might’ve been the way to go there.
bago
If I were to summarize this incident, it would be in the form of a joke.
Democrats drive like this. /Pose
Republicans drive like… Whoah, why are you shooing me off the stage?
Ron
I actually watched the video (TPM had it posted). Yes, there were some questionable jokes that crossed the line, but he had way more zingers to mock the republicans and was being yanked just as he started in on Bachmann. Also, I will have to see, that guy has Obama’s voice, mannerisms, etc down VERY well.
Bender
@PS
I never lie. Don’t have to. Try to keep up:
ABL says that the White Assholes “blamed” the Black Comic for the material, but the Comic couldn’t have possibly been solely responsible for the content (“yeah right” ABL sniffs, as if she’s never heard that comics generally write their own jokes, and don’t generally go over the material with the guy who hires them — and she’s rhetorically shot in face on this point when we find the Comic had some “surprise” bits ribbing the GOP candidates, as well).
The White Man had to put him up to it, according to ABL, because the Comic is just (as they call him on this page) a “house negro” or a “Stepin Fetchit.” That’s clearly denigrating the abilities, capabilities, and worth of a black man, based on no other information but the color of his skin. That satisfies a definition of racism, unlike the innocuous jokes the comic told.
Bender
Ouch. Just heard Clarence Clemons died. Gotta take some time…
PS
@Bender: If you are not lying, you are simply stupid. What you say she said is not what she said. Can’t you read?
ABL never suggested that he didn’t write his own jokes. She did suggest that the organizers of the event couldn’t get their story straight: that they couldn’t decide what to pretend happened. You could criticize that, but you didn’t. Instead you made different accusations, which you now make more inflammatory by dragging in insults that even you admit ABL did not use. Really, this is sophomoric. I guess I’ll grant you that much, so I assume you actually do have some reading comprehension skills.
You lied.
hamletta
Take the rest of the decade, Bender, you moron.
In the year 2525, maybe you’ll master reading comprehension.
Comrade Kevin
Bender is both lying, and stupid. He has that part of the character down, but the funny, or interesting, parts? Not so much.
AAA Bonds
Ha ha, wow, that guy’s a shit
AAA Bonds
I hope his life is ruined
PS
@h & CK & AB: Clarence’s passing is a legitimate reason for B removing himself, if he only just heard. Let’s be nice and assume that’s true. The big man will be missed.
karen marie
@Ron, @MonkeyBoy, etc:
I watched the whole thing at TPM and agree — it was very entertaining to watch him throw bombs at his audience. There must have been quite a scene backstage immediately prior to his mike being cut and being excused from the stage. What I would give to have been a fly on that wall!
I think a significant point is overlooked by focusing solely on the racist overtones — that Republicans are so thin-skinned and insecure that they will not tolerate anyone making jokes which poke fun at their “leading lights.”
The headlines about this are all “Republicans pull comic after he makes racist jokes.” It’s not even true. The headlines should read “Republicans pull comics after he makes fun of their presidential candidates,” because that’s in fact what happened.
Joel
@ Seanly:
I think you have a case. However, Poe’s law and all that.
Jennyjinx
I wonder if dude wasn’t trolling that conference for his own laughs. He sets them up with stupid racist shit they expected to hear and then BAM! Targets the audience and ultimately gets kicked off the stage. That was my first thought when I saw his jokes about the RWNJs didn’t go over very well. If he did troll them, then well played.
(In my current condition I’ve decided this makes the most sense.)
If he didn’t, then he can slink back to the shadows now and possibly DIAFF.
Mnemosyne
WTF? My comment was marked as spam and deleted? I’ve never gotten that message before.
PS
What I don’t get is the thinking of the organizers, who hired this guy. Did Obama hire Tina Fey? Back in the day, did Carter hire Chevy Chase? I seem to remember Bush Sr jovially quoting Dana Carvey, which was decent of him but hardly the same thing — that would have been the DNC hiring the impersonator, and I don’t recall that.
The organizers thought it would be funny to pretend to have the President addressing the crowd, simply because they could laugh at him. Would they have done that with someone they respected (even if they disagreed)? Do they in fact want to be seen as racists? You might suggest that, I couldn’t possibly. We report, as some TV station says, you decide.
Lit3Bolt
I guess Al Jolson wasn’t available to do “Mammy” for Republican audiences.
Minstrelsy is still quite popular though it seems.
Lysana
And it looks like nobody, including ABL, bothered to look up Brown’s website. He promises “balanced political comedy.” The Republicans clearly missed it as well, or they’d not have been amazed he started out lampooning Obama and then swung for their favorites.
Me? I’d be less than surprised if he didn’t plan on softening them up with some anti-Obama jokes and then hit them where they lived because he could.
Allan
@Lysana:
FoxNews is “fair and balanced” too, according to their website.
Still, I do believe that his act involves “zingers” at all sides, and the GOPers weren’t expecting anything to be pointed at them.
Monala
OK, bender, I’ll give you this one. Jokes about gang-raping or assassinating Palin are offensive and wrong, full stop. (In googling the latter incident, I see that the comedian has apologized).
As some have noted upthread, there is a difference between something a random comic says, vs. something that takes place under the auspices of Republican leadership. The latter should be newsworthy.
But again, you made a good point: the media did spend a lot of time on the offensive commments of Tracy Morgan, another random comic.
Monala
Regarding media bias: I recall reading some research (sorry, can’t remember where to link), that indicated that the bias is liberal in regard to social issues (e.g., LGBT rights, abortion). However, the bias is conservative in regard to economic and war/foreign policy issues.
Jim Treacher
It’s racist because he’s black!
ABL
Bender, you are a lying idiot. You wholesale made shit up about what I wrote and then railed against that.
Go fuck yourself. Do it long and do it hard.
kthx.
ABL
this is hysterical. wow. i didn’t know that i wrote all that. i must have written it in invisible font during a blackout or something.
bjacques
I got the impression Brown wasn’t especially happy to be there and decided to do a suicide bombing. Either that or he simply overestimated the Right’s ability to laugh at itself.
hamletta
Why would you say that? It was a paying gig.
I’ve seen an interview with him, and he said his resemblance to Obama is the best thing that’s ever happened to his career. Beats waiting tables.
I’d say he needs to take some of those ill-gotten gains and hire a better writer, though.
Redleg
F@cking disgrace. Will the media give this racist, schoolyard-level humor the same undivided attention they gave to Weiner’s weiner?