Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2012 / Mitt’s dog whistles are reaching his target audience

Mitt’s dog whistles are reaching his target audience

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<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/59124558@N06/7876813414/” title=”Stop-racist-images-on-Facebook by dengre.bj, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7876813414_d2e30dd35d.jpg” width=”500″ height=”437″ alt=”Stop-racist-images-on-Facebook”></a>

Mitt Romney and the GOP have decided that a race baiting campaign is their only possible path to victory. And so they are fully committing themselves to running the dirtiest campaign in modern American history.

The idea is to use code talking to call President Obama a nigger over and over again. To hear Mitt tell it, President Obama wants to end the work requirement to Welfare to shore up his base of minorities always looking for a handout and that he force the creation ObamaCare to steal health care from older white Americans just to give FREE health care to lazy brown people who did not work to earn it. It is all a pack of lies, but so what. We are in a post-truth era where Team Mitt is convinced that they can always lie without ever paying a price for it. After all Harry Reed said something about Mitt not paying taxes, so it all balances out.

Still, many folks have been calling Team Mitt out for it (here, here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here, here, here, and here for example–sadly there are many, many more). But fact checking and pointing out that Mitt is lying does not matter. In fact, it just convinces the Wingnuts that race baiting is a winning strategy.

And perhaps it is. Throughout American history blatant appeals to white racism have won election after election. Even with a major demographic shift underway, the wingnuts are hoping that the most shameless political tactic of all has one more victory in it.

White folks of a certain age are very likely to buy into the race baiting. And these racist citizens of wingnutopia are responding to Mitt’s Ni-CLANG! strategy. Over at GOS, Mets102 wrote about one of these wingnuts posting the above image to facebook. The image is a modified version of the famous “HOPE” poster of 2008. Romney-Wingnut-Luntzian-talking-points inspired this update of the image–now with a noose around a dead Obama’s neck and the words changed to “ROPE”.

Change.org has started a petition asking Facebook to take the image down. You can add your name to it here.

This is the kind of bold hatred and racism that Mitt Romney has decided he needs to embrace as his only pathway to victory. Unlike McCain and even George W. Bush, it is clear that Mitt Romney has NO redeeming qualities what-so-ever. He is just a complete asshole. Full stop.

Cheers

UPDATE: In a bit of good news, Mets102 is reporting that facebook (or the wingnut poster of the image) has taken the image down. Still, it would be good to sign the Change.org petition. Mitt’s race baiting campaign will produce a lot more of these kind of images (many will be sought after souvenirs in Tampa).  The image is disturbing, but it is a predictable result of the campaign Romney and the GOP have decide to run.

Reader Interactions

89Comments

  2. 2.

    dr. bloor

    Subtle. I hope the guy who posted it has tea and crumpets for the visitors from the Secret Service.

  3. 3.

    arguingwithsignposts

    God damn you America.

    ETA: According to the petition page, the image has been removed. 1 down, millions to go, no doubt.

  5. 5.

    Villago Delenda Est

    When will the *CLANG* be lifted? When will they stop ringing the bell to cover it, and just let it all hang out, so to speak? When will they say “pardon me while I whip this out!” and just do it?

  7. 7.

    Dennis G.

    @Matt McIrvin: I think the results of Mitt’s campaign strategy should be on display. This is the fire he is playing with and it is quite clear he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about what might burn down by the wild fire of hate he’s lighting.

  9. 9.

    Ms. D. Ranged in AZ (formerly IrishGirl)

    That pic is so f*cking unacceptable. I actually gasped when the page loaded and I was afraid I was going to throw up on my iPad. Now that I don’t feel sick, I am royally pissd off.

  14. 14.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @Dennis G.: When the Fit Hits the Shan the Mittster can flee, but people are going to suffer because of this. You would think maybe his own LDS church, in an attempt to make amends with the AA community, would tell him to knock this sheissen off, but who am I kidding?

  15. 15.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Okay, so someone explain to me how this member of the military isn’t being tried in military court. Surely plotting the overthrow of the US gov’t has to break some military rules.

    ETA: I posted this in the wrong thread, but someone here maybe could answer?

  16. 16.

    Ocotillo

    Why hide the image?

    Put a magnifying glass on it and show the world and the village what mainstream conservatism is these days.

  17. 17.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Dennis G.:

    Yep. He completely, totally, 100% needs to own this. But I can kind of hear him now: “Well, it’s not the image I would have chosen….”

  18. 18.

    DCLaw1

    I don’t think they’ll be able to get to 61% of white voters, not in this day and age, not with racial appeals. The harder they go after them with the racial cynicism, the more will leak out the other end from disgust. Also, these kinds of appeals will drive more Democrats to the polls in anger.

    I know this is unscientific, but think about this intuitively: can you really see Romney winning like this, without making the slightest convincing argument FOR himself?

    Ezra was right: this latest shift in Romney campaign tactics signals desperation, not strength.

  20. 20.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Ugh, Fucknuts Brokaw on LO’D, with Joy Reid and Jonathon Capehart. I’m sure Capehart will be deferential to his Village Elder, I hope Joy Reid whips out a flounder and smacks Brokaw in the fact with it.

  22. 22.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @arguingwithsignposts: The assassination plot guys? They will be up on federal and/or military charges. Of that, I have no doubt. The murders seem to have occurred off-post and the victims were civilians, so Georgia gets a bite at the apple.

  25. 25.

    WereBear

    @arguingwithsignposts: I signed not too long ago, didn’t see that it had been taken down, but that’s good news.

    And yes, it made me sick.

    I think it is a triumph of the Sixties, actually, that we now have generations who regard people’s differences as just another interesting thing about them.

    If we had waited to elect an African American President, all these racist people might have died out enough that it wouldn’t have happened. But I think not waiting saved the country.

    So here we are.

  26. 26.

    Dennis G.

    And it is good to see that Chris Matthews is not backing down:

    “It is obvious that this is something I care passionately about: race was abused by white politicians in my lifetime, including Reagan. For someone to come on the program and deny that this is part of their process, I couldn’t take that,” Matthews said. “This is something I really, deeply believe in. We grew up in a country where appeals to race have been awful, terrible. This language — we are beyond this. It had to be called out.”

  28. 28.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Brokaw trying to defend Romney’s birther joke as an awkward attempt at humor

    “If it were part of a narrative, if this were part of a pattern…” Jesus Fucknuts. No apologies, the welfare ad, learn how to be an American, not one of us.

    Now he’s quoting Molly Ivins. His tongue should fall out.

    ETA: Capeheart actually pushes back, Brokaw: “Now tut tut, young fellow”

    LO’D and the other two are fawning over that old piece of shit. Jesus.

  29. 29.

    Dave

    This image is … horrendous and foul and disgusting. But when you are losing the Hispanic vote, young vote, minority vote, womens vote by massive levels and barely winning whites 40-54, I guess you hope for 100% of bigoted assholes to come out.

  30. 30.

    TexasMango

    I know that race baiting has played great dividends for the GOP over the last 40 years, but what I’m wondering is if those people aren’t already solidly GOP voters already. I mean if you hated the idea of a ni*CLANG* in the White House and the ever increasing brown horde coming to take your guns and white wimminz surely you voted in McCain in 2008. I find it hard to believe those people stayed home. Aren’t we really worried about voter suppression efforts to depress the minority vote at this point?

  31. 31.

    DCLaw1

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, I’m getting pretty sick of Brokaw’s self-appointed role as arbiter of candidates’ eternal dignity. And pretty tired of other journalists’ deference to his bland conventional wisdom.

    Romney’s casual evocation of birth certificates was just the good ol’ awkwardness of an awe-shucks alright standup guy! Banish the thought that it was part of the new “harder edge” the campaign itself admitted it would employ, and the broader mileau of racial dog whistles.

  32. 32.

    Mnemosyne

    @DCLaw1:

    Ezra was right: this latest shift in Romney campaign tactics signals desperation, not strength.

    That’s my guess as well. I can’t see it helping much except maybe in marginal states like North Carolina or Missouri that were already trending towards the Republicans. I sure as hell can’t see it helping him in the big blue states he would need to win like California and New York.

    If he’s having to do this to shore up states like Arizona, then he’s fucked already.

  34. 34.

    dead existentialist

    Erg. I’m gonna work on my tan for the next month; maybe change my name to “extentialista” just to put some distance between me and them that post that kinda garbage.

    We really are 2 countries, aren’t we?

  35. 35.

    beltane

    @Mnemosyne: This will also serve to boost turnout for the good guys. This is no longer just an election, it is a moral crusade against white supremacist evil. If the Republicans want this to be like Germany circa 1932, we must do everything in our power to defeat the right-wing “Satan” before he destroys our country. Apologies for the hyperbole but I feel very strongly about this.

  36. 36.

    The Dangerman

    @Mr Stagger Lee:

    You would think maybe his own LDS church, in an attempt to make amends with the AA community…

    That would be a great commercial; remind people that African Americans weren’t welcome in the LDS until (I forget) and ask Romney, basically to his face, if he’s a racist based on these (Willie) Horton Fears The Boo welfare ads. It would be a 2 for 1, in that it would remind people that Romney would take the office on the Book of Mormon (presumably) and that won’t go over well in certain places (say, Missouri, which may be competitive).

  37. 37.

    Anton Sirius

    The image, disgusting as it was, should not have been taken down. It should be re-posted on Romney’s page, the RNC’s page, and the pages of every Republican politician and organization that toots its own dog whistle.

    Filth like this puts Romney’s “joke” in perfect perspective.

  38. 38.

    someguy

    Has anybody done a complete list of all the racist dog whistles they’re using? If not, somebody ought to compile one, then we should petition Facebook for removal of all the sites using them, one by one.

  39. 39.

    Joseph Nobles

    Getting email from a former friend from college, rehashing old bullshit about how Barack Obama talks about being his brother’s keeper but has abandoned his half-brother in Kenya, George Obama. This is recycled from the D’Souza propaganda film, naturally. It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

  42. 42.

    1badbaba3

    @Anya: It’s not so revolting to me. As a Black man, it’s an image that shows how far we have come, as well as as how far we still have to go.

    Take heart. Once upon a time they could have made that happen. Now, I would dearly love to see them try.

    Boneheads.

  44. 44.

    Linda Featheringill

    I don’t think that picture is a call to vote.

    This came from a FaceBook page? Anyone know what else was there? Philosophy? Call to arms? Anything?

  45. 45.

    Dennis G.

    @Anya: It makes me boiling mad to look at–to know that it is out there. This is the face of racism and hate. It is the face of the modern conservative movement. It is revolting.

    I decided not to use the full image, but rather an image of the Change.org site calling it out. Ugly as it is we need to confront hate when we see it.

    As a boy growing up in Detroit during the 1960s our neighborhood was targeted one Halloween by Klansmen and other hate mongers passing out racist literature about the ‘Blacks’ moving into the neighborhood. My father confronted them and chased them away from the block. I’ve remembered that all my life.

    Hate must be exposed, looked at, condemned and chased back under the rock. It is an ugly, revolting image, but it is also a sign of where the wingnuts and Mitt Romney want to take this Nation.

    Sometimes you have to look at the face of hate.

  46. 46.

    SuzieC

    Who posted this originally? I had to gasp in disbelief when it showed up in my feed from several sources. I have to agree with the poster above who said this should receive wide exposure as demonstrating the naked Republican base strategy.

  50. 50.

    Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God

    @DCLaw1:

    Ezra was right: this latest shift in Romney campaign tactics signals desperation, not strength.

    And yet, it appears to be working (among white working class women in particular).

    On the (hopeful) upside, it’s early. Had they taken this tack 2 weeks before the election, I think R&R would have won for sure.

    Romney’s terrible timing has been Obama’s gain, so far.

  55. 55.

    DCLaw1

    @Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God:

    And yet, it appears to be working (among white working class women in particular).

    I’ve seen this assertion a few times. Where does it come from? Focus groups? Polling does not reflect a significant shift, at least not in the overall numbers. It needs to be aggressively countered and called out, by the Obama campaign and others, but I’m not worried.

  56. 56.

    danah gaz (fka gaz)

    @beltane: okay, maybe it’s legit. I still don’t know – the two comments I saw were added since I initially replied to you – but the domain is legit. It only popped my phishing filter because your link is broken – you didn’t put a colon after http

  57. 57.

    Violet

    This is shocking and horrible. I know this kind of stuff is out there, but it’s still shocking to see it. I am glad it’s being seen because unless people see what the GOP really is, they won’t believe it. Sometimes you have to look at horror to understand.

  58. 58.

    Valdivia

    So apparently Reince said the purpose of the GOP convention is to prosecute Obama.

    Are these assholes for real?

    I too think this revolting image should be spread far and wide: this is who they are!

  62. 62.

    Djur

    @beltane: Maybe they screwed up with autocomplete, and it’s actually an Albert Brooks column. Or a Mel Brooks column. Or a Brooke Shields column. Beats me.

  64. 64.

    TaMara (BHF)

    I just wrote a long comment about this horrible image. Then I deleted it. Because, really, what is there to say that isn’t said completely by that image. I’m trying not to lose all hope for the people of the United States.

  65. 65.

    dance around in your bones

    sickenzezoid.totalmente chingado.

    essentially, fuck that shit.

    Mitt, el mentiroso. Vete al la chingada, cabron.

    Ok, I have no idea if he/some Pac generated that image but it is sickening and he helps foster that ‘other’ thing about Obama, who is a decent and well-meaning man.

  66. 66.

    PurpleGirl

    I’m upset by that image. I’m upset about the white terrorists. I don’t think all the racists will die off — the oldsters teach their younguns to carry on with the crap. I know many things are better than they were when I was a child but sometimes it becomes too much to take in and process.

    I wish I could drink… but I’m aiming for bed now. Hoping tomorrow will be better.

  67. 67.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    @Anya: I respectfully disagree, Anya. Description doesn’t do it justice. I’ve heard the same argument against media outlets who published gruesome images of those killed and injured in war. To show the horror, you have to show the horror. If you flinch in the face of it, you aid and abet it.

  69. 69.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @Calouste: What was D’Souza reaction about the shootings at the Sikh Temple? Does he think if the ugly specter of White Nationalism gets unleashed, that somehow he will get a pass?

  70. 70.

    karen

    Probeus said that the purpose of the convention was to prosecute Obama?

    Then what happens? Romney gets his buddies from the white power military groups to drag Obama and…. well Probeus would say toss Obama in jail but what he really means is hang Obama? Is that what he’s implying?

  71. 71.

    beltane

    @Mr Stagger Lee: Like Pam Geller and others, he probably believes that if he sucks enough white supremacist c*ck he will be made an honorary Aryan. It never works like this, of course, but some folks just aren’t too bright.

  72. 72.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @Richard: Not Operation Family Fund — if you read the Kos thread, they set their lawyers into action and put up a note on their site. They may have a tie-in with wingnut radio, but this was some random dickbag’s work.

    And we’ll see a lot more random dickbags at work between now and November.

  73. 73.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @beltane:

    Slightly OT but was the NYT hacked today, because David Brooks is not writing with Hayekian modesty here.

    Filing while drunk.

  74. 74.

    ...now I try to be amused

    @WereBear:
    I’m glad the racists have to deal with the fact that the President of the United States is black, and they can just SUCK ON IT. Maybe, after President Obama doesn’t seize their guns and put them in a concentration camp, they’ll start to see that not everyone is as vengeful as they are, even with justification.

  76. 76.

    1badbaba3

    Isn’t there anyone on that side who can say something of worth, merit, or substance? Does it have to be all whine-whine-hate-flarg!-gah!? I mean this is the very definition of ‘talkin’ loud and sayin’ nothin’. But if your goal is to prevent progress then I guess flarg-gah! will do.

  77. 77.

    karen

    Is there any chance that any of those precious white independents will be revolted or turned off by the in your face unsubtle racism? Especially since Willie Horton guy is going to be running the advertising? Or is it just wishful thinking.

  78. 78.

    Linda Featheringill

    I was expecting racist propaganda but not calls for violence. Do you suppose we’ll have to put up with this?

    It’s been said here before but is worth repeating: Bullies have to pay for their meanness. Otherwise, they’ll just escalate. You have to fight back against them.

  79. 79.

    Roy G.

    @Richard: Operation Family Fund’s website has added a post disavowing itself from the Facebook page and image. It will be interesting to see if this claim chowder survives the smell test.

    While the charity seems legit, it also carries a whiff of a scam – perhaps it’s their deep and long association with ‘Dr.’ Laura Schlessinger.

  80. 80.

    Shygetz

    Actually, I was hoping they would leave it up. I like my racism nice and obvious. It helps differentiate the mouth-breathers from the fully capable at a distance.

  81. 81.

    Woodrowfan

    leave it up. let the world see what the republicans have become.. make it harder and harder for the mushy middle to claim “both sides do it.”

  83. 83.

    Brooklyn Girl

    This image goes beyond racism … this image advocates killing the president. That’s NOT protected speech.

  84. 84.

    Qfwfq

    Leave it up. It’s called free speech. And it’s good to know what people think. You want your opposition in public, not hiding.
    And for all those people claiming to be shocked, shocked!that there’s racism in this country, get over it. Black people see it al the time. White liberals are so sensitive, and so cowardly.

  85. 85.

    Alex Blaze

    I’m with a lot of other people: trying to censor this stuff is both pointless and counterproductive.

    Why not petition Romney to denounce it? It might be more fun to see him squirm when respectable journalists ask him about stuff like this.

  86. 86.

    jayackroyd

    I’m confused. It’s not hate speech when you post it? Because your motives are pure?

    IAC, the remedy is always more speech. These people have lived by the nudge, nudge know what I mean elbow in the corner of the local bar. Let them let their freak flags fly. It’ll be ugly–but it REALLY IS fucking ugly.

    Interesting times, though. These public utilities–Facebook, Twitter–don’t have a business model. The internet broke everything, by demonstrating that open source is the most powerful force in Teh Universe.

  88. 88.

    jayackroyd

    @Brooklyn Girl:

    LOL. So the secret service should be going after Dennis G?

    The GOP is thrashing. Rove and W tried to help them understand that there were brown skinned conservatives. But they wouldn’t listen. And I think you can spell it either R-MONEY or whore. He won’t do the truthtelling that Rove was doing.

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