Conservative Activist / Teabagger Forwards Racist Pic Showing Obama As Witch Doctor - "funny stuff"

[jefferson_dem]

Conservative Activist Forwards Racist Pic Showing Obama As Witch Doctor
By Zachary Roth - July 23, 2009, 10:34AM

The election of our first black president has brought with it a strange proliferation of online racism among conservatives.

And we've got the latest example.

On Sunday night, Dr. David McKalip forwarded to fellow members of a Google listserv affiliated with the Tea Party movement the image below. Above it, he wrote: "Funny stuff."



Now, Tea Party activists trafficking in racist imagery are pretty much dog bites man. But McKalip isn't just some random winger. He's a Florida neurosurgeon, who serves as a member of the American Medical Association's House of Delegates.

He's also an energetic conservative opponent of health-care reform. McKalip founded the anti-reform group Doctors For Patient Freedom, as well as what seems to be a now defunct group called Cut Taxes Now. Last month he joined GOP congressmen Tom Price and Phil Gingrey, among others, for a virtual town hall to warn about the coming "government takeover of medicine." And in a recent anti-reform op-ed published in the St. Petersburg Times, McKalip wrote that "Congress wants to create larger, government-funded programs for health care and more bureaucracy that ration care and impose cookbook medicine."

Asked about the email in a brief phone interview with TPMmuckraker, McKalip said he believes that by depicting the president as an African witch doctor, the artist who created the image "was expressing concerns that the health-care proposals would make the quality of medical care worse in our country." McKalip said he didn't know who created it.

But pressed on what was funny about an image that plays on racist stereotypes about Africans, McKalip declined to say, instead offering to talk about why he opposes Obama's health-care proposals.



"I have a busy day," he said eventually, before ending the call.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/conservative_activist_forwards_racist_pic_showing.php

[Botany]

1. These people are killing the republican party

The #s and time will take care of their racist asses.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Racist asshole

[randr]

3. I agree that this is inappropriate and racist

I do not know if showing Bush and others depicted in KKK outfits equates or not.
Any opinions?

[oviedodem]

4. Lovely how everytime I see this it is one of Florida's (my state) republican geniuses

[damntexdem]

5. In recent years, the racism has been kept under wraps better.

Now, the rightwing and the GOP (insofar as they differ) seem to welcome it right back out in the open.

Let's hope that the American public firmly rejects the resurgence of racism, as well as rejecting those who push it.

[AmerMedicalAssn]

6. AMA Response

Delegates to the American Medical Association are selected through their individual state and specialty societies, and their individual views and actions do not, in any way, represent the official view of the AMA. We condemn any actions or comments that are racist, discriminatory or unprofessional.

-American Medical Association

[Spazito]

7. Can I assume the AMA will be notifying those who selected the delegate...

of the racist comments and actions of said delegate?

Edited to add: I am curious as to how you, as a self-identified representative of the AMA, happened to know this thread existed and so quickly?

[Call Me Wesley]

8. That's a nice paragraph ...

It's like the one popping up when I watch a DVD movie, where the 'comments/extras only show the individual views and not the official view of Fox/Warner Bros/United Artists, etc.,' but they still publish them under their name. It's something to hide behind, and, IMO, bad communication practice from your side, if you represent the AMA.

Condemn the above mentioned issuer of this racist picture, and member of AMA, for this.

[theothersnippywshrub]

10. How very republican.

"The AMA welcomes all AMA delegates regardless of their bigoted, racist, prejudiced, discriminatory or unprofessional beliefs, comments or actions, which we, of course, condemn (wink, wink)."

Aiding and abetting racist behavior is more evil and harmful than the racist behavior itself. You are laundering the white hoods and robes.

[Spazito]

9. Kicking so others can post to the AMA representative that has...

responded in this thread.

:kick: