Is Jane Hamsher's irrational hatred of the President and his supporters racially motivated?

[VeryConfused]

You know Jane has been caught up in situations before that could indicate that she is a closet racist

http://www.slate.com/id/2147117


When one feels the most insulting thing you can do to a politician is to darken his skin, one has to wonder what are her true feelings. One has to wonder if the "dumb mother fuckers' comment she made was directed to just a portion of the President's vast support base. One has to wonder if the dark skin of our President isn't the root cause of her irrational hatred.

[myrna minx]

1. LOL - this sounds like a FOX news question.

[VeryConfused]

2. Sadly you could have tried to insult me even worse

by suggesting it was an FDL question

[Wait Wut]

50. +1

I do believe she'd fit right in over there, too.

[Hand_With_Eyes]

72. Hense the problem with many hardcore Obama supporters

They hate their own party more than they hate republicans.

[themaguffin]

73. yeah it does. regardless of her comments this thread is irrational and need not be

[Enrique]

3. she's usually rational

she lost it temporarily with that comment and probably should apologize if she hasn't.

On the other hand, the hatred of Hamsher, and some of the blind support of Obama in the face of some of his actions, can be irrational.

During the primaries it could get seriously irrational, misogynistic at times against Hillary Clinton.

[VeryConfused]

5. She wrote here comments in a blog and had more than enough time

to think about them. This is not a case of someone blurting something out in anger. Her written comments were indicative a seriously irrational thought pattern. Hell, there is nothing you could point to that would even be an explanation or excuse for her rant.

[Beacool]

51. Hear, hear!!!!

Talk about "irrational haters".........

:eyes:

[TheWraith]

60. I suppose Hamsher is "rational" in that she's doing what personally profits her.

She makes a good living lying to people about Obama and other Democrats in order to outrage them. Not to mention working for Republican political campaigns.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[pmorlan1]

6. Silly

Sorry, but this is just plain silly. Unrecommended.

[VeryConfused]

8. I guess you will look past the horrible messenger because

you like the message. Pity

[Cherchez la Femme]

85. You're actually accusing a DU'er of being racist?

Unbe-fucking-lievable.

You need to take a time out.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tarheel_Dem]

9. Yes! Next question?

:thumbsup:

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Yes

As has been clear since the primaries.

Jane Hamsher is a racist.

[bornskeptic]

11. Nobody but a racist would ever post a picture like the one in the link,

but I doubt that that alone explains her hatred for President Obama.

[VeryConfused]

12. Never underestimate the powers of racism and hatred

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. Explain it to me. What does that picture mean? nt

[pscot]

55. I couldn't figure it out either

Though it's pretty damned funny. It maay be racist, but I don't get the allusion.

[zalinda]

70. Here's what I think she was saying

Joe Lieberman is like those guys in black face pretending to be black, as he is pretending to be a dem. And, just as black face is despicable, so is pretending to be a dem. The reason Clinton is with him is because he is okay with it, just like other actors were okay with black face. And, if you look around, it seems that most of the dem party is okay with Lieberman.

So, in other words, why would you vote for a pretend dem when a real dem is available. And why would you condone black face when a black person was available. Lieberman is just as disgusting, as black face, in her eyes.

zalinda

[CakeGrrl]

13. She has issues, IMO. -nt

[Bobbie Jo]

39. +1

She certainly does.

[Whisp]

14. she's a mini-sarah palin

in her own Jane way.

always grabbing for attention, saying the stupidest things, hating on Obama

[Tarheel_Dem]

22. I think she's much more on par with Orly Taitz. Some real race/anger issues...

They're both bleach blonde, and kinda out there. They kinda remind me of Hitler youth. And they both work with the teanutters to try and take down this presidency. Orly from the right, and Hamsher from the left & the right.

Hell, Jane even has a firm that consults with Repukes to teach them how to defeat Democrats. She & Arianna have suckered an entire community, making them look quite foolish, and made a fortune in doing so. :hi:

[PragmaticLiberal]

15. I don't know alot about Hamsher....

But would I be wrong in assuming that she was/is a Clinton supporter?

[Tarheel_Dem]

30. She was indeed. Like many of Hillary's disappointed supporters eg..Geraldine Ferraro,

Harriet ("Inadequate black male") Christian; Lady Lynn ("Being half black doesn't qualify Obama to be president")Forrester de Rothschild; and of course you know Donald Trump.

Yup, we found out quite a bit about some of the "liberal" Hillary supporters that we never knew before. They even created a website, in Hillary's name, that was a magnet for racist white "Democrats". :hi:

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[VeryConfused]

19. Attacking my opinion as "over the top hatred" is support for the Jane

saying otherwise is simply not going to change that fact. Still disliking a racist and/or Democrat hater like Jane, who works so hard to help the GOP, is not hard to figure out. I think you just need to do more figuring

[Puglover]

21. Well I'm not going to argue that.

Think what you think about "support" however I think there are much bigger fish to fry out there other then Jane Hamsher. Have at it! :hi:

[VeryConfused]

24. Big fish or small fish- they all make for good eating

:toast:

[Puglover]

28. True. We all have our flash points. nt

[jenmito]

18. I don't see any other explanation as to why she was for Hillary (who was more conservative than

Obama) but SO hard on everything Obama does, criticizing him from the left. With her support of Hillary, I don't see her criticism as genuine. Racism is the only explanation IMO.

[VeryConfused]

20. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck...

then it's a duck. I agree!

[jenmito]

23. Yup...

that's one racist duck! :)

[Lilyeye]

63. I agree with this. As far left as she is, I don't see how she is for Clinton.

[wndycty]

25. At one point a Firedog Lake blogger did talk about education Black folks about Obama. . .

. . .like we were stupid or something.

[VeryConfused]

26. Not surprising, not surprising at all

[Wait Wut]

52. I think I remember that.

I do remember a conversation over on TPM a couple years back about something similar. Sadly, my mind and computer are too old to search for the reference. The FDL crowd tried to invade TPM and it forced Josh to make some drastic changes. Sucked for everyone.

[tishaLA]

59. I remember that well

Despite my reservations about the thesis when I started reading this thread, all these examples are convincing me.

[NorthCarolina]

67. Link please? n/t

[RaleighNCDUer]

27. A couple questions:

1) Why are you offended?

2) What does that picture mean to you?

3) What do you think Hamsher was trying to convey with that image?

[VeryConfused]

29. Answers

1) Use of black face is offensive and even more offensive when put on the target of ridicule. If Jane is the liberal she claims to be, she should have known better

2) That Jane felt one way to insult Sen Liberman was to darken his skin (betrays how she feels about people of color)

3) No idea what she was attempting, because her picture failed so badly

[slipslidingaway]

31. Lieberman's shameless race baiting flyer (and a few words)

" 3) No idea what she was attempting, because her picture failed so badly"

Maybe you should have looked a little more, these links are both dated before the Slate piece.

Monday, July 31, 2006

http://connecticutblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/liebermans-shameless-race-baiting.html

"... The Lieberman campaign has now acknowledged to us that they produced the flyer, which was distributed in and around black churches. A Lamont spokesperson blasted Lieberman for the flyer, saying the Lamont campaign was "disappointed" with the tactic.

"People have reported to us that it was distributed at churches in the minority community," Lamont spokesperson Liz Dupont-Diehl told Election Central.

The flyer contains a picture of Joe Lieberman clasping arms with Bill Clinton. It hails Lieberman's record on civil rights while blasting Lamont's record on race. It questions why he resigned from an exclusive country club only just before beginning his Senate campaign, and includes a couple quotes from Lamont about his decision in a New York Times story from July.

"According to Lamont: He didn't pay as much attention to race...until he got into the Senate race," the flyer reads. "Stand by the guy who has stood by us and always will. Vote for Joe Lieberman for U.S. Senate."


About That Graphic…

http://firedoglake.com/2006/08/02/about-that-graphic/

"I sincerely apologize to anyone who was genuinely offended by the choice of images accompanying my blog post today on the Huffington Post. It’s also important to note that I do not, nor have I ever worked for Ned Lamont’s campaign. However, at their request, I removed the image earlier today.

Unfortunately, Senator Lieberman’s campaign has used this in attempt to hurt Ned and score political points, mustering their own faux indignation in attempt to further distract from the issues important to the voters of Connecticut.

For weeks, Senator Lieberman has attempted to woo African Americans by pretending to be someone he clearly is not. Meanwhile, his campaign has liberally distributed race-baiting fliers that have the "paid for by" Joe’s campaign disclaimer at the bottom, lying to the press about their intended recipients.

But for some reason, more questions have been asked about me, a blogger. With so much at stake this election, is the choice of images used by a mere supporter really newsworthy? ..."

[VeryConfused]

36. The article you provided a link to

did not seem to understand the term "race-baiting". Race-baiting is defined as taking advantage of Americans' racial fears and anxieties for political, economic or personal gain.

Nothing in the flyer even remotely fits that definition.

As for Jane's claims that she has a right to be racist because Senator Lieberman was wooing African American voters... that seems more condemning than anything else. Jane comes off as condescending the the African American community.

[slipslidingaway]

56. People can reads the links if they want and form their own opinion...

I'll not kick your thread anymore.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[VeryConfused]

38. Hmmm

1) From what I remember Lieberman had an issue that could help him gain traction in the AA community. That was Lamont resigning from a white only Country Club right before he ran for Senate and making the bone headed comment about how he only recently started thinking about race. Still to address your point, use of racially offensive words and images offends all good people.

2) thank you, I try


3) So I am a right wing asshat because I didn't see putting Senator Lieberman in black face was just good clean humor and not racism? Interesting position, but it seems to be lacking in sound reasoning.

We can't take Hamsher's words and deeds in isolation. Each deed helps to paint a fuller picture of her. The use of racially offensive black face indicated that she lacks an understanding of racial issues (a lack of understanding that is shocking for a supposed liberal) at best. At worst it betrayed her as a racist.

Then you look at Hamshers strong support of Hillary who was white and contrast it with her irrational hatred (calling supporters of the President, many who are people of color "stupid mother fuckers" is a sign of being irrational) of our first African American President and you start to have very strong suspicions that she has some very bad views on race. This is especially true as Hillary Clinton and President Obama share virtually identical positions. So there needs to be some underlying issue that causes Jane to hate one person in an irrational manner while strongly supporting the other.

[RaleighNCDUer]

40. Don't get me wrong - I didn't call you a RW asshat.

I think you are deliberately distorting, and pretending to misunderstand what she was saying, as is indicated by you having 'no idea' what she meant, but taking umbrage anyway. The RW asshats don't recoginze or understand satire - you, OTOH, as a good corporate third-wayer, choose to ignore it in order to attack progressives.

And you will note I did say that blackface is offensive - that is the entire point of satire. It was not "good clean humor". Satire is NEVER "good clean humor". It is a strawman to attack satire for not being what it is not. Satire is meant to offend those it is aimed at - and it was clearly aimed at corporate Democrats, not at the AA community that had abandoned the corporate Democrat candidate. You do understand that LIEberman, by running as an independent after losing the DEMOCRATIC primary, was running in defiance of the will of the DEMOCRATIC voters - the black voters included - who preferred Lamont. And he did so with the full support of the Corporadem establishment.

So, which is more racist? Publishing a satirical picture, or ignoring the will of the vast majority of black voters?

As for her support of Hillary, at that time damn near every one of us became fierce partisans for one or the other, despite their very similar positions - I was an unflagging supporter of Obama for a full year after his election. I argued he was playing chess, and all that nonsense. I believed that being non-DLC meant something.

I was wrong.

[VeryConfused]

43. Satire is suppose to offend by clever ridicule not the use of racist imagery

So calling it satire does not give the racism any cover. As for comparing yourself to Jane in reference to President Obama, the difference is she never didn't hate Obama

[creon]

33. I have no need to know

All that Ineed to know is:

Does she make sense often enough to have me reading her a worthwhile thing for me to do?

[VeryConfused]

34. Con men usually make sense

but that doesn't mean I will knowingly listen to one

[creon]

48. On the surface

At first glance they can appear to make sense.
Then, you refer to the facts and start to think seriously about the matter.

[RBInMaine]

35. Probably not. But she is a freakin' ultra radical and her comments are nutty.

[Telly Savalas]

57. To the contrary, unnamed sources suggest she has ties to the Klan

And at DU if an unnamed source says it, it's true.

[Fire1]

37. Not so closet. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

41. Hamsher is a racist, period.

Her support for Hillary and her hatred of Mr. Obama, whose policies are almost identical to Clinton's should point to the answer.


Seems lots of white women lost their minds when Hillary didn't get the nod. It has nothing to do with policy.

[CakeGrrl]

42. de Rothschild - a prime example.

Wanted Hillary the Dem to win, but now she's funding a Republican rather than Obama?

She won't/can't say what her real motivation is, but it doesn't take much to read between the lines.

Another "tell" is the argument that President Obama got as far as he did because of his race (Ferraro). When people BRING race into the conversation, it's heavy on their mind.

[totodeinhere]

44. Maybe it's not race but gender. Perhaps she supported Hillary because she is a woman

and she opposed Obama because he is a man and she would have opposed him regardless of his race. I don't know this to be the case but my scenario is just as plausible as yours isn't it?

[VeryConfused]

45. I am pretty sure being a sexist is as bad as being a racists

so while your suggestion is plausible it doesn't make Jane look any better.

[CakeGrrl]

47. Then she should quit claiming to champion a political movement if it's only about gender.

If gender is her true motivation, then she's lying to her followers.

[totodeinhere]

58. I am not defending her in general. I am just saying that we don't have enough to go on

to convict her of racism. And yes sexism is also wrong but she was not accused of sexism but rather racism so that is why I addressed racism. Too many at DU throw out accusations that they can't back up.

[JoePhilly]

54. Divide and conquer .... a black man versus a white woman.

There is definitely an interaction of gender and race variables at work.

[Bobbie Jo]

46. Yes.

Anyone who has no qualms aligning themselves with teabaggers, etc....

She is a vile creature.

[Stoic]

49. Haha, Not surprised you went there.

Critics of the President are either crazy, have hidden agendas or are racists since there can be no valid reason not to think he's wonderful.

[NorthCarolina]

68. The transparency of their true motivation (a hatred of Liberals),

in spite of efforts to cover their tracks by resorting to personal attacks against Liberal messengers instead of attacking Liberalism directly, is quite comical indeed.

[rury]

53. It probably is..

[demgrrrll]

61. Who knows. I think she is an attention seeker

[SoDesuKa]

62. You're Onto Something

I'd work on it. Get back to us, y'hear?



Joe and Sarah - what a team!

[davidpdx]

64. She is a Republican

Enough said...

[NorthCarolina]

66. LOL....far from it. I suspect were she a Republican she would be liked much more here in GD:P. n/t

[NorthCarolina]

65. What a truly ridiculous statement. She is a Liberal who disagrees with Conservative.

politics, whether from DLC New Dems or the GOP, and isn't afraid to speak out against it (which is obviously the real rub with you folks). It's the same reason you and the rest of the DLC New Dems haunting DU don't like her, just in reverse. If you DLC folks would simply discuss your hatred of Liberals and Liberalism openly, instead of always taking the backdoor approach of attacking Liberal messengers in an (feeble) attempt to conceal your true motivation, you would have much more credibility. You really aren't hiding anything by taking the route of repeatedly attacking folks like Hampshire and Kucinich, as your true motivation is obvious. You hate Liberals and Liberalism. We get it already.

[Azathoth]

69. She is a PUMA looking to make money

Some PUMAs definitely had deep-seated race issues while others simply lost their shit because someone (a man no less) had the temerity to stand in the way of Hillary's coronation. It's impossible to say which group Hamsher belongs to. Either way, the reason she keeps relentlessly lobbing grenades at Obama is because she wants to make money. Like her entrepreneurial counterparts in the Tea Party, she has built a profitable niche market business around pandering to a marginalized and incredibly angry collection of Obama-haters.

[Tarheel_Dem]

71. Wish I could rec your post.

:thumbsup:

[AtomicKitten]

77. +

:applause:

[young but wise]

93. The end.

:applause:

[swilton]

74. Discredit the messenger

but not the message which happens to be the way a lot of people see it.

[Tarheel_Dem]

81. Can you quantify "a lot of people"?

:shrug:

[Name removed]

75. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TheKentuckian]

76. Loaded question that starts with the assumptions she hates Obama and his supporters

and granting she does, that such feeling is irrational.

Too late to unrec.

[Name removed]

78. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[krabigirl]

79. lmao

[Beacool]

80. Ahhhh, here we go again.............

The race card makes its appearance. Same old, same old. Also same old responses. Anyone who didn't support Obama and had the temerity to support Hillary or another candidate, had to be a racist. Why else not support the least experienced presidential candidate in 99 years? How can someone not jump at the chance to endorse a man who had barely finished half of his first term as US senator. Yeah, it had to be racism.

:crazy:

BTW, I do not agree with Hamsher's assessment of Obama supporters. I just don't ascribe her comments to racism.

[PragmaticLiberal]

82. So if Senator Obama was more experienced, you would have been on board with his candidacy?

[Beacool]

83. I would have still have preferred Hillary,

but at least I would have felt that he was ready for the job.

[Doctor Hurt]

86. I love when privileged types dismiss claims of racism

lol. typical.

[Beacool]

87. What precisely are "privileged types"?

:eyes:

[Tarheel_Dem]

88. You mean like these lovely ladies?

[Beacool]

89. Gerry Ferraro was a fighter for civil rights.

I don't give a crap who here dislikes her. May she rest in peace.

As for the other two, one is a rich twit and the other one I have no clue who she is.

[Tarheel_Dem]

90. She was a lot more than that, and I agree, I hope she found peace.

You don't remember the infamous Harriet Christian? "Inadequate Black Male"? She was quite notorious at the nominating convention. Good old racist ass Harriet. There were even suggestions that she should be on the ticket with her new BFF, John McCain.
:rofl:

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

84. Some of it is, unconscious, and unintentional. Some of it is deliberate and blatantly obvious! n/t

[Forkboy]

91. Possibly. I don't know. Is people's hatred of Hamsher motivated by her gender?

One has to wonder.

[Beacool]

95. Forky, how are you?

All mended? I'm still getting physical therapy on my right shoulder.

:hi:

[Forkboy]

98. I'm done with all of that, and doing well in that department at least.

I have a neurologist appointment coming up soon to determine some things that may or may not be serious. The optic nerve on my right eye is degenerating (sounds worse than it is, it doesn't mean I'll go blind in that eye, at least not for awhile). I was told it could be caused by something as basic as farsightedness to more serious things like brain swelling, epilepsy or a brain tumor. I have a history of seizures, so my money is on the epilepsy, even though I have no problems with strobe lights or any of things that often trigger seizures in epileptics. Some tests this Friday and the results the Friday after, so just in wait and see mode right now (something I'm not good at lol).

How much longer do you have to go on the PT?

[Beacool]

99. Oh boy, I hope that it's nothing major!!!

I'll be rooting for you (a bit of praying helps too).

As for me, my mobility is good but the shoulder needs to be stronger (for example, if I hold a full pitcher my arm shakes from the strain). I have another appt. with the orthopedic surgeon on the 29th. I hope that I don't have to go for much longer because my co-payment is $30 for every visit and I go twice a week. It's costing me a bundle. I'm going to FL on the 30th for a week, but after I return I may call an attorney that someone recommended and go after NJ Transit (I fell in front of the light rail during an ice storm because they didn't put salt on the crossings). I am not litigious by nature and don't like to sue, but this shoulder has cost me a few hundred dollars by now. Maybe I can at least get them to pay my medical expenses.

Take good care of yourself and let me know how the tests come out. Good luck!!!

:pals:

[Forkboy]

100. Nothing wrong with trying to get medical payments reimbursed.

It's on them to make the area safe. I'm not the suing type either, but I'd look into that to at least cover medical expenses. No need to pay for their mistakes monetarily on top of physically.

Thanks for the kind thoughts and prayers. I probably won't have any info until the follow up (I doubt they'll tell me much at the test on Friday), but I will pass on the news when I get it. :)

[Beacool]

101. OK, good vibes and thanks for the advice!!!

:-)

[CakeGrrl]

96. Not here. I have a problem with anyone trying to divide and conquer Dems. -nt

[Union Scribe]

92. You're really building a portfolio here aren't you?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

94. This one's a peach.

:eyes:

[provis99]

97. so says the resident liberal hater.