NYT: Newt Gingrich and the Art of Racial Politics

[babylonsister]

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/newt-gingrich-and-the-art-of-racial-politics/

Newt Gingrich and the Art of Racial Politics
By CHARLES M. BLOW


That’s the way I like to spend my Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: watching Newt Gingrich sneer at Juan Williams, a black man, for having the temerity to ask him if his condescending remarks about the work ethic of poor black people are indeed condescending:

snip//

The fact is that more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history (applause). Now, I know among the politically correct you are not supposed to use facts that are uncomfortable (more applause and laughter).

Gingrich went on to say that he was going to continue to “find ways to help poor people learn how to get a job, learn how to get a better job, and learn someday to own the job.” (Roaring applause. As if poor people don’t work. As I’ve pointed out before, most of them do.)

These exchanges, and the audience’s response to them, underscore how Republicans’ gut reactions and their official rhetoric diverge, particularly in the south.

They also underscore the fact that a clever politician like Gingrich, who understands this cleavage and knows how to exploit it in subtle and sophisticated ways, still has a chance to cause Mitt Romney some headaches on his presumptive march to the nomination.

Gingrich seems to understand the historical weight of the view among some southern whites, many of whom have migrated to the Republican party, that blacks are lazy and addicted to handouts. He is able to give voice to those feelings without using those words. He is able to make people believe that a fundamentally flawed and prejudicial argument that demeans minorities is actually for their uplift. It is Gingrich’s gift: He is able to make ill will sound like good will.

[underpants]

1. "Food stamps" is the new "welfare" in Republican minds

actually it isn't that new. "Food stamps" or "welfare" have meant BLACK to Republicans since Reagan utter the most racist words ever said by a President in public - his "Welfare queens in Cadillacs" story.

[cbrer]

2. Racism

Appeals to politicians of any ilk. There are countless examples of playing the race card from both sides, and is simply another method to polarize opinions, and paint opposition as a poor choice.

Enlightened citizens see through this manipulation, and happily vote their OWN prejudices!