The GOP can't avoid being racist: Obama is "Kerry with a tan"

[beachmom]

That was Grover Norquist.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/conservative_activist_norquist.php

Norquist dropped by The Times' Washington bureau today and, as part of his negative critique of Obama's liberal stances on economic issues and other matters, he termed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee "John Kerry with a tan."

[wisteria]

1. Well, IMO, Senator Obama could do a lot worse than be compared to Senator Kerry.

As for the racist idea, I am not going there.

[Island Blue]

2. Has JK become the right's new Ted Kennedy

(a.k.a. liberal boogie man)? Cool.

I'm currently reading "The Conscience of a Liberal" by Paul Krugman, and his theory is that race is the only issue that the right has left to hold the masses (at least those who regularly vote against their own best interest) in check and voting Republican. (That's simplifying his entire thesis, of course.) The ruling elite in the Republican Party are obviously running scared. I'm sure they'll become even less subtle in their racist rhetoric in the months to come.

[YvonneCa]

6. That is a good book...

...with a lot of history in it. I found it fascinating! :)

[beachmom]

3. Keith Olbermann posted about it on DailyKos:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/27/184455/231

To be clear, guys, this is not a compliment. This is derogatory, completely unrelated to the great elected official who has the "same DNA as Obama" on foreign policy. This is "John Kerry the elitist liberal windsurfer from the Northeast" slander, except .... he's BLACK, too.

Keith:

Am I missing something here?
I know this literal reference to the color of a man's skin may not be new (it appears, with equal dismissiveness, in some chat rooms as long ago as last November, and Anna Marie Cox had a line about Mitt Romney being "John Kerry with a tan" early this year), but it's not like Grover Norquist is some memory from the antique Republican past.
McCain still sends reps to this guy's organization, our staff is told by Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker, who joins me on the subject.
Can you really say this about an African-American candidate and not only not get any grief for it, but not get any coverage?

[Mass]

4. We get that Norquist was not complimenting Obama, but I do not see the point of slandering Kerry

to defend Obama as do some in the thread. Norquist is wrong on both and it would be nice if somebody was saying that. Not expecting that from Ryan Lizza ex TNR , who dislikes Kerry.

But for me, whatever Norquist meant, I take that for a compliment and F*ck Norquist.

[beachmom]

5. Well, I defended Kerry in the Kos thread and the TPM thread.

To me they are separate issues. Regardless of whether there are similar attributes politically or otherwise, that is not why the comment made one recoil.

And, honestly, although I see Obama and Kerry have similar world views in many areas, especially foreign policy, I think they are not the same. I like them both for their different talents.