Bush courts the bigot vote with anti-Arab ads

[dArKeR]

THE GUARDIAN , WASHINGTON
Sunday, Mar 14, 2004,Page 7

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute

The re-election campaign of President George Bush provoked a new controversy yesterday Friday, with a television ad campaign using a picture of an olive-skinned man to illustrate terrorism.

As a voiceover warns that Bush's presumptive opponent, John Kerry, is soft on terrorists, a split-screen shows people at an airport, and a young man with flickering eyes who turns menacingly towards the camera.

The ads are the most aggressive so far -- targeting John Kerry by name. Arab Americans said the campaign played on racism and fear, and could inflict further damage on a community marginalized after September 11.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/03/14/2003102425

[Disturbed]

1. Arabs

Maybe they don't have enough votes to matter, so Bushco decided to pander to the fears of his base. AL Q. means: The Base

Strange,eh?

I strongly suspect that America will be attacked with the next few months and the elections will be postponed for a few years. This seems to be the only way the Neocons can stay in power to keep serving the Multi-Corps and the Super Wealthy.

[CalebHayes]

6. I thought he was going for MI? (big Arab state)

[Whoa_Nelly]

11. Apparently, the number of votes re: 9/11 victims' families

don't matter either.

Perhaps * is trying to elevate the threat level by inciting race riots in the US....the man is an idiot. Everyday, I just hope that the 2004 election isn't screwed with as it was in 2000...it really worries me at times that more crime will be allowed to keep this POS in office for another four years.

[flamingpie2500]

19. If we are attacked again before the election, you can kiss GW goodbye

for sure.

[calimary]

27. Welcome to DU! But I'm afraid that may not work here.

Unlike in Spain, where the righties were ahead before the Madrid attack, many of our fellow citizens are too knee-jerk mindless to connect the two. They'd probably just gravitate to him like iron shavings to a magnet, like most of America did after 9-11. I would NOT give most of America credit for clear thinking at such an awful moment.

But that's not the only reason I hope we're not attacked again, of course. Not worth losing so many innocent souls - AGAIN. Never is.

That said, I would STILL LOVE to see something that WOULD help to ensure that I could "kiss GW goodbye." I anxiously count the days until it happens.

Again, WELCOME!!!

And... just in case you're wondering how you can call your reps and "give 'em Hell on the Hill," check my sig line for details...

[Union Thug]

2. I kinda remember...

.. some white, clean cut kid named Tim that was responsible for the second most deadly terrorist attack on American soil. Funny how the Bushies played the scary, dark skinned race card.

[montana_hazeleyes]

10. Not to mention white men in robes

with pointy hats,

and black people and minorities being on the wrong end of billie sticks and on and on. Terrorism isn't just blowing things up.

[schultzee]

23. All the southern bigots switched to the rePIG party years ago.

[Dover]

3. I'm an "anti-Bush" bigot, and I think I have a lot of company.

;

[Occulus]

5. You may want to clarify that one.

I got it, but I had to think about it. Some may interpret that wrongly. :)

[shanti]

4. pandering to the bigots, eh?

they have absolutely no shame, and are letting it all hang out now. this is a very low blow, it really shows how racist this regime is.

it's going to get a lot uglier.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Same bigotry, just a different focus

Reagan started the GOP down the bigotry trail with his "welfare queens" remark and the courting of the Old South. The fact that he did this doesn't surprise me in the least. Coulter has been spreading lies about Islam, and I've heard other right wingers say terrible things about the Beloved Prophet. I don't think they care about what Arabs or other Muslims think, which is sad. Don't they know that such stunts may help energize their base, but that they also energize al Qaeda? Terrorists can use such stuff to tell potential recruits that Shrub really does want a crusade and that he is out to destroy Islam, which is the reason to have jihad.

[Zhade]

8. Ah. The Arab "Willie Horton". How quaint.

These traitors are recycling the 80s right in front of our eyes. Incredible.

No surprise, since George W. Chickenhawk was involved in creating the original Willie Horton ad.

[July]

18. Did you see DUer stldemocrat's term for this?

He (or she) called this W's "Walid Horton" ad. I thought it underlined Bush's apparently genetic cluelessness well.

[Zhade]

25. Nice! It fits.

NT!

[fearnobush]

9. Bushco Does not care about all the hate crimes he will create

by courting all those sub-chimps. This is pure strategy since most Arabs will vote for Nader (He is Arab) anyway.

[Rex]

12. Republicans only like one kind of person: rich/white/male

nt

[Cognitive Diversity]

13. If most arabs voted for nader, there might be a lot of nader votes

i actually have no idea, but i thought there were a lot of arabs out there.

and 3 to 1 they are christian (in the us)

i dunno, a fair number of them understand the need for civil rights and cant vote for the gop, and i cant imagine not being offended by the commercial

is it clear that the man is arab? or is it just a mean looking dark tall dirty man?

probably the former, but i sure wish not

[Rex]

15. A tall dirty man? Doubtful.

The GOP is made up of white men that so hated the thought of black & white children attending school together that they broke away from the Democratic Party in the late 50s and aligned themselves with the recent batch of neocons. Today, those same men practice racism and sexism in our highest offices of government as if it was a natural act - like breathing air. This group simply views anyone not rich/white/male as an inferior species meant to be ruled and dominated. Add to this the recent addition of wacko Christian fundies and you can see why they are as dangerous to the rest of us as any other extremist group. A minority that votes for any GOP member is slapping their race/culture/class in the face IMHO.

[dArKeR]

26. You left out (and a Submissive Woman)

[MinnFats]

14. I think this is a blunder for Bush.

The Arab/Muslim vote is significant in a few states like Michigan.
Bush got a large majority last time.
This time, I think he's already written them off.

Possibly illustrative:
There is a fairly new mosque in my town, Bloomington Mn.
It is growing all the time.
There's a wide variety of backgrounds there...newcomers, people that have lived here for 30 years or more and have post-grad degrees, cab drivers and doctors, and a few converts with the minnesota stereotype of blue eyes and blonde hair....

They were crushed and distraught over 9-11, denounced it loudly, and held prayer services for the victims and their families. I think of this every time some radio wing nut talks about how American Muslims have not denounced 9-11.
Further: They used to meeet with Sen. Paul Wellstone regularly to describe their take on issues. He took their concerns to D.C. They were deeply saddened at the death of this senator, the son of Jewish Russian immigrants.
Now Sen. Mark Dayton has started meeting with them. They've invited the junior senator, Norm Coleman, the GOP's darling boy (who is also Jewish) but he has not responded....

there's an opening here for the Dems....

[truthisfreedom]

16. but does he care?

it's all about the bottom line.

[mediaman007]

17. Bush* the Uniter

By the time he is done, Bush* will have united the entire World against his ignorant, short-sighted ways.

When Kerry is elected President, he is going to have to go on the "World Apology Tour."

A "just God" would not put this country through any more of this crap. He only put Bush* in place to wake us up.

There can't be too many educators at Yale and Harvard who say that Bush* is an example of their school's brightest hour.

[DuctapeFatwa]

20. Kerry needs to read up on George Wallace in 1958

It is unlikely that with the notable exception of at least some of the Iraqi "exiles" in Dearborn who dutifully come out to cheer for the cameras at each crusade milestone, and their Kuwaiti cousins, that either candidate will find a lot of support for the crusade in the Arab-American community.

However among the small minority of the population that votes, Kerry is in danger of being "out-terroristed" by bush.

[snippy]

21. Bush likes courting the bigot vote. He has done it before.

Arizona Sen. John McCain praised President Bush on Monday for denouncing former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's racially offensive comments last month, but said he regretted not challenging the president over racist tactics allegedly employed by Bush supporters during their showdown in the 2000 South Carolina primary.

McCain sounded uncomfortable while discussing the episode, which reportedly included attacks on his adopted Asian daughter using the "N" word. But the Arizona Republican made clear that he considered Bush responsible . . . .

http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2003/1/6/225209

[4dsc]

22. Maybe bush really is in charge

of his own campaign.. One blunder after another is not like Rove and company.. Something doesn't smell right!!

[cliss]

24. While I have to agree with FlamingPie on this,

don't count on the Uglies In Charge to assume that. I also believe that if BeelzeBush and his cronies decide to orchestrate a terrorist attack here in the US, just to scare people into voting for him, it may backfire.

1) Bush has bragged for 2 1/2 years now about how he is "winning the War On Terrorism". (even though he has probably done more to contribute to it than any other force up till now). He has assured us that the Republicans will keep us safe, and the Democrats will put us in danger because they are "soft" on terrorism.

2) If they stage an attack and sacrifice many lives here in the US, it could go one of 2 ways: people would vote for Bush with a trembling hand, hoping that he would indeed "protect" them for 4 more years.

3) Or, people would be outraged and realize that he has done nothing to keep us safe. HOWEVER, don't count on them to make that conclusion. These guys are outrageous risk-takers. I've posted that in many posts before that they're really BIG riverboat gamblers, willing to stake everything on outrageous risks. Because they like to win, and they're willing to risk our lives, and the lives of countless millions of others. That's why they've been so successful up till now; because other governments are traditionally conservative and prudent. They don't know what to do with a rogue state like ours.

[Skittles]

28. of course he is courting the bigot vote

that's his base