While on a campaign stop in Commerce Twp, MI last Friday, Mitt Romney made a so-called joke about President Obama's place of birth. Stay classy Willard!
In the first clip, Hardball's Chris Matthews takes RNC chairman Reince Priebus apart during a segment on Morning Joe. In addition to confronting Reince on Romney's birther "joke", Chris also called him out for the Romney ad which falsely claims President Obama ended the work requirement for welfare. Since I cannot stand Priebus, it was a pleasure watching Chris gut him on live TV.
In the second clip, Alex Wagner (the host of MSNBC's NOW with Alex Wagner) took her turn addressing Romney's alleged attempt at humor. As one of the most congenial political pundits on TV, Alex usually keeps her anger in check. However, you could see she was pissed about what Romney said. Still, she handled it with her customary class and intelligence.
Ever since President Obama was sworn in, some on the right have been directing race-based jabs at him (both overt and covert). And every time they do, it's the job of the media to call them on it. Props to both Chris and Alex!
12 comments:
According to Factcheck.org, Obama has indeed dropped the work requirment. These use these words: "States may now change the requirements — revising, adding or eliminating them< — as part of a federally approved state-specific plan to increase job placement.'
It is really surprising that this particular Factcheck article says OBama has not dropped the work requirement, when one of their two main bullet points says they did.
Their contradiction and deception is found throughout the article. In repeated pleases, Factcheck summarizes, alongside specific evidence and description that contradicts their summary.
One example, they say: "There is nothing inherent in the waivers that guts work requirements." in summary alongside details of how the new waiver system allows states to receive federal .welfare money and NOT have a work requirement.
Anyone bent out of shape over this should go google
obama jokes about birth certificate
It turns out the President has joked about it too.
Dave: The right's "I'm rubber, you're glue" defense when they get charged with racism is weak to say the least. What they'd like to see happen is for us to stop calling them out on their racist BS. That's not gonna happen.
dmarks: President Obama has not dropped the work requirement. As the text you provided explains, he's leaving it up to the individual states.
As for President Obama joking about his birth certificate, I've heard him do it. In fact, I've posted about it here:
http://diversityink.blogspot.com/2012/01/president-obama-wishes-betty-white.html
However, I think President Obama is joking about the absurdity of the birther movement. Mitt Romney's so-called joke didn't do that. He was pandering to his base. He will say and/or do anything to get elected.
■Work requirements are not simply being “dropped.” States may now change the requirements — revising, adding or eliminating them — as part of a federally approved state-specific plan to increase job placement.
■And it won’t “gut” the 1996 law to ease the requirement. Benefits still won’t be paid beyond an allotted time, whether the recipient is working or not.
Romney’s ad also distorts the facts when it says that under President Obama’s plan “you wouldn’t have to work and wouldn’t have to train for a job.” The law never required all welfare recipients to work. Only 29 percent of those receiving cash assistance met the work requirement by the time President Obama took office.
Under the new policy, states can now seek a federal waiver from work-participation rules that, among other things, require welfare recipients to engage in one of 12 specific “work activities,” such as job training. But, in exchange, states must develop a plan that would provide a “more efficient or effective means to promote employment,” which may or may not include some or all of the same work activities. States also must submit an “evaluation plan” that includes “performance measures” that must be met — or the waiver could be revoked.
"dmarks: President Obama has not dropped the work requirement. As the text you provided explains, he's leaving it up to the individual states"
Which is specifically him dropping the work requirement. How can you read it otherwise? Before his 'reform', there was a Federal requirement. After, his reform, it's gone. It's dropped.
Shaw said: "States may now change the requirements — revising, adding or eliminating them"
I highlighted the word in your own statement which shows that there is no requirement anymore.
Shaw: It's great to hear from you! Thanks for your detailed explanation of how Romney's ad about welfare is false. It's much appreciated.
dmarks: I was going to refer you to Shaw's excellent summary of how President Obama has not dropped the work requirement. However, I see you dismissed her response too. Oh well.
As expected: Anti-Obama hate film full of crap. FACT CHECK!
Anyone who doesn’t have a hateful bone in their body knows this for a fact. 2016: Obama’s America by Dinesh D’Souza is nothng but Grade-S Neo-Cancervative propaganda racist BS! The real nature of this hate-fest of lies is to scare Americans into becoming racists and vote the Black man out of office. Even though we were too late, the hate-speech movie has done well in theaters, but we can still post the truth
It is also dead wrong. That is because it misses the fundamental political fact of the last dozen years: the Obama administration is the operational successor of the Bush administration. In Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Guantanamo, on Wall Street, Barack Obama is George W. Bush in blackface. Obama is the star of a 21-century minstrel show.
This fact has been deliberately ignored for almost four years by both the neoconservative Right and the grin-and-bear-it Left. Neither side will admit what I regard as the fundamental fact of this documentary. It is a long whitewash of the policies of George W. Bush.
So, they’re just mad that a blackman is in the white house and you can’t wait to get him out?
How was it excellent? It contained wording how the former work requirement by the Federal Government has been dropped.
What else can it mean when the states have an option to eliminate them?
Again Shaw said:
"States may now change the requirements — revising, adding or eliminating them"
States may eliminate at will, according to the Federal government. How is it possible to read this and see that the requirement is gone?
dmarks: In regards to Shaw's excellent summary, it's like the Red Hot Chili Peppers song goes... if you have to ask, you'll never know. We'll have to agree to disagree and move on.
Question: You have spammed this same thing in other blogs. Some corrections:
1) The film has nothing to do with neo-conservatism. De Souza is a traditional conservatism
2) The use of the pejorative "propaganda" in this instance is meaningless, and only tells us you do not like it. You use the word here to mean "information you do not like"
3) Racist? I saw the movie. There was nothing in the least racist about it.
4) "George W. Bush in blackface"... as I pointed out in another place where you spammed this, this is a repugnant and racist statement about Obama on your part. While De Souza was not racist against Obama, you are being so, and quite explicitly.
5) "It is a long whitewash of the policies of George W. Bush." Again, you have not seen the movie and have no idea what you are talking about. It was about Obama's policies, not Bush's.
6) "So, they’re just mad that a blackman..." There is no evidence of this from De Souza, who is as black as Obama. But when your blackface and minstrel show racist insults of Obama, there is plenty of evidence that this might be your stance.
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In summary, your racist hatred of Obama, and your paranoia about "neocons" being in places where few if any are actually found make this spam of yours pretty much meaningless. Not that it has any meaning anyway: your cutting and pasting of your rant is a mindless action to begin with.
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