White Hot!! Can Obama Win Back White Voters?

      

Okay, ask some of your White friends if you think President Barack Obama will get reelected!

Most of them will say no.

Nearly 4 out of 10 (roughly 40%) of White people support the president. That leaves out the majority. The majority of the white voters count as either independent, Democrat or Republican. The president has trouble with conservative leaning voters.

The workplace and your white friends are likely to say something about the latest issues in politics. And yes, you may not like what they say, but this is the mood of the country and it's going to have an impact on the president's reelection chances.

See if you're a person of color (especially a black person) in the workplace, you keep the Obama talk to a minimum. Talk of President Barack Obama can rile up white people. It's proven by people who focus solely on red meat issues conservative agitators whine about in the media.

Many Black people are cautious about talking about the president. Some fear that if they mention Barack Obama, their words may end up on the internet or they'll get into a heated debate over him. White people are very pessimistic about the president and they have more disapproval of the policies than any race combined.

White people are afraid of being labeled racist if they criticize the president in any way. Blacks are afraid of being tarnished as the ones "solely focused on race" when they support Barack Obama.

There's a taboo about the issue of race and politics.

Mitt Romney is the plain white guy that has the good looks, nice wife and children. He tries to paint himself as a father figure as well as a business expert. He comes from an established family. He has inherited his father's image as a person to bridge the gap. Romney knows he can embrace white voters since he's not Barack Obama. They're not concerned about his Mormon faith, his constant inconsistency on issues, and net worth of $250 million in domestic and foreign earnings. Business executives see him as a person they can vote for.

Barack Obama is the multiracial guy who lived in parts of the world experiencing things that his family achieved. He comes off as a father figure and a mediator. He wants to try to solve problems. The president easily wins over non-white voters 3:1. He maintains a healthy lead among Hispanic voters and those who graduated from college. Professionals see him as a person they can vote for.

The political road map starts always with the five states that determine an election.

Nevada, Iowa, Ohio, Florida, and New Hampshire. These states carry make or break a person running for president.

What seems to be a comfortable lead for the president has eroded. The Electoral College has the president sitting at the 270 mark. That's slightly enough to be declared the president. But states that President Barack Obama carried in the previous election have now become either toss ups.

States that President Barack Obama carried included Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Plus one delegate in Nebraska.

Now what appears to be signs of eroding include Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Michigan and Florida.

Republicans have control of 29 of the state governorships. They have maintain issues that cater to the Tea Party (extremist wing) of the Republican Party.

President Barack Obama has the opportunities to win back voters if he stays focus on his successes. The economy is struggling and partisan gridlock has people concerned.

Congress does have a portion of the blame. Republicans have control of the House of Representatives. Democrats have control of the Senate.

Many speculators have this race as a toss up but leaning President Barack Obama.

Many voters haven't gotten accustomed to Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. He still cast doubt among some in his political party. He once supported ideas that the president embraced and managed to pass when the Democrats had a slim few months of full control of Congress.

Many in the conservative media have agitated issues that proven to be distractions to the real issues.

People shouldn't be concerned with the debt.

White voters are the most likely to agitate conversations about the president's policies, birth certificate, and his race.

Race is a major factor to some of these people. You have online jerks in the comment section. You have online bigots who spend their time writing stories to paint the president as a villain or an outsider.

It's hard to convince them to support President Barack Obama. Many Blacks know how White people act around the issues of race. They don't want to touch the third rail. We have to discuss this and hope the day will come when we can actually get to judge the person by character, and not by their color!

Courtesy of YouTube

GOP Congressman Slams Blacks For Supporting Obama! This Guy Is A Dead Beat Daddy!

Joe Walsh (R-Illinois) thinks the Black community is stuck on the Democratic plantation!

Congressman Joe Walsh (R-Illinois) is right up there with the Tea Party Movement.

Stuck in his ways. Blaming the very society that voted his dumb ass in.

You got to love the Republicans and its allies in the conservative movement. In the mind of these people, the Black community is "brainwashed" by our "brotha" Barack Obama.

We'll support the devil if he was a Black man according to some of these people who support the Tea Party.

Nevermind the fact that a core number of extremists have made the rounds recently. And sure enough, the Republican Party embraces this.

A Neo-Nazi being selected in a Pennsylvania Republican committee. A staff member of Congresswoman Nan Hayworth (R-New York) saying that that it's okay to throw acid on female Democratic lawmakers who support birth control.

Congressman Joe Walsh is by far one of the most agitating members of the Republican Party. They are certainly going to write him off as well as fellow Tea Party Congressman Allen West (R-Florida).

Courtesy of YouTube

Walsh doubles down on statements like that when he talks to a town hall forum. According to the Chicago Daily Herald, Walsh told a townhall and then a local radio station:

“The Democratic Party promises groups of people everything,” the McHenry Tea Partyer said. “They want the Hispanic vote. They want Hispanics to be dependent on government, just like they got African Americans dependent on government.

Walsh goes on to say that civil rights activist Jesse Jackson “would be out of work if (blacks) weren’t dependent on government.”

Walsh’s remarks were caught on video and are being circulated by CREDO SuperPAC, the San Fransisco-based SuperPac that is actively working to defeat him in the November election.

In an interview Friday, Walsh said his statements “have nothing to do with race.”

“My shot, this had nothing to do with race. My shot was at the Democratic Party. Look, they’re the party of (big) government,” he said. “We’re at a really scary, dangerous time right now. We now in this country have more in the wagon than pulling the wagon.”

Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) the members of congress that includes Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota), Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado), Ron Paul (R-Texas), Allen West (R-Florida), Trent Franks (R-Arizona), Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina) and Paul Broun (R-Georgia) are by far the most extreme members of this political party.

Either they're entranced or they're just plain ignorant, these politicians make it harder for Blacks, Hispanics, and other groups that normally support the Democratic Party join their ranks!

It's not racist for Joe Walsh to say these things. It's not stupid, either.

It's just how these people in the Republican Party think of the Black community, Hispanic/Latino community, President Barack Obama and those who support him.

They've wrapped their asses around the American flag in preparedness of a culture war. The culture war is an ongoing thing. Republicans wasted half of the 112th Congress catering to the extremists.

They'll blame President Barack Obama for everything. The president offers up solutions to fix the economy only to be either delayed or failed by members of the Republican Party.

They whitewash history. They know that George W. Bush is responsible for the economic mess, but they're quick to blame President Barack Obama for the economic turmoil.

The Republican Party play upon the fears of White voters pessimistic to a Black president.

Walsh was once considered one of the worst dead beat parents ever. He owed his former wife and children over $117,000 in unpaid child support. I guess this year he made some amends to his struggling family.

Walsh goes onto The O'Reilly Factor to defend his comments about "race hustling" Democrats like Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr (D-Illinois) and his father Jesse Jackson. He made the comment that Barack Obama, his liberal allies in the Democratic Party have kept Blacks stuck on the "plantation".

Courtesy of Mediaite

No Church In The Wild!

                           
Republicans are gleeful that the economy is tanking. They practically rooting for the president and the economy to fail so they could get back into power.

This month's recent job reports shows a slow growth. The nation's unemployment has uptick to 8.2%.

The Republicans are looking to bring forth austerity measures to cut domestic spending.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada)

Across the Eurozone there's a high jobless rate having 11% unemployment. China, the fast growing economic sector is slowing down.

We see how our partisan bickering and grandiose brought us.

More problems.

This gives the Republican nominee Mitt Romney an opportunity to bring forth ideas that can better or match that of President Barack Obama.

Most people who aren't familiar with common terms like austerity. Look at what the state Republican legislators and governors are doing! Look how the U.S. House of Representatives accomplished. They want to eliminate government. So that means cuts in the public sector.

That means laying off workers that may be key to the safety, health and infrastructure of the United States.

I mean we had a Republican House and Democratic Senate. They are trying to defeat each other with bills that increase massive spending or bills that increase massive cuts. Each are met through either a filibuster in the U.S. Senate or a test vote in the U.S. House. And of course threats of veto from President Obama.

Now we got to get things straight here. We didn't get into the mess overnight and we're not going to get out of it in a mere two to six years.
                  
We seen what the political parties offer and yet none of them are pleasing the American people.

We lost more jobs in the public sector than in the private sector. Look here, that's the state and federal jobs that most people are crowing about. Those public sector workers who include teachers, police officers, fire fighters, maintenance workers, and those in the federal work force.

The Republicans want to cut the U.S. Postal Service. That eliminates over 400,000 jobs already.

The Republicans are not willing to raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires.

School districts have enough trouble trying to pass levies because the voters aren't concerned with paying teacher's salaries or funding school activities to keep children away from the streets.

Both parties are going to put pressure on the president to break the fold. But what could happen if he does?

Will the left blame him for compromising? Will the right blame him for not compromising?

Speaker of The House John Boehner (R-Ohio)

It wouldn't matter anyways. According to the Gallup Poll, most figure that Americans' overall mood about the state of the country is not favorable for an incumbent seeking re-election, given that a president's re-election partly depends on voters' satisfaction with his first four years in office.

About one-quarter of Americans, 24%, are currently satisfied with the way things are going in the country, while 74% are dissatisfied. This is comparable to the dour mood found in 1992 before George W. Bush lost his re-election bid, and is far worse than that seen in 2004, 1996, and 1984, years in which each of the sitting presidents won. Still, the current satisfaction rating is more than double where it was last August and September.

The economy still dominates Americans' views of the nation's Most Important Problem, historically a negative sign for an incumbent seeking re-election.

All in all, Americans' relatively low satisfaction ratings, and the fact that the economy remains by far the top problem in voters' minds, present a formidable challenge for an incumbent president seeking re-election.

So President Barack Obama,  you got work to do! This is the summer months of an election.

Mitt Romney hasn't sealed a strong front against the president. We'll wait until he'll pick his running mate and of course his debate performances.

Mitt Romney will have to prepare for a debate with the president in October. Romney comes off as a weak debater and yet still delivers knock out blows. I haven't seen much of plan from the camp, but expect it to go negative like it did against Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

Matt Drudge Is A God Damn Race Baiting Conservative Agitator!

Scaring Up Votes, The Drudge Manifesto! Race-baiting conservative agitator puts the fear of Black thugs in the minds of extremists. Matt Drudge roots for The Great American Race War.

Update: This election will bring out the worst from the Republican Party. Their allies include The Drudge Report, Fox News, Karl Rove, Frank Luntz and the Koch Brothers. They're heavily invested in the divide and conquer strategy. Watching how these stories are mentioned in the mainstream media proves there is a subliminal tactic by the right. Those evil Black thugs attacking on the patriotic White person is certainly going to be the theme of the conservative media. This is dog whistle politics. Republicans have been in the game for the last 40+ years doing this stuff. Isolating those they deem ineffective to their radical conservative causes. The world is changing and conservatism is slow to catching up. With the announcement of demographics shifting in favor of minority birth rates, White conservatives are really riled up about the growing minority. They need to scare up votes from bigots who are determined to destory the progress of Civil Rights. Barack Obama is the first Black president. Conservatives will rile up White people with these stories. 


It's no surprise of the alliance between the Breitbart News Service and The Drudge Report. They work hand in hand trying to point out the issue of Black on White violence. A theme that's run popular in the conservative blogosphere and the white supremacist circles.

But I want to make it clear, U.S. crime rates are down.

Racial based incidents aren't on the rise. It's actually on the decrease. There's far more incidents that involve white males committing hate crimes. It's mostly a product of the extremism within the conservative movement. Hate crimes are usually committed by white males who hold conservative views towards race, gender, sexuality, nationality, religion, language, disability, political and economic standings. They would perform domestic terrorism in the name of group that harbors extremism towards a changing society.

They're trying to justify incidents within the controversial Trayvon Martin shooting. In the mind of a conservative, Black on White violence is rampant and the media isn't reporting it!

Once again, if you harbor bigoted views towards someone's race, gender, sexuality, nationality, religion, political and economic standings, you're deemed an extremist in my eye.

I don't care what political affiliation you represent, if you're a conservative on an issue, you're likely to hold a bigoted view on an issue.

The Drudge Report caters to extremism. In order to stay relevant, the conservative agitator looks for stories that offer red meat controversies. Conservatives harbor bigoted views toward race, gender, sexuality, religion, language, nationality, political and economic standings.

Who the heck goes around sending racist emails with depictions of President Obama and his family?

Who the heck goes around saying the Blacks are lazy, immoral, welfare loving, "gubmint" supporting parasites? Note the spelling of the word gubmint, a popular white supremacist colical term to describe the government.

Who the heck complains about the likelihood of a society getting browner?

I come to the conclusion that white conservative men provoke the Black and Hispanic/Latino community.

Conservative agitators are the reasons for uneasy among the races.

According to McKay Coppins, of Buzzfeed a liberal agitating website that channels viral events, he wrote that: [If] you've spent much time consuming conservative media lately, you've probably learned about a slow-burning "race war" going on in America today. Sewing together disparate data points and compelling anecdotes like the attack in Norfolk, conservative bloggers and opinion-makers are driving the narrative with increasing frequency.

Their message: Black-on-white violence is spiking — and the mainstream media is trying to cover it up. This notion isn't necessarily new to the right, which has long complained about stifling political correctness in the media and the rising tide of "reverse racism." But the race war narrative has gained renewed traction during the Obama years, as various factors — from liberals' efforts to paint the Tea Party as racist, to the widely-covered Trayvon Martin shooting — have left conservatives feeling unfairly maligned, and combative.


Here what you do if you're one these conservative agitators who respond to my post!

Take your Tea Party signs, your phony patriotism rants, Obama bashing, minority complaining nonsense to these so called crime ridden Democratic strongholds you're complaining about. Let's see if you can take your online rhetoric to the streets you claim are crime infested Democrat areas! Let your guns, Bibles and "think you're better than others" crap to those you feel stifle the majority.

Courtesy of Young Turks Media/Current TV.

The Rubberband Snap Of Gay Marriage In North Carolina

An activist who favors the controversial North Carolina Amendment One. The amendment could end benefits for same sex couples and even straight couples. The Republican Party and its allies in the conservative movement are highly engaged in the culture war and gay rights is a notable controversy.

This is the North Carolina Republican Primary.

Perennial Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is slated to coast to victory here in the state. Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas), the perennial challenger also running for president is likely going to concede that he has no chance of beating Romney. Paul will continue his failed attempt at running for president all the way to the Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida.

One thing these two Republicans agree on. When it comes to marriage equality, they're against it. They rather define marriage between one man and one woman.

Now I am a straight person who is Black.

I seen how our society has changed over the years.

You got to say that being intolerant of others isn't right!

I was once that type of person!

Nowadays, I work and associate with people of all backgrounds. And some of my friends are gay! I have become more tolerant of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community.

I am openly endorsing equal rights for the GLBT community. This country has to put aside the hateful rhetoric and unite as one people for this great country we call the United States.

This is becoming a national controversy. The state of North Carolina is about to make a referendum on marriage inequality. The state is slated to vote to ban gay marriage. A state constitutional amendment is going to have an impact on progress.

North Carolina Republican state senator Peter Brunstetter authored the Amendment 1 and called upon the voters to support it. This will end benefits for same sex partners and prevent equal protections for gay couples. This could affect straight non-married couples who seek benefits as well.

Some of the critics of this amendment acknowledged that Brunstetter's wife Jodie has stated that this gay marriage ban may have a strong support among the Caucasian (White) race. Many believe that her oft-comments could contribute to her acknowledgement that North Carolina Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment 1 Reportedly Was Written To Protect 'Caucasian Race'!



In what is slated to be a devastating blow to the gay rights community comes from a state that helped President Barack Obama in the 2008 United States Presidential Election.

Gay rights groups are urging President Barack Obama to come out in favor of gay marriage. The president is very cautious on this issue. It's a political expediency that President Barack Obama is silent on this issue.

Right now, the Republicans and their allies in the radical Christian conservative movement are pressuring Republican nominee in waiting Mitt Romney to push a harsher agenda against gay marriage. Under pressure, Romney fired a foreign policy adviser who was openly gay. Romney once supported civil unions for gay couples. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the union to acknowledge gay rights.

Under the watch of Romney, gay marriage became official in the state of Massachusetts.

Vice President Joe Biden recently spoke in a favor of gay marriage. The White House walked back some of the vice president's comments and spoke in opposition of Amendment 1. What Vice President Biden said has became an issue and yes the Republicans will seize upon this and many comments coming from the Obama campaign.

The president has tried to appeal to his core voters in the GLBT community by dropping the legal fight for the Defense of Marriage act. When the president walked back his stance and strongly came out against DOMA, it became a political landmine for Republicans to seize upon and use this as a wedge issue. The president has issued executive orders that allow domestic partners to have benefits if they work for the government.

The president hired more administration officials that are openly gay. More than former presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. But it's not enough according the GLBT community.

President Barack Obama has a strong hold on the GLBT community, but it's waning slightly.

After the passing of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the controversial law that required military officers to disclose their sexuality, many Republicans felt that the president is trying to landmine them into debating the culture war.

Yes, the Republican Party spent a majority of their term invested in the culture war and its impact is being felt. The issues of restricting abortions, silencing women's rights, gay rights, passing voter identification laws to restrict voting rights from minorities and the poor are causing great concern among the Democratic Party.

The stripping of union bargaining rights, repealing civil rights laws and stalling economic progress is the plan of the Republican Party and its allies in the conservative movement. They want to pass austerity measures to cut domestic spending in social programs such as food stamps, unemployment benefits and welfare.


There are notable activists have recently weighed in on the issue of gay marriage and made concerns toward the president and his political allies.

Lady Gaga  and Ellen DeGeneres are probably the most famous that came out in favor gay marriage.

Rachel Maddow, a controversial political analysis for the liberal-leaning network MSNBC went to bat and chided Republicans for undermining gay rights.


Republican gay activist Dan Choi, was one of the outspoken voices of the gay marriage issue. He was once a  language specialist, who was dismissed from the military. He spoke out against DADT, and warned that gay community will stay away from President Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential elections. Choi declared that he would not be afraid to vote for a Republican.

Talk radio host Stephanie Miller, a liberal activist came out in 2010, after the Tyler Clementi suicide. Miller, a comedian who is becoming a mainstream figure in talk radio has urged the GLBT community patience with President Barack Obama. Miller acknowledged that the president's political foes will use this issue as a wedge if the controversy was to spearhead towards the election.

Dan Savage, a gay political writer has been actively engaged in the fight in North Carolina. He criticized Republicans and Christian conservatives for using the Bible as a wedge issue to stop equal rights. Savage has called out Republicans for hiding in the closet when it comes to equal rights for gays.

CNN anchor Don Lemon, most notably acknowledge he was gay. In a book he written, Lemon wanted the public to know that as professional journalist his sexuality was never a question to those who worked and associated with him. He also wrote that he was molested when he was child.

Republicans are going to push forward social conservatism into the Black community. Many Black people are socially conservative on the issue of gay marriage. Blacks strongly oppose legalization of gay marriage.

More Blacks are intolerant of gay rights. It's an issue that's discussed through outlets such as rap music, websites agitators such as WorldStarHipHop, comedians such as Tracy Morgan, actors like Issiah Washington, political commentators such as Roland Martin and Black clergymen such as T.D. Jakes and Eddie Long.

The Black community refuse to acknowledge this as an issue of Civil Rights.

Americans slightly favor gay marriage.

Six states have state recognition of gay marriage.

The federal law that prevents gay marriage, Defense of Marriage Act is being challenged in court.

Gay suicide among teenagers and adults is becoming a problem. The issue also turned violent when a gay teenager brought a stun gun to an Indianapolis school to scare off bullies. Chelisa Grimes and her son,  Darnell "Dynasty" Young, were on CNN after he faced charges for being an assault weapon to school.

Being bullied at school Young felt that he had to protect himself from those who were bullying him. Now he pays the price for the ineffective school administrators who didn't prevent the bullying or him from bring the stun gun to school in the first place.



Now once again, my honest opinion is simple. The Republican Party and its allies in the conservative movement are wrapping their asses and eventually their necks around the American flag in defense of these ridiculous culture wars. This is a real issue. There are people who determined to divide this country into groups and oppose those who want to stand out as a voice of many.

This vote in North Carolina will be a test of how Republican culture wars impact on the United States.

The state governor Bev Perdue, a Democrat who will not seek reelection has noted that the impact could hurt the brand of North Carolina. Many liberal activist are threatening a boycott of the Democratic National Convention if this amendment is to be passed.

Could the Republican Party have the power to change the narratives?

Again your guess is as good as mine.

You can read this article and others here and at The Blue Light Buzz.

Hasta la vista, Moderate GOP!

President Barack Obama embraces Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009. In the photo, then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) is standing in the background. The Terminator is fed up with his party's extreme positions. 

You can read my honest opinion on issues that face my community, the government, and the mainstream media here and at the Blue Light Buzz.

The former governor of California is coming to grips with his own party and their pandering to extremists.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican nominee for president. Romney will be moving away from his moderate positions to cater to the conservatives within the Tea Party. The Republican nominee will say or do anything to defeat President Barack Obama. His allies in the conservative movement are working in overdrive to make this a referendum on the president and his handling of the economy.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, is an actor, director, and once served two terms as the governor of California. He won in a recall election in 2003, against embattled Democratic governor Gray Davis. During his time as governor, Mr. Schwarzenegger faced harsh criticism over his handling of the economic turmoils that California was facing.

He allied with President Barack Obama when it came to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Stimulus) in which it helped California through a major budget crisis. The former governor was considered a moderate. As a moderate governor, he managed to work across party lines to solve some of the problems of the state. The former politician has openly spoke out against the Tea Party and those in the Republican Party. Unfortunately during his term as governor, Mr. Schwarzenegger left his successor Democratic governor Jerry Brown a bigger hole to dig out of!

And already, the perennial Mr. Brown, serves as governor California once again to fix the mess his Republican predecessor left.

Life after the governorship was kind of rough for the former bodybuilder Mr. Schwarzenegger. He's facing a divorce from his wife Maria Shriver after news broke of an illicit affair with his housekeeper in which he bore a child.

Being an unlikely ally to President Barack Obama, could cost a politician their job, according to many in the Tea Party. And the way it's going, the Republicans are hunting RINOs. The acronym RINO stands for Republican in Name Only.

According to the conservative movement, RINOs are members of the Republican Party who are have views that are considered liberal or moderate.

Republicans who view themselves as pro-choice, anti-war, gun control, legalizing of drugs, tax and spend law endorsing, and the ultimate sin, supporters of President Barack Obama, are facing the backlash of the Tea Party. And yes, the Tea Party has managed to scalp heads.
 
Many Republicans are facing primaries. The conservative movement wants to purge all moderates out of the party.

Senator Richard Lugar (R-Indiana), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) are facing tougher opponents within their own party. Senator Lugar and Senator Hatch have worked with Democrats in the past, and now they could be facing a defeat in the primaries.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) is retiring from the senate after express disgust with members of her own party. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) is retiring from senate.

Other moderates include: Senator Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts), Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), Senator Dean Heller (R-Nevada) and Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois).

They are shifting positions further to the right putting the Republican Party in the position of extreme.

In 2009, Senator Arlen Specter endorsed the Stimulus. He was the first of many Republicans facing a tougher reelection bid. He faced Pat Toomey in the Republican primary and was slated to lose. Senator Specter defected from the Republican Party. But unfortunately the Democratic Party wasn't interested in keeping him among the party faithful, so he lost in the 2010 Democratic Primary to then Congressman Joe Sestak. But the Democrats ended up losing the seat to Toomey, a fiscal and social conservative who once held title as president of the Club for Growth organization.

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) was facing a primary against Joe Miller, a Tea Party backed candidate.

She was defeated in the Republican primary. Senator Murkowski was able to manage a successful write-in campaign against Miller and ended up winning the election as an independent.

The Republican Party ended up recapturing the House of Representatives, and gaining seven senators who managed to be the sole opposition of President Barack Obama.

The Democrats are having a rougher time trying to keep their moderate members of the U.S. Senate.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut), Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), Senator Jim Webb (D-Virginia), Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico), Senator Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota) are among the many Democrats who are getting out of Congress. They feel that too much partisan gridlock and the extreme positions of both parties have isolated them from the needs of the American people.

In an opinion piece from the former governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger criticizes the positions of the Republican Party. He fears that the pandering to extremism will cause the Republicans to lose in the general election.

Schwarzenegger wrote in the Los Angeles Times that:

[He was] bothered by the party's recent loss of two up-and-coming Republicans: San Diego mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher, currently a state assemblyman, and former assemblyman and current Congressional candidate Anthony Adams, both of whom left the party to become independents. On the one hand, I respect their standing up for principle. On the other, I hate to see them go.

I'm sure they would have preferred to remain Republicans, but in the current climate, the extreme right wing of the party is targeting anyone who doesn't meet its strict criteria. Its new and narrow litmus test for party membership doesn't allow compromise.

I bumped up against that rigidity many times as governor. Not surprisingly, the party wasn't always too happy with me. But I had taken an oath to serve the people, not my party. Some advisors whose opinions I respect urged me to consider leaving the party and instead identify myself as a "decline to state" voter. But I'm too stubborn to leave a party I believe in.

 

Don't Vote For The Nigger Says Georgia Bar Owner (At Least On His Road Sign)!

Not the first time bar owner's sign causing a stir.

Its the continuation of extremism within the Republican Party and its allies in the conservative movement.

In the state of Georgia, Patrick Lanzo the owner of Georgia Peach Oyster Bar puts out a sign that is an eye grabber.

Matter of fact, it's getting major attention.

In what could be another racial themed insult on President Barack Obama, many conservatives are making an attempt to discount the president as inferior, in turn they undermine the Black vote.

On the sign it reads, "i Do Not Support The Nigger In The White House" (sic).

Lanzo denies he's a racist. But asked to why he puts up such a controversial sign the owner acknowledges that it could touch off a firestorm.

A few years ago, this same owner caused some ire among the NAACP and others when he protested the racial slur to the road sign in protest of the 2010 American Health Care Law. Lanzo once claimed he was a member of the civil rights organziation.

Mike Norman, owner of a bar selling a racist t-shirt.

Only a mere four years ago, the owner of another Georgia bar created a t-shirt with the impression of a monkey with the words "Obama in 08". The monkey was a version of Curious George, a famous children's book. The bar was named Mulligans and its owner Mike Norman denies the t-shirt were racist. Norman thought of Barack Obama looking like that little monkey with the big ears. It was meant to be funny, at least in his opinion.

What is troubling is these people are going to make another attempt to play upon racial fears of Blacks.

What is troubling is the Republicans never bat an eyelash when one of their own is caught doing something that is deemed extreme. There may be some who look at this as an isolated incident, but if it wasn't for news agitators like Huffington Post, Newser, Buzzfeed and Newsone, these incidents could have been ignored.

While these assholes are entitled to their opinion. This incident as well as many others have consequences.

You look at the economic food chain. When a person or a group is offended by an action by an individual, they look upon this an attack not only on the person but the group itself. And in turn this what drives the sensationalism.

A birth control advocate by the name of Sandra Fluke for example. The Democratic Party wanted to debate the concerns of religious leaders who were opposed to a portion of the 2010 American Health Care law. They asked the Georgetown University student to testify in favor of the mandate that requires religious institutions that employ workers to have contraception accessibility. When Congressman Darrell Issa (R-California) denied her to testify, that created a firestorm. What was more troubling, the Republicans subpoena men to Congress to testify against contraception. When Congressman Issa finally allowed Sandra Fluke to testify, it became a major controversy when Sandra Fluke was called a slut by radio host Rush Limbaugh and mocked as a "lesbian" subliminally by Monica Crowley through her Twitter page. Instead of focusing on the issues that were a concern to Sandra Fluke, these two prominent conservatives made this a personal issue in which it affected a group. Now women are upset with Limbaugh and they managed to hurt him in revenue by boycotting his program. Crowley a woman herself, was forced to apologize for her remarks. President Barack Obama called Sandra Fluke to express his support of her.

Black teenager Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman, a White (Hispanic) man. Instead of focusing on issues that are a concern among Blacks, Muslims and Hispanic/Latinos, many conservatives were up in arms about the tragedy. They ignored the fact the teenager was unarmed. They focused on his social networking websites, his use of marijuana, his school suspension and why he even wore a hoodie in the first place. They want to discount Trayvon Martin as a victim. What this led to was a protest march. The protest urged the United States Justice Department to get involved. The protest demanded the Florida governor Rick Scott, to hire a special prosecutor to get involved in which it led to George Zimmerman's arrest. The conservatives angered this group. This became a rally cry to boycotting ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), a conservative organization that sponsors controversial state legislation.

See these incidents are a sign of the strategy Republicans are playing.

What is the most troubling is the Black community is always provoked by White conservative men. The Republican Party and its allies in the conservative movement are wrapping their asses and eventually their necks around the American flag in preparedness (or defense) of these ridiculous culture wars. Conservatives harbor bigoted views towards race, gender, sexuality, nationality, religion, political and economic standings. 

The progressives (liberals) seem to label conservatives as racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, overreaching, condescending, morons with pain inducing rants that cater to extremists.

They never tell you that one! You see that every time a conservative complains about President Barack Obama or the Black community in general, the word salad usually includes:

[Blacks] aren't capable of solving problems. They're always creating turmoil! They are fixated on blaming their faults on the White man! They are always screaming racism! They're always taking from hard working [Whites] by staying on welfare and food stamps. [Blacks] are the ones who are really racist! You see how Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Eric Holder and Barack Obama defend the [New] Black Panthers. They rather give Black racists (and criminals) a pass but accuse Republicans and conservatives of being racist themselves. There are so many incidents that involved black on white crime, it's unbelievable. This stuff is never reported in the 'liberal media'. White women are raped by [Black] males everyday! They never report this stuff. When Blacks claim a crime was committed by a White person, they are causing trouble by lying about these so-called crimes to seek attention! You never hear about this stuff because Blacks are so in love with Obama. Because the Blacks are so fixated on trying to keep their "brotha", Barack Obama in the White House. The overwhelming support of Barack Obama by Black voters is troubling. They will never look at John McCain, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain as the candidates willing to help Blacks. They are brainwashed into voting for Democrats, plain and simple! 

We're trying to transition them out of the "Democrat Plantation". We keep telling them that the Democratic Party is the party of the Ku Klux Klan. We keep telling them that Democrats are always keeping them poor! We keep telling Blacks that Democrats want more abortions, same sex marriage and are holding them back! When these White liberals vote for Barack Obama, we believe its White guilt. Because they don't want to be labeled a racist. The Republicans were the party of Civil Rights, and yet the Blacks support the Democrats. They refuse to acknowledge civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was once a Republican. They refuse to acknowledge that the Dixiecrats [State's Rights Democratic Party] were the ones who turned the fire hoses on Blacks and endorsed Jim Crow laws. Republicans want to make the Black community lives better. We accomplished a big goal this time by electing two Black legislators to Congress. We got Allen West and Tim Scott. The Tea Party isn't racist. You prove to us there's a racist in the Tea Party and we can tell you that the Occupy Wall Street movement is racist. Look how many White people attend these events. Have you seen a Black person at the Occupy Wall Street Protest? We had plenty of Black speakers at the Tea Party. You Black people are going to make it harder for Barack Obama to win. You keep pushing these stories to paint the Republicans as racist, in turn we will gain more White voters because they'll eventually get tired of your stories of Trayvon Martin, the "racist" ramblings of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama. We will make it our goal to see President Barack Obama as a "one term president".

Now tell me if you haven't read or heard this from a conservative Republican or a conservative who votes Democrat.

Neo Nazi Border Vigilante J.T. Ready Kills Family And Himself

J.T. Ready.

Extremists within the conservative movement are worked up.

All these culture wars are credited to making more unease within the White Supremacy movement. They already know that it's likely President Barack Obama could win reelection.

They're aware of the changing demographics in which Hispanic/Latinos and Blacks are growing in rapid rates. Interracial births are at an all time high. The United States is becoming a little more browner. That's gotta to unravel some.

White nationalists allied with the Minutemen Border Movement patrolled the United States-Mexican border threatening and even possibly killing illegal immigrants.

J.T. Ready, a notorious figure in the White Supremacist circles lived in Arizona. A prominent fixture in Republican politics once tried to run for an Arizona County Sheriff post and was a poll watcher for elections. The often animated Ready would promote himself as the savior of the White race.

In Gilbert, Arizona, J.T. Ready killed his girlfriend, their daughter and other family members before he committed suicide.

Courtesy of the Tucson Citizen.

Gilbert mass shooting: White supremacist J.T. Ready left tracks in politics

by Gary Nelson on May. 02, 2012, under Arizona Republic News

J.T. Ready, the avowed White supremacist and militant critic of illegal immigration who authorities believe was the gunman in Wednesday’s multiple murder-suicide in Gilbert, cut a swath through Arizona politics before — and after — it became apparent he represented the far-right fringe of the political spectrum.

Along the way the barrel-chested former Marine became entwined for a time with one of the state’s most powerful political leaders and appeared on the radar of at least two national groups that track potentially violent extremist movements for his views and armed patrols of the Mexico border.

Authorities believe Ready, 39, shot and killed four people in a Gilbert home before turning a gun on himself.

Ready was allied briefly with former state Senate President Russell Pearce, and the two posed together for photographers during an anti-illegal-immigration rally at the state Capitol in June 2007. By the next year, as Ready’s ties to neo-Nazi and White supremacist groups became more apparent, Pearce disavowed him.

Pearce, who was defeated last November in a recall election, is now first vice chairman of the Arizona Republican Party and is running again for the Senate, this time from the new District 26 in Mesa.

Party spokesman Shane Wikfors said Pearce would not comment on Ready’s death. “He’s not going to want to have anything to do with him,” Wikfors said. “We categorically, absolutely had nothing to do with him.”

Marc Pitcavage, national director of investigative research for the Anti-Defamation League, said the group has long been aware of Ready’s activities.

The group’s website describes Ready as a “neo-Nazi and anti-immigrant extremist,” tracing his activities in Arizona from 2004 onward.

“We have monitored J.T. Ready for many years now,” Pitcavage said. It began with Ready’s early activities as a border vigilante but soon led to the realization that Ready was “a full-fledged White supremacist.”

For a time, Pitcavage said, Ready was a “mover and shaker” for the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group with about 330 members nationwide. Ready was one of the group’s two principal leaders in the Phoenix area, Pitcavage said.

An online biography of Ready includes several quotes in which he advocated restoring the country as a "White, European homeland,” called for militant action against Jews and advocated using “lawful, deadly force” when appropriate to protect the Mexican border.

Pitcavage said it would be premature to link Ready’s extreme political views to the explosion of violence that ended five lives on Wednesday. “When the shooting spree is directed toward family members, or what were essentially the closest thing he had to family members, those are usually personal rather than ideological motives,” Pitcavage said.

Ready also had been tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based civil-rights organization that monitors hate and extremist groups. Like the ADL, the center carries a biography of Ready on its website.

It notes that Ready apparently got his start in politics as president of the Mesa Community College Republican Club and became increasingly involved in local issues in the early 2000s.

According to the SPLC biography, Ready received a bad-conduct discharge from the Marines in 1996, after being court-martialed twice — once for larceny and going AWOL, and once for conspiracy and assault.

The site also lists a 1992 criminal conviction for property damage and assault after he and a friend destroyed a car mirror with a baseball bat.

Ready ran for political office at least twice in Mesa and once as a write-in candidate for U.S. Senate. In 2004 he ran in the Republican primary for a House seat from District 18, which Pearce already represented.

In 2006 he ran for Mesa City Council from a heavily Hispanic district and finished second among four candidates.

During that council campaign, The Arizona Republic uncovered inconsistencies in the biography he had provided the newspaper and found that he had been convicted of assault in Florida when he was 18 years old.

Ready had claimed to be a founding member of the Arizona Minuteman Project, a border-vigilante group, but admitted that he was just a member, not a founder.

That campaign also featured a bizarre incident in which Ready, who earlier had solicited votes from the Hells Angels, traded shots with an illegal immigrant whom Ready believed was involved in criminal activity. Nobody was hurt.

A year later Ready caused a commotion at a Mesa City Council meeting when the mayor denied him permission to speak in opposition to a Mesa police detective who was campaigning against hate crimes.

Ready’s ties to Pearce became an issue during Pearce’s 2008 re-election campaign when a group called Mesa Deserves Better sent a mailer depicting Pearce as a friend of neo-Nazis.

Amid that campaign, three Arizona Republican congressmen sent a letter to the chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Party demanding Ready’s removal as a precinct committeeman in District 18 because of his neo-Nazi ties.

By that time, Ready had been in that post for two years and was not seeking re-election. “You can’t grow a party when you’re rallying with J.T. Ready,” U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake said at the time.

But Ready apparently was trying to re-enter politics this year and had formed a committee to seek the Democratic nomination for sheriff in Pinal County.

Shortly after Ready’s death became known Wednesday afternoon, someone posted this message on his Facebook page: “Reports are unconfirmed that a cartel assassination squad murdered J.T. Ready and several of his friends and family this afternoon in Gilbert, Arizona.”

Harry Hughes, who briefly headed Ready’s campaign committee for sheriff until he was promoted in the National Socialist Movement, said, “I got an e-mail from him the other day and everything seemed fine.”

“And I’ve always said, he was generous, caring, respectful most of the time as far as with friends and acquaintances, maybe not so much people on the other side,” Hughes said.

Republic reporter Lindsey Collom contributed to this article.

Independent Voters: Republicans Are REALLY Sabatoging President Obama!

From the Washington Post.
 

Independents and moderates agree: GOP deliberately sabotaging Obama’s jobs policies  By Greg Sargent

Ever since Obama began aggressively calling out the GOP for obstructing his jobs policies, insisting that Republicans are “putting party before country,” pundits have ominously warned that he risks alienating the middle of the country with such a stark, partisan and finger-pointing message.

But the new Post poll finds that independents and moderates essentially accept Obama’s diagnosis of what’s going on — majorities of both groups agree that Republicans are blocking Obama’s good faith efforts to fix the economy for political reasons.

As I noted below, the Post poll asks people to choose between two options. This: “President Obama is making a good faith effort to deal with the country’s economic problems, but the Republicans in Congress are playing politics by blocking his proposals and programs.” Or this: “President Obama has not provided leadership on the economy, and he is just blaming the Republicans in Congress as an excuse for not doing his job.”

The toplines: Americans agree with the first statement over the second one, 50-44. According to numbers sent my way by the Post polling team, this is more pronounced among moderates and independents:

* Independents favor statement one over statement two by 54-40.

* Moderates favor statement one over statement two by 57-37.

The overall number is lower, at 50 percent, because a hilarously meager nine percent of Republicans believe this to be the case.

I know I’m repeating myself here, but it turns out this voter awareness doesn’t necessarily benefit Obama. Voters who are inclined to believe the worst about Republicans might still conclude that Obama’s failure to get his policies passed shows he’s inffectual. Indeed, in the same Post poll, 53 percent of independents give Obama a negative rating on whether he’s a strong leader!

Steve Benen put it very well:

Voters’ understanding of the political process is severely limited, and many Americans likely fail to appreciate the role Congress must play in policymaking. There are no doubt plenty of voters thinking, “Sure, Republicans are sabotaging the economy, but why can’t Obama just go around them?” unaware of the fact that, on a grand scale, this isn’t an option.

And so, a question. We now know that Americans — particularly the middle of the road ones voters who are supposed to be alienated by this kind of talk — are receptive to the argument that Republicans are blocking Obama’s efforts at fixing the economy for political reasons. For all their very real disapproval of Obama, they think one party is acting in good faith to fix the economy, and the other isn’t. So when is the national political press going to start seriously covering this aspect of the debate?

Republicans Panic! | The Republican Culture War

Republicans, time to panic!


Two controversial amendments from Republicans go down in defeat.

In Ohio, the controversial SB-5, a law that strips the public sector of their collective bargaining was defeated by the voters.

In Mississippi, the controversial "personhood" amendment was defeated also. The amendment was to make an embryo or fertilized egg a living being. It would put a hold on abortions and cause a threat to the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade.

These culture war battles were defeated by voters. The most important things that came to most voters, jobs.

A sign of disappointment in the public sector. Most voters are rejecting school levies. The voters can't afford paying more for schools. And with Republican governors cut funding for schools and public transportation, these sectors are going to make difficult cuts.

Republicans are not polling well. According TPM, President Obama and the Democrats have succeeded at convincing voters that Republicans are trying to delay economic recovery, according to a series of recent polls.

The new data suggests that about half the country, including a majority of self-identified independents, believe that congressional Republicans are using their political power to thwart Obama’s efforts to reduce unemployment, presenting Democrats an opportunity to make this argument more explicitly as the 2012 campaign moves forward — to undercut Republicans’ claims that Obama and the Dems bear full responsibility for the economy, and to make their pattern of obstruction a real liability for them.

Suffolk University polled registered voters in Florida and found that nearly half of voters, including large minorities of conservatives and Republicans, believed “Republicans are intentionally stalling efforts to jump-start the economy to insure that Barack Obama is not re-elected?”

On Monday, a nation-wide Washington Post/ABC News poll yielded similar results. The question in the Post/ABC poll was different — it asked respondents to choose between “President Obama is making a good faith effort to deal with the country’s economic problems, but the Republicans in Congress are playing politics by blocking his proposals and programs,” and “President Obama has not provided leadership on the economy, and he is just blaming the Republicans in Congress as an excuse for not doing his job.”

Once again, half of their respondents went with option one. But as Greg Sargent noted, that’s because Republican voters overwhelmingly disagreed. By contrast, a healthy majority of moderates and independents agree with the economic sabotage premise.

Also on Monday, liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas publicized the top lines of a PPP poll he commissioned, which closely mimic the the Post/ABC survey: “50% think GOP intentionally stalling economy, incl 51% of Indies, & 15% of GOPers. Details Tuesday.”

It’s not all good news for the Democrats. Polls still suggest Obama hasn’t opened a big gap between himself and the GOP on the question of who’s a better steward of the economy. But if the notion that elected Republicans are blocking economic recovery for political gain becomes a mainstream proposition, they’ve got big trouble — particularly if small but substantial numbers of their own voters believe this to be the case, and disapprove of the strategy.

The Quiet Republican Culture War: Concealed Firearms In Bars!

The Ohio Republican legislature passed a open firearm in bar bill in 2011. The governor John Kasich, first term has been marred in controversy. The SB 5 bill which strips public sector unions of collective bargaining, calling the Upper Arlington police officer who stopped him "an idiot", partisan redistricting to favor Republicans, and his golf outing with Ohio House Speaker John Boehner, Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama has sunk job approval to low 40s.

Governor Kasich, the former host of Fox News program Heartland also has ties to NewsCorporation, Incorporated. The media network is involved in a major scandal over here and in the United Kingdom.

Here's an example of putting water on a grease fire: Ohio's controversial firearm in bar laws was passed an example of not following the rules is this person here, Chad O'Reilly is facing serious charges.

Chad O’Reilly / Provided

Written by

Dan Horn

Facts about Ohio’s new gun law

• The law allows people with concealed-carry permits to keep their guns with them when they enter one of the state’s 17,000 bars, restaurants or nightclubs where alcohol is served. The law also allows a permit holder to have a loaded handgun in a vehicle even if the gun is not secured in a holster or container.

• Businesses still can ban guns on their premises by posting a sign stating guns are not permitted.

• No one is allowed to drink alcohol while carrying a gun. Doing so is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

• Eight other states specifically allow people with proper permits to carry guns into bars. A dozen other states prohibit guns in bars.

More

A Deer Park man became the first in Greater Cincinnati to face charges under Ohio’s “guns in bars” law Wednesday when he was arrested for threatening to kill a fellow bar patron.

Chad O’Reilly’s arrest came two weeks after the law took effect and immediately reignited debate between gun-rights activists and those who wanted to continue a statewide ban on guns in bars.

“This law is so absurd,” said Toby Hoover, director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence. “Without this law, maybe some fists would have flied. Instead, he’s waving a gun around.”

Supporters of the new law say it worked as intended in this case. They say O’Reilly will lose his concealed-carry permit and could face up to five years in jail if he is convicted of violating the new gun law – stiffer penalties than he would have faced under the old law.

“This fellow made a serious mistake,” said state Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, who supported changing the law. “Nothing in the law allows you to do anything other than carry a gun into an establishment if you have a permit.

“It does not give you license to brandish a gun and wave it around.”

Police say the incident occurred around 2 a.m. Wednesday when O’Reilly, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, got into a heated argument with another man at the H&H Tavern on Ohio Avenue in Deer Park.

They say O’Reilly, 25, walked out of the bar and returned a short time later with a .40-caliber semiautomatic Glock pistol in his hand.

According to the arrest report, O’Reilly shouted a racial slur at the man, who is Hispanic, and said, “I’m going to kill you.”

Deer Park police say O’Reilly’s friends ushered him out of the bar and police arrested him at gunpoint a few minutes later. He did not resist and no one was hurt.

O’Reilly, who police said had been drinking, was charged with aggravated menacing, ethnic intimidation, possession of a controlled substance (injectable testosterone) and illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor establishment.

The latter charge is related to Ohio’s new law, which allows concealed-carry permit holders to bring weapons into bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other places that serve liquor as long as they do not drink alcohol.

Ohio law previously had forbidden guns in those businesses, with or without a concealed-carry permit.

Because O’Reilly had been drinking, police say, he violated the new gun law. The other charges relate to the threats he is accused of making while brandishing the gun.

Ohio is one of several states to adopt some version of the guns in bars law, with gun-rights advocates arguing it makes sense to allow law-abiding citizens to carry their weapons rather than keep them at home or locked in a car when they go out.

The law does not allow drinking while carrying a gun and gives bar owners the option of putting up a sign banning guns on their premises.

The H&H Tavern had no such sign, but owner Dave Anderson said it soon will. He said his bar never had a problem with gun-toting patrons before and blames the new law for the incident Wednesday morning.

“I believe in the right to bear arms, but I believe that law was made in bad judgment,” Anderson said. “It’s not good for any small business to have people carrying firearms in.”

Deer Park police Lt. Daniel McCormack said O’Reilly told police he tucked his gun into his waistband, without a holster, before entering the tavern. The bartender told police he served O’Reilly two beers before the incident.

“I’m a shooter and I believe in concealed carry,” McCormack said. “But any time you have alcohol and guns, it’s just not a good mix.”

The same argument was made often when legislators debated the new law earlier this year. The Ohio Restaurant Association, with more than 2,400 members, opposed the law on grounds that alcohol and guns are a bad combination.

Seitz and others, however, have said the nearly 250,000 Ohioans with concealed-carry permits are law-abiding citizens who should be allowed to keep their firearms with them.

To obtain a concealed-carry permit, a person must complete at least 12 hours of training, including two hours on a firing range, pass a criminal background check and pay various fees.

Seitz said the potential penalties O’Reilly faces for violating the law should discourage other permit holders from drinking while carrying a gun.

“The draconian sanctions on those who violate this law will act as a deterrent on those who would do something foolish in the future,” Seitz said.

Anderson, the bar owner, said he just doesn’t want a repeat of what happened Wednesday morning.

“We’ve been in business 21 years,” he said. “We’ve never had a thing like this happen before.”

UC Berkeley: Racially Themed Bake Sale Got Students Upset!

Racially heated posting sparks UC Berkeley outrage

Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer

BERKELEY -- A Facebook post announcing plans by a UC Berkeley Republican group to sell baked goods priced according to race, gender and ethnicity - "White/Caucasian" pastries for $2 and "Black/African American" pastries for 75 cents, for example - has drawn outrage on campus.

"I'm ashamed to know that I go to the same school with people who would say stuff like this," responded student Skyler Hogan-Van Sickle on Facebook. "I'm really trying to figure out how someone can be this hateful."

The campus Republicans, who expect to go forward with their "Increase Diversity Bake Sale" on Tuesday, say the event is meant to mock an effort by the student government to drum up support for SB185, a bill to let the University of California and the California State University consider ethnicity in student admissions. It's awaiting approval or veto by Gov. Jerry Brown.

"Our bake sale will be at the same time and location of a phone bank which will be making calls to urge Gov. Brown to sign the bill," posted six students who created the Facebook page. The purpose "is to offer another view to this policy of considering race in university admissions. The pricing structure of the baked goods is meant to be satirical."

But students say the joke is anything but funny. More than 200 students responded to the event, most opposed, and some violently so. One threatened to burn the table and set the cupcakes on fire. At least four student groups sent complaints to campus administrators, and a student-only meeting was set for Friday evening to discuss it.

"It's offensive because of the tactics that they chose," said Joey Freeman, a vice president with the Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley's student government. "This should be done for constructive dialogue and debate. But not in a way I thought was, frankly, racist."

The posting describes five price levels for pastries, with the highest for "White/Caucasian," and the lowest for "Native American." A 25-cent discount is offered for women.

"If you don't come, you're a racist," the post declares.

Berkeley's tempest follows a series of racial and anti-Semitic incidents across UC campuses, which prompted UC officials to focus new attention on fighting hate speech among students.

In March at UCLA, a student posted a video of herself ranting about Asians. In 2010, UC San Diego students posted racial slurs and caricatures on Facebook, and used campus TV to belittle black students. Someone also hung a noose from light fixture in the library.

At UC Davis, six swastikas were found, including one carved into a Jewish student's door, and someone defaced the gay students' center.

At UC Merced, a video mocking efforts to create a Chicano studies program was posted on Facebook.

In 2010, UC President Mark Yudof described the incidents as "quite simply the worst acts of racism and intolerance I've seen on college campuses in 20 years." He created a committee to help campuses strengthen anti-hate policies. And next year, all students and employees will be asked to take a survey about campus tensions, said UC spokesman Steve Montiel.

At Berkeley, the Facebook posting violates no campus policy, said Gibor Basri, vice chancellor for equity and inclusion.

"The only policy it violates is the principles of community," he said, adding that a campus-wide letter will go out Monday. "We can use this as a teaching moment."

Shawn Lewis, president of the Berkeley College Republicans, was surprised by the number of critics and their harshness and said he agrees that race-based pricing is discriminatory.

"But it's discriminatory in the same way that considering race in university admissions is discriminatory," he said.

E-mail Nanette Asimov at nasimov@sfchronicle.com.

Herman Cain Wins A Straw Poll Causing A Major Blow To Frontrunner Rick Perry!

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain came out on top in the Florida straw poll on Saturday.

The former CEO of Godfather's Pizza won the test of conservative strength with roughly 37 percent of the vote. Texas Governor Rick Perry came in second place, followed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who did not actively compete in the event. Here's a full breakdown of the results:

Herman Cain: 37.11%
Rick Perry: 15.43%
Mitt Romney: 14.00%
Rick Santorum: 10.88%
Ron Paul: 10.39%
Newt Gingrich: 8.43%
Jon Huntsman: 2.26%
Michele Bachmann: 1.51%

Perry, who was expected by many to win the straw poll, signaled his belief earlier in the day that it was a "big mistake" for rival candidates like Romney and Bachmann to opt against campaigning for support in the event.

HuffPost's Jon Ward reported from Florida on Friday:

Just a few weeks ago, the Texas governor was taking the Republican presidential primary by storm, but his star has fallen rapidly over the course of his first three debates. On Thursday night, it came crashing down.

Conservatives flocked to the three-day conclave here – kicked off by the Google-Fox News debate Thursday night – "ready to marry" Perry, but left "spooked" by his performance, said one Florida Republican with contacts among both campaign operatives and grassroots activists.

That discontent has been building, though it's not final in any sense. Perry's fortunes have fallen in large part because of a series of gaffes that demonstrated his lack of discipline and experience on a national stage. In several key moments during the past few weeks, the governor showed a tendency to undermine some of his best moments and to make tough or difficult moments even worse. His potential supporters have grown leery of Perry as the list of his unforced errors has grown longer.

Before hitting bumps in the road, Perry experienced a surge in the polls after announcing his candidacy for president of the United States. The Texas governor jumped into the GOP primary race the same day as the Ames Straw Poll. He did not actively compete in the event, which was won by Bachmann.

Morgan Freeman: The Tea Party Actions Are Racist!

Morgan Freeman laid down the chips on the Tea Party in a new interview with Piers Morgan that is due to air Friday night.

The Oscar-winning actor sat down with the British TV host and, amongst other things, discussed his belief that the right wing Tea Party's anti-Obama stance is rooted in racism.

When asked by Morgan whether Obama's presidency has made racism in the United States better or worse, Freeman, who once played apartheid-defying South African president Nelson Mandela, frankly stated that his time in office has made it worse, as he has become a target of the right's aggression.

"Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term," the actor said. "What's, what does that, what underlines that? 'Screw the country. We're going to whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we're going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here.'"

Declaring once again that "it's a racist thing," Freeman said the group's rise has shown the hate still lingering in America.

"Well, it just shows the weak, dark, underside of America," he said. "We're supposed to be better than that. We really are. That's, that's why all those people were in tears when Obama was elected president. "Ah, look at what we are. Look at how, this is America." You know? And then it just sort of started turning because these people surfaced like stirring up muddy water."

The actor continued, saying that he understood President Obama not fighting back, seeking to stick to his principles, but wishes that he'd be more aggressive now.

Freeman endorsed Obama during his run for the presidency, but declined to campaign with him, saying that he was an actor, not a politician. He attended a White House Civil Rights concert in 2010.

Osama bin Laden Dead.

To see America's most wanted terrorist killed in a neighborhood outside of Islamabad, Pakistan, is a thrill to many who lost families on September 11, 2001.

President Barack Obama announced that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed. Republicans who were pushing this bigoted campaign to paint the president as "soft on terrorism" are in spin control.

Oklahoma GOPer: It's A Fact That 'Blacks' Don't Work As Hard

Jillian Rayfield

Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R) says that she's seen "a lot of people of color who didn't study hard because they said the government would take care of them."

The remarks came during a debate on an amendment to the state's constitution that would eliminate Affirmative Action in the state government. It was proposed by State Rep. Leslie Osborn (R), who said: "This proposed constitutional amendment makes clear that all men are created equal and should be treated as such by their government. If voters approve this constitutional amendment, state government will not be allowed to discriminate against Oklahoma citizens based on race or gender - period."

Kern voted for the amendment, arguing that minorities earn less because they don't work as hard. "We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that's tragic," Kern said, "but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don't want to study as hard in school?

"I've taught school," she added, "and I saw a lot of people of color who didn't study hard because they said the government would take care of them."

Kern also noted, as the Tulsa World reports, that women don't earn as much money as men because "they tend to spend more time at home with their families."

The proposed amendment passed by a vote of 59-14 Wednesday, after having passed the state Senate. It will get on the ballot in November of 2012.

Kern has a long history of bringing controversy to the Oklahoma House. She has introduced a bill to ban Sharia law in the state, and another that would allow teachers to question evolution. Kern also claimed that "gays are infiltrating city councils" and gay people are "the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat."

Kern did not immediately return TPM's request for comment.