What's an "Obama Phone"?
Well it's actually not a phone created by the president or the administration! It's a program created by the federal government to allow poor or lower class Americans access to phones in case of emergencies.
But you couldn't tell that to any Republican or their conservative allies. They're obsessed that the president allows 47% of the nation become broke, lazy, losers who want their "gubmint gibbs mes" and we the American "patriot" will have to pay for this!
Matt Drudge is a notorious race baiter! |
Listen Republicans! You're going to energize the Black vote the more you and your buddies in the conservative media attack the president or the Black community!
You try your hardest to discredit the Black vote!
You think the Blacks are "racist" for overwhelmingly supporting the president! If you would line up a candidate who could appeal to Black voters, then maybe "COUNT ZERO" would be able to chip into President Barack Obama base!
Thursday afternoon, the gay conservative agitator Matt Drudge splashed this Black woman over his page with the headlines: "Obama Has My Vote, He Gave Me A Free Phone!"
Since this was posted on The Drudge Report, it already gotten attention from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Neal Boortz, and the rest of the right wing agitating machine.
AlterNet has given a similar take to what I've determined this "scandal" is made out to be!
They've publish the majority of the million people who viewed the video didn't know was that these “Obama Phones” are actually a creation of their beloved Ronald Reagan, who began the program in 1984.
Actually called the “Lifeline program,” the legislation permits some households to receive a free landline under Congress’s rationale that "telephone service provides a vital link to emergency services, government services and surrounding communities."
That idea dates back to 1934, under the Communications Act, but Reagan was the first to actually implement the legislation. The program grew under President Clinton, who recognized the advent of the newfangled new technology of cordless phones and expanded it to include cell phones.
To qualify for the program you must live in a household with an income near the poverty line or be already qualified for other assistance programs like public housing or food stamps.
Sounds like a very rational program. But in the lead up to the 2012 presidential election it has suddenly become the embodiment of the disgraceful government dependence of the poor and in particular, minorities.
The video reeks of welfare queen stereotypes, down to the “angry black woman.”
The right wing rants about the "Obama Phone!" |
White supremacists responded to the video on the site Stormfront by writing, “racial inferiority on display” and calling the woman a “talking baboon.” The slew of racist responses to the video prompted the Atlantic to write a story teasing out “just how racist” the video is.
This latest outrage from the conservatives also co-exist with this denial of national polls stating that President Barack Obama is beating Mitt Romney in the election.
The people who work at Free Government Phones Services put forth a statement dismissing the notion of this being an "Obama Phone" program.
The free government cell phone program is helping millions of low income Americans. But unlike those worthy millions, there are thousands of scam artists who bring shame to the program. Like the woman in this video, for example, who is wasting money that could be used to supply cell phones for Americans who really deserve them.
As if that weren’t bad enough, she mistakenly refers to her free government cell phones as an “Obama Phones” As we’ve discussed in great depth, that an inaccurate name. They could just as easily be called Clinton Phones or Bush Phones. See our write-up on the Obama Phone.
It’s a shame that this no-viral video was prominently featured on the Drudge Report this morning and hundreds of other sites today that are not understanding of the Lifeline free government cell phone program and how it helps millions of needy Americans. Detractors are now going to use it to try and defund the program. In fact, our site’s traffic is up 10-fold today already, as people searching for Obama Phone land on our pages.
We hope you’ll help us defend this valuable program. If you know someone who has a free government cell phone, but doesn’t qualify for it, please report them. Or, if you know someone who has multiple free government cell phones, please report them.
Since the day Barack Obama was inaugurated, the term “The Obama Phone” has persisted. People say Obama is redistributing the wealth by starting a program that gives free cell phones – Obama phones – to the poor. Detractors of both President Obama and of the government’s long-standing phone assistance program have fought over this claim since 2009 with each side mudslinging “facts” at each other.
FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net is going to clear this subject up once and for all with the most detailed account of the facts that you will find anywhere. When you next have a discussion on this topic, just give those on the other side the link to this page.
Keep the free government cell phone program strong and honest. Report scammers.