President Obama, race and the unpatriotic right

The Orlando Sentinel ^ | September 15, 2009 | Professor Jeremy Levitt

[2ndDivisionVet]

The far right and its right-wing brethren's most recent barrage of indignant and visceral attacks against President Barack Hussein Obama has led me to conclude that the scourge of anti-Obama fanaticism is nothing more than foolish racism masquerading as patriotism and phony Christianity.

It is no secret that the far right and its institutions have an unjust guttural dislike for President Obama. After allowing George W. Bush to destroy our economy and international standing without challenge for eight years, the far right's central strategy for helping America is to attempt to delegitimize Obama with trailer-park prowess.

Right-wing disdain for the first African-American president is primordially violent and expressed in dishonest, uninformed, racist and unpatriotic rhetoric and demonstration.

I am not concerned with right-wing dishonesty, ignorance, racism or hate marching; these are not new phenomena in American culture and politics. However, what concerns me is the combustible combination of these perspectives when combined with a lethal dose of violent and unpatriotic actions targeting the U.S. president.

Certain fanatical people and groups, not worthy of specific mention, recently toted guns at presidential town-hall meetings wearing menacing T-shirts that read: "It is time to water the tree of liberty."

This was a symbolically threatening parity of Thomas Jefferson's celebrated call for vigilance: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots." Regrettably, this dangerously insolent and unpatriotic message was aimed at the leader of the Free World.(continued)

The Author

[2ndDivisionVet]

"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."

"President Theodore Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star", May 7, 1918

[brytlea]

This guy just hates Bush because he’s a white guy. What a racist....

[DRey]

The Democrats are scared.

[NMEwithin]

Pretty bad when the only response you have to valid crticism of policy is "racism"...

[DemforBush]

"...attempt to delegitimize Obama with trailer-park prowess"

Elitism much?

[rjamesca]

I always question people that use the term “professor” when they refer to themselves. Kinda like they want you to think that they are smarter than you!

[Brilliant]

The author is blinded by his race-consciousness. He can’t conceive that there is a reason to dislike Obama other than race. He forgets that Obama was elected, and now is unpopular. Did his race change since he was elected?

[Cicero]

Well, here we go. Apparently Obama has given everyone orders to play the race card, and they are busy doing it.

I think this time it will backfire. People have been willing to accept the race card, for the most part, for the past 50 years. But it’s another matter when the very existence of our country, and our children’s futures, are at stake.

Obama is playing with fire.

[Dan(9698)]

This author is a racist.

[JPG]

Gosh, where to start. On second thought, this loon has crossed over into the twilight zone. Beyond mental redemption.

[eclecticEel]

We’ve only opposed socialized medicine as long as we’ve existed; but surely the skin tone of this particular socializer is the pertinent issue.

[MSF BU]

Professor Jeremy Levitt is a poster child for defunding the left wing in this country.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Someone’s parents are pissing away a lot of money for them to sit in a classroom and get spoon fed this racist hooey.

This “professor” is one nasty (as in mean) SOB.

Care to guess how his students have to write their term papers in order to pass?

[RatRipper]

I hate Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Kerry, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank . . . and Barack Obama all for the same reason: They are radical leftists looking to control the country by buying votes with my tax money and squashing free speech and political dissent and they are absolutely wrecking the country I love and . . . I don’t care if they were all white, all black or green with purple polka dots.

[ought-six]

So, who is this Jeremy Levitt? And of what discipline is he a professor? I read his swill, and it is typical of an Obamaphile: The basic tenet is that anyone who disagrees with Obama or is critical of his actions or agenda is necessarily a racist; that is the automatic default mode. What a cretin.

[depressed in 06]

After allowing George W. Bush to destroy our economy and international standing without challenge for eight years,

BDS.

It has taken ZerO 8 months to do what the author attributes to Bush. I would like him to establish where DumBO has done better in those two areas.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

It’s already been noted that the current left wing playbook is to start calling conservatives and Republicans “racist” at every opportunity. So far, I have seen at least a dozen reliable liberal-radical “commentators” use the same tired ploy.

They have obviously agreed to do this in a conspiracy, in which someone calls the shots, so that they all act in concert. And since they have done this before, especially during the Clinton years, there is little doubt what is happening.

So let me propose the following: if there is a comments section below these libels, or some other way to create public feedback, call those who are calling conservatives and Republicans “racist”, “racist” right back.

Point out that what they are doing is a cynical ploy made to racially intimidate others, and as such, it is *they* who are the racists. Because *they*, as a group, have decided to launch a barrage of racist accusations.

Hopefully we can nip this nasty effort at race-baiting in the bud. Point out that there is a group of liberal Democrats all screaming “racism!” right now, so everybody should note who the *real* racists are.

Then ask whoever they work for, “Why are you hiring racists?”

[y6162]

“The Democrats are scared”

Wonder what they’re going to call us after racist gets old? America is yawning already. I mean it is the nuclear option.

[Biggirl]

Truth is, the race card is becoming “old” very fast.

[kromike]

After allowing George W. Bush to destroy our economy and international standing

Gee, where do I start with this idiot?

4.5% unemployment = destroy the economy
9.7% unemployment = "back from the brink."

Bush - Iran / Osama thumbed their nose at him.
the jOker - Iran / Osama thumbed their nose at him.

I guess anyone can be a "professor" these days.