Far East Cynic

Dog whistles, rational thought, and Fox News.

Also known as why Juan Williams may be in fear for his job again. I have a special place for him-NPR was wrong to fire him and I wouldn't be surprised if Fox now did the same. At least he is not allowing himself to be intimidated:

The language of GOP racial politics is heavy on euphemisms that allow the speaker to deny any responsibility for the racial content of his message. The code words in this game are “entitlement society” — as used by Mitt Romney — and “poor work ethic” and “food stamp president” — as used by Newt Gingrich. References to a lack of respect for the “Founding Fathers” and the “Constitution” also make certain ears perk up by demonizing anyone supposedly threatening core “old-fashioned American values.”

The code also extends to attacks on legal immigrants, always carefully lumped in with illegal immigrants, as people seeking “amnesty” and taking jobs from Americans. 

But the code sometimes breaks down.

Roger Ailes is not going to like that one little bit.

  1. Don't watch but that loser it a total tool. Scumbag. Even CNN fired his stupid loser ass.

  2. Gary, Williams' point is that major presidential candidates in the republican party is using racially coded language in public speeches.  Regarding your claim that democrats do the same thing, let's have an example of just one democratic politician who does something this.

  3. sheesh,
    little chicken finger?

    I'm sorry the only meds I have are this shit called colchicine and only that from time to time. Crap. I must have inadvertently caught some of the debate!!!!!!! accchhhhhh. My eyes, my eyes.

  4. JRandom,
    Take a look at MSNBC the next time they have a panel of their experts talking on racial issues.  You will see a "lily white" panel of their reporters/pundits talking about the issues that are affecting the Black community.  Oh, but they have put on Al Sharpton as a show host.  Tell me, there aren't any more qualified Black persons who can host a show other than the right Reverened?  And I say that speaking as a Black man.
    Also, funny thing is that whenever I see any spokesperson from the Dem party talking about the poor in America, they seem to focus on the Black, people as the needy, and when they talk about unemployment, they talk about whites who have lost their jobs.  Many Blacks have lost their jobs, but if I were to use the same "racial glasses" that others like to keep brining up, I would get the impression that only whites were losing jobs, and Blacks were used to not working, but are normally satisfied about just being poor and getting a government handout.
    I have read a few of Juan Williams works, and though I applaud him on some of his works, I am not a fan of his own "race baiting."   Sometimes, a black pot is just that, a black pot.

  5. Maurice,
    You make some good points, but you don''t address my question: where are the race-baiting democratic politicians?  Not pundits, not spokescritters, but politicians?  Williams is calling out the racial coding used by Gingrich, Romney, et. al. to fire up their base.  This is a tactic which is only being employed by one side, and it's ugly.

  6. JRandom,
    No one is running on the Dem side.  If Obama had any opposition, I am sure you would see the rhetoric fly.

  7. JRandom,
    Rep Jim Moran (D VA), made a few comments the other day about Rep. Allan West (Skippy's favorite person).  He went on to say that he is "not a representative of the African American community," since when did Rep Moran get to be the decicder of who represents what Blacks should be?  So because he is a Black Conservative, he dosen't represent Blacks.  I guess, he doesn't like him, in the same manner as those characters in movies like "Mississippi Burning" would quote about the northerners coming down and "messin' with our Negras" (so to speak).
    Where the liberal Dems fail is to see that not all Blacks are of the same monolithic cloth.  Just look back to the 2008 election.  Obama won the Black vote in CA, but at the same time, Prop 8 (gay marriage) which was a very Democratic issue failed.  Why?  Those very districts that Obama won easily in,  that Prop failed.