John Sununu has been Mitt Romney’s most rabid attack dog in the press and he uses some good old fashioned racism in his attempt to sway voters, saying in separate interviews that President Obama is both stupid and lazy, playing into old racist stereotypes:
Sununu described Obama’s performance as “babbling,” “lazy,” and “disengaged,” and dismissed the possibility that he could do better in the future. “When you’re not that bright you can’t get better prepared,” he said…
During a separate interview on MSNBC, Sununu doubled down on the characterization. “I think you saw him admit it the night before when he delivered the pizzas. He said, you know, they’re making me do this work. He didn’t want to prepare for this debate. He’s lazy and disengaged.”
This is the same dog whistle Newt Gingrich has been using, that Obama is lazy and just wants to sleep in and hit the golf course. Could they be any more obvious about it?
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matty1
October 5, 2012 at 12:42 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I thought that was Bush?
Janine: Hallucinating Liar
October 5, 2012 at 12:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Now watch this drive.
eric
October 5, 2012 at 1:06 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yeah, Obama should work as hard as Bush.
Ace of Sevens
October 5, 2012 at 1:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Is playing golf a black stereotype now? That would be awesome.
pinkboi
October 5, 2012 at 1:07 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Lazy and just wanting to hit the golf course sounds like an old White guy to me. But I don’t understand this:
“When you’re not that bright you can’t get better prepared”
Really? There are valid things to criticize Obama about, but lack of intelligence isn’t one of them. I’m pretty sure even most of his critics would agree that he’s not exactly a dim bulb. To think otherwise probably does require an a priori belief that Blacks (and mixed individuals) are unintelligent.
Michael Heath
October 5, 2012 at 1:09 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ed asks rhetorically:
It’s obvious enough that it has an effect, but not obvious enough the racists who are targeted are conscious they approve of such dog whistles because they’re racists. I suspect most of those successfully targeted would vehemently argue they’re aren’t bigots or racists, in spite of promoting both.
It would be interesting to understand who the Republican pollsters find are positively responding to this type of rhetoric and why. I’m currently reading Chris Mooney’s mis-titled book, Republican Brain, but I haven’t yet reached this topic which I assume is included. Mis-titled because the science buttressing his book is really about America’s predominant form of religious-political conservatism, not necessarily Republicans in general though the ones that aren’t are shrinking as a share of the party.
Gvlgeologist, FCD
October 5, 2012 at 1:29 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I’ve seen lots of comments on public fora such as FB and various TV/newspaper/”news” websites, etc., where conservatives state that liberals are STUPID!!!llll!!11, repeatedly, despite studies to the contrary (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1968042,00.html). I don’t know whether it’s due to lack of information or misinformation by Rush/Beck/Faux Noise, to projection or jealousy, or simple tribal in vs. out, but it’s a common meme.
Certainly a lot of conservative posts by my conservative FB friends are designed around trying to portray Obama and other* liberals as stupid. I don’t see the reverse among the liberal FB posts, possibly because I would agree with it. When I think of lib commentary on cons, I tend to see comments on educational levels, religiosity, or lack of empathy or honesty used as insults.
* I wanted to put “other” in strikethrough because of the common lack of liberal behavior by our president, but couldn’t figure out how. Didn’t there used to be a guide to html code here somewhere?
mikeyb
October 5, 2012 at 1:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Of course, it goes well with the boys comment in the last debate and of course the 47% monolog. Sometimes I think perhaps contrary to public opinion, Lincoln might have been our worst president. Had we let the south secede, perhaps we might have actually had a progressive nation, and joined the family of nations which have the decency to believe you can have both a prosperous economy and a strong social safety net regardless of your race, sex, sexuality, etc, etc. With the south, I’m not sure that is ever going to happen.
busterggi
October 5, 2012 at 1:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
They’d love to call Obama ‘uppity’ but so far that has been a bit too obvious for them.
So far.
ewanmacdonald
October 5, 2012 at 1:46 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
A tiny flaw being that this would have left slaves to the mercy of a sovereign south which would have continued to view them as property and not humans.
eamick
October 5, 2012 at 1:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It happened during the first campaign.
NitricAcid
October 5, 2012 at 2:04 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
People often see their political opponents as stupid. They consider their own positions to be intelligent and well-thought-out, even obvious. The most obvious reason to disagree with something intelligent and obvious is that the disagreer is too stupid to see that it’s intelligent, well-thought out and obvious.
Duh.
naturalcynic
October 5, 2012 at 2:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@ Michael Heath
NitricAcid
October 5, 2012 at 2:11 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Mikeyb- if the south would have won, you wouldn’t have had two nations, but multiple ones. Texas would have split from the CSA first (I seem to recall that Texas never actually joined the CSA, but decided to ally with it in order to have its own independence); the remaining bits would have quickly split off into countries- possibly bigger than the states were, but certainly smaller than CSA/USA.
At the same time, Canada probably would not have confederated- the real push behind confederation was the idea that the very well-armed USA, having just purchased Alaska, might decide to collect some of the other bits of North America.
So the continent would have been full of multiple nations, each with their own armies and disagreements- just like Europe was in the 1800 and 1900s. I don’t think things would have turned out nearly as well for anyone.
=8)-DX
October 5, 2012 at 2:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yes, because the Republicans are really pushing to make sure lazy and studpid people don’t get in power and instead make way for the intellectual, educated elites. Wait what?
baal
October 5, 2012 at 2:40 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Did the MSNBC host call out Mr. Sununu for using the adjective ‘lazy’ to describe a black (mixed race) man? I might have to go write an email.
tubi
October 5, 2012 at 3:01 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@#12
One of my conservative FB friends posted this list the other day, “12 Reasons to Vote Democrat”. The tag says that if any of your friends voted for a Democrat, and can’t quite figure out why, have them pick from one of these options:
After her friends finished lolling and guffawing and yelping, “Sing it sister!”, I replied, “Thanks for equating my gay friends with a common dog.”
Jordan Genso
October 5, 2012 at 3:34 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@16 baal:
Yes, and no. Andrea Mitchell (the interviewer) was obviously shocked by his statement when he said the President was lazy, and so she asked him if he wanted to take that back.
Instead, he doubled down, and Andrea was clearly disturbed by it. But she didn’t “call him out”, depending on how you interpret that phrase.
Ichthyic
October 5, 2012 at 3:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I suspect most of those successfully targeted would vehemently argue they’re aren’t bigots or racists, in spite of promoting both.
Michael, that doesn’t mean they AREN’T racists, it merely means that generations of white privilege and growing up not exposed to overt public racism have done a good job of convincing them they aren’t.
Ichthyic
October 5, 2012 at 3:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
then again, I might be reading you incorrectly, and you’re actually saying the same thing.
NitricAcid
October 5, 2012 at 4:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@tubi
That list was posted by a conservative. What do you expect? Conservatives are stupid.
tubi
October 5, 2012 at 4:36 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I see what you did there…
twincats
October 5, 2012 at 4:39 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Seemed more like a vuvuzela than a dog whistle when I heard it, but some of the shock has worn off. Still, seems like Sununu has pitched his newspaper and dog whistle in favor of a baton and a police whistle.
Chris from Europe
October 5, 2012 at 4:58 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@tubi
As that picture floating around the web says: “Facewall … when a facepalm is not enough”
democommie
October 5, 2012 at 6:38 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
John E. Sununu could not get re-elected in the state where his father was a three term governor. What’s that about people being lazy and stupid? Yeah, dumbfuck johnny, I’m lookin’ at you.
Chris from Europe
October 5, 2012 at 8:19 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@democommie
I think this is about the Sr.
dan4
October 5, 2012 at 8:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@25: What Chris from Europe said (except replace “think” with “know”). Look who the “dumbfuck johnny” is now.
sharonb
October 5, 2012 at 10:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
If one of my “friends” had posted a bigoted list like that, it would earn them a hurried and permanent status change to ex-friend.
democommie
October 5, 2012 at 11:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Chris from Europe:
I stand corrected. It’s hard to tell which of those scumbags are up to what at any given time. John, Sr. is the one who was caught with his fucking hand in the cookie jar when he was Pappy Bush’s chief of staff. Like fuckweasel father, like fuckweasel son.
dan4:
Still pissed from last time you said something fucking stupid and got called on it? Yeah, I didn’t forget that, you pathetic mewling, piece of shit.
Michael Heath
October 6, 2012 at 6:15 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
democommie,
Sununu Sr. made a contribution to the nation’s interest that I think far exceeds his running up the tab on jet travel as Bush Sr.’s Chief of Staff. That was his helping Sen. Warren Rudman sell President H.W. Bush on nominating David Souter to the SCOTUS.
Those were the days prior to Republicans using Scalia/Thomas as a litmus test from which must never veer left; so how ignorant or naive Sununu and Bush. Sr. were on Souter’s jurisprudence is a reflection of those times.
scienceavenger
October 7, 2012 at 8:40 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
To many conservatives, even some very intelligent ones, racism has to be conscious, direct hatred of blacks for being black, or it isn’t racism. Means well? Isn’t racism. Just describing reality as they see it? Not racism. Likes blacks just fine, but recognizes their general inferiority? You’re the racist if you say that’s racist.
The fact is there are, and have always been, very intelligent, educated people in both political parties, and brick stupid ones as well. It’s extremely lazy, and damaging to our body politic, to evade the discussions we ought to be having by implying that everyone on the other side is too stupid to take seriously. It so happens right now this view dominates the GOP, which ironically, in the long run, could lend itself to the democrats as a result. Bubble thinking that the other side is stupid makes you stupid.
scienceavenger
October 7, 2012 at 8:43 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
One addendum, I happen to think the argument that pointing out racism is itself racism, might just be the dumbest political argument out there, with the possible exception of the denial of global warming on the basis of Mars’ supposed warming, or the argument that Islam isn’t a religion.
democommie
October 7, 2012 at 9:38 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Michael Heath:
“Sununu Sr. made a contribution to the nation’s interest that I think far exceeds his running up the tab on jet travel as Bush Sr.’s Chief of Staff. That was his helping Sen. Warren Rudman sell President H.W. Bush on nominating David Souter to the SCOTUS.”
Michael, if anyone was fooled into helping get Souter on the SCotUS it was Sununu. Having lived in NH or northeaster MA during his tenure as governor I can assure you he was an inflexible reactionary RWA asshole. He would never have recommended Souter if he had any idea that the man was a reasonable jurist and not an ideologue.
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/25/us/bush-s-court-choice-sununu-tells-how-and-why-he-pushed-souter-for-court.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm