A Southern California Republican Party official is under fire after allegedly sending an email that included an altered photo depicting President Barack Obama as an ape.
An e-mail allegedly sent by party central committee member Marilyn Davenport depicts a family portrait-style image of apes with Obama's face artificially superimposed on one of them. Text beneath the photo reads, "Now you know why no birth certificate."
Davenport could not immediately be reached for comment.
The alternative newspaper OC Weekly first reported the story, and was told by Davenport that the e-mail was "just an Internet joke." She also asked the Weekly, "You're not going to make a big deal about this are you?"
Yeah, you know I think it is a good idea to make a VERY big deal out of this racist bullshit!
No matter how often these Republican Teabaggers claim they oppose President Obama for his "policies" or because they believe he is "un-American" nobody is fooled. What they are really saying is that simply because he is a black man they will neither respect him, nor the office that he holds, regardless of the good that he does for the people this country.
All this talk about protecting the Constitution is really code for their desire to take the country back to a time before the 13th Amendment, which freed the slaves, and the 15th Amendment, which gave them the right to vote. THAT is the America these racist scumbags are fantasizing about.
And it should come as no surprise that this is not the first time this particular individual has provided a peek at her inner racist.
We always knew that the first African American who became President of this country would face serious obstacles and possibly some racist blowback, but this shit is deeply, deeply entrenched in the psyches of far more people than I could possibly have imagined.
Ahhhh, the smell of racism and tea baggers in the evening turns my stomach just enough to destroy dinner . . . .
ReplyDeleteYea these Christian RACISTS and tomorrow they go to church and sing "yes Jesus loves me" Call them out loud and often!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get my head around how someone could find this humorous and not hurtful to themselves and our country.
ReplyDeleteOT. Today Andrew Sullivan wrote an important post that I hope will launch serious discussion by Dems and mainstream media alike.
http ://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/04/the-gop-goes-the-full-ryan.html
"The very Laffer untruth that sank America into debt in the early 1990s is one still being peddled against all the relevant evidence to guide us through the next few decades. In my view, if we maintain that ideological fantasy, the US will become a banana republic in short order."
Dems and the mainstream media need to aggressively make clear to the American public that Dems are NOT proposing a tax increase; they are merely allowing a portion of GW Bush's tax cuts to expire, which should have happened at the end of last year. I can't understand why Dems & MSM don't push back when GOP pols go on and on about tax INCREASES. It's just not true, and GOP should be exposed for this blatant lie.
I totally agree with you , Gryphen.
ReplyDeleteFucking Republicans and their Christofascist backers. Their god is dead...or hopefully so.
ReplyDeleteYeowee.... I grew up in the deep south during the 60's and 70's where I saw me some racism...
ReplyDeleteI also spent 20 years in Chicago which is probably the most clearly divided, by a very clear marked dividing line (Madison Street), racist city on earth...I saw me some more racism then.. yikes...
BUT, NOW I'm living in Orange County and baby let me tell you... IF anyone has ever heard the expression "The Great Orange Wall", believe me it's alive and VERY well...
I'm so sick of this Shit!
ReplyDeleteOh, it's widespread all right. My dad is a "conservative" and for a while he would forward me racist emails about President Obama. I always deleted them, but the one I remember the most was during all the health care reform BS. It was a cartoon, and I can't exactly remember the caption, but it was one of those "box traps" (the ones you always see on Tom and Jerry) with a stick and a string. Anyway, the bait underneath the trap was a watermelon. Nice, huh?
ReplyDeleteThese are always the ones who say, "I'm not racist, but..."
ReplyDeleteI am so damn sick of it.
And yet these are the same people that take offense in the term Teabagger.
ReplyDeleteWell, if there's good news in this, it's that things like this are now making news and being denounced by the republicans (at least some of them). This is a sign that Americans have gotten fed up with the fear/smear campaign and the racism, and have spoken up.
ReplyDeleteHey, I yelled out "FIRE!" in a crowded auditorium, once, and no one seemed to think it was a funny joke.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of blatant racism is just as funny.
Next thing we hear will be the person who sent this out, telling reporters how popular she is with "the blacks."
i never imagined all the racism that would come out of the closet as president obama took office. crazy has multiplied exponentially and it has hindered progress in this country. this ugliness leads me to believe there really is a white fear about the "brown people" outnumbering them in the near future. i have heard some eejits in my own family say as much. i say, bring it on. life is change, and if you can't flow with it, it will sweep over you anyway. and besides, many of us have so many friends and neighbors who are non-caucasion or mixed, we already live in that world here america is peopled by individuals from everywhere in the world. maybe we will finally start to redefine our archaic concept of race as well.
ReplyDeletei am glad the teabagger movement is losing steam. i am still shocked and grossed out by the poll numbers showing the donald as a new gop favorite. wtf?!?!?!?! no onwe with a -do like that and a failure rate at business and finance, as well as a seedy past, should set foot in the white house.
president obama makes me proud and i love and respect him and his family. i proudly have his sticker on my car, and on my fridge, thereby warning haters not to even bother debating with me about him. i don't agree with all his decisions, but then i am not privy to the intelligence gathered behind them. besides, he asked us to stand up to him and help him keep his campaign promises. he can't do it alone. but no matter if i disagree now and then, i have a zero tolerance policy for racist bashing of the pres and any other elected official, group, or individual. i am proud that this attitude was passed down from my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
the gop knows this makes them look bad and allows a peek into their racist tendencies. fortunately or unfortunately, that image is not easily forgotten, and will help unite the base that got the pres elected, even if they are not as thrilled with him as they used to be. we can't stand for this bullshit.
And they still get all hot and bothered when they are called out as racists. They say the lefties always yell racist just because they don't like the President. Um, teabaggers, you're racists.
ReplyDeleteHere is a prominent conservative site reporting on this. I think the wide brush you're painting with is completely unfair. I also, myself, missed the point about the writer implying that Trump is a racist.
ReplyDeletehttp://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=71686
It's a damned shame that they failed to vote for his OTHER/white half.
ReplyDeleteI've said for years this country wasn't ready yet. They proved me right... sadly.
Just found a song which fits in nicely with the post.
ReplyDelete"Republicans Suck"
http://elroy.net/songs/Elroy%20-%20Republicans%20Suck.mp3
The songwriter, Brian Elroy McKinley, is an ex-evangelical Christian and has a website with many thoughtful articles about evangelicals, Focus on the Family, abortion, etc.
http://elroy.net/ehr/index.html
Many in the GOP,Palin,Santourum are all happy to spew their hate, yet, what do we see, Palin can't go in public without the spray tan,you know that people of color look,like our President.And here's Palin and Rick ripping off the language from the gay community for their slogans and applause lines.Yet they continue to spew their bile on REAL AMERICANS.
ReplyDeleteWhen will one of them have the guts to denounce this racism and stop beign a part of this!
Vicki McKenna showed up at the rally for Palin in Madison.....
ReplyDeleteJeremy Ryan from Defending Wisconsin PAC reports from the Tea Party Rally at the Capitol with special (in a sense of abnormally low intelligence) guest Sarah Palin...
First we show how the tea party folk act they cannot cite any intelligence whatsoever just resort to name calling...
Then we show you when Palin is speaking and you cannot even hear her filth...
They also said Prosser won which is 100% lie as it has not been concluded yet...
Then you see me come face to face with the Anti-American Vicki McKenna., . SHARE!!
http://t.co/TtI2Hb6
The repubs. prefer low I.Q. candidates such as Palin and Santorum. They are perfect, because they are WHITE. What a joke these people are, do they honestly think we can not "read between the lines" of their two-faced bull? W looked and acted more like a neanderthal than any democratic elected official EVER. This is truly disgusting, not funny at all.
ReplyDeleteShe did respond;
ReplyDeleteHowever, Davenport responded to the Weekly, "Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people--mostly people I didn't think would be upset by it."
Here is a better link;
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/119972119.html
The racist bitch's excuse was pathetic. If I met her in person I would rip her fucking eyebrows off. I have had it with these people. Hey Sarah! Here's another one of those "patriots" you keep egging on. The whole lot of them are evil nasty cockroaches. If one more of these pig-fucking racists says they have a bunch of black friends, I'm going to shove an elephant up their ass.
ReplyDeletemake that a live water buffalo followed by a mojave rattlesnake.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a certain thing done to this woman - as well as to Palin - but, I cannot put my wishes in print.
ReplyDeleteBut, this racism we are seeing in the U.S. since President Obama was so handily elected, makes me sick.
I cherish how he rises above it all. President Obama has so much more class than do the majority of Republicans (which includes the Teabaggers!).
Can you even imagine how ugly it would be if Pres. Obama was 100% black?
ReplyDeleteThis makes me sick. President Obama is doing so much good for our country and our image in the world. The ugly racism in America is totally disgusting. When will people grow up here and understand that we are all people with the same hearts, souls, and blood coursing through our veins?
ReplyDeleteI celebrate the differences of our cultures and our heritage. This should be a strength, not a point of hate to others.
You left out the best part. "Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black."
ReplyDeleteIsn't that what all racists say? Didn't the homophobe Palin once say "I have friend who are gay"?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/16/marilyn-davenports-racist_n_850063.html
There is absolutely nothing even remotely funny about this depiction of our President. It is blatantly racist and of course, deeply disrespectful. As a Christian, I hang my head in shame at some of the antics of people who claim to be the same. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
ReplyDeleteNow let me see... the white racists/Republicans/Teapeeers/
ReplyDeleteskinheads/right wing politicians, all chose the white womb they would arrive in when impregnation occurred.
How do they do that? They are so damned arrogant and righteous they must believe they chose their white Republican parents before they were conceived.
It has to be true because the hatred, lies and ugliness that consume their lives negates the idea that they believe in a god or a higher power.
Their ignorance makes clear they know nothing about Christianity. Their spewing of commitment to the Bible tells us they do not know the filth, outrageous laws etc. that are presented in the pages of the Bible and that no intelligent country would embrace the viciousness of Biblical law as printed in those seemingly hallowed pages.
If there is a devil it seems he has invaded the minds of these hypocritical idiots who deem themselves able politicians.
We must work harder than ever to eliminate the possibility of the lying teapeeers and fascist right wingers from stealing our country from the good citizens striving to preserve our personal freedoms.
Immoral Minority
ReplyDelete"President Obama the subject of even more racist Republican e-mails."
What is so fascinating about it is that the people, mostly politicians, who are getting in trouble with acts like this are people who know they will get clobbered if their racist act is exposed, and they do it anyway.
So is it hubris, compulsion, arrogance, or just brain numbing stupidity?
They obviously assume the people who they are exposing their racism to are as racist as they are, which by extension pretty well means every one they associate politically or otherwise is presumed to be racist, including the token Blacks.
It's baffling that they think no one will notice or care.
They all seem so surprised that "their" racist expression is seen as racism.
I don't wish this kind of thing off on Blacks, women, Hispanics, etc., but I am glad it is coming to light because it is showing conservatives for what they are.
And it is hard even for them to deny how ugly it is when it steps out for their dark hatreds into the light of day.
From HuffPo:
ReplyDelete"CBS interviewed former chairman of the California Republican Party Michael Schroeder, who says that this email is Davenport's third strike. He is calling for her resignation, citing two previous incidents in which Davenport defended the racist actions of two fellow Orange County conservatives.
The first was during President Obama's inauguration, when Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose forwarded an email depicting a watermelon patch on the White House lawn to several people. According to Schroeder, Davenport defended Grose amidst calls for his resignation.
Schroeder also says that Davenport defended Newport Councilman Richard Nichols when he opposed installing grassy areas at a beach. His reason, according to the L.A. Times: 'with grass we usually get Mexicans coming in there early in the morning and they claim it as theirs, and it becomes their personal, private grounds all day.'"
*****************************************************
What I find amazing about this is that in the Orange County Republican Party, racist behavior is so de rigueur that you get a three strike policy. One such racist act elsewhere would get you fired instantly. However, in the OCRP such acts are so commonplace that you get at least three before it's a problem.
I suggest that the problem is not with the racist bitch Davenport, but with the entire leadership of the OCRP. If they weren't racists themselves, or at the very least didn't condone and enable racists like Davenport, maybe they wouldn't have the institutionalized problem with racial bigotry that they obviously do.
I suggest that more than a few letters should be written to the National and California GOP demanding that Davenport be removed, the entire leadership structure of the OCRP be removed, and that a thorough, independent investigation be launched which rids the OCRP of its incipient racism. Anything less will smack of a whitewash - pun very much intended - and will guarantee that the problem will remain. How many such instances of racism from a single local GOP organization does it take to prompt the state and national party into action?
I guess we all know what the R in OCRP really stands for.
Please tell me, why the fuck am I supposed to vote Republican?
Winski, I grew up in Orange County, so I know exactly what you're saying. You can thank Walt Disney for a lot of that. Oh yeah, staunch John Bircher, that one.
ReplyDeleteMartha @6:45 - EXCELLENT! And worth repeating:
ReplyDelete500 of them, 5000 of us!! THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ld9K6pNzXo&feature=share
Wonderful video/report, a must see!
These people are a bunch of racist idiots that call themselves Christians,but they really are only hypocrites. This proves that the only reason they do not like Obama is because he is black and smarter than they are.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 6:30pm....Umm...before you get all on your high horse about a "prominent conservative reporting on this"...you might want to read his comments....wait...let me just show you what he said.
ReplyDeleteBigFurHat
April 16th, 2011
There are many black people who look like apes, to deny that means you aren’t paying attention.
Just like some people look like frogs – see Larry King and Don Rickles.
But to imply Obama shouldn’t be president because
Some black people look like apes >Obama is black> Therefore, Obama’s parents are apes > thus, isn’t this a good reason to say he shouldn’t be president?
This is stupid.
This same logic disqualifies West, Sowell, Cain or any other black person from being president, no?
That is the very definition of racism.
Let’s get Obama out of office because he has a horrible agenda… and because his wife is ugly inside and out, no matter what color she is.
If Obama looked like an ape I would be making fun of him for looking like an ape, but not because he’s black.
Not all black people look like apes. To just label him the product of apes is illogical, so it can only be racist.
Bush was compared to a chimp because he made faces that looked like a chimp. We know what Obama’s mother looked like – she wasn’t an ape, didn’t look like an ape. So why say Obama was the product of an ape?
Oh and then he goes and say this...
BigFurHat
April 16th, 2011
If Yaphet Kotto was a Marxist president I would make fun of him for looking like a gorilla and I’d have plausible deniability that I wasn’t being racist. Because there are gorilla qualities in his face. Like Rosie O’Donnell looks like a pig.
So let me get this straight....according to the commenter at 6:30pm Obama doesn't look like a "ape" so this picture is considered racist....but the actor Yaphet Kotto (google him) looks like an "ape" therefore it wouldn't be considered racist to call him an ape.....RIGHTTTTT....Anonymous @ 6:30pm....Oppps...I think your white robe is showing!
Backing up Martha/Ella!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=en7Jw72XKyI
The old white racists are dying out while the country turns more and more "mocha"; more races are mixing and the face of America is definitely evolving. Give things another 20 years or so things will be much different. Whites will then be the minority.
ReplyDeleteI just watched the documentary "Jesus Camp" tonight. These Christian extremists are sick in their souls. They are definitely fighting a war to have a evangelical Christian nation and Sarah Palin is their leader. If you need more evidence that the right wing is populated with some crazy, sick folks watch this film.
ReplyDeleteLemme ask you this, do they not realize this is The President of The United States? Back when Bush was President I would take issue with those who chose to denigrate him with monkey pictures and things like that because he was our President. I didn't agree with most of what he said or did, but still, I'm an American, and no matter what my issues are with the man who lives at 1600 Penn. Ave., he still the President, and there is a basic level of respect is required.
ReplyDelete"Shocking email"
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not shocked by the fact that they did this....
Anon @ 6:58
ReplyDeleteShe did respond;
However, Davenport responded to the Weekly, "Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people--mostly people I didn't think would be upset by it."
Anon @ 6:30 has a link to a conservative website where he has the perfect response to that statement.
"did you send that email to your black friends?" "Guess what your a racist!"
I too am horrified at the amount of racism in our country that has surfaced since President Obama was elected. Perhaps we can now know what it's like to take a few steps as a black american. Still a long way off from the perverbial mile.
I am in total awe how the Obama's have not let this affect them or be distracted by it and have shown so much class thru out all of this.
I am not black but have learn so much from watching them handle a very ugly side of America.
Bush was made to look like incurious George, so this is not always pure racism.
ReplyDeleteto 4:14 am. In the case of this so-called joke, it is blatant racism. And there is no way to explain it away. And, like the teabagger movement, the Republican Party now owns it because no Republican Party leaders speak out against it.
ReplyDeleteaaawwww....I would like to be in that primate family, and have my little face there. Those chimps are adorable. I'd much prefer the company of chimps and and gorillas than a lot of people I know. They're more civilized.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, it's obviously racist and stupid racism as well.
It's pathetic too, that the link that Anon put up on the "prominent conservative website" (yeah right!) contains an entire conversation in the comments about which images of Obama are racist and why. For example, it wouldn't be if he looked more like a chimp, like other blacks, but he doesn't so then yes it's racist. Stuff like that. They just don't get it!
Getting back to the teabagger topic at hand, of course they're racist, and this is just another of the many examples.
But at the same time I don't want to give black people a free ride, either. I know plenty of racist blacks, too. And there are homophobes on both sides of the color line.
And don't forget the infamous "SarahPAC" video depicting Obama as King Kong atop the Empire State Building created by novelist Laura Van Wormer, which was edited out within hours of it being circulated.
ReplyDeleteMicMac
Mariyn Davenport must be retired from any public office.
ReplyDeleteI recieved this racist e-mail from a tea bagger relative in California. He delights in forwarding these things to everyone in his address book. He's a racist ass and former LAPD.
ReplyDeleteWhenever something like this has been uncovered during the 2 years of Obama's presidency, the offenders always give a supremely unconvincing "apology," adding insult to injury by saying that some of their friends are black.
ReplyDeleteThe Republican Party has degenerated into a bunch of religious zealots who are also hypocrites; people who celebrate greed even if they don't personally benefit from it; racists, anti-gay bashers, and misogynists. The sad part is that these racist loons who e-mail or mail out this stuff actually think they are being funy and cute. All they are doing is sowing the seeds of their eventual demise as the country constantly changes and becomes even more diverse.
Another candidate for the 2011 Conservative Sophisticated Humorist of the Year Award.
ReplyDeleteThe Left has Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert while the Right has... a poorly photoshopped racist picture of our black president as an ape.
Nope, just can't stop laughing.....
I am generally not in favor of political correctness, and have often said that anything is forgivable if it's funny. But I don't find this funny. I don't despair though, about the racism we are seeing. I think it is inevitable that the stimulus of a black president is causing the scum, previously hidden in the depths, to rise to the surface where it will evaporate as steam. It's a cleansing process.
ReplyDeletePeople like Marilyn and the other verbal gaffers in Orange County drift further from reality daily. In Costa Mesa, there's a revolt against four city councilmen. The councilmen got "a taste of Wisconsin" and decided to cut half the city workforce. One worker jumped to his death the day that he received his notice. What did the Councilmen do? Party at one of their buddy's Irish bars on St. Patrick's Day!
ReplyDeleteDemography and stupidity like this is going to come crashing down hard on the local GOP here, and they are going to flip the freak out.
What has our country come to? This Republican official should be kicked out of any office related to the government/politics. What disrespect for our president. When will all the putdowns, pickering, and hate end, and people start working together for the good of our country?
ReplyDelete