A Media Nation reader sent along a couple of close-up photos of Republican congressional candidate William Hudak’s SUV. You get a much clearer look than in the video I posted last week. Click here for the second photo.
Discover more from Media Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
But I *do* want to protect my country from the enemy within. Within that vehicle, that is. So I guess it’s truth in advertising!
Am I the only one who believes it’s only a matter of time before we learn Hudak’s mom was on welfare and he received free lunches in school?
Where there are Republicans, there is projection.
Wow. That Patrick caricature is a little . . . stereotypical, dontchathink?
And the Obama cartoon was ripped directly from Mad Magazine.
Wonder if he got permission.
Gee, I can’t imagine how he REALLY feels…. *rolls eyes*
It should be noted that these pictures are of the vehicle after it was repainted when Hudak decided to run for Congress. The paint job was different and even more ridiculous prior to his deciding to run.
Does anyone have a picture of the car (or his house) from October/November 2008?
Fantastic journalistic effort, Dan.
“Am I the only one who believes it’s only a matter of time before we learn Hudak’s mom was on welfare and he received free lunches in school?”
Republicans are for welfare (Brown’s mother) before their against it.
In the meantime, I’m thrilled that Hudak might eventually represent my district in DC. How proud I’ll be!
Did the RMV really issue a vanity plate that says NOBAMA? That seems… unlikely.
“Scott Brown, care to comment now?”
I agree with Detective Bosch – that caricature of Gov. Patrick is over the line.
Ikcape says: “Fantastic journalistic effort, Dan.”
Ikcape, if this guy is one of yours, if you endorse the caricatures, the “enemy within” line, the number plate and all that, why not just say so? Embrace the guy and defend his style as befitting a potential member of Congress. Meanwhile, lay off journalists who are trying to find out more about a candidate for office. It’s their job, and when the tables were turned and it was Obama, or Kerry or Barney Frank, you enjoyed it very much.
Jesus, what a whack job. I hope the Democrats have enough horse-sense to plaster this image all over Essex County. Call out this bitter, intolerant, tubby man for what he is.
I hadn’t seen the updated SUV… here are some photos from the teabagger rally in Peabody Square last fall:
http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs196.snc1/6640_134539862703_536162703_3290430_6949469_n.jpg
http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs196.snc1/6640_134539877703_536162703_3290431_4297808_n.jpg
Imagine the left wing version of this truck. Would the owner of said truck have a snowballs chance in hell of getting a nomination, even in Mass. Nope.
… also, if the Republicans banish him or distance themselves from him, do you think he’d run as an independent?
Wow. That picture of Deval could be straight out of the 19th century: http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-segregated/images/trade-card-black.jpg
There seems to be this common technique among the repubs to do the twists on names. It’s positively third-grade stuff.
They certainly back up their claims of being non-elite. A penny is elite compared to these folks.
At least this is a political candidate who is not beating around the bush making us guess where he stands. Political contests should be robust and exciting, and filled with candidates exercising their First Amendment rights.
He’s not going to be collecting votes from liberal Democrats, but that’s okay. At least he’s labeled himself appropriately, and we should all be thankful for that.
The registration plate is a riot. There are only two like that in the state, both on the same vehicle.
“Imagine the left wing version of this truck.”
Okay, I’ll bite. It would be a Vanagon. I know that much.
Decorate it how you will.
Let’s get a photo of Scott Brown’s truck. Then you can compare the loser’s truck with a winner’s.
Focusing on Obama and none of the context, and attributing Obama’s handling of TARP and the Recovery Act as “proof” of his subversive communist ideology is so absurd, no one bothers to raise it in our political discussion and yet Tea Party members who believe it and repeat it and campaign on it are winning statewide elections and serving in the US Congress.
Remember how this came to be. Our financial system was put at risk by business and incompetent government oversight. We faced domestic and international financial ruin while the Bush Administration reassured us that the economy was strong.
Bush’s Secretary of Treasury said give us $750 Billion or die. In an unprecedented act of trust, faith and fear we did give the treasury secretary our money.
This consequence of the numerous well documented acts of incompetence by the Bush Administration swept Obama into office because Obama offered a different seemingly competent approach as compared to McCain’s unimpressive, recycled, thread bare plan.
Obama consulted the best economists, the world’s greatest experts in depression economics, who told him that government must provide the demand to resurrect the economy.
I’m really just endorsing the caricature that Dan is presenting of himself as a dedicated, thorough, and fair- and open-minded journalist.
But I guess you knew that.
I’m not in favor of wing nuts, either left-handed or fight/
right. Typo, sorry.
“I’m really just endorsing the caricature that Dan is presenting of himself as a dedicated, thorough, and fair- and open-minded journalist.”
Someone here is indeed a caricature, cape.
And it’s not who you think.
Based on the lush, green foliage and the 2009 expiration decal on the plate (vanity plates expire in November), it’s obviously not a recent photo. “A” for effort though.
The RMV, led by a Democrat former State Rep., has strict regulations prohibiting offensive wording on plates. Obviously, the plate shown is well within the guidelines.
PS Dan — “Teabagger”, the offensive sexual term used to denigrate Tea Party activists, has been allowed to appear quite a bit in Media Nation since Brown’s victory. Understandably, some here might still be at “anger” in the five stages of grief promulgated by Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Still, that term has no place here. Even Anderson Cooper has apologized for using it.
Fish: I’m supposed to care that it’s a recent photo? I can certainly confirm that it’s Hudak’s vehicle, as it is identical to the one that appears in the video interview Iinked to last Friday, with Hudak himself lovingly pointing out the details. The interview was conducted in July 2009. Hudak had already been a candidate for Congress for 11 months at that point.
As for “teabagger,” I see no particular need to have fussier standards than the New York Times or NPR, both of which have indulged it on occasion.
Poor Harry, can never let an insult be unthrown.
Typical.
Curious how o-FISH and lckape choose to attack not Hudak for his outrageous nutjob views, but Dan Kennedy for having the gall to report on them.
Mao, Stalin, O-Fish?
It is not even the gall of Kennedy to report them that is being critiqued. It’s all-out effort to sabotage using the face of journalism that is being critiqued.
Why shouldn’t a self-proclaimed media critic be critiqued oh his performance? And a performance it is!
Dan has done a wonderful job of creating an exeedingly fine molehill out of a paltry very fine molehill.
He should be complimented on the example he is giving to his students and for all the acolytes who trail behind trying to touch his pen…or laptop…so as to be in the presence of true greatness.
…And the thought of Anderson Cooper and our Dan in the same article? Just so reassuring that the saviors of journalism for future generations have a place of honor in this world!
Mr._b1: I posted once in this thread. If I attacked Dan, I must have missed it. I don’t engage in personal attacks. I find it juvenile.
As for choosing not to attack Mr. Hudak, I share Dan’s philosophy. In fact, I try to live by Dan’s words posted earlier this week.
“I am close to being a First Amendment absolutist, and I gag instinctively at the idea that any form of political speech should be restricted.” — Dan Kennedy
Fish: I thought you were retired. You’re not the government anymore. Go ahead and attack Hudak. It’s your First Amendment right.
Thank God for the First Amendment. Imagine if Hudak were prohibited from expressing himself. We might think he was just another run-of-the-mill politician.
O-Fish: Umm. If you go back to the early stages, you see Rachel Maddow showed a Fox News clip where a purported Fair and Balanced guy suggested we all “tea bag the fools in D.C.” See 00:59:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/09/rachel-maddow-ana-marie-c_n_185445.html
He’s not some crazy liberal out to ridicule the conservatives.
A guy started the TeabagObama site on April 2, two weeks before the protests. He’s not some crazy liberal out to ridicule the conservatives.
And the National Review said “teabagging” started with conservatives:
http://nrd.nationalreview.com/article/?q=Mjk1YmRjNzIxNmUwMTI0ZWYxZWU4OWU2MzFiOWJmNDE=
They’re not some crazy liberals out to ridicule the conservatives.
So, please, for the love of God, quit somehow acting like you know everything — and can tie it into the stages of death! — when you don’t even have the most basic facts right.
“Teabagging” may not be the best word choice, but it’s most certainly not one that was first used by crazy liberals.
“As for choosing not to attack Mr. Hudak, I share Dan’s philosophy.”
Actually, you admitted in an earlier thread that you’ve sent money to the Hudak campaign.
Apparently, it is his philosophy that you share.
A growing number of people are beginning to share that philosophy, Harry, and an increasing number of people are electing not to defend or are actively criticizing the Obama administration for its poor performance.
A recent vote here in Massachusetts, if you recall, upended the political calculus.
I am sure you think the voters were daft, but you may find out that they are sick and tired of the arrogance of power and of liberal entitlement.
We’ll see come November, won’t we?
“A growing number of people are beginning to share that philosophy, Harry,”
Which one? The one that would tolerate what can only be described as racist caricatures on the backs of their vehicles?
The one that posits the lie that tax rates are currently at 99%?
The one that continues to float the proven lie that the elected President was not born in this country?
Not a philosophy I can get behind, as it runs counter to my own conservative leanings and the conservative tradition, one that puts facts and reason above emotion and divisiveness.
“A recent vote here in Massachusetts, if you recall, upended the political calculus.”
It did indeed shine light on the outragous fact that the Senate holds their own rules above that of the Constitution. There is nothing in the Constitution that states you need 60 votes to pass a law.
But I am hoping to see the (at least in part) unconstitutional “Health Care Reform” bill die a quick death.
“We’ll see come November, won’t we?”
The party in power always loses seats in an off-year election. I expect this November will be no different.
And I appreciate you offering your own positions, things that can be reasonably discussed, as opposed to snark and smarm. Much more civilized, ya asked me.
@lkcape: “A growing number of people are beginning to share that philosophy…”
Yeah, I guess three is more than two …
Harry – “the Senate holds their own rules above that of the Constitution”
Huh? The Constitution itself states that the Senate can make its own rules (Article 1, Section 5: “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings”), so this statement makes no sense.
@mike_b1:
probably a lot more than two… thing is if they’re true populists, then why are the tea party attendees allowing themselves to be manipulated by corporate-backed lobbying groups like FreedomWorks?
“The RMV, led by a Democrat former State Rep.,”
DEMOCRATIC former State Rep… I’ve noticed a growing number of references to the “Democrat” Party in the right-wing press/media and even Dubya used the term. That term goes back to the McCarthy era…
It is definitely possible that heterosexuals also “teabag”, which means that playing the homophobia card in this context, is…homophobic.
Meanwhile, it looks like only 35 people have subscribed to the subscription only Newsday:
http://www.observer.com/2010/media/after-three-months-only-35-subscriptions-newsdays-web-site
Dan says “As for “teabagger,” I see no particular need to have fussier standards than the New York Times or NPR, both of which have indulged it on occasion.
Pardon me for thinking that’s like relying on the Ku Klux Klan’s terminology for acceptable terms regarding minorities.
I find the term offensive because it denigrates a great moment in this country’s history.
And I’m not sure why smarminess is the new standard for acceptable commentary.
Steve: My statement makes perfect sense.
The following article should shed some light on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_option
In those cases where the Constitution is silent about how many votes are needed to perform their functions (for example, confirming Supreme Court Justices) a simple majority is needed.
The Constitution is silent about how many votes are needed to pass a law, therefore, constitutionally and (notwithstanding the “Senate Rules) by precedent, only 51 votes are required.
The Senate has (obviously) acknowledged this simple fact, given the gyrations the recent “Gang of 14” went through to circumvent the very Constitution itself.
Again, the article should make this clear.
Senate Rules do not trump the Constitution.
@MeTheSheeple: ““Teabagging” may not be the best word choice, but it’s most certainly not one that was first used by crazy liberals.”
—
Whoa MTS! I never said who used it first, nor did I use the term “crazy liberals.” Your words, not mine. I merely pointed out that the term is now widely recognized as an epithet to describe participants in the Tea Party movement and it has no place here. That is, if the “civil” commenting policy is to be taken seriously. “Tis all.
Not the popular view here, but some people are concerned:
IACOCCA SPEAKS OUT ON OBAMA
Just as true today as it was when his book first came out.
He was, and still is, a brilliant businessman!
Often we need to be reminded of Iococca’s words.
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He’s now 82 years old and has a new book, ‘Where Have All The Leaders Gone?’.
Lee Iacocca Says:
‘Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage with this so called president? We should be screaming bloody murder! We’ve got a gang of tax cheating clueless leftists trying to steer our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even run a ridiculous cash-for-clunkers program without losing $26 billion of the taxpayers’ money, much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, ‘trust me the economy is getting better..’
Better? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned, ‘Titanic’. I’ll give you a sound bite: ‘Throw all the Democrats out along with Obama!’
You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore..
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.. While we’re fiddling in Afghanistan , Iran is completing their nuclear bombs and missiles and nobody seems to know what to do. And the liberal press is waving ‘pom-poms’ instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of the ‘ America ‘ my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I’ve had enough. How about you?
I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have. The Biggest ‘C’ is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C’s of leadership, with crisis being the first.)
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with thumb up your butt and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here’s where we stand.
We’re immersed in a bloody war now with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. But our soldiers are dying daily.
We’re running the biggest deficit in the history of the world, and it’s getting worse every day!
We’ve lost the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are going to skyrock again, and nobody in power has a lucid plan to open drilling to solve the problem. This country has the largest oil reserves in the WORLD, and we cannot drill for it because the politicians have been bought by the flea-hugging environmentalists.
Our schools are in a complete disaster because of the teachers union.
Our borders are like sieves and they want to give all illegals amnesty and free healthcare.
The middle class is being squeezed to death every day.
These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you’ve got to ask: ‘Where have all the leaders gone?’ Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We’ve spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping the government will make it better for them. Now, that’s just crazy.. Deal with life.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when ‘The Big Three’ referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, look what Obama did about it!
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving theenergy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the Chicago gangsters in Congress. We didn’t elect you to turn this country into a losing European Socialist state. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on NBC or CNN news will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough? Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I’m trying to light a fire. I’m speaking out because I have hope – I believe in America . In my lifetime, I’ve had the privilege of living through some of America ‘s greatest moments. I’ve also experienced some of our worst crises: The ‘Great Depression,’ ‘World War II,’ the ‘Korean War,’ the ‘Kennedy Assassination,’ the ‘Vietnam War,’ the 1970’s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years since 9/11.
Newshound: You do realize that Iacocca was criticizing Bush, and that this dates from 2007, right? Your intro suggests that you do understand, but I’m not sure readers will. As Snopes.com explains, some Republicans have rewritten this to make it appear that Iacocca was going after Obama.
@Dan Kennedy: “Go ahead and attack Hudak. It’s your First Amendment right.”
—
Dan, the right to attack is also the right NOT to attack. I’ll keep my powder dry for something more egregious.
@Harrybosch: “…what can only be described as racist caricatures…”
—
Harry, you’re kidding, right? American political cartoons date back to colonial times. Is it now racist to display a caricature of a black politician? I’m sure Obama and Patrick can handle the images shown. If not, surely they can speak for themselves.
By appointing yourself protector of the eyes and egos of our black leaders, you give the impression that they can’t handle it on their own. I’m sure you don’t intend it, but by setting such low expectations for them, you yourself peddle in soft bigotry.
“Is it now racist to display a caricature of a black politician?”
Black politicians and public figures are caricatured and lampooned in editorial cartoons in respectable newspapers every day, often hilariously.
But they manage to do so (for the most part) without using echoes of long discredited and clearly stereotypical archetypes most of us thought long ago had been consigned to a shameful history. Most of us.
As for the rest of what you wrote, I’ll simply let it speak for itself.
Newshound, you should know better. That Iacocca rant was from a book he co-wrote in 2007. In its original form (you know, what he really wrote in the book) it was a condemnation of the Bush administration. It’s been passed around since then, its text doctored to as to condemn Obama.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/iacocca.asp
Let’s recap: this was written in 2007 about the Bush administration.
Pathetic.
This is a good clearinghouse for all of the various forwarded emails of ill-repute that pollute our inboxes from time-to-time:
MyRightWingDad.net is a museum dedicated to following the course of American history through a unique lens — the emails “Red-America” forwards worldwide.
http://rightwingdad.net/
Harry – it really does take only 51 votes to pass any bill or confirm any nominee in the Senate.
It just takes 60 votes to end debate, by Senate rules that are sanctioned by the Constitution.
Such a riot. Change a few words and the shoe still fits. Except for taking off shoes and throwing away shampoo at the airport, and a couple of other observations. What a decade! Thank God for the First Amendment.
Rome wasn’t built overnight. Once broken though – – – not such a pretty picture. We have to pray for the president, the Democrats and the Republicans that none of this applies soon.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be out of this mess: more cost efficient delivery of health care, stabilized energy prices that are affordable, honest corporate leaders who don’t eat the workers’ lunch and the stockholder’s dinner, elimination of the growing carbon footprint, return of a stronger manufacturing base with reduced unemployment, and debt a much smaller fraction of gross domestic product. Elimination of hunger, poverty, educationally deprived, and homelessness. That’s not the whole list, of course. Peace on earth, too.
If our Mr. Brown is significant in solving much of this he should look quite exhausted next time he is up for a photo shoot, but wouldn’t it be great if he and his new associates in Washington are successful for us.
“It just takes 60 votes to end debate, by Senate rules that are sanctioned by the Constitution.”
Steve, you either didn’t read my link or are just having fun with me. Or maybe it’s just semantics.
Regardless, the majority party in the Senate can end a filibuster (a word that appears nowhere in the Constitution, by the way) anytime they want to with 51 votes.
If the Democrats truly wanted to pass Health Care Reform, they could do it tomorrow.
I want to get this straight: only black people can (should?) be offended by racist caricatures of blacks because a white person taking offense is somehow keeping African-Americans down? I’d like to hear an explanation of how a depiction of Deval Patrick which is virtually identical to racist 19th century advertising depictions of African-Americans isn’t racist. I don’t know what to think about the fact that you apparently don’t notice the similarities or, more to the point, care.
The Iacocca piece just kills me. People must sit around right wing think tanks all day long rewriting this stuff to send out as emails and people who can’t or won’t think critically just lap it up.
Dot – I’m not sure what you mean. This mess we’re in is not the fault of one corporate leader, one member of Congress, one President, or hardly one devoted worker.
We have evolved into numerous problems much of it created and contributed to by hard working people – – – people who worked in the trades building too many houses, real estate appraisers who kept upping values, real estate brokers who quickly sold housing units at higher prices, banks and lenders who competed graciously to extend the next home loan, scientists who developed newer, better and stronger drugs and better machinery to detect illness at higher costs, and consumers who bought value oriented merchandise imported at prices lower than USA manufacturing costs.
We fell into this mess. It is darn hard to come up with a solution that works.
I think the vice president said something to the effect that “there is a 30% chance we’ll have it wrong.” I know the number is arbitrary, but the point is we have to try, somehow, and hope somehow we’re on the 70% side.
It is a shame we have so many quality people either unemployed or underemployed, or so many financially stressed over medical costs, so many small, and large, businesses suffering – – – businesses we need to thrive so they can pay hefty taxes.
The victims are diverse. There are the radicals who seem to over decorate their car, and thankfully those who keep the First Amendment alive with criticism, and in a way that is all constructive, too, but the real construction will come from government and business leaders coming together to turn this choas into productivity that benefits everyone, in particular, the average, every day, devoted worker employed within their expertise and pleasure.
Thank you for the lecture Newshound. My point is that someone obviously took the time to rewrite the Iacocca rant to apply it to Obama. Once it has been disseminated to thousands of non-critical thinkers via email, it doesn’t really matter if Iacocca wrote it or not. If it isn’t the truth, it at least conforms to an alternate reality created by right-wing fantasists and is therefore accepted as fact. It’s hard to combat that kind of disinformation.
The important think to keep in mind about Lee Iacocca is that he would never, ever criticize a president who’s bailed out an auto company.
Dec. 19,2008 “President George W. Bush stepped in Friday to keep America’s auto industry afloat, announcing a $17.4 billion bailout for GM and Chrysler, with the terms of the loans requiring that the firms radically restructure and show they can become profitable soon.”
March 30, 2009 “And so today I’m announcing that my administration will offer GM and Chrysler a limited additional period of time to work with creditors, unions, and other stakeholders to fundamentally restructure in a way that would justify an investment of additional taxpayer dollars.”
Not everything is Right or Left – – – the problems or the solutions. Neither President Bush nor President Obama should be blamed for the auto industry. It happened and the blame can be widespread. Both administrations made effort to solve the problem or soften the discomfort.
We’re fortunate to have freedom of speech in this country and much that Mr. Iacocca wrote while Mr. Bush was president can still be applied, unfortunately, even if the work of something “created by right-wing fantasists.” It is freedom of speech along with right-wing and left wing fantasists that help steer us to the middle. As said earlier, we are fortunate the Congressional candidate has made his position clear.
President Bush was not a right-wing screwball, nor is President Obama a liberal screwball. Fortunately, both were and are serious about working hard at extraordinary challenges and neither has had the level of success any of us desire. Not all their fault. Either one of them.
Funny comparison though: the real Mr. Iacocca and the fake “fantasist” Mr. Iacocca are not that much different. They both, overall, make the same point.
Dot, you have every right to be offended by whatever you choose to be offended by, but if the actual subject of the caricature, a highly educated lawyer and Governor, isn’t offended, then your grievances ring a bit hollow.
Cries of Hudak’s “racism” by some here while Governor Patrick expresses no concern, remind me of Münchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP), a disorder in which a caregiver tries to convince others that a healthy child has medical problems. MSbP was named after Baron von Munchausen, an 18th-century German dignitary known for telling outlandish stories.
It’s best to avoid becoming aggrieved by proxy. One of the darkest chapters in American cartoon history was the racist depiction of the Irish as sub-human with animalistic, ape-like features. Our last President, George W. Bush, traces much of his ancestry to Ireland, yet he was depicted as a chimp for his entire presidency. He didn’t make a big deal of it, nor did I. Did you?
The extreme rant some people disseminate is a welcome reminder of the freedoms in this country and those issues and positions which are most important to them. As such, we should be thankful for Mr. Hudak contributing so bluntly to the public discussion.
If he is truly doing this with the expectation of harvesting enough votes for a victory many of us I think can be quite comfortable predicting his disappointment. More importantly to him though, is that his objective may be merely to attract attention to his political opinion.
Most, but not all, who are elected assume a more responsible position to merge their own political beliefs with that of the mainstream of voters. I have seen Rep. Frank riding in a car without banners and advertising when there was a president of the other party. Tip O’Neil didn’t have his car decorated like that either when there was a president of the opposite party.
There was a time, too, when our Congressional delegation could have expressed themselves with a drawing of a big set of lips running the length of their car “Read my Lips!” Obviously, there are varying levels of dignity. At the time, there was a president who had to break the integrity of his campaign promise about new taxes and work with our congressional delegation for what they believed was in the best interest of the country and its people.
Ironically, this president who would like to be more generous is logically backed into a corner to tighten the spending reins.
Thank goodness for the ranters and the likes of Mr. Hudak, and thank goodness that we, in the end, are governed and represented with, usually, as we demand, people more representative of middle ground and who display more dignity.
The president did express that he welcomes better ideas than those of his own. Not a bad.
Now O-Fish is playing psychologist, too. Stellar.
“It’s best to avoid becoming aggrieved by proxy.”
Hilarious.
Setting aside your recent claiming of Martin Luther King as your own, yet seeing nothing at all racist in Patrick’s caricature, the above calls to mind your recent statement:
“The “nothing to see here” attitude smacks of the dismissive tone when Coakley’s goon assaulted the reporter.”
Given your blatant inconsistency bordering on hypocrisy, I am beginning to think you are not a serious person.
And you know I’m not African-American or have African-American relatives how, exactly? As for aggrieved by proxy, well, William Lloyd Garrison and Abraham Lincoln should have just kept their mouths shut, right? Furthermore, Lincoln freeing the slaves is exactly the kind of big government vote pandering states rights interfering action conservatives today would hate.
Dot, It’s not that O-FISH-L is blind to racism, it’s that he’s deaf to it.
The most subversive part of the “bumper sticker” is
“FROM THE ENEMY WITHIN”
calling Pelosi, Obama and Patrick the enemy. They are all lected officials, elected by a majority of their constituents.
You can and should disagree with them on policy but if you believe in our system of government, calling them “enemies” of our nations cornerstone values is just as subversive as any other effort to undermine our democratic republic.
For the sake of argument, I will stipulate that the Patrick caricature depicted is racist. That said, any idea why His Excellency the Governor hasn’t spoken out about it yet? Certainly his bevy of aides are tuned in here and he’s aware of it. To overlook racism is to condone it. While I disagree with Patrick on most issues, I think we agree that racism should never be condoned.
Further, and to his credit, our host Dan Kennedy made fast work of contacting Sen.-elect Brown’s office and getting a statement on Hudak, yet there is nothing from the governor on Hudak. What does Patrick say, about the truck especially? Perhaps you could follow-up, Dan.
I was trained under the philosophy, “no victim, no crime.” While some of you –to whatever degree of seriousness- seem highly offended by the caricature, I think it’s only Governor Patrick, not the bystanders, who could claim a violation of civil rights here. I haven’t heard Patrick making any such claim yet, nor do I expect it. He’s actually trained in the law, after all.
I would think your extensive training in law would have clued you in that sometimes crimes aren’t reported, and that there is no relief available to the Governor under the law. So I wouldn’t take it that the absence of comment means he wouldn’t care. My guess is that he has no clue about Hudak’s truck. And I love the way you set the terms–“to overlok racism is to condone it” yet when people do call it out you accuse people of being aggrieved by proxy. Your argument is an intellectual mess. The caricature is racist and offensive. Next you’ll tell me that I can’t be offended by Mickey Rooney’s role in Breakfast at Tiffanys because I’m not Asian. Tell you what though. Put that caricature on a t-shirt, walk the length of Blue Hill Avenue, and see exactly how aggrieved people are.
@Dot: “And I love the way you set the terms–”to overlook racism is to condone it” yet when people do call it out you accuse people of being aggrieved by proxy. Your argument is an intellectual mess.”
—
Dot, do you really believe that a Milton Academy, Harvard College and Harvard Law grad needs anyone on Media Nation to “call out” a racist cartoon aimed at him? If there were any concern by Patrick or the experts who handle him, the special State Police detail assigned to the governor would have already seized the SUV shown and revoked the NOBAMA plates. Obviously, there is no concern, except for a few busy bodies here.
I’m not sure how my “argument” is an “intellectual mess” when the person depicted in the caricature seems to have no problem with it.
The person depicted a) probably doesn’t know about it and b) if he does, recognizes that calling attention to it won’t solve anything.
That’s why we have the press. Duh.
Let me first state that I’m glad Hudak has that on his truck, because it clearly telegraphs his intentions. Freedom of speech is wonderful thing because so many people avail themselves of it.
But since the cartoon depicts an individual, no one else can be offended. Got it. Now take the same caricature and put “This is America. Pull your weight. No handouts” under it, without Patrick’s name. What do you have in that case? In other words, using 19th century racist imagery to depict an individual does aggrieve others who understand the role of such imagery in denigrating an entire race of people for over a hundred years. Does the Governor need to speak out about it? If someone in the public eye takes the time to respond to every slight and criticism nothing would ever be accomplished. You can drag out the red herrings all you want, but your argument will only stink of fish.
Fish wants to narrow the discussion to frame the topic as a question of whether Duval Patrick is “personally insulted” by Hudak’s truck graphics. That, according to Fish is the only measure of the issue. Fish then asserts that Duval is not offended (without any evidence) thereby concluding that scrutiny of Hudak is nothing more than “Gladis Kravitz” behavior by Dan Kennedy and other commenters.
Dan and some of his readers (but not Fish) look at Hudak and his truck an ask themselves: Do I want to elect a race-baiting yahoo who believes demonstrably untrue assertions about Barack Obama’s nationality, and what’s up with those arguably racist cartoons on his truck?
@Dot: “Now take the same caricature and put “This is America. Pull your weight. No handouts” under it, without Patrick’s name. What do you have in that case?”
—
Dot, if one must engage in hypotheticals and imagine words that aren’t there, I rest my case.
@mikeb_1: “The person depicted a) probably doesn’t know about it and b) if he does, recognizes that calling attention to it won’t solve anything.”
—
That’s a damning indictment of Governor Patrick, don’t you think? Are you really suggesting that he would turn a blind eye to any form of racism directed at him by a candidate for Congress? Wow. I seriously doubt that he would. You’re right about one thing, the media has a role here. Too bad no reporter has asked Patrick how he feels about the sticker. The racism angle is just too good to check, maybe? Can there be any doubt that if Patrick saw anything racially offensive about the truck, he wouldn’t ignore it but would follow the words of a great Republican leader?
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” —Martin Luther King, Jr. (R-GA).
If I were the governor I would ignore whatever the Congressional candidate had on his car. In this case, my view would be that the intent of the message fails due to its lack of dignity and respect. We know what the candidate doesn’t like.
What does he like, what will he do, how will it accomplish his goals with success, and will he proceed with the class and dignity voters desire and expect?
“The Republican platform reads as if it were written by a Klansman.” — Imperial Wizard of the KKK Bill Wilkinson in 1980.
@Fish: Are you saying you support Dr. King? If so, did you lock up every member of the Aryan Nation and the other racist scum walking the streets of Milton or wherever it was you claim to have been a cop?