"It’s racist, it’s homophobic, and it’s really cowardly.”

It's a billboard that dares to criticize the One:

So a full scale investigation of the artist and the potential patron of the critical billboard ensues, natch:

While it’s unknown who paid for the billboard, the artist is Loma resident Paul Snover.

“I am not allowed to say who (paid for it) at this time,” Snover said in an e-mail Tuesday. “If it had been me, I would have included the Republicans as part of the problem.”

Still, Snover’s political views are well-known. An Internet search of the self-described “constitutionalist libertarian” revealed numerous blog postings in which he talks about his support for tea party and 9/12 groups.

“The Constitution has been thrown in the trash and burned by our very own government and we the people watched TV while America burned! The enemy is not at the gate, it is a cancer within our own borders,” Snover wrote on the Mesa County Second Amendment Task Force website. “From what I have learned of history and what I see going on in all levels of government, I can but conclude that there is no constitutional republic any more, only a sick tyrannical twisted dictatorship. “

Mesa County Democratic Party Chairwoman Martelle Daniels called the billboard racist and homophobic, while her GOP counterpart, Mesa County Republican Party Chairman Chuck Pabst, called it “juvenile.”

It's also called free speech which is something that is beyond reproach when an artist uses bodily waste to depict the Virgin Mary or Jesus.  Heck, the government has even paid for that "art" in the past.  And, of course, we all know how the left was completely respectful in their criticism of Bush don't we?  I am sure there were news articles condemning all the hate speech - somewhere - if you come across one let me know.

Via Memeorandum
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Media Gunning for Rand Paul

Since Obama is 0 for 4 campaigning for candidates in key elections, Rand Paul has decided to invite Obama to come campaign for his Democratic opponent in Kentucky's Senate race. Paul may as well get his licks in because the ObamaMedia is gunning for him. Look at the growing thread on Memeorandum, nearly all the usual suspects have taken it on themselves to create an impression Paul is a racist. That's original.

The left-wing media machine suspects that Paul may be vulnerable in the general election and are doing their level best to take him down early.  Anyone recall that sort of treatment being directed towards the man who now resides at Pennsylvania Avenue?  I don't.  Paul, who has been designated the "tea party" candidate will be painted with the same racist brush the media reserves for anything that falls to the right of David Brooks.  Althouse suspects the left may be terrified of Paul.  Perhaps they are.  Paul is decidedly unafraid of Obama and his agenda, however.  Both are incredibly unpopular in Kentucky which is why Paul should invite the Obama administration into every discussion.  What better way to start his campaign than inviting the President to come on down to work that campaign magic of his in Kentucky:

SEIU Executive VP Warns: "Black people get scared"

Via Breitbart & Naked Emperor News comes this revealing video clip of SEIU Executive VP Gerry Hudson discussing opposition to immigration reform. Language warning applies here which is why I didn't highlight the most startling line from this clip in the headline. SEIU and other union leaders betray their own membership in pushing for immigration reform largely so they have the opportunity to add newly legal immigrants to their union rolls to fill their coffers. How to counter that opposition, why paint them all as racists and their black membership as unwitting dupes of white racists manipulating them into being scared of losing jobs to a huge influx of newly legal immigrants. What's that unemployment rate at these days? Can't be that, it has to be the opposition is "so f***ing rabidly racist. He isn't really worried about opposition from the black community though, "it doesn't take a whole lot to argue African-American workers to another place." Essentially the message is they're pretty easily manipulated if you tell them look over there at all those white racists. Nice, shows great respect for the African-Americans he represents doesn't it?



Many thanks to Dan Riehl for linking

More at Potluck

Rush Limbaugh's Criticism of McNabb in Context

The controversy surrounding Donovan McNabb's tenure as quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles began long before Rush Limbaugh's assessment of his potential as a top rated NFL quarterback. Perhaps the liberals who seem so desperate to paint Limbaugh as an unrepentant racist they would be willing to make up quotes out of whole cloth, should examine the truth of Limbaugh's statement in 2003 in light of the criticism of McNabb by many others.  McNabb's rocky start in Philadelphia started with criticism from a prominent political figure and that politician is none other than former Philadelphia mayor and current PA Governor Ed Rendell:

In the spring before the 1999 NFL Draft, Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell had a message for the Eagles organization:

“If you don't draft Ricky Williams, we'll all meet at city hall and burn the Vet down.”

Of course Rendell was not making a racist statement about McNabb because Williams is also an African-American.  Rendell merely believed Williams had greater potential and Rendell of course was wrong.  His controversial intervention in the selection of a team quarterback fueled criticism of McNabb from his earliest days as Eagles quarterback.  Some may recall a local radio station rented a bus and selected thirty fans referred to as the "Dirty Thirty," to travel to the NFL draft to boo McNabb off the stage when he was selected by Andy Reid.  Nasty yes, racist no.

The question in fans minds whether McNabb is the quarterback who can bring Philadelphia a Super Bowl victory has lingered long after the Dirty Thirty faded from the headlines.  When Limbaugh criticized McNabb in 2003 he suggested that sportscasters had been rooting for McNabb's success because he was black.  His words were immediately characterized as racist precisely because it was Limbaugh who spoke them.  Few spoke in Limbaugh's defense save one liberal writer Allen Barra in an article for Slate:

In his notorious ESPN comments last Sunday night, Rush Limbaugh said he never thought the Philadelphia Eagles' Donovan McNabb was "that good of a quarterback."

If Limbaugh were a more astute analyst, he would have been even harsher and said, "Donovan McNabb is barely a mediocre quarterback." But other than that, Limbaugh pretty much spoke the truth. Limbaugh lost his job for saying in public what many football fans and analysts have been saying privately for the past couple of seasons.

Barra then addresses the question of whether some in the media have wanted him to be successful because he is black:

Consequently, it is equally absurd to say that the sports media haven't overrated Donovan McNabb because he's black. I'm sorry to have to say it; he is the quarterback for a team I root for. Instead of calling him overrated, I wish I could be admiring his Super Bowl rings. But the truth is that I and a great many other sportswriters have chosen for the past few years to see McNabb as a better player than he has been because we want him to be.

Rush Limbaugh didn't say Donovan McNabb was a bad quarterback because he is black. He said the media have overrated McNabb because he is black, and Limbaugh is right. He didn't say anything that he shouldn't have said, and in fact he said things that other commentators should have been saying for some time now. I should have said them myself. I mean, if they didn't hire Rush Limbaugh to say things like this, what did they hire him for? To talk about the prevent defense?

No One's Buying the Racism Smear

Rasmusssen has polling results showing likely voters reject the latest argument from Democrats that opponents of Obama's health care reform are doing so because they are racists. In fact, only 12% agree overall that opponents of health care reform are racists. Here is the breakdown by party:

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Republicans reject the notion that most of the opponents are racist. So do 78% of voters not affiliated with either major party. However, just 39% of Democrats share that view. Twenty-two percent (22%) of those in the president’s party say that most of the opposition to his plan comes from racists, and another 39% are not sure.

It is no surprise that 88% of Republicans reject such an argument. The problematic numbers are the 78% of unafilliated voters rejecting this premise and low agreement among Democrats. In short, no one is buying it.

Democrats, liberal bloggers and MSM continue to tinge every argument that opposes Obama's policies with charges of racism. They do so at their peril.  After a brief bump in support for health care reform after the joint address to Congress, opposition is now at an all time high of 55% among likely voters.  Dismissing legitimate concerns of voters about policies that affect their everyday lives as racist will only anger them.   As Charles Krauthammer said yesterday, "the accusation of racism is a sign of desperation by people that know they are losing the national debate:"



H/T: Memeorandum and Nice Deb

Charges of Racism in Beating on Belleville Area School Bus

Via Michelle Malkin  StlToday.com has a story of a beating that took place on a school bus that was first reported to be racially motivated and unprovoked.   A spokesmsan for the Belleville police now claims, after reviewing the tape, the beating may not be racially motivated.  Watch for yourselves and decide: 

As a parent, my heart aches for this boy who was beaten in what appears to be an entirely uprovoked incident.  The boy enters the bus looking for a seat and finds an open one next to one African American student and sits down.  It is clear the boy is unwelcome as he is shoved a few times in an effort to eject him from his seat.  Whatever the motivation, it is clear this boy is bullied and beaten for no apparent reason. Worse still, the bus driver is nowhere to be found and rather than calm things down other students cheer and egg the beating on.

The post at StLToday.com notes the area has a history of racial problems including; "police harassment of black motorists, cross burnings and discrimination in city hiring." While such practices are abhorrent, they are not justification for a black student to take revenge against the white student who is in no position to have committed any such offenses. It is unclear from the tape, however, what motivated the one student to begin beating the other. The motivation can only be determined after interviewing the students involved as well as witnesses.

If the situation were reversed, leaders such as Rev. Al Sharpton and yes, even President Obama would likely ascribe racial motivations to the beating after a cursory review of the evidence as the police captain did in this situation. Charging racism first and asking questions later only fans the flames of hatred that perpetuate racist beliefs rather than eradicate them. If the beating were to be racially motivated, it is time for the left and leaders such as Rev. Sharpton to condemn the hatred rather than flame it. All children black, white and everything in between should be able to ride their school bus without fear.

H/T Memeorandum