Politics: Republican Racism

This sort of stupidity just blows my mind...

From Max at the Huffington Report:

On Friday, February 10, the rock star of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was none other than Ann Coulter. Before an overflow crowd of at least 1000 young right-wing activists, Coulter took her brand of performance art to new heights.

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"I think our motto should be post-9-11, 'raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences.'" (This declaration prompted a boisterous ovation.)

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"There is more dissent on a slave plantation then amongst moderates in the Republican party."

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"Iran is soliciting cartoons on the Holocaust. So far, only Ted Rall, Garry Trudeau, and the NY Times have made submissions."

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After Coulter's speech, I approached Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in the CPAC exhibitor's hall. I asked him what he thought of Coulter's characterization 15 minutes earlier of Muslims as "ragheads." His reply? "I wasn't there so I better not comment."

Coulter is not a fringe element. CPAC is at the heart of conservative Republican politics. They invited her to their annual meeting. She spoke to packed crowds and wildly supportive applause. She's on Fox news on a regular basis, and has an endless stream of books and articles that sell well and are praised by more respected conservatives on a regular basis.

The Republican party controls every level of the Federal government. Many of them are thoughtful, professional, well meaning conservatives. Some are moderates without a racist bone in their body. But it is also clear that many of them are outright bigots, and the thoughtful conservatives and moderates cannot win elections without the votes, money, and support of the racists.