Time for another edition of "Racist... or Not?"

[mominatrix]

I keep reading this, and the thought in my head is, "omigod, this is totally racist. it is. it is."

...and yet, I'm not entirely sure that's the only way to read it.

===============================
August 21, 2012
Paul Ryan and the Return of Normal
By Betsy M. Galliher


Paul Ryan was simply poetic, campaigning over the weekend with his mother, Betty Douglas, among the same senior citizens whom Democrats claim Ryan and his Medicare reform would purge unmercifully via cliff-dropping. It was visual proof that at least some in the largely reliable senior voting block are not falling for the Obama Mediscare deception. Oh, and Paul Ryan really, really likes his mom.

But Ryan's charm and intelligence weren't what most struck me during his address. What struck me was something far more fundamental -- something I haven't felt for so long that it struck me that I haven't felt this way in a very long time. Normal. And that normal was coming from a politician. Can that be normal?

For all my discontent with the Republican establishment -- my reasoned aversion to government in general -- the Romney campaign had me at Ryan. Ryan's energy, youth, messaging, and smarts are our best hope for articulating economic truth and the limits of government to generations of dependents in a nation indebted, overtaxed, and over-ruled. Dare I say Ryan might return us to some normal?

Are we still allowed to evoke normal? Not just any definition of normal, as progressives would have it, but the definition of normal. The definition based in undeniable truth and virtue. It might sound something like we hold these truths to be self-evident. The common man appears to be demanding its return -- Navy SEALs, Chick-fil-A customers, taxpayers, Tea Partiers, Catholics, gun owners, the caterer at an Obama event donning a Romney campaign shirt, the "Crumb and Get It" Cookie Shop who refused Joe Biden's photo-op, and the vendor who refused an EBT card for the same indulgent desserts other customers must purchase with hard-earned cash. The pitchforks are up. The common man cometh. He's seen "forward," and he wants normal back.

Paul Ryan carries the same proverbial pitchfork, even as a Washington insider. There is something primal in Ryan's appeal, even more than his well-honed math skills and his respect for the taxpayers who provide his paycheck and the God who grants natural rights. It almost seems silly to point out, but considering what we've been through, why not just say it? Ryan reeks of normal -- as our Founders intended those we elect to be. He is a good, old-fashioned American son. Remember them? The kind of real men the Ryan family built? He feels like one of us. He is one of us, which means he's smart enough to know we're not stupid.

He is what we recall of our own youth, before progressive insanity began its creep -- family, church, guns, competition, a penny earned, integrity, the independent spirit, common sense, teachers who demanded respect and a media that earned it, the stars and stripes, and Mom's apple pie -- the blessing of good old, ordinary normal, warts and all. It naturally transcends race, class, and gender. It simply demands character, common sense, and some decent role models. And it's everything the left either rails against or attempts to redefine. It's encouraging, considering Ryan's relative youth, that such normal appears to have survived at all, let alone be on the verge of such a dynamic comeback.

By no fault of his own, Barack Obama was denied nearly any stable or virtuous role model in his youth, which is why he must give illusion to his mysterious, if not fabricated, past. It's not as though we damn such souls to a caste system. On the contrary, even the most disadvantaged citizen has the opportunity to overcome the hardship of his past; that can also be the impetus for his success. It is the very essence of America.
But there's simply no denying that some good old-fashioned, virtuous normal is a real leg up -- far more so than any affirmative action, and certainly more than any progressive, socially engineered, or manufactured fairness. The leftist who votes for the guy who believes that success is handed to a lucky few and systematically denied others, only to be rectified by government dependence and wealth redistribution, might take note of the hard work and sacrifice which compelled his own success before it's too late. Old-fashioned normal might not be in fashion, but it looks pretty good next to record joblessness, economic ruin, and staggering government dependence.

Paul Ryan had a father in his life until the age of 16 and was blessed with three older siblings with whom he lived, and a mom -- a good mom. Barack Obama had a father figure of whom he could only dream, having been virtually abandoned at birth, if not before, only to be replaced by a Muslim stepfather, a radicalized grandfather, and a communist mentor. Barack Obama has evoked his own mother throughout his campaigns -- from Stanley Ann's Kansas roots to her inspiration as community organizer and her much abused, and now debunked, fight with her insurance company on her deathbed. It's not that I don't have compassion, considering the cards a young Barack was dealt. It's just that Obama governs -- fundamentally transforms -- according to his radical upbringing, not in spite of it. It's a "normal" we cannot survive.

For decades we've been redefining normal, adjusting standards, bending the curve. The curve is so inclusive -- who's to say what's normal, according to progressives -- that many simply accept the criminal, amoral, oppressive, rampant rot gut of Washington as the new normal. But the preferred normal looks a lot like Paul Ryan -- moral, humble, and competent. I wouldn't care if he were black, white, purple, or striped. No pedestal, no Greek columns -- just old-fashioned normal, please.

The Medicare and entitlement debate will rage on as we face our inevitable economic comeuppance, hopefully with Paul Ryan leading the reform, held to task by those who value a return to normal. Any healthy society must demand such character of its leaders. A free people can take comfort in normal adults at the helm of America once again. And then the real work -- reclaiming the character of this nation -- will begin.


Read more: www.americanthinker.com/2012/08/paul_ryan_and_the_return_of_normal.html#ixzz24BqfDdFd

[shopgirl07]

Well I don't know if Betsy Galliher is racist (although one could certainly make that argument), but she sure is an asshole.

[ringstrue]

well the "black, white, purple or striped" part is certainly irritating.

IDK if its racist but it certain is eye-roll worthy. WTF does apple pie have to do with anything?

[Deleted]

Oh, I get it. Normal=white.

Yes, racist.

Assclown.

[mominatrix]

Aug 21, 2012 9:29:02 GMT -5 @smorriso said:

Aug 21, 2012 9:25:08 GMT -5 @dontcallmeshirley said:

Oh, I get it. Normal=white.

Yes, racist.

Assclown.

This. Plus all the seeding of black men abandon their children crap is annoying enough. Some of the non bolded crap was more offensive than the bolded. Though that was frustrating as well.

yeah, I'm with you.
though, really, the whole thing should have been bolded.

[NitaX]

Aug 21, 2012 9:25:08 GMT -5 @dontcallmeshirley said:

Oh, I get it. Normal=white.

Yes, racist.

Assclown.

Word. She only threw in the black, stripes, purple shit to get you of track.

I spent my entire time reading this foolishness with my head tilted to the side like a puppy. As in Say What Now?

[llama]

The nostalgia for the "good old days" and "old fashioned America" reeks of, if not flat-out racism (and I'd agree with PPs that it's racist) complete lack of awareness or sensitivity to how those who are not white, upper middle class, straight, generally privileged people might perceive those phrases. These things most certainly do NOT transcend race or class or gender or sexuality.

And plus, if not his race, what makes Obama not an "old fashioned American son"? His story is about as bootstrapsy as one can get in the present day. I guess in the "good old days" the American people would have been barred from electing Obama at all because of his race.

[emmybean]

The founding fathers intended for our elected leaders to be 'normal'?

This bitch needs a twat punch. Like yesterday.

[ringstrue]

ok I only read the bolded :-| :-| :-|

[NitaX]

Aug 21, 2012 9:37:06 GMT -5 llama said:

And plus, if not his race, what makes Obama not an "old fashioned American son"? His story is about as bootstrapsy as one can get in the present day. I guess in the "good old days" the American people would have been barred from electing Obama at all because of his race.

Honestly, this is the type of stuff that pisses me off. It makes me think that the "Bootstraps/American Dream" is only intended for white folks.

Yup. I said it and before I take it back, I'll add more to it.

God forbid that a man born to a divorced single mom be President one day.

And on behalf of all the divorced, single mothers out there, I tell this bitch Fuck you and the horse you rode in on. Life happens Bitch. We can't control what curve balls life will throw our way. What we can do is to make sure the kids we sire have the chance and opportunity to do whatever they want, and we can ensure that they are happy and healthy. Obama's mom did that. Fuck, I did that. And I think T has turned out just fine. And my mom did that, and last I checked I was normal unless I have some horn growing out of my head.

Oh wait, I forget, I'm not normal, I'm just black.

[pixy0stix]

I think Obama represents the typical American more than Ryan does, at least in this day and age.

[Deleted]

nitaw, I love you. HIGH FIVE!

I'm white as the day is long, but my mom was a single divorced mom. I get livid when people criticize single moms. Yeah, my mom is such a fucking failure because her husband cheated on her and walked out. I'm so sorry to have ever burdened the country with my abnormal presence!

Like you say, life throws things at you that you don't plan. Obama's mom played the hand she was dealt and raised her son into a good person. What the hell would this bitch rather she have done? Oh that's right, she shouldn't have gotten knocked up by a Scary Black Man(TM).

[llama]

Aug 21, 2012 9:43:39 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Aug 21, 2012 9:37:06 GMT -5 llama said:

And plus, if not his race, what makes Obama not an "old fashioned American son"? His story is about as bootstrapsy as one can get in the present day. I guess in the "good old days" the American people would have been barred from electing Obama at all because of his race.

Honestly, this is the type of stuff that pisses me off. It makes me think that the "Bootstraps/American Dream" is only intended for white folks.

Yup. I said it and before I take it back, I'll add more to it.

God forbid that a man born to a divorced single mom be President one day.

And on behalf of all the divorced, single mothers out there, I tell this bitch Fuck you and the horse you rode in on. Life happens Bitch. We can't control what curve balls life will throw our way. What we can do is to make sure the kids we sire have the chance and opportunity to do whatever they want, and we can ensure that they are happy and healthy. Obama's mom did that. Fuck, I did that. And I think T has turned out just fine. And my mom did that, and last I checked I was normal unless I have some horn growing out of my head.

Oh wait, I forget, I'm not normal, I'm just black.

:Y: AMEN.

There is no black American Dream. It's only ever Affirmative Action. HTH!

[NitaX]

Aug 21, 2012 9:48:06 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Obama's mom played the hand she was dealt and raised her son into a good person. What the hell would this bitch rather she have done? Oh that's right, she shouldn't have gotten knocked up by a Scary BlackMuslim Man(TM).

You forgot an adjective/descriptor. I insert it for you.

[mominatrix]

Aug 21, 2012 9:44:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I think Obama represents the typical American more than Ryan does, at least in this day and age.

I think this is more the problem than I've been willing to admit.

All this fear and aggression toward Obama... I'm realizing that it's not so much about him, or even about him as a Black man... it's about the real fact that 'normal' or 'ordinary'... or 'American' is changing - has changed - and it's not changing back.

[MrsDL]

Aug 21, 2012 9:44:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I think Obama represents the typical American more than Ryan does, at least in this day and age.

Neither one come close to representing average Americans. That's the problem with goverment right now. Politicans are completely disconnected - Obama included.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2012 9:51:46 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

Although I am white, so I've got that going for me.

Well, that's why our stories are "bootstraps" stories and not ones about how abnormal we are. DUH.

[ladybrettashley]

Aug 21, 2012 9:18:17 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

There is something primal in Ryan's appeal, even more than his well-honed math skills

I don't know if it's racist or not, I just couldn't get over this sentence. LMAO.

[NitaX]

Aug 21, 2012 9:56:33 GMT -5 MrsDL said:

Aug 21, 2012 9:44:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

I think Obama represents the typical American more than Ryan does, at least in this day and age.

Neither one come close to representing average Americans. That's the problem with goverment right now. Politicans are completely disconnected - Obama included.

Then what pray tell is an Average American?

[Deleted]

leaving aside the racism issue, i'm just amused that "guns" is at least two steps more important than "integrity" and four more than "common sense." i'd like anyone with a gun to first have both.

[mominatrix]

Aug 21, 2012 10:00:30 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Aug 21, 2012 9:56:33 GMT -5 MrsDL said:

Neither one come close to representing average Americans. That's the problem with goverment right now. Politicans are completely disconnected - Obama included.

Then what pray tell is an Average American?

...not a Harvard Law graduate, I'd guess.

Obama, Romney, Ryan, Biden... they're all high-achievers compared with the mass of Americans. Lots of doctors and lawyers and champions of business there. Lots and lots of money.
...because some slacker sitting around in his tighty-whiteys playing World of Warcraft while drinking Bud Light isn't exactly the kind of guy who's going to run for President of the US.


But, I'm going back to Jon Stewart on this one... I don't WANT the POTUS to be "average". I want him/her to be exceptional.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2012 10:03:23 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

Aug 21, 2012 10:00:30 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Then what pray tell is an Average American?

Here let me just lay down this inflammatory talk:

Obama is an exceptional American. What he has achieved would be noteworthy if his father were a multi-millionaire with a SAHW who cut fresh flowers for the dining room table every single day. But given what he has overcome to achieve those things, he is exceptional.

Ryan is pretty average.

but but but . . . affirmative action! that explains everything!


lol.

[NitaX]

Momi & SBP -

Then we need to stop selling the American Dream to Average Americans. Because the American Dream is that if you come from a broken background a la Obama, then if you work hard, get an education you can DO ANYTHING (in my Reading Rainbow voice)!

[charminglife]

Aug 21, 2012 9:18:17 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

I

Are we still allowed to evoke normal? Not just any definition of normal, as progressives would have it, but the definition of normal. The definition based in undeniable truth and virtue. It might sound something like we hold these truths to be self-evident. The common man appears to be demanding its return -- Navy SEALs, Chick-fil-A customers, taxpayers, Tea Partiers, Catholics, gun owners, the caterer at an Obama event donning a Romney campaign shirt, the "Crumb and Get It" Cookie Shop who refused Joe Biden's photo-op, and the vendor who refused an EBT card for the same indulgent desserts other customers must purchase with hard-earned cash. The pitchforks are up. The common man cometh. He's seen "forward," and he wants normal back.

So she thinks that conservatives own the word normal?

And yes - this is racist.

[mominatrix]

Aug 21, 2012 10:07:21 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Momi & SBP -

Then we need to stop selling the American Dream to Average Americans. Because the American Dream is that if you come from a broken background a la Obama, then if you work hard, get an education you can DO ANYTHING (in my Reading Rainbow voice)!

Obama's the proof that busting ass gets you places.

It's people who write articles like this who believe that every POTUS should come from a groomed-from-birth environment. Parents with connections and money. Private schools. On and on.

Obama's proof positive that you absolutely don't NEED that to become POTUS. You can be born into "ordinary" or "average" circumstances and get there.

...but (IMHO) you NEED a bunch of stuff he clearly does have... an exceptional intellect. Drive. Ambition. An eye to the long-haul. Uniwllingness to accept the status quo. Willingness to do things like pass up a lucrative - and safe - lawyering career. etc etc etc. It's these things that make him not-average, that make him extraordinary.

The POTUS is one-in-lotsa-millions. One would hope he would be a not-average person. No?

[msmerymac]

I wonder how she feels about Bill Clinton. I mean, he grew up poor and was the son of a single mother.

But something tells me she never spent much time thinking about that.

[Deleted]

I think that while this piece didn't instantly strike me as racist, once I re-read it I certainly felt like this woman is nostalgic for "the good ole days" which to her is a place where marriage is between a man and woman, divorce is rare, and blacks don't have the same rights as whites. So yeah, she's racist. And an asshole.

[MrsAxilla]

I love how she says his background is "mysterious, if not fabricated" and then goes on to tell us exactly what she thinks his background is.

[NitaX]

Aug 21, 2012 10:18:31 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Aug 21, 2012 10:07:21 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Momi & SBP -

Then we need to stop selling the American Dream to Average Americans. Because the American Dream is that if you come from a broken background a la Obama, then if you work hard, get an education you can DO ANYTHING (in my Reading Rainbow voice)!

Obama's the proof that busting ass gets you places.

It's people who write articles like this who believe that every POTUS should come from a groomed-from-birth environment. Parents with connections and money. Private schools. On and on.

Obama's proof positive that you absolutely don't NEED that to become POTUS. You can be born into "ordinary" or "average" circumstances and get there.

...but (IMHO) you NEED a bunch of stuff he clearly does have... an exceptional intellect. Drive. Ambition. An eye to the long-haul. Uniwllingness to accept the status quo. Willingness to do things like pass up a lucrative - and safe - lawyering career. etc etc etc. It's these things that make him not-average, that make him extraordinary.

The POTUS is one-in-lotsa-millions. One would hope he would be a not-average person. No?

Then, no POTUS is ever normal and average.

My qualm isn't that Obama clearly is exceptional because he's the POTUS. My issue is that the author clearly feels that anyone who isn't from her cookie-cutter, white picket fence 2.5 kids and a dog having white bread home is an abnormality. This clear abnormality shouldn't have an opportunity to lead the masses of normal white bread, cookie cutter American legions.

We need to stop attempting to define normality for everyone. No one's situation is exactly the same. We're all unique individuals. There will be commonality between people, but everyone faces a different set of events in their lives.

The golden days of yore for the author are over. Either she needs to figure out Who Moved Her Cheese or she needs to go somewhere and SitDownAndShutTheFuckUp.

[ttt]

Aug 21, 2012 10:18:31 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Aug 21, 2012 10:07:21 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Momi & SBP -

Then we need to stop selling the American Dream to Average Americans. Because the American Dream is that if you come from a broken background a la Obama, then if you work hard, get an education you can DO ANYTHING (in my Reading Rainbow voice)!

Obama's the proof that busting ass affirmative action gets you places.

SHOW US THE COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS, OBAMA!!!