Puerto Rican R speaker shouted down w/"USA"

[mominatrix]

What the everloving fuck?
IMHO, this is worse than the peanuts being thrown at the camerawoman.

============================

A Troubling Chant on the Convention Floor
By Jack Hitt

Political Asylum is the Harpers.org convention blog, written by contributing editors Kevin Baker and Jack Hitt.

An unscripted moment happened late this afternoon that caused the assembled mainstream media to turn away in the hope that it would disappear. As I was standing in line for a sandwich next to an Italian and a Puerto Rican correspondent, a controversy was unfolding on the floor. The RonPaulites, whose furious devotion to a single idea have made them the Ellen Jamesians of the right, were protesting a decision by RNC officials not to seat members of the Maine delegation, which was split between Paul and Romney supporters following rule changes made just prior to the convention. There were energetic shouts of “Aye!” and “Nay!” as a Puerto Rican party functionary—Zoraida Fonalledas, the chairwoman of the Committee on Permanent Organization—took her turn at the main-stage lectern. As she began speaking in her accented English, some in the crowd started shouting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”




The chanting carried on for nearly a minute while most of the other delegates and the media stood by in stunned silence. The Puerto Rican correspondent turned to me and asked, “Is this happening?” I said I honestly didn’t know what was happening—it was astonishing to see all the brittle work of narrative construction that is a modern political convention suddenly crack before our eyes. None of us could quite believe what we were seeing: A sea of twentysomething bowties and cowboy hats morphing into frat bros apparently shrieking over (or at) a Latina. RNC chairman Reince Priebus quickly stepped up and asked for order and respect for the speaker, suggesting that, yeah, what we had just seen might well have been an ugly outburst of nativism.11.

Update, 11:05 p.m.: Buzzfeed’s Zeke Miller suggests in his writeup of the chaos that the “U.S.A.” chant began as a response to chants of “Point of Order” by Ron Paul supporters.

At least half a dozen respected Latino pols are scheduled to talk later on at the convention. I doubt any of them will generate a clip like the one that might be playing wall-to-wall tonight in San Juan and southern Florida.


www.harpers.org/archive/2012/08/hbc-90008805

[Deleted]

I haven't heard of Ellen Jamesians since I read World According to Garp in the 4th grade

(LHC-sometimes I wonder where my mother was....)

[dylanite]

Well, Republicans? That's a wrap. ::Claps emphatically::

Go get Christie on a treadmill and hope he's ready for 2016.

ETA: Unless, goddammit, it had nothing to do with her being puerto rican?

Dammit all to hell.

[Deleted]

Aug 29, 2012 11:35:49 GMT -5 Stan said:

Septimus, I read Irving at that age too, I was thinking the same thing when I read the other thread with the article. Cider House Rules made me pro choice before my parents even talked to me about it.

Cider House Rules did the same for me. I read it at such a young age too. Why mother let me read that stuff is beyond me yet marched down to the library about a young adult book I got at school in 6th grade.

[EllieArroway]

Aug 29, 2012 11:43:54 GMT -5 @mrdobalina said:

Upon watching the video it looks as thought they are shouting down the Ron Paul people. Not all the people are chanting "USA" some are chanting "Point of Order." I don't know what is going on with the Ron Paul people, but I actually don't think this is a racist thing...

This.

Apparently the RNC changed the rules & replaced some of the Paul delegates with Romney supporters (?) so the Paulites were protesting and chanting "seat them now" and Romney delegates started chanting "U.S.A." to drown out the Paulites. All of this was happening as she took the stage, so I don't think it had anything to do with her at all.

[ttt]

OK I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here. But it still looks pretty bad.

[marie427]

See, isn't this nice? We all played nice and got (what seems like) the true story without lys coming in here to tell us that Obama once kicked puppies.