Can you tell me the Clintons are not racists?

[Why Syzygy]

After watching this?

hillary: 'SPADE WORK' (clinton racist code words)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8oRwZQLdhEw

"As governor of Arkansas, Mr. Clinton signed a law in 1987 that says the top blue star in the state flag symbolizes the Confederacy. Then-Gov. Clinton also issued proclamations designating a birthday memorial for Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy.

"In addition, during his 12 years as governor, Mr. Clinton made no effort to overturn a state law that sets aside the Saturday before Easter as Confederate Flag Day."

In fact, life was so tough for African Americans on Bill and Hillary's Arkansas plantation that the NAACP sued Mr. Clinton under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

"Plaintiffs offered plenty of proof of monolithic voting along racial lines, intimidation of black voters and candidates and other official acts that made voting harder for blacks," the Arkansas Gazette reported December 6, 1989.

The paper added: "the evidence at the trial was indeed overwhelming that the Voting Rights Act had been violated."

A three-judge federal panel ordered Gov. Clinton, along with Arkansas's then-Attorney General Steve Clark and then-Secretary of State William J. McCuen, to redraw electoral districts to maximize black voting strength.

[ShortnFiery]

1. Let us also remember all that Clintonian "Spade Work" and "dog whistle" code language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oRwZQLdhEw

and recently in SC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5oMw2mC7EE

[BlueStater]

2. What bullshit.

I'll vote for Obama but not because of him or his supporters. They sure as hell don't fucking deserve it.

[genna]

3. Arkansas is running along the same racial lines as Mississippi and Alabama or Louisiana

It is a relatively poor state. It is also at the end of the 50 states in educating its citizens.


The kind of systematic and endemic racism that exists there is reminiscent of decades gone by. The NAACP would need to gain a lot more strength and power to defeat all that goes on in these places.


I don't label the Clintons as racists for the Voting Rights violation, the Confederate flag problem, the racial code language or the opportunism they show.


I would say they have relatively poor moral compass and do whatever it takes to win.


In mind's eye, a racist (must be in a position of power) systematically oppresses other people based on an attribute they can do nothing about for gain of some sort. I would accept an argument that their behavior falls along racist tactics.


I don't think you are either are a racist 100% or you are not a racist 0%. I think of racism as a continuum.

[Catherina]

4. I can't watch that tonight. It's been a bad enough week.

They could be. Could not be. Frankly right now, I'd rather not know.

I thought I was a real cynic but this election has really shocked and pained me.

[Perry Logan]

5. The OP is overly racist.

You're implying that African Americans are stupid but are apparently too dense to realize it.

The Clintons have enjoyed strong support with African Americans. If you say the Clintons are racists, you're clearly implying that African American Democrats have been stupid, or easily fooled.

A lesser man would call you a racist. But I think it's just an honest fuck-up on your part.

[Political Heretic]

6. Um, yeah I can say that the Clintons are not racists.

Sheesh.

See my sig? The clintons are STILL not racists.

There's a difference between using race as a political wedge which I believe did happen, and calling someone an actual racist. The two are not the same in my book.

[Window]

7. I don't think they are racists per se , just that they will do whatever is expedient

for their political goals.

[DemVet]

8. Yep. The same way this Confederate soldier is not racist:

[Ian David]

9. The Clintons are not racist. As far as I know. n/t

[curious one]

10. How did we get fooled for 8+ years. Is this the clinton's legacy?

[Spider Jerusalem]

11. Are the Clintons racist? No.

They may not be ablove utilising racism to their advantage at times (they are, after all, politicians), but I don't believe they're racist, and I think it's completely ridiculous to conclude that 'spade work' is some sort of veiled racist terminology; it's a common English idiom that far predates the use of the word 'spade' to refer to blacks (the latter meaning being related etymologically to the phrase 'black as the ace of spades', and not appearing in common usage before the 1930's-1940's; the OED's earliest citation of 'spade-work' dates to 1778).

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

12. I'll say it...

And to suggest otherwise is complete bullshit. First of all, one would have to be an unrepentent moron with a fourth-grade vocabulary to not know that "spade work" is NOT a racial epithet -- you doomed your OP from the get-go with that little nugget of idiocy. Furthermore, there's a reason why African American voters overwhelmingly and enthusiastically supported Bill Clinton for several decades -- he addresses their issues and gets things done.