Republican bigotry roundup, early November edition

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If one were so inclined, one could scan the news over any given 7-day period and find examples of the GOP engaging in bigoted, despicable behavior.  So I did that!  Here we go. 

In the month of November alone, which we’re only 10 days into, there are already numerous examples of right-wing small-mindedness and fear of The Other. 

Perhaps the most striking revelation of recent GOP ass-hatery came on Sunday, when RNC chairman and metaphor-champion Michael Steele said that white Republicans are terrified of him, because of…um…heh, heh…he’s black.  Steele was on TVOne’s ”Washington Watch,” speaking with host Roland Martin when he explained that black skin terrifies white Republicans [via The Hill]:     

 MARTIN: But your candidates got to talk to them. One of the criticisms I’ve always had is Republicans — white Republicans — have been scared of black folks.

STEELE: You’re absolutely right. I mean I’ve been in the room and they’ve been scared of me. I’m like, “I’m on your side”…

So….ok.  I guess that’s a thing we always knew, but know a little more clearly now, that Republicans are afraid of black people.  Steele is a moron, but that guy’s job description gets worse by the day.  That child in the picture above doesn’t seem scared though!  He is literally the only member of the GOP who likes Michael Steele. 

So, we got the racism covered–let’s move on to some good ol’ fashioned sexism.  On Saturday, ThinkProgress reported the following:

“This morning, the House began consideration of the rule for debate of the House health care bill. As the Democratic Women’s Caucus took to the microphone on the House floor to offer their arguments for how the bill would benefit women, House Republicans — led by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) — repeatedly talked over, screamed, and shouted objections. “I object, I object, I object, I object, I object,” Price interjected as Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) tried to hold the floor.”

TP followed up this story today by speaking with Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH), who called the GOP’s actions “disrespectful” and “sexist.”  Kilroy reminded TP that very recently the National Republican Congressional Committee said that Gen. McCrystal should put Nancy Pelosi “in her place,” which Kilroy sees as directly tied to the GOPs intimidation tactics over the weekend.

So there’s the sexism taken care of, now onto the homophobia.  As we all know, the same-sex marriage bill was repealed in Maine last week, and although that was done by Maine voters and not specifically the GOP, that loss for humanity was seen as a gain by loony right-wing Christian organizations.

Oh, and then lastly, Sober Joe Liberman acted reasonably and called a muslim a terrorist when there was no evidence to warrant that claim, other than a fever dream Joe had while hanging from his basement ceiling, suspended by rings embedded in his back.  Maybe some of you out there are saying, “Sober Joe ain’t no Republican,” to which I would reply, “I don’t have time for this nonsense.” 

That these handful of events happened all within the past few days is not surprising, nor is the list exhaustive of all the bigoted things the GOP may have done this week.  They did hit the big 4 pretty hard though: racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia.  

The most important takeaway from all this?  Whenever you hear about the Democrats working for bipartisanship, this is the confederacy of white nationalists and robber barrons whose approval they are seeking.  Keep the above list in mind every time you hear some idiot pundit say the Democrats need to move towards the “center,” because that’s not the way history is moving.