Lazy, Poor Children
After calling child-labor laws "truly stupid," GOP presidential front-runner Newt Gingrich told an Iowa audience that poor children have "no habits of working" nor getting paid for their endeavors "unless it's illegal." Do all GOP candidates read from the same playbook? They need to overhaul their rhetoric. This is getting tiring.
'Our Blacks'
After Politico revealed Herman Cain's alleged sexual harassment of two National Restaurant Association employees, conservative commentator Ann Coulter went on the attack. She proclaimed, "Our blacks are so much better than their blacks. To become a black Republican, you don't just roll into it … and that's why we have very impressive blacks in the Republican Party." Cain is the best the GOP has to offer? Enough said.
'Your Boy,' the President
MSNBC commentator Pat Buchanan refused to apologize for calling President Obama a "boy" on national television while speaking to the Rev. Al Sharpton about the rancorous debt-ceiling negotiations. The incident sparked an on-air fight that went viral on the Internet. Who is the real boy in this scenario? On the one hand you have the president, and on the other a washed-up commentator. Game over.
'I Love You, Brother'
During the Republican debate in Las Vegas, Rick Perry caused a stir when he referred to Cain as "brother." The Texas governor said, "Herman, I love you brother, but let me tell you something, you don't have to have a big analysis to figure this thing out." He continued, "I'll bump plans with you, brother, and we'll see who has the best idea about how you get this country working again." Oh, brother!
Michelle Obama's 'Uppity-Ism'
Radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh's explanation for why NASCAR fans booed first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden at an appearance was that Mrs. Obama's behavior represents "a little bit of uppity-ism." Oh, come now. Limbaugh is reaching. First ladies are in a class by themselves by the very nature of the title. Nothing uppity about that.
President Obama Is 'Very Bright'
When asked whether President Obama "wants to destroy America," Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) managed to defend and disparage the president, calling him a "very bright" man who loves his country but also someone who, "as an African-American male," received "tremendous advantage" from government programs. Really? Obama is some kind of special, signing up for welfare as a mere child. Could Coburn be speaking of the president's mother, who did collect food stamps?
Show Me the Birth Certificate!
Donald Trump, who considered running as a GOP presidential candidate, swaggered onto The View to discuss his platform and announced that he could beat President Obama. Then he went in for the kill, asking, "Why doesn't he show his birth certificate? … I want him to show his birth certificate!" Tired of "this silliness," President Obama later hit Trump with the rope-a-dope and produced a detailed birth certificate from Hawaii.
Slavery Kept Black Families Intact
Slavery wasn't all bad, according to GOP presidential contender Michele Bachmann, who signed a pledge that said the institution kept black families intact. The pledge (pdf) reads, in part, "sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father … than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American president." Sadly, Bachmann has a warped understanding of history.
Tar Baby
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) apologized to President Barack Obama for using the racist term "tar baby" while discussing his economic policies on a talk radio show. "I don't want to be associated with him. It's like touching a tar baby and you get it, you're stuck." He apologized for his poor choice of words, not for allowing his subconscious to seep to the forefront.
Racism Doesn't Hold Anybody Back
Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain caught heat when he said on Hannity, "I don't have a lot of patience for people who want to blame racism on the fact that some people don't make it in America." He said that his success in business and academic achievements were "walking proof" that racial discrimination does not hinder people. OK, how is that working out for you, Herman?