Rep.Steve Cohen wins the Internet with devastating tweet '3/5' on Giuliani’s racism. Stands by tweet

[cal04]

Steve Cohen (D-TN) dipped into American history to deliver a devastating takedown of Rudy Giuliani’s ongoing attempts to show President Barack Obama is insufficiently patriotic.

“Rudy Giuliani questioned how much, or even if, President Obama loves America. Maybe he thinks he loves it 3/5 as much as Giuliani & his pals,” tweeted Cohen, who represents a heavily black district in Memphis.

Cohen, of course, was referring to the infamous Three-Fifths Compromise during the 1787 U.S. Continental Convention, which determined how slaves would be counted when determining population for legislative representation and taxation.

The lawmaker earned bravos from other Twitter users, but some misunderstood it as racist or replied with racist messages or their own.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/rep-steve-cohen-wins-the-internet-with-devastating-35-tweet-on-giulianis-racism/comments/





Tennessee Congressman Stands By Tweet-Shaming Rudy Giuliani for Saying Obama Doesn't Love America
Rep. Steve Cohen sees racial undertones in Rudy Giuliani’s comments about the president’s patriotism.

(snip)
Cohen says he is fed up with people even doubting Obama's patriotism.

"He is the commander in chief, he defends our country, he loves our country. It is not even an issue," Cohen says. "It is just absurd."

But conservatives weren't the only ones calling out Cohen. The Washington Post also took him to task for his tweet, arguing it was a "very good demonstration of how not to elevate the political debate with Rudy Giuliani."

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/tennessee-congressman-stands-by-tweet-shaming-rudy-giuliani-for-saying-obama-doesn-t-love-america-20150220




https://twitter.com/nationaljournal

[malaise]

1. A most profound comment

Rec

[roguevalley]

37. there is irony therre too. Mr. Obama's family on his father's side weren't slaves I believe.

I adore that tweet. I am going to use it.

[malaise]

38. Sadly it will fly past most ReTHUGs and wingnuts

They know nothing about anything in previous constitutions or the current one.

It is a 'quote of beauty'.

[roguevalley]

39. i wish I had known it. It would shut up most of the people I know. :D:D:D

[malaise]

41. I knew it but then I'd better

[Chemisse]

46. Nor on his mother's side.

Racists like to ignore that he if he is half-black, then he is also half-white.

My brother is racist, and he now has two cute little grandsons who are half black. He adores them, by the way, yet amazingly, he continues his racist rants.

I wish this upon all the old white racists who have been so cruel to Obama and his family. May all your grandchildren be African Americans.

[Jamastiene]

51. My first boss was like that.

She hated black people and gay people so much. Her sister is gay and is one of those "ex gay" types who fails miserably at trying to be straight but keeps on trying. One of my ex-boss's kids is lesbian and the other is bisexual and has mixed race kids. She loves the grandchildren, but still keeps the racist and homophobic attitude, from what I have heard from her older kid. Her kids were great kids. She seemed like she was trying to really mess them up when they were growing up, but failed miserably, lol. I was happy to see that she failed at it.

[Chemisse]

53. It's amazing they can maintain a racist mindset

and still love those little grandchildren. What, do they think there is a special exemption for THEIR kids? That nobody will deny their grandchildren a job, that no cop will shoot them in haste due to race?

There must be a whole lot of rationalization and/or reality blocking going on in their brains.

[mercuryblues]

54. People

like that truly believe they are different and special. It is the same when they are collecting SNAP, yet scream fraud and abuse for others who collect it. They are the only ones who deserve it, they really are on hard times. Inflated sense of ego.
I have an aunt whose daughter gets SSDI. She thinks everyone except her daughter is abusing the system. She votes solidly repub, every single election. You know because they want to cut social programs. They somehow think because their family member is not abusing, the cuts won't affect them. She refuses to see that without rental, medical,heating assistance and SSDI her daughter would not be able to live on her own.

The irony was when her daughter moved to a solid red state and found out that all the social benefits she uses were cut by at least 25%. She moved back north because she could not afford to live there. She couldn't even afford the gas to get to her Dr's office and once had to call an ambulance to take her to the ER, because her car was on minus E. She found out what is was to live in Republican Utopia. But her Mom still votes R. Get those leeches off the system.

[tblue37]

57. It is human nature to define in groups (us) and out groups (them),

so although some people are able to expand their perception of who belongs in the in group, some cannot (or will not). For some, expanding the circle is almost automatic. For some it happens only when one of "them" becomes one of "us" in an inescapable way (as when an "outsider" becomes a family member).

But some absolutely will not accept one of "them," even when that person was part of the in group in the first place. Those intransigent types reject and some even viciously attack their own children or other family members if, for example, they come out as gay, or if they in any way associate with someone from the excluded group. Thus parents disown children who date outside their race or religion, or reject grandchildren of mixed race, or refuse to allow their kids' gay friends or friends from other races or religions into their home, even in the cases where they don't completely reject their own child.

In group/out group is a deep strain in our evolved behavior, so it takes a lot of effort and education for a well-meaning society to counter it and to teach people to treat *all* human beings as fully human and therefore not outsiders whom one can abuse and oppress.

Many of us have expanded our perception of in group to include sentient animals, as well, so that we want to see them treated as deserving of protection from abuse and exploitation. But many, probably most, humans not only view animals as "things" that can be treated in any terrible way, but also view huge parts of the human race in the same way. Actually, many are even worse in their perception of humans they view as out group, because they see them not merely as exploitable "things," as they see animals, but as enemies--or probable enemies--so they actually *hate* them and want to destroy them, the way the Nazis sought to exterminate people from despised groups.

[Chemisse]

63. This is important to understand.

And once we understand and acknowledge that it is our nature, that it held an important evolutionary advantage and that it is built into our DNA, then we can rise above it.

I think the difference between those who strive to be nonracist and those who give in to these primitive social behaviors is the desire to seek knowledge and to be open to new ideas, and to keep our animal instincts in check. That's why racists tend to be uneducated, I think.

[tblue37]

64. Yes, which is why I cringe when people claim kids have to "learn" to be racist

or prejudiced against those who are different from themselves. The unfortunate truth is that they must be actively and consistently taught NOT to slip into such prejudice, since suspicion of those who are unlike one's own group is natural (instinctive) and once provided real evolutionary advantage. It's also why baby's fear strangers, but *mainly* strange men.

Stranger fear usually kicks in right about the age when an infant begins to be able to put some distance between itself and its primary caretaker--at crawling age, about 8 months, give or take. Studies show that tall persons, especially those with deep voices, are most likely to trigger stranger fear. Most of those people are men, but unusually tall or deep-voiced women also trigger fear more reliably than small women or those with more "feminine" voices. In nature, of course a strange man would have represented a greater danger to an infant than an unfamiliar woman.

Similarly, during our evolution, strangers were more likely to endanger us than family or clan members. And the more different someone looked from one's own people, the more certain it was that the person was not one of the clan or tribe--and therefore potentially hostile.

Kids need to be taught NOT to automatically suspect or reject those who are different from themselves. If it is left to chance, on the assumption that kids are natural multiculturalists, prejudice will stick deep. In communities where such prejudice is deliberately indulged, coached, and reinforced, it will become almost impossible to root out. That's one reason why it is so important for kids to grow up seeing all kinds of people represented in the media in positive roles, and also why it is so important to make sure their schools, communities, etc., are multiracial and multicultural. They need to grow up seeing those who are not just like them on the surface as members of their own community or "tribe" rather than as part of an alien and hostile out group.

[Chemisse]

65. Very well stated.

[Jamastiene]

62. It is almost as if they become two different people.

One to love the grandkids and one to hate the rest of people of color in the world. I will never understand how they can do it. They should just admit they were wrong to be racist and enjoy those grandkids and all of the people they had been cutting out of their lives to that point. They are truly missing out by refusing to get to know and become friends with people of color.

[tblue37]

56. My father (1921-1992) had the attitudes of his time, too, until my sister adopted

a beautiful black baby girl. My parents adored babies, so as in many families, that lovely baby forced a reconsideration of racist attitudes in the older generation.

[treestar]

58. Yes, good point, like Jebbie and Lou Dobbs claiming

they have Latina wives, so they can't be xenophobic or anti-immigrant.

[mucifer]

52. Yeah, actually he has slave owners in his family tree not slaves. That said,

until he became president, he had the same issues getting a cab and buying things in stores and dealing with police etc that other blacks in the USA deal with.

[Paladin]

2. Suck on THAT one, Rudy. (nt)

[Enrique]

3. Politico doesn't like it

they're trying to make it look like Cohen is crazy for posting such a thing.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/steve-cohen-rudy-giuliani-tweet-115362.html

[Fred Sanders]

5. Of course they do. How can the media demonize Obama if it is just the usual racism at work?

Gulliani has a lot of "pals", as racist and religiously bigoted as him..Rudy is just the point end of the stick.

[jeff47]

19. So Tiger Beat on the Potomac doesn't like it.

Oh noes. Next they will write an article about how dreamy Giuliani is.

[n2doc]

25. Pearls clutched. Check. n/t

[msanthrope]

28. Drag out the fainting couch...nt

[Cha]

32. No, it's calls out how crazy rudy is for running his big ol mouth.

[KamaAina]

4. Steve Cohen rocks! He even tried to join the Congressional Black Caucus

since his Memphis district is majority African American. They turned him down.

[Cali_Democrat]

6. Brilliant tweet. nt

[Dawson Leery]

7. The overt Racism of Rudy G is on display.

Though it has been apparent for some time. His endorsed tactics used against minority communities during the 90's took a toll on his credibility.

[tridim]

8. Nailed it. Thank you Rep. Cohen.

And thank you Internet for the prompt and fantastic ridicule of this asshole.

[Iliyah]

9. K & R!

I'm sick and tired of these assholes, yes, the RWers/GOP/Libertarians always negative and the constant ugly reference about Pres O's life, his color, his religion, and his patriotism.

[KeepItReal]

10. I'm with Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)

Nice work.

[BrotherIvan]

11. Nailed it!

So well done.

[TNNurse]

12. Thank God

Someone good in TN speaking out.

[rtracey]

13. I sait before and I stand by it...

I don't listen to ANYONE named Giuliani who made a name for himself off the deaths of the 9/11 victims. He ever run for president on the thought that he didn't have to campaign, because all of American will think he was the 9/11 hero... you are not a hero, the men and women who went in the buildings, and the ones who didn't come out are the heros. You are an old guy that is trying to become relevant.

[LiberalAndProud]

14. The Washington Posts' impossible dream: "elevate the political debate with Rudy Giuliani"

Like that would ever happen.

[Cha]

33. Really.

[SunSeeker]

59. Exactly. And how is questioning Obama's patriotism a "political debate" anyway?

"Debating" the level of Obama's patriotism amounts to a racist smear. There should be no "elevating" such a "debate" (smear) or sugarcoating it.

[deurbano]

15. Perfect!

[handmade34]

16. Thank you Rep Cohen...

perfectly done!!

[Gothmog]

17. That was a great tweet

[spanone]

18. Rep. Cohen is a strange bird in tennessee....a democratic representative...k&r...

[Fawke Em]

55. Not really, given his district.

His is probably the only one they couldn't gerrymander.

Now, Marsha's district? That one is the very definition of gerrymander. OOF. Couldn't touch a Democrat if it tried.

[hotrod0808]

20. I think

it is perfect. Giuliani blew the dog whistle with a racist comment, and someone responded in kind calling him out. Quid pro quo.

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. good one.

[blm]

22. So perfect - on so many levels.

Thank you for saying this, Rep. Cohen.

[mountain grammy]

23. Good for you, Congressman Cohen.

Rudy deserves it.

[sheshe2]

24. Bravo Rep Cohen.

Brilliant!

[47of74]

26. Fuck Benito Guiliani.

[freshwest]

44. Fitting play on words.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

27. Rep. Cohen

YOU ROCK, SIR!

[Enthusiast]

29. Kicked

and recommended a whole bunch!

Rudy Giuliani, what a maroon! Maybe he thinks the Jebster will pick him up as a running mate.

[Tarheel_Dem]

30. That smackdown might just break Twitter!

[Cha]

31. Oh poor rudy.. calling out his racism.. Good on Steve Cohen!

mahalo cal

[napkinz]

34. K&R!

nt

[napkinz]

35. Giuliani: Obama Had a White Mother, So I’m Not a Racist.

https://www.facebook.com/KharyWI/photos/a.892622980749549.1073741827.892515610760286/958526430825870/

[Sissyk]

36. It's very rare I get to be excited and agree with

something a Tennessee Rep said.

Good for you speaking up and out, Rep. Cohen.

[GoCubsGo]

40. I wish Cohen was my representative. n/t

[joetubes]

42. 3/5 ? +

He is 1/2 white and black so 1/2 + 3/5 = 5/10 + 6/10 = 11/10 = 1 1/10 so he's a 10th better that us white folk

[Long Drive]

49. Than not that

And your point?

[Hekate]

43. Brilliant. Kudos to Representative Cohen

[nikto]

45. Why can't Obama be a good American who loves America, like...uh...

Bibi Netanyahu.

'Er sump'n.

[Duppers]

47. Yay to the power of Tennessee's 9th District

for electing Rep. Steve Cohen! He's spot on here.

[MADem]

48. Damn--straight to the point! Just what I thought when I first heard The Ghoul stepped in it! nt

[paleotn]

50. Right on, Rep Steve Cohen.....

.....Wonderful take down of a racist thug. You're the only member of the Tennessee congressional caucas that makes me proud of my native state. To be honest, that's vintage Steve Cohen. I've followed him since his days in the state senate and as usual, he's 100% spot on.

[Beartracks]

60. In questioning the patriotism of President Obama...

... the GOP also questions the patriotism of the American people who exercised their right (i.e. "the will of the people&quot to vote him into office. TWICE.

This is part and parcel of the Repub meme/fantasy that Democrats aren't "real Americans."

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

[Beartracks]

61. What a maroon! (Giuliani, that is.)

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