Michele Bachmann accuses President Obama of ‘waving a tar baby in the air’

[MindMover]

Source: NY Daily

Bachmann's press secretary insists Bachmann's statement 'had nothing to do with race'

Michelle Bachmann is back, and as incendiary as ever.

The Minnesota congresswoman and former Republican presidential candidate accused President Obama of "waving a tar baby in the air" on Thursday following his proposals that would give government regulators more authority to limit price manipulation in the oil market.

"This is just about waving a tar baby in the air and saying that something else is a problem," Bachmann told Florida-based conservative news organization Shark Tank on Wednesday.

"I have never seen a more irresponsible president who is infantile in the way that he continually blames everyone else for his failure to first diagnose the problem and second to address the problem. It's always everyone else's fault," the Tea Party darling added.

The term originates from the "Uncle Remus" stories, in which a doll made of tar and turpentine is used to snare Br’er Rabbit.

While "tar baby" is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "something from which it is nearly impossible to extricate oneself," it has long been recognized as a derogatory term for African Americans.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/michele-bachmann-accuses-president-obama-waving-a-tar-baby-air-article-1.1064289

[arcane1]

1. Go ahead then, Michelle: "diagnose the problem" for us

We'll wait.

[Scuba]

2. Michele wanted to make sure none of her supporters forgot that she's a racist...

[tanyev]

3. Uh, Michele, I think the whole point of the tar baby is that you can't wave it in the air.

[lob1]

4. Typical right wing spew. Say something racist,

then blame the media of being racist for calling out your racism.

[CJCRANE]

5. Is it me or do Repubs just take criticisms

leveled at them, replace the name, and use it against their opponents?

"I have never seen a more irresponsible {person} ... who is infantile in the way that he continually blames everyone else for his failure to first diagnose the problem and second to address the problem. It's always everyone else's fault".

[liberal N proud]

6. NOT about race?

How do you get away with that one?


Even Palin wasn't this fucking stupid.

[JoePhilly]

7. Thanks for your input Michelle "Googlie eyes" Bachmann.

What a dunce.

[graywarrior]

8. Is she still around?

[Neoma]

30. She'll probably be off at a distance, like Ann Coulter.

[nolabear]

9. Keep talking. Here, I'll hold your coat. Get you a tea for your throat?

The more they talk, the better our chances.

[Grassy Knoll]

10. Oh Come On People, Both sides do it.....

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. Are you saying those pics represent Dems?

[Tx4obama]

17. No. The sarcasm thingie is just missing ;) n/t

[Marrah_G]

23. the poster was being sarcastic....

[Judi Lynn]

11. She's a vicious idiot. Had hoped we wouldn't be hearing from her again so soon. n/t

[goclark]

49. She probably has a new stupid book coming

out and she wanted to get some publicity.

There are no words to say that are fit for print about this fool.

[cstanleytech]

53. Dont count on it Judi. These new breed of republicans are going to be with us for a long longgg time

[applegrove]

12. Throwing a little red meat to her tea party supporters.

[McCamy Taylor]

13. That doesn't even make any sense. What is he trying to capture?

Votes? That's what politicians do.

I think she just wanted to use the phrase "tar baby" as a euphamism for Black Boy.

[Skittles]

15. seriously

I have to question the intelligence of anyone who throws in "tar baby" in ANY conversation

MYSELF EXCEPTED

[liberalmuse]

16. I'd say that was a very poor choice of words.

*sigh* WTF else is there to say about this ninny?

[gratuitous]

36. The Republicans have so many ninnies

It's hard to pick just one.

Heh, heh, heh. I crack myself up.

Making fun of Bachmann is always a gay old time.

[Gormy Cuss]

55. I'd say it was an intentional choice of words

and an attempt to garner attention.

"Tar baby" was resurrected as a popular term with teabaggers and other conservative Republicans at about the time Obama was nominated.

[polichick]

18. That is one hateful and stupid woman!

[sulphurdunn]

19. Mixed metaphors

are not uncommon, but this may be the first time I ever heard a mixed allusion.

[spiderpig]

20. Have to admit that whenever I see this dingbat's name in a subject line

I just have to look.

I'm running out of words to describe her boundless stupidity.

[ZombieHorde]

21. WTF? nt

[Marrah_G]

22. ..................

[annm4peace]

24. she is a complete embarrassment to the state

Besides being a nut job she is a very hateful person.

When they had redistricted the area they went along a neo-con, Glenn Beck path to make sure they got a neocon elected.
There are so many people who absolutely can't stand her.

She was often protested at events and even when she was just a Legislator in the state there was already a website dedicated to her stupidity.. Dump Michelle Bachman. The progressive news station talked about her at least 1-2x a week because of her stupid remarks or actions.

Now they are redistricted again but this time it includes more democrat areas and hopefully she will be voted out and leave the state.

I hope someone is able to smash a pie in her face at some event.

She does NOT represent the vast majority of MN.. only a certain neo-con'd group of people.

[cactusfractal]

25. Didn't work for Perot either... n/t

[dhill926]

26. atta girl......

sure didn't take long for her to start spewing forth like a gusher of shit again......

[caseymoz]

27. Not racist, just dumber than a box of rocks.

Because a box of rocks wouldn't get a metaphor that wrong. I think she's actually too stupid to be racist. And just so I'm clear, that's not a compliment.

I'm trying to figure out a reason anybody would wave a tar baby in the air. Or why being stuck on one is similar to saying it's somebody else's problem. Or why anybody stuck on a tar baby would attempt to wave it in the air to hide their embarrassment (my best guess at what she means). This definitely has nothing to do with the story in which it appears.

I just have to conclude she's just an idiot who's in danger of wounding herself with a starting pistol after misinterpreting the story of the "Tortoise and the Hare." Or who declares "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" pornography due to the gang bang scene.

We should just send her children's stories and find out what else we can get her to say.

[wordpix]

32. maybe she was saying "tar baby" = "infantile" black president?

Who knows what mixup was swirling in her T-party brain?

[lunasun]

28. omg

[BootinUp]

29. I know its not Christ-like to wish harm on people

but....


What if she lost her voice for a few years, thats not too bad to wish for.

[wordpix]

31. hey, English PhD's, analyze THAT! lol

What a dumbass. She should have been asked why she was using the "tar baby" metaphor. Would love to have heard her answer.

[truthisfreedom]

33. Maybe she meant straw man. At any rate, she just handed a nice load of ammunition to Mr Jim Graves.

He's my girlfriend's boss and he's running against her this year. She's toast. He grew up in her district. He's loved. He is skeleton-free, and he's whip smart.

[annm4peace]

37. I hope he is tough

I hope he doesn't go easy on the horrible remarks she has made and makes.

[sakabatou]

34. *facepalm*

[CBHagman]

35. What in the name of Joel Chandler Harris is she talking about?

You don't wave tar babies, you get stuck on them.

Sort of the way M.B. just did.

[ChazInAz]

38. Right on.

My understanding of the Uncle Remus story is this. (Let's not forget that the stories were African folk wisdom, re-imagined for the harsh reality of slavery in America. Forget Walt Disney.) It's simply a condemnation of racism, and the stupidity of racists and slave holders. After all, how smart do you have to be to know better than thumping on a non-resisting person? Especially after you find yourself thoroughly ensnared in goop? Personally, I love the sly put-down humor of the Remus Stories. Those folks may have been slaves, but they weren't fools.
A fool is someone who hears the story and doesn't understand it. Like Bachman, who didn't even make sense.

[lunatica]

39. Someone should make her the official spokesperson for the GOP

Keep talking Michelle. Please.

[siligut]

40. Does she really think she is being clever with her double entendre?

I can't say what I want to about her.

[obamanut2012]

41. "Waving a tar baby in the air" doesn't even make any sense

As per the B'rer Rabbit story. You CAN'T wave the tar baby, it sticks to you, because it's tar! She has to see it as a dog whistle icon and thus used it. Idiot.

[lunasun]

46. She has to see it as a dog whistle

On the teabagger brain stimulation meter
tar baby is a 9

If she had gotten "Obama" directly in front of , or after the phrase 'tar baby'
possible 10 then

[obamanut2012]

51. lol

Seriously!

[MrScorpio]

42. Check this out:

Notice that she doesn't actually say how or why the President is responsible for making oil prices higher. That's because actually NO president sets the price of oil, The MARKET does. A commodities market that sets that price, through the speculation of futures, with a somewhat tenuous relationship to supply and demand… That's what at work here, not some fiat or the lack thereof coming from the White House. Hell, I don't know all the details about how this works, but even a lay person like me has this basic info down.

All she's doing is demonstrating her own willful ignorance about some things with regard so-called free market principles.

So, is she saying that speculation has no influence on the price of oil?

What is she saying, that speculators don't exist? Then how do they make their money... Magic?

Or perhaps she's not aware that the Congress has so far neglected to fund the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau that itself had established, which is designed to actually regulate out of control speculation. However, as a politician, it's hard for her to hold herself and her colleagues that control Congress responsible when that's where the blame actually lies. I understand that.

But, who cares, right? Just blame Obama.

It's quite clear that she's free to have an audience that will listen to her blame the President about oil prices, because people who hate the President will easily believe anything that she has to say, in spite of how ridiculous it is.

Lastly, by her use of "tar baby"; of course it's a racially tinged phrase. A lot of people on Fox Nation where I originally posted a good part of this essay are getting a chuckle out of it.

But let's SPECULATE that she made an implication on the other definition listed above. That the President is trying to trap his opponents into talking about something that they're not prepared to handle and are willing to demonstrate their woeful ignorance about.

Well, since Rep. Bachmann herself did exactly that, I have to say that she's exactly right.

[ronnie624]

44. A perceptive and insightful comment.

[ehrnst]

43. Quoting Brer Rabbit? I don't know which is more stupid

Racism or using Uncle Remus to illustrate your accusations...

[lunasun]

47. Uncle Remus was smarter than her

[bullwinkle428]

45. If she spews enough racist shit, she may actually have a shot at becoming Palin v2.0.

[pinboy3niner]

50. For your information...

...I am the one who alerted on your post. Just so you know.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

54. And your alert was very successful.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=profile&uid=222002&sub=trans

[cstanleytech]

52. Imo I dont believe she meant it in a racists way though it does show how clueless

she is as well as the people writing her speeches are for failing to realize its potential racists aspects.

[eilen]

56. Wow, if I said that I'd lose my job. nt

[yardwork]

57. Dog whistle to racists.

[sarcasmo]

58. This nut job thought she was Presidential material.

We live in a crazy society.