Pinellas County, FL, assistant state attorney defends racist picture of Obama on GOP website

[madfloridian]

on Facebook. I guess I should be surprised that an assistant state attorney would defend this, but I'm not. At least some Democrats are speaking out as well as some Republicans.

Hat tip to Ybor City Stogie for calling attention to this.


The picture is on a T-shirt at this link.

Channel 10 News writes about this 10 Connects.com

Clearwater, Florida -- The flap over an image of President Barack Obama made up as Heath Ledger's character the Joker in The Dark Knight is still making waves in the Bay area. A Facebook page run by Republicans from Pinellas County posted the picture and Florida Representative Darryl Rouson says he thinks the picture is racist.

Assistant Pinellas State Attorney Bill Burgess, who is involved in the Facebook page, says it is a "tempest in a teapot" and doesn't understand why it is a news story, but others disagree. The Treasurer of the Pinellas Republican Party, Chet Renfo, says the picture is in bad taste and the Facebook page is not condoned or sponsored by the Party. When we told Burgess about Renfo's comments, he said that Renfo doesn't speak for the party.

While several people we showed the picture to said it was racist, Burgess says it is just a way of protesting policies that Obama is putting forth and neither he nor anyone associated with the page is a racist.

While we made a public records request for the websites that Burgess has visited with his taxpayer funded computer, he readily admitted that he went to the clearly partisan website with the computer, but says it was alright because it was after hours. However, the Pinellas State Attorney's Office sees it as a problem. Chief Assistant Bruce Bartlett told me it is totally inappropriate. While there is no written policy, Bartlett says using state computers for political purposes crosses the line.

Yes, I would think it does cross the line in many ways. There have been other instances in this Pinellas, Hillsborough area where the line has been crossed.

Earlier this year a GOP committeewoman shared an email with racial overtones.

In the Hillsborough County GOP -- where former Chairman David Storck made headlines for forwarding racially-charged e-mails -- veteran state committeewoman Carol Carter has stirred controversy with her own e-mails from a few days ago. Judge for yourself.

From: Carol Carter
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 9:30 AM
Subject: FW: Amazing!

I'm confused

How can 2,000,000 blacks get into Washington, DC in 1 day in sub zero temps when 200,000 couldn't get out of New Orleans in 85 degree temps with four days notice?

Carol Carter

She made matters worse, when she was forced to apologize...

I have been asked to send this apology for my earlier email. I am sorry that it was received in a negative manner. I do hope that we are going to be allowed to keep our sense of humor. As you can now see, it went to very few people. I did add Todd Marks in this apology, as he is in the mix now. I am also sorry to learn that some of these persons are not real team players. There really was no reason for this to go beyond those that I emailed (8 people). This was not an email blast as I do not have that capability.

Carol

She blamed the people to whom she sent the email for thinking it was racist.

[csziggy]

1. Gee, the clown faces that have been put on GOPers here were much better done

I'm concerned that the GOP in Florida can't find anyone as talented to do their Obama clown face!

I can't find the DU post with all the various GOPers done as clowns - it was great.

[Justitia]

2. Oy, what knuckledraggers. Looks like FL repubs want to bring back minstrel shows. -eom

[madfloridian]

3. It's pathetic. They have no taste for what is right and wrong.

At least some stood up against it.

I see so much stuff that is tasteless and thoughtless in our area of Florida. They have no consideration for others.

[flvegan]

4. This local is shocked. SHOCKED I tell you.

[DefenseLawyer]

5. Sorry, it's the Joker

It's inane but it isn't racist. Trust me, there is plenty of obvious, no-doubt-about-it racism out there without trying to find it when it's not there.

[madfloridian]

6. Ok.

Of course it is racist. I know it is the "joker", but it was racist in this instance.

Don't spoil my fun cause I spent all day looking for racism. :eyes: :sarcasm:

[DefenseLawyer]

8. How is portraying the President as a villain clown from a movie racist?

Look at the celebrated work of our friend SwampRat. While the talent level is much lower, the intention is the same isn't it?

[madfloridian]

9. Don't compare swamprat to these guys.

Please don't. He is one of my favorite folks here, so leave it alone.

[DefenseLawyer]

10. Hey, he's one of my favorites too

and obviously unlike this crude attempt, he actually has talent, and more importantly a point. That still doesn't mean that it's fine for us to use the technique as criticism and not okay for them. It's fine for everyone. If their attempt turns out creepy and revolting, well that's their problem. There just isn't a racial aspect to the Joker.

[blogslut]

13. It's not the image that's been printed on posters hanging in L.A.

That image, I can accept as innocuous:



vs:



The Pinellas GOP image is some crappy second-generation knock-off of an image that was originally created by a student in Chicago:


(His original caption: Not indicitive of my political views)

Whoever stole the image and slapped the SOCIALISM caption and printed it out on posters is yet unknown.

more about the poster and the original image: http://bedlammagazine.com/06news/mystery-obamajoker-poster-appears-la

[Raschel]

7. Wow. Looks like Obama's Presidency is bringing all of the roaches out into the light.

And this Carol Carter woman, explaining that her racist remarks were meant for only those with hoods...too much.

[xultar]

11. Ahhh not racist. Stupid, but not racist. It is a bad joker.

[madfloridian]

12. I do think it is racial in tone, so do many in the video at the link.

So I guess it is six of one and half a dozen of the other as to whether is it racial in tone. So many accept stuff like that as funny now. It is a clown face on a white man, it is racial on a black man because it carries taint from years of blackface clown types.

It was meant to be that way it seems, and I take it that way. I am white and I find it terribly offensive for our president to be portrayed that way.