September 23, 2016

If you've already seen the Republican Congressman from North Carolina and the Ohio Committee Woman for Trump poop their racist pants on camera in the past 24 hours, you can skip ahead to about the 3:05 mark on this video.

Mika Brezinski purses her lips in anguish over the racism in these clips. Harold Ford Jr. says something utterly meaningless about a missing "reset button" since Obama was elected.

Sam Stein is left to actually put words to what is happening.

First of all, the facial expressions on each of these interviewers, as they are being told these things, was priceless.

He then points out that he phoned Kathy Miller, the Ohio lady, and she didn't refute what she said earlier. She really feels there was no discrimination "in terms of housing policy, policing practices, economic racism, anything" before Obama.

Mika is appalled by the statement that "it's their (African Americans) own fault."

And Sam Stein makes a distinction then between a real estate agent from Ohio and a US Congressman. But then he says this:

This all goes into a bigger conversation about ...you know, we were talking about deplorables a couple of weeks ago, right? And clearly Clinton erred in saying the fifty percent and the irredeemable part. But there is racism in this country, that people are not exactly confronting, that has been brought up a bit more to the surface by this campaign, and the candidacy in specific. And you know, we're not really talking about it in a confrontational way, in a direct way, that we should, because we're too nervous to tip-toe around the term 'deplorable,' but that's there.

And then Elise Jordan flips it to a completely unrelated, though important, issue.

"Well, just the empowerment of the alt-right in the Republican Party this election season. The lunatics are running the asylum. This is unacceptable, everyone in the Republican Party needs to say this is unacceptable, This is not my party, I cannot be a part of this party, if this is the party we have become. It is absolutely reprehensible and against everything the Republican Party can and should stand for."

Appreciate the strong stand, Elise, and it's just adorable that you think the Republican Party can and should be something unlike Kathy Miller, Ohio Committee Chair for Donald Trump. That sixty-something real estate agent did not just appear out of the Alt-Right twittersphere, Elise. She's been the core of your party since at least Nixon 1968 and longer.

Sam Stein is absolutely right. It's fine for cable news to "deplore" overt racism and the use of the N-Word. Mika B. can sigh and roll her eyes when a stupid Confederate State Republican Congressman calls Black people white-hating welfare bums, but the orders to all on-air talent on cable news is, don't go too far.

That Kathy Miller lady, and her privileged, isolated, White Flight ignorance is half your audience and the vast majority of Republican voters. And when Hillary Clinton tells the truth about the Kathy Millers of the Republican Party, something we saw in huge numbers at McCain and Romney rallies, don't forget, it's time to call a halt and tamp down that honesty with a furious pearl clutch on behalf of both sides.

Notice that when there is even a hint of valid straightforward criticism of the Republican Party, Joe Scarborough is missing.

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