The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

If Mitt Romney Used A Dog Whistle, Would A Bitch Hear It?

Posted on | July 24, 2012 | 46 Comments

by Smitty (via American Glob)

Test my logic. One can be fairly certain a lady like Andrea Mitchell is not a bitch; therefore, Romney’s use of ‘foreign’, which she clearly heard, must be something other than a dog whistle. Maybe ‘foreign’ is just a non-domestic word:

The irony here is that Barack’s foreign upbringing was part of his glamor in 2008. He was the urbane, cosmopolitan wunderkind who brought Hopium and Change-oom from exotic places.

Clearly, Romney’s use of ‘foreign’ is going after ‘alien to traditional American thought’. And, yes, the Marxist underpinnings of Obama’s collectivist thinking are foreign, to put it as mildly as possible.

For safety reasons, I recommend Andrea Mitchell and Amanda Marcotte  maintain a two-mile standoff, lest their combined intellectual suction trigger a singularity.

What has that foreign influence wrought: Under Me “People Have A New Attitude Toward America” And “More Confidence”

Also, via The Lonely Conservative, more piling on for “You didn’t do that”:

Comments

46 Responses to “If Mitt Romney Used A Dog Whistle, Would A Bitch Hear It?”

  1. Another Ad Hits Obama Over ‘You Didn’t Build That’ Comment | The Lonely Conservative
    July 24th, 2012 @ 10:10 pm

    […] this one by Senator Scott Brown. If only his voting record was as good as this ad.Update: Linked at The Other McCain – thank you Mr. Smitty!google_ad_client = "ca-pub-1395656889568144"; /* 300×250, created […]

  2. lonely conservative
    July 24th, 2012 @ 10:12 pm

    I thought I heard a dog whistle and reflexively clicked on this post.

  3. Andrea Mitchell: Romney Is Using “Dog Whistle” Language Against Obama » American Glob
    July 24th, 2012 @ 10:12 pm

    […] UPDATE: Smitty of The Other McCain asks If Mitt Romney used a dog whistle, would a bitch hear it? […]

  4. lonely conservative
    July 24th, 2012 @ 10:14 pm

    Duh. Now I will prepare for the bitch jokes.

  5. SignPainterGuy
    July 24th, 2012 @ 10:30 pm

     Mmm, if I had a mean streak …. 😉

  6. SignPainterGuy
    July 24th, 2012 @ 10:32 pm

    Smitty, you have spun some really enjoyable phrases; thanks for the snickers !

  7. smitty
    July 24th, 2012 @ 10:59 pm

    You’re welcome!

  8. tomg
    July 24th, 2012 @ 11:51 pm

    If the dog whistles are for Republican audiences, why is it that only Democrats can hear them?

  9. Charles Johnson
    July 24th, 2012 @ 11:56 pm

    Did someone whistle?  

  10. Rbowling Bowling
    July 25th, 2012 @ 1:27 am

    I seriously doubt if Romney used the word as a dog whistle, but wouldn’t it be awesome if he had?

  11. Adobe_Walls
    July 25th, 2012 @ 1:31 am

    This is what government does for small business.

  12. JenniferInChrist
    July 25th, 2012 @ 3:36 am

    I don’t support Obama’s economic policies and I don’t support dishonest attacks as well. I thought facts had some value at ToM even if they didn’t help the right wing cause. Perhaps I was mistaken.

    Its a basic fact about economics that businesses benefit from government infrastructure such as roads and bridge. Businessmen did not build these. Nor did they build the internet, utilities, educational systems, and other government services which are helpful to their business. Obama repeated this basic fact and the republicans have been distorting his statement to claim he was saying that businessmen did not create their own business, which is a complete fabrication.

    Mitt Romney has made a comment analogous to Obama’s in the past–not that
    it is any surprise to see Mitt Romney take both sides of any issue. (Romney’s comments no more reduces respect for the accomplishments of the Olympians
    than Obama’s statement shows any lack of respect for the accomplishments
    of creators of small businesses.) In
    addition a fact checker noted that Romney’s attacks are untrue, and it
    was even discovered that a spokesman in a Romney ad attacking Obama over
    the distorted quote has received direct government benefits for his
    business.

    Here’s Obama Campaign’s Stephanie Cutter pointing out that this is not the first time Romney has distorted Obama’s words, and it won’t be the last:

    The “you didn’t build that” meme has been exposed as a lie. On the other hand, the memes that Romney repeatedly lies about Obama’s positions, and  takes both sides of virtually any issue, have been demonstrated to be true once again.

  13. Adobe_Walls
    July 25th, 2012 @ 4:55 am

    The government did not create the internet.

  14. FenelonSpoke
    July 25th, 2012 @ 5:34 am

    Can”t you go and be a concern troll somewhere else, Stephanie?
    Obama said what he did. I heard t on tape. So either Obama meant what he said or he is incredibly insensitive as well as inept in phrasing it as he did. Those are the only two choices. If he’s incredibly insensitive and inept than he’s not the smartest, smoothest President ever, is he?

  15. FenelonSpoke
    July 25th, 2012 @ 5:38 am

    P.S. “Jennifer in Christ “is sort of a dead giveaway that you’re a concern troll. Next time try, “Jennifer, a religious nut case right winger.” At least THAT would be amusing.

  16. smitty
    July 25th, 2012 @ 5:45 am

    Businessmen did not build these. 
    Wait. Are you saying that the government maintains vast Public Works armies that build all of the infrastructure in the country? Lady, please.
    I have served in the Navy, and done federal contracting.
    All y’all knuckleheads that think the cart is a horse will  continue to receive belittlement until your heads move to a more oxygen-rich region.

    The “you didn’t build that” meme has been exposed as a lie.  
    Wait. The president explicitly said “you didn’t build that”. I quoted a ~650 word stretch of hooey from #OccupyResoluteDesk in the post preceding this one in which he said “you didn’t build that”. Why are you lying about what the president said? You’d think someone with a handle like JenniferInChrist would cleave a little more closely to the truth. Lord have mercy on you, Jennifer. 

  17. FenelonSpoke
    July 25th, 2012 @ 6:02 am

    Or a third choice which is actually the best one:

    He  meant what he said and he’s also incredibly insensitive and inept in his phrasing.

  18. PAcon12
    July 25th, 2012 @ 6:12 am

    I’d be inerested to hear what it is about Obama’s economic policies you disagree with. It he not socialist enough for your taste? You certainly have fallen into a socialist mindset if you buy Obama’s argument that businesses are not principally responsible for their successes, and that they owe a greater debt to the Government than their current tax rates.

    Based on Obama’s logic, the credit for your posting belongs to the Government because you used the internet. YOU DID NOT WRITE THAT. How does it feel for your individual thought and effort to be denigrated before the powerful and glorious Government?

  19. JenniferInChrist
    July 25th, 2012 @ 6:50 am

    “Are you saying that the government maintains vast Public Works armies that build all of the infrastructure in the country? ”

    –Of course businessmen who help implement governmental contracts get credit too, nobody is taking that away from them.

    “The president explicitly said“you didn’t build that”. I quoted a
    ~650 word stretch of hooey from #OccupyResoluteDesk in the post
    preceding this one in which he said “you didn’t build that”. Why are you
    lying about what the president said?”

    –Here is what Obama actually said:

    There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me —
    because they want to give something back.  They know they didn’t —
    look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own.  You
    didn’t get there on your own.  I’m always struck by people who think,
    well, it must be because I was just so smart.  There are a lot of smart
    people out there.  It must be because I worked harder than everybody
    else.  Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of
    hardworking people out there.  (Applause.)

         If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some
    help.  There was a great teacher somewhere in your life.  Somebody
    helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that
    allowed you to thrive.  Somebody invested in roads and bridges.  If
    you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that
    happen.  The Internet didn’t get invented on its own.  Government
    research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money
    off the Internet.

         The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our
    individual initiative, but also because we do things together.

    The wording was awkward, and I suspect that Obama did leave out a few
    words, but any intelligent person could have figured out what Obama was
    really saying Any honest person would have responded to the actual meaning as opposed to one line taken out of context.

    I note that Obama has not asked anyone to apologize for lying about
    what he said, in contrast to Mitt Romney who is looking weak by
    demanding that Obama apologize for telling the truth about him.

  20. JenniferInChrist
    July 25th, 2012 @ 6:55 am

     As I mentioned in my above post, “The wording was awkward, and I suspect that Obama did leave out a few words, but any intelligent person could have figured out what Obama was really saying Any honest person would have responded to the actual meaning as opposed to one line taken out of context.”

    Partisans love to quote out of context. They even think it is fair game to leave out words, change the order of words, and sometimes  even
    put in their own words. I had no difficulty guessing what Obama really
    said,  but some tend to be ignorant of basic economic
    principles, and it is certainly possible that even if they were aware of
    Obama’s full statement it could have been beyond what they can
    comprehend.

  21. Fenelonspoke
    July 25th, 2012 @ 7:05 am

    Sorry,  Jennifer. “If you have a business you didn’t build that” is on this tape. I believe that’s when he went off teleprompter

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKjPI6no5ngYou're convincing nobody here. I’d take it back to DAILY KOS.

  22. FenelonSpoke
    July 25th, 2012 @ 7:08 am

    And any honest person wouldn’t come on here pretending to be a person who isn’t a supporter of Obama’s policies when they obviously are. Begone concern troll!

  23. smitty
    July 25th, 2012 @ 7:14 am

    Jennifer,
      The “you didn’t build that” argument has vast traction because the President had, for example, a literary biography stating he was born in Kenya for years.
      When a man without shred #1 of integrity says something like “you didn’t build that”, and then does backflips to attempt to convince people they having lying ears, that man only digs the hole deeper.
      Your personal motives for defending a lying crapflooder are your own. I’ve seen plenty of women, and some men, come out in defense of an abuser. Seek help. You’re getting rooked here.
    Cheers,
    Chris

  24. Bob Belvedere
    July 25th, 2012 @ 7:56 am

    ‘Cause they have Super-Duper, Mystical-Magical, Really, Really Cool Powers of Perception that we poor peasants could never understand.

  25. Anamika
    July 25th, 2012 @ 7:57 am

     You’re getting rooked here.
    Cheers,
    Chris

    Looks more like a stalemate.

  26. Bob Belvedere
    July 25th, 2012 @ 8:01 am

    Exactly, as this article in The WSJ shows:

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444464304577539063008406518.html#printMode

    A lot of credit goes to Xerox.

  27. Bob Belvedere
    July 25th, 2012 @ 8:05 am

    Hmmm…only two comments in Disqus and no profile, no links…hmmm…I wonder…

    http://thecampofthesaints.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/troll-doll-01.jpg

    …perhaps I was mistaken…

  28. Bob Belvedere
    July 25th, 2012 @ 8:07 am

    Creativity is not a trait the Left encourages in their minions.

  29. Shawny
    July 25th, 2012 @ 8:10 am

    Well, and he’s also astoundingly unqualified to speak on a subject for which he has absolutely no experience…..building a business.  All he’s got, like on so many other subjects, is his own Marxist propaganda and entitlement mentality.  What makes him sometimes convincing to all the little dog whistle listeners is that he actually believes all that happy horseshit in cows tracks he’s spewing.  The American dream for the individual who works hard to acheive it is on an entirely different wavelength that he and his comrades don’t hear.  Should he start lecturing on his individual failures or actually begin taking responsibility for them….call me.  You know how to whistle don’t you?   

  30. Shawny
    July 25th, 2012 @ 8:21 am

    ……only to someone watching a poker game. 

  31. Adobe_Walls
    July 25th, 2012 @ 8:27 am

    Riiight, what he meant to say is we owe it to the Patawomecks who had those roads and bridges ready and waiting for our forebears in 1607 when they landed at Jamestown.

  32. Shawny
    July 25th, 2012 @ 8:41 am

    “If you have a business you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that
    happen.”…..isn’t an economic principle, doesn’t require an interpreter.  It’s an ignorant claim made by a man with absolutely no experience in building a business nor economics expertise to base it on.    

  33. Red
    July 25th, 2012 @ 9:49 am

    “– you didn’t build that.  “

  34. Red
    July 25th, 2012 @ 9:56 am

    No! Don’t do it LC! ;-D

  35. Red
    July 25th, 2012 @ 10:01 am

    ““You Olympians, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power,” said Romney, who on Friday will attend the Opening Ceremonies of this year’s Summer Olympics. “For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities. All right! [pumps fist].”In full context, Romney, of course, also praised the Olympians’ efforts – right before he made his “you didn’t get here solely on your own” remark.
    “Tonight we cheer the Olympians, who only yesterday were children themselves,” Romney said. “As we watch them over the next 16 days, we affirm that our aspirations, and those of our children and grandchildren, can become reality. We salute you Olympians – both because you dreamed and because you paid the price to make your dreams real. You guys pushed yourself, drove yourself, sacrificed, trained and competed time and again at winning and losing.””

    Here is Mitt’s dug up quote in context. Big difference between letting Olympians know they have the support of everyone cheering them on versus Obama letting everyone know that he thinks corporate and small business America needs to get on bended knee and give almighty Uncle Sam sole credit for their entrepreneurial drive, sacrifice, as well as the fruits of their labors. Big difference. 

  36. Red
    July 25th, 2012 @ 11:18 am

    OO! Pink hair! Cute! …Buuut not that cute really.

  37. Red
    July 25th, 2012 @ 11:23 am

    And it’s “Slim” FTW 😉

  38. Shawny
    July 25th, 2012 @ 2:36 pm

    lol……giving away my age.

  39. Red
    July 25th, 2012 @ 5:34 pm

    Consider yourself a ‘classic’ 😉

  40. JeffS
    July 25th, 2012 @ 11:29 pm

    Its a basic fact about economics that businesses benefit from government
    infrastructure such as roads and bridge. Businessmen did not build
    these. Nor did they build the internet, utilities, educational systems,
    and other government services which are helpful to their business.

    As an engineer involved with infrastructure, I have some specific points to make:

    1.  As Adobe Walls, noted, the INTERNET is exclusively a private corporation.  There is government regulation of it, but not ownership.  There’s a difference.

    2.  Most of the transportation infrastructure was built through contracts funded by taxes.  Taxes come from people and businesses.  No businesses, no tax payers, no roads, bridges, etc.  A government is not needed to build these — take note that the railroad system is privately owned.  It’s just that the government is viewed as having deeper pockets, and tools to get the real estate needed.  The work is funded by tax dollars, and largely carried out by contractors, save some routine maintenance….maybe. 

    Ergo, any government is, AT BEST, a manager of transportation infrastructure.  Government is not self-funding, as it’s generally a not-for-profit operation.   It’s a long stretch to say that “the government built it”.   Even here in Washington State, projects funded through WADOT say “This [project] brought to you by your tax dollars.”

    3.  Utilities:  Jennifer, that is so wrong.  Communities tend to run their own water and sewage systems, but that’s not always the case.  There are private water utilities.  BUT…..virtually all of the other utilities (power, telephone, cable) are privately owned and operated by corporations.  There are some exceptions to this (e.g., hydropower and power distribution systems operated by Federal or state chartered corporations [Bonneville Power Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority]), but not many. 

    4.  Public schools are the norm, but mostly through high school, and not always then (charter schools, for example).  It’s just that many states view the education system as a government monopoly, an attitude encouraged by the NEA.  Further, many of the universities and colleges are privately operated.   So, nope, not accurate.

    5.  Government services:  Which ones?  Most “services” are either regulatory, tax collection, or welfare.  How do those help businesses?  Police, fire, medical might count, depending on the jurisdiction.  How so?  Ever work with volunteer fire departments?  Rural fire departments?  Did you know that the majority of firefighters in this country are volunteer?  Hmmmmm!  Who pays THAT bill?  EMS, a lot of volunteers there as well.  And not all jurisdictions have law enforcement at hand.

    Sorry, Jennifer, but that statement is about as clueless as they come.  Government is, by and large, overhead.  The problem is that the overhead is bloated, and needs to be trimmed.  Including Obama. 

    Romney may only slow down the rush towards the cliff, but that’s better than romping on the accelerator like “Thelma and Louise”.

  41. JeffS
    July 26th, 2012 @ 12:10 am

     You’re assuming that Anamika actually follows the rules.  Or even knows them.

  42. Bob Belvedere
    July 26th, 2012 @ 8:19 am

    A tour de force, Jeff, devastating in it’s Right Reason – bravo!

    [Questions: (1) Is Obama Thelma or Louise? And (2) Whichever one you choose, does that mean Reggie Love is the other?]

  43. Bob Belvedere
    July 26th, 2012 @ 8:22 am

    My eighty-six year-old Father – who has a thing for Miss Bacall and Debbie Reynolds – likes to be called an ‘Antique’.

  44. JenniferInChrist
    July 26th, 2012 @ 9:28 am

     
    The internet was developed with government money and support. Yes, the money came from taxpayers. That’s how government works. Governments generally pay private contractors for roads. Again, that’s how government works. I won’t waste the time to go through all of your rather nonsensical arguments, but I wish Romney would try to make such arguments. Even if some of these can be done without government, it does not change the fact that most have been developed with the use of government. Those of us who created businesses did not create these things which we benefit from in the every day operation of our businesses.

  45. JeffS
    July 27th, 2012 @ 9:33 pm

     Thanks for agreeing with my basic premise:  The government is, at best, a manager of tax money.  That places government in the “overhead” category, which means it’s subject to reductions.

    And guess what!  Even the government tries to control overhead.  It’s like watching a crack whore trying to control her addiction by banging her on a brick wall.  But they do try.

  46. JeffS
    July 27th, 2012 @ 9:35 pm

     I think Obama is hiding in the trunk.