Anyone here occasionally miss the Primaries? The spectacular array of scandalous -Gates was enough to excite the most docile of observers. So come on, who misses the amusement just a teeeeeensy bit? A lot of you probably don’t, but someone out there does. Be honest. Raise your hand.
Okay, I’ll fess to it. By the end of it, naturally, I was ready for it to come to a conclusion with a quickness, but for a while there, it really was a blast. Remember the passion — sometimes a bit overdone (…okay, more than a bit) — on both sides? Remember when DKos and MyDD were hard-fought battlefields? Remember back when we didn’t know what a “PUMA” was? (Don’t you wish we still didn’t?) Really, some of it was pretty fun. Certainly entertaining, if nothing else. It held our attentions well, didn’t it? Hell, a lot of us became friends during the Primaries — that’s at least where most of us first became familiar with one another.
And I think some of the tightest bonds were originally formed amongst those referred to as the Late Nite Crew, consisting of both strong Hillary and strong Obama supporters who managed to overlook their differences. Instead of fighting, we had fun with what was going on: Pointing out obvious trolls and trollish behavior (no matter which side it came from). CG was queen of video of clips, but I’ve had to remove the one I originally posted in this diary, just for our Holz. ; )
(No, really, I couldn’t keep it from starting automatically, so it was annoying as hell. Look downthread for some of CG’s clips — she’s posted them in the comments.)
So let’s reminisce, shall we? Let’s remember the amusing bits from the Primaries rather than, as seems to be the habit on certain blogs, stoking old flamewars. What were your favorite faux controversies? We all know the major “-Gates” like Slumlord-Gate (Rezko), Terrorist-Gate (Ayers), Pastor-Gate (Wright), Bitter-Gate, NAFTA-Gate, Sniper-Gate, and Plagiarism-Gate, but I’ve listed and discussed a few of my favorite trivial – Gates here. I want to focus on the lesser known (but far more entertaining) blow ups. My memory isn’t always so swift, so remind me of the ones I’ve left out, and I’ll update as needed. And please remember, we’re here to laugh about the silliness of the -Gates, not to argue their validity (or lack thereof). So no infighting, ladies and gentlemoose. This is meant to be fun. Let’s keep this lighthearted.
And here we go, in no particular order:
Here’s one some of you may not remember. In June of 2007, members of Barack Obama’s campaign staff issued a memo which referred to Hillary Clinton as a senator from the Indian region of Punjab and criticized her record on outsourcing. The Punjab jab was in reference to a statement Hillary made in 2005: “I am delighted to be the Senator from Punjab as well as from New York.” Obama quickly apologized both to Clinton and the Indian American community, calling the memo “stupid and caustic.”
Fairy Tale-Gate
The proverbial feces hit the fan on January 7, 2008, when Bill Clinton said of Barack Obama’s statements regarding the Iraq war, “This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.” Chris Matthews (HAH!) aired an abbreviated clip of Clinton’s comments and mischaracterized his words, indicating that he had been referring to Obama’s candidacy itself.
MLK-Gate
In Janary of 2008, Hillary Clinton stepped in it a bit when she made a comment about Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr., which some saw as belittling of Dr. King’s accomplishments.
Mrs Clinton, trying to make a point about presidential leadership and Mr Obama’s constant references to Dr King, the civil rights icon, said: “Dr King’s dream began to be realised when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It took a president to get it done.”
Mrs Clinton has since tried to clarify the comment, but the damage was done. Mr Clyburn, who had previously said that he would stay neutral, told The New York Times that he had been “bothered a great deal” by the remarks and was rethinking his position.
This issue probably received wider coverage because of the recent dust up over Fairy Tale-Gate.
Jesse Jackson-Gate
And here we have what was arguably Bill Clinton’s worst moment on the campaign trail. In an attempt to defray Senator Clinton’s likely upcoming loss in the South Carolina Primary, he compared Barack Obama’s campaign to that of Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988. Jackson won the Primary on both occasions. Most of these -Gates are pure silliness in my opinion, but I have to admit that the offense on this one was legitimate.
This one’s actually pretty offensive, but at least no one was able to blame it on Hillary. David Ehrenstein, who happens to be both an African American and a liberal, wrote a piece in March 2007 in the Los Angeles Times called “Obama the ‘Magic Negro,'” in which he argued that whites, who are often frightened of African Americans, were voting for Obama because he was safe and “benign”. Eager as always to cash in on controversy, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh aired a song parody set to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon” called “Barack the Magic Negro,” performed from the perspective of a “Sharpton-esque” African American man lamenting that Obama is “not authentically” black. Lyrics found HERE.
Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times, they called him that
‘Cause he’s not authentic like me.
Yeah, the guy from the L.A. paper
Said he makes guilty whites feel good
They’ll vote for him, and not for me
‘Cause he’s not from the hood.Listen on YouTube
Photoshop-Gate
In early March 2008, in the vast, tangerine halls of DailyKos, one of the silliest and most controversial – Gates of the Primaries reared its ridiculous head. A user posited that among Hillary Clinton’s “vermin strategies” was an attempt to make Barack Obama “blacker”. That’s right. With his/her devastating and impressive acumen, this fair blogger deduced that the Clinton campaign had decided that Am
ericans just didn’t think Obama was black enough. Apparently, Jabba the Penn and Co. set out with gleeful malice (which, though certainly not unheard of, was not the case here) to show the world that Obama was just a wee bit too black to be President. Kos picked up the story, slapped it on the front page, and the rest of the blogosphere ran with it. As with nearly all -Gates, it was thoroughly debunked.
Finger-Gate
This one’s probably my favorite, guys, not least because I was so entrenched in the depths of Primary dementia that when I first heard it, even I thought, “Hmmmm.” Allegedly, Barack Obama shot Hillary Clinton “the finger” in mid-April of 2008 while mentioning her at a campaign rally. He was discussing the “gotcha politics” that occur in Washington and said, “That’s all right. Sen. Clinton looked in her element.” He then paused to scratch his face. Unfortunately, he chose to do so with only one finger. Thus was Finger-Gate born.
Pledge-Gate
In September of 2007, a faux firestorm was started when Barack Obama was caught on camera without his hand over his heart during a playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but many insisted that the incident occurred during The Pledge of Allegiance.
Experts on the national anthem say the law seems a bit out of date, given its reference to a man’s “headdress.” Yet it’s still cited in several military manuals found on the Web.
Modern custom does not require a hand over the heart, said Anne Garside, director of communication for the Maryland Historical Society, home of the original manuscript of The Star-Spangled Banner.
“I think the bottom line is that you show respect with your demeanor,” she said. “Whether you put your hand over your heart, hold your hat at shoulder level or waist level, is really in this day and age irrelevant.”
Many Rightwing pundits used this occasion to further the “Obama is unpatriotic” meme.
Flag Pin-Gate
In October of 2007 Barack Obama stated that he would not wear a flag pin on his lapel. O noes, Obama hatz Amerikahz! Amidst the uproar, Roland Martin humorously suggested that we amend the Constitution to require candidates and civil servants to wear a flag pin:
“Since it is clear that our nation is paralyzed and so not able to close our borders, feed the homeless, develop businesses in the inner cities and save people from having their homes taken by foreclosure due to ruthless mortgage companies, all because some folks don’t wear a flag lapel pin, we need to lead a national movement to demand that Congress and the states make requiring officeholders to wear a flag lapel pin the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
Proud-Gate (or alternatively, Angry, Disappointed Black Woman-Gate)
Conservative pundits and talk show hosts had a field day with Michelle Obama in February of 2008 when she made the statement, “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country,” while referencing the hope and hunger for change she had seen among Americans while campaigning for her husband. Her meaning was distorted, and her remarks were used to paint her as an unpatriotic, angry black woman. With her typical grace and poise, she deflected such attempts with ease.
Birthday-Gate
This one was a PUMA favorite (even before they were technically PUMAs). TexasDarlin and her ilk insisted that Obama was not a suitable nominee for President because he was, in fact, not an American at all.
In the first half of 2008, a number of rumors swirling around about presidential candidate Barack Obama coalesced in the claim that he “refused to produce his birth records” because doing so would demonstrate some or all of those rumors to be true: that Barack Obama was “not African,” that he was a Muslim with a middle name of Mohammed, that he wasn’t born in the United States at all (and thus didn’t qualify as a native-born citizen), etc.
Last I heard, they’re still pushing the theory. The fact that Obama released a copy of his birth certificate available to the public in June 2008 doesn’t seem to have had any impact on their delusions.
Whitey-Gate
Ah, yes, the infamous whitey tape. Supposedly, Michelle Obama went on a racist tear at some point, blasting “whitey” for all the world’s ills. This was supposed to be the PUMAs’ ace in the hole, the thing which would cost Obama the election and pave Hillary’s way to the White House. We’re still waiting for it. Now… when did they say it was being published? Just in time to damn Obama in 2012, I’m sure.
Pimp-Gate
MSNBC was caught up in a storm of controversy when reporter David Shuster remarked that it seemed as if Chelsea Clinton was being “pimped out” by her parents, who were sending her out to make regular appearances on the campaign trail.
After receiving a suspension, he grudgingly apologized after first attempting to defend his sentiments in an email exchange with Clinton spokesperson Philippe Reines.
Picture-Gate
This picture appeared on the front page of Drudge Report in late February of 2008. The story was that it was being disseminated by the Clinton campaign, and it sparked a tremendous amount of outrage. As it turned out, the photo was sent to Drudge by a bunch of Freepers.
“Good Job,” a user on Free Republic said Sunday to the person who posted the tabloid pic. “[I]t needs to get to Drudge,M.Malkin,Debbie Schussel etc….I want to see his explanation on this.”
NIG-Gate
This was perhaps the weirdest allegation of the entire Primary season. Blogger Ann Althouse got it into her muddled head one morning that Hillary’s 3AM ad was a prime example of race-baiting because of the pajamas the sleeping boy was wearing. She asks the question, “Why are the letters ‘NIG’ on the child’s pajamas?” Note the letters ‘NIG’ in “GOOD NIGHT”:
Appar
ently Ms. Althouse was under the impression that this was meant to remind America that Barack Obama is a ‘NIG’. Or is it a ‘NIC’? Looks a bit more like ‘NIC’ to me. Maybe Hillary was just trying to remind everyone that Obama was a dirty smoker?
Yes, yes, I know I mentioned it above as one of the well-known -Gates we don’t need to go over, but honestly, it was just one of my favorites. As far as I’m concerned, if you can’t find humor in the mistakes of your own candidate, you’re in big trouble. Taking things too seriously is never good. So please enjoy a vid of what REALLY happened in Bosnia:
Well, that’s what I have come up with. I know there are plenty more. So which ones did I forget? Which ones were your favorites? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll add to the diary as we go along (as if it really needs to be any longer, huh?)
Close the Gate on the -Gates. If they can laugh over it, so should we!
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