Wilson, Wilson, Wilson!

On Bill Maher, former National Security czar Richard Clarke just said, “I think there’s right-wing strategy to delegitimize the president.” I could not agree more. Republican Congressman Joe Wilson’s outburst is merely the latest example.

Despite President Obama’s attempt to shift the nature of the healthcare debate from rhetoric to substance, it seems we are all unable to look away from the spectacle of republican Congressman Joe Wilson shouting, “You lie!” to the president. His half-hearted apologies notwithstanding, Wilson has seized on his moment of discourteousness as a moment of opportunity. He is using it to reinforce to his supporters that he is not a “Yes” man and assuring them that he “won’t be muzzled.” Who is trying to muzzle Wilson? My understanding was that he was merely being asked to be courteous and show the respect historically accorded to the office of the president.

Yet Wilson’s behavior and that of other conservatives, like Rush Limbaugh, who have rallied to his defense is unsurprising. It is simply the latest in a chain of events that can be traced back to Sarah Palin and the general election. Ever since Palin grabbed the attention of every media outlet and used it to equate President Obama with terrorists and encouraged her supporters to demonize him for his name that differed starkly from prior presidents, Barack Obama has been subjected to an unprecedented level of disrespect.

No matter how conservatives defend or deny their actions, there is ample evidence to demonstrate that they stem from racism and xenophobia. Barack Obama, with his dark skin and African features and name, is not one of them. He is not someone they can see themselves having a beer with and he does not fit into their stereotypical views of African Americans.

A common adjective that conservatives like to brandish when talking about President Obama is “arrogant.” Senator Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, used it quite recently. Nobody uses uppity anymore, and–with a few exceptions–the right has been careful to exercise their racism under an umbrella of plausible deniability.  They use coded phrases like “great white hope,” and “arrogant” and suggestions that he’s illegitimate and alien. Who can forget Palin’s remarks during the primaries that suggested Obama was not “one of us”:

“Our opponent … is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country,” Palin told a group of donors in Englewood, Colo. A deliberate attempt to smear Obama, McCain’s ticket-mate echoed the line at three separate events Saturday.

“This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America,” she said. “We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism.”

Joe Wilson’s background is steeped in racism. He is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a group that has defended slavery and advocated secession; he was one of seven South Carolina stage legislators who voted to keep the Confederate flag flying on the South Carolina Capitol and only capitulated when the state agreed to erect a monument with the flag; and once denigrated Strom Thurmond’s illegitimate daughter Essie Mae Washington-Williams for coming forward about her parentage after her father’s death–he said it was a “smear” on Thurmond’s integrity and that she should have kept it to herself (even though Thurmond’s other children publicly acknowledged her). Wilson also expressed concern that Washington-Williams’ announcement was designed to “tarnish” one of Wilson’s heroes. A lot of people are of the opinion that the reason for Wilson’s distress is that Washington-Williams’ mother was black.

As soon as it became apparent that Obama was the nominee, conservatives have been encouraged at every turn to disrespect him and to fear him. Glenn Beck has been one of the ringleaders of these efforts, with Michelle Bachmann and Rush Limbaugh nipping at his heels. Beck suggested Obama’s whole presidency was motivated by revenge for slavery and the desire to implement reparations. Bachmann suggested Obama wants to make us all slaves. They even opposed having Obama speak to the nation’s children–opposition lead initially by the leader of the Florida GOP.

Liberals engaged in their share of namecalling against George Bush. Obviously, because George Bush was white, nobody could label it as racism. Further, the attacks against George Bush were based on his actions and they did not extend to anything like the racial attacks levied against Obama’s family:

“A typical street whore.” “A bunch of ghetto thugs.” “Ghetto street trash.” “Wonder when she will get her first abortion.” These are a small selection of some of the racially-charged comments posted to the conservative ‘Free Republic’ blog Thursday, aimed at U.S. President Barack Obama’s 11-year-old daughter Malia after she was photographed wearing a t-shirt with a peace sign on the front.

The thread was accompanied by a photo of Michelle Obama speaking to Malia that featured the caption, “To entertain her daughter, Michelle Obama loves to make monkey sounds.”

Tomorrow is Beck’s 9-12 Project’s march on Washington D.C. No doubt we will see the usual racist signs and hear the usual “socialist” slogans. Now, thanks to Wilson, they have added another new chant to their repertoire:

Later, when Republican Whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) began speaking about Obama, he was repeatedly interrupted by howls from the crowd that the President is “a liar.” “Liar, liar pants on fire,” they yelled.

Wilson may be getting a slap on the wrist from the House–it remains to be seen–but it is a small price to pay for what he has succeeded in doing: detracting from Obama’s excellent speech and the truth about healthcare reform.

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