Randi Rhodes: Birther Demands 'Wounded Black Americans' Beyond What the KKK Wanted

April 30th, 2011 6:30 AM

There are different layers of liberal outrage over the demand to see Barack Obama's birth certificate, and leftist radio host Randi Rhodes took it to ridiculous lengths on Thursday. Somehow, these demands "wounded" black Americans in a way the Ku Klux Klan "never aspired to," even if this metaphorical wounding is a much lighter sentence than the death sentences the Klan handed out:

Now that we're done with the birther thing, and we have insulted an entire population of the American people - we have just absolutely wounded, you know, African Americans...we have wounded black Americans...we have wounded the President, we have wounded his family...we've wounded an entire population of the United States of America in a way that I don't think the Ku Klux Klan ever even aspired to, okay.

People are so devastated by what Donald Trump did, and the things that he said, and the racism of the Tea Party, and they've been frustrated for a very long time with whites who refused to accept or acknowledge that the Tea Party had been acting in a racist manner, that they were using covert and overt racism, they were using, uh, you know, things that were right in your face and the basketball reference...and all the other, you know."

Later, Rhodes argued that the Paul Ryan budget and Medicare reform plan passed because the masses are easily distracted by their own racism: "Every Republican except for three have already voted for it [revamping Medicare], and they're on record as wanting to destroy Medicare, thinking 'They [the people] are so stupid' -- because they were able to play the race card, that those people also didn't care about those Medicare -- and that was a bridge too far. Racism, sure!"

She added: "People are so desperate for leadership in the Republican Party that they will listen to Sarah Palin, Donald Chump, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, any goofy m-f that comes down the pike -- they'll give them their ear! And they'll stand up and scream and shout at the rain...and they have no idea how they're being duped! But in the process, people are being wounded!"