澳彩开奖

Right-wing pundits are Attorney General Eric Holder for daring to suggest on Sunday that 鈥渞acial animus鈥� plays a role in the 鈥渓evel of vehemence鈥� that鈥檚 been directed at President Obama. They鈥檙e denouncing him for 鈥減laying the race card鈥� and 鈥渟toking racial divisions.鈥�

Who do they think they鈥檙e fooling?

The rhetoric is what鈥檚 hateful. Calling people out for it is not.

The racism Holder described has been obvious since the 2008 campaign, when Obama was portrayed as someone who was not a 鈥渞eal American鈥� 鈥� a Muslim, a Kenyan, a communist, even a terrorist sympathizer.

Since then, an entire movement has been built around the thoroughly discredited notion that the president鈥檚 birth certificate is a fake. And that鈥檚 just the beginning.

Newt Gingrich has called Obama the and referred to his

Obama 鈥� and Oprah Winfrey, too, by the way 鈥� have reached the pinnacle of their professions only because they鈥檙e black. He added this week that 鈥渟o-called conservative media types鈥� praised Holder鈥檚 nomination only because 丑别鈥檚 black.

the president, whose mother was white, has a 鈥渄eep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture.鈥�

Conservative hero and former rock star Ted Nugent, who was invited to campaign with the GOP nominee for Texas governor,

A in front of the White House during last year鈥檚 鈥淢illion Vet March.鈥�

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina screamed during the president鈥檚 address to Congress in September聽2009. When has that happened to a president before?

All manner of have been seen at Tea Party rallies, including one depicting the president as a 鈥渨itch doctor.鈥� 聽

We鈥檝e repeatedly seen stories about conservative politicians sharing about Obama.

And, we鈥檝e seen an explosive growth of radical-right groups, including armed militias, since Obama was elected, and repeated threats that violence is needed to 鈥渢ake our country back鈥� from the 鈥渢yranny鈥� of Obama. This is part of a backlash to the growing diversity in our country, as symbolized by the presence of a black man in the White House.

I grew up in rural Alabama during the Jim Crow years and lived through the civil rights movement, when white supremacists did everything they could, including committing violent atrocities, to turn back the tide of progress. And I鈥檝e stared across the courtroom at some of America鈥檚 most vicious hatemongers 鈥� men like neo-Nazi Frazier Glenn Cross, who recently killed three people and once targeted me. I know racism when I see it.

No one, of course, is suggesting that merely disagreeing with Obama is evidence of racism. That鈥檚 clearly not true.

But we have a political party and a right-wing media machine that pander incessantly to the racist reactionaries in our society, often through code words. It鈥檚 been going on since Nixon implemented his 鈥淪outhern strategy鈥� of appealing to white resentment in the wake of the civil rights movement.

I wish it weren鈥檛 so. But it is simply undeniable. We should call it what it is.