Davenport Protesters: Nobody Should Be Allowed to Criticize Obama
Project Islamic H.O.P.E and the NAACP paid a visit to Fullerton today to protest at the home of Marilyn Davenport, the OC GOP Central Committee member who has drawn fire from just about everyone everywhere for sending out an email depicting Barack Obama as a chimpanzee.
An outcry against racism? Sure. Calls for Davenport’s resignation? OK. But these protesters seem to have something else in mind:
Does the office of the presidency demand unconditional love and respect? Should Americans not be “allowed” to insult the President?
Other than the “No Justice, No Peace” sign, seemed to be a peaceful crowd. Just for kicks, I sure wish somebody asked on tape whether these folks were as committed Presidential respect when Bush was in office. Did they protest this?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkqrI3IibYI
Your title is misleading.
Huh?
“No one should be allowed to disparage the president or his family.” -Najee Ali, Project Islamic H.O.P.E., 25 seconds into the video.
…”and compare them to chimpanzees because that’s when you cross the line”
Selective quoting, thus misleading.
I mean he did say “certainly I don’t agree with all his policies”
That signals a critical view of the President.
@ least in some regards.
Quite simply, there are ways to criticize the President that aren’t disrespectful (or, indeed racist) The first speaker in the video says himself that he doesn’t agree with all of President Obama’s policies. (translation: he’s critical in some regard)
One woman says she hasn’t liked past presidents but upheld a principle of respect. That’s on her. What can I say if that’s truthful or not?
Personally, I believe in harsh criticisms and have no glowing sense of awe for an office that for the past couple decades has seen its share of occupants who have been disrespectful in all sorts of manners.
He said what he said!
First of all, not all Democrats who didn’t like President Bush approved of the personal attacks on him. I did not agree with President Bush at all, but I respect the office of the Presidency. I wanted him to succeed. Calling President Obama a chimp is not the same as the attacks on Bush. That email basically says he doesn’t have a birth certificate because he’s not human, he’s a chimp. Portraying a black person as a monkey is about as racist as you can get. Davenport at her age should very well know this, and she should resign her position immediately. If she has the freedom of speech to say racist things, we have the freedom to protest her!
You’re right, Travis. What a lame & cliched protest. These folks totally missed the point. Of course it’s okay to be disrespectful of a President, that’s a tradition going way back to the cartoonist who drew George Washington as an ass, and won in court.
The point was the racism. How could these NAACP people miss that? Weird.
And talk about leading with your chin. Most of us liberals were TOTALLY disrespectful of President Bush, and I’d be surprised if some of these people didn’t join in.
And it should be “The people united will never be defeated.” Changing defeated to divided might rhyme, but it doesn’t make any sense.
Is a chimpanze of the same “race” as the donkey (i.e. an “ass” as in the George Washington satire)?
It is interesting that the goon squad comes out to the residence of the “offending” Politician rather than protest at the politician’s official office or meeting place. It show their true intent.
Sort of like the goons (I mean ACORN) who went to individual bank managers’ homes to threaten (Oh, I mean protest) the actions of the banking institution.
This is merely Communist terror tactics to muzzle actual freedom of speech (political speech being the specific intended right to protect).
All of this phony “protest” clearly demonstrates how false and uniformly Leftist politically biased the Communist main stream media is.
Did any of the “crack” investigative reporters find out when that chimpanze picture was photoshop-altered and Obama’s face superimposed and the birth certificate tag line applied? I’ll bet it has been kicking around the country for a year, but the phony media “needed” a “Republican Party officeholder” to forward it along in order to become “shocked” and “concerned.”
Egregious unConstitutional crimes committed daily and this is the issue of “the press.”
Hey rain,
Conservatives were just as critical of liberals when liberals criticized Bush.
Any criticism of Bush was considered unpatriotic or in some cases treasonous because Bush was a wartime president. Some went so far as to say that criticizing the president was emboldening our enemies and demoralizing our troops.
Now of course, conservatives are all about free speech and criticism of a wartime president is de rigueuer.
I’ve criticized G.W. Bush constantly, I’ll bet I wrote a hundred letters criticizing his Treasonous failure to enforce our existing laws against EMPLOYERS of illegal aliens, among his innumerable other failings.
I mimicked and maligned his stupid misuse of language and used every device I could imagine to provoke his reaction (and thus potentially a response which might have triggered actual THINKING by him about his illegal actions).
Hyperbole and lampooning is entirely “fair play” in our American POLITICAL lexicon. I didn’t “attack” anything which was not an issue RELEVANT to the duties, conduct, qualifications, responsibilities of the office he held.
The use of a cartoon caricature of Obama to speak to the UNRESOLVED (but easily resolvable, by any normal law abiding American who regularly has to prove the truth of his personal claims) issue of his constitutional qualification to serve in elective office, is completely consistent with our tradition of free, robust, even rancorous political speech.
It is pretty weird that they decided to focus on this general and probably dishonest theme of never disparaging the President. Missed opportunity.
watch out, your crossing a fine line, i know its just killing you guys not to just yell out and stick up for Marilyn, i know u dont like seeing black folk protesting a white woman, so of course you disparage them even when they are totally right to be protesting this OC GOP idiot and deb pauleys good friend, and just to piss everyone off the same deb pauley that vocally supported shawn (dont call me bob) nelson.
Please disregard anything my boss says. You will never hear an intelligent thing come out of his mouth. Trust me.
Oops gotta go back in his pocket now.
birds of a feather flock together, water seeks its own level and so on with these adages. My point is Davenport is a fool and so it is to be expected she would draw a crowd of fools around her house. Though politically polarized Davenport and the protesters both are biased people who speak in absolutes that precludes logical discussion of relevant issues concerning our president. Davenport’s cruel racist insinuation about Obama coupled with protesters’ demand the president should never be questioned or criticized reveals Davenport and the protesters ignorance about the historical origins of American slavery and the presidency. White Americans used horrific negative stereotypes to justify enslaving Black Americans. One of the main tenets of the American Revolution was to throw off the exploitive divine right of Kings and Queens who ruled with absolute power and no one dared challenge them or they would be executed for treason. Our government very explicit our leaders are first and foremost citizens not divinities; we address our presidents as Mr. President or Mr. Obama. Using the logic of these protesters, they have no right to protest Davenport’s racist humor as she is an exalted member of our government. I support the protesters chanting their inanities at Davenport because both of them deserve each other.
Again, I fail to see where the protesters are demanding that the President never be questioned — as you put it. The leader of the demonstration even said that he doesn’t agree with all the policies of the Obama Administration. That means he finds them questionable!
Everything you insinuate after this false premise is faulty!
Van, you got it right.
I know, if gabriel san roman would stop apologizing, and I mean this word literally, for the protesters inane comments, he would hear “no one should be allowed to demean the office of the president, we should love our president, it is un patriotic to disrespect the president” I do agree with the protesters in light of US history, no one should ever insinuate a person of color is an animal even when it is intended to be a joke. However, it is our right to lampoon, criticize, dislike, challenge and vote out our president because he is OUR president.
“it is our right to lampoon, criticize, dislike, challenge and vote out our president because he is OUR president.”
Sure enough. But the protest itself wasn’t communicating that Obama should be beyond criticism.
I noticed that they thanked the police for allowing them to protest at the end.
Why do people feel the need to ingratiate themselves to cops just because they “allowed” them to excercise a constitutional right?
That’s like thanking someone for NOT kicking your ass.
Najee Ali (formerly Todd Eskew) has a lot to be thankful for. He’s a reformed former member of the L.A. Crips who’s done several stints in prison, most recently in 2008. He’s probably forgotten all of the bad things he said about George W. Bush, since he says can’t even remember how many buildings he burned during the Rodney King riots.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, N-O-T
addendum: would gabriel san roman feel more comfortable if Americans slavishly devoted themselves to the office of the president?
HA! I’m not an Obama supporter. I’m very critical of his administration. I see it as an extension, in many regards, of the second W. Bush administration.
That being said, I’m merely pointing out the exaggeration present here that when properly weighed is wholly unwarranted. It’s called nuanced thought.
Sorry, if that bugs you.
George Bush’s Third Term?
Ow, that’s gotta hurt the Audacity of Hopers.
I don’t suffer from hope-nosis.
obama disappoints me, bush disgusted me. sadly, when US critically needed excellent leadership, we got stuck with the worst; a cowboy and a fence sitter
Here is channel 2’s coverage of the protest. I think FFF’s was better.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/video-news-on-demand/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=5784859&flvUri=&partnerclipid=
Donald Trump’s recent jabs at Obama reveal that, with or without inflammatory or humorous cartoons, yet the “Obama’s birthplace question” is one that has not gone away, despite that the Supreme Court would not let the matter be the subject of a full-on evidentiary trial.
There is a lot more evidence now, than at the time of the last presidential election, that Obama was born in Africa. Specifically, American did not earlier have the documents from Africa; now it does.
The issue is corrosive. Either governmental rules are enforced, or they are not. When there is no court process to prove that the rules have been broken for a powerful politician, then it leads to a general cynicism by the public. There is no Equal Protection. From there, the Republic goes downhill.
For me, the timing of the whole thing is a bit personal. FFFF just reported about Al Morton’s death. It was Al Morton — one of my key Recallers — who drew me into his obsession with campaign signs that had been posted in criminal trespass. Neither the City nor the D.A. would do anything. I did. Then the cops lied and said I took down signs that had been allowed. After a whole year, I definitively proved that the signs had been placed in criminal trespass, and the DA high-tailed it to court to get the case dismissed. But were criminal trespassers Flory, Bankhead and Godfrey ever prosecuted, despite the public record that they willfully committed crimes? No. Because they were powerful. Like Obama’s election, their own election illegality was beyond any sort of judicial scrutiny.
During the false prosecution against me during 1994 and 1995, another recaller — Marilyn Davenport — steadfastly attended many of the hearings, along with other recallers. Then, as now, she understood that controversy is sometimes needed to get government to do its job and to enforce the law even-handedly.
Even though I am a Republican, I am not an Obama-hater. I don’t think that anyone else could do a better job as President right now, overall, given the very difficult partisan divisions and public divisions over domestic policy. But I have friends who were born overseas of American parents, but like Alexander Hamilton, they can never be president for that reason. You either enforce the rules, or get rid of them. [Yes, that is from the Goldwater Campaign.] And the parade of chimpanzee cartoons and comments by Donald Trump and all the other comments about this issue will continue until there is a bona fide hearing about this issue. It will only get more “hot” as we all head into the partisan primaries.
Best Wishes, WSH/
Only proving you’re a complete nutcase.
The current Governor of Hawaii and the previous Governor (a GOP) both stated he was born in that state.
Hence he is a citizen that is qualified to be President.
Please keep up with your claims of foreign birth. It only makes the GOP look foolish.
And BTW, if your friends were born overseas to American citizens, they qualify to be President. Those are the facts. Otherwise the millions of military offspring would be disqualified. In addition to those offspring of individuals who work for the foreign service.
There has been numerous hearings. You just don’t want to admit they are valid.
To #31: The friends to whom I refer were children of Peace Corps personnel and also State Department Foreign Service personnel. I may be mistaken, but my understanding is that “natural born” as used in the Presidential Qualifications Clause has not been judicially tested, and that it still means “born on United States soil,” rather than “born with a right to claim or elect United States citizenship.”
If the latter is correct, then the question is whether or not Mr. Obama would have been automatically entitled to claim United States citizenship, if he were born in Africa to a United States citizen mother. There can be no dispute that his mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth.
If you are correct, then the whole question of where he was born is irrelevant. But I was always taught –including in law school — that all of the children of military who were born overseas could not be President, unless they were born in an Embassy, a United States military base, or some other foreign location that is deemed to be “sovereignty of the United States.”
Perhaps I have misunderstood the rules, and if you have some Supreme Court decisional law that interprets the Presidential Qualification Clause as you say — that American parentage is enough to make one “natural born” — then I would appreciate the citation to the case law.
Your communication is the first time I have heard it indirectly suggested that foreign birth, if not on American “sovereign soil”, would not disqualify a born American from the Presidency. But perhaps you are right; I would be grateful for the legal references. Best wishes, WSH
All of which is a moot point since he was born in Hawaii.
If your belief about being born overseas is correct, that would have also negated his opponent since McCain was born in the Canal Zone in a civilian hospital in Colon outside of a US military installation.
Obama is a citizen unless one believes Hawaii is not part of the US.
Here’s a website that should help with issues regarding citizenship and eligibility.
Actually this whole video reminds me of 4SD Observer and her undying faith in all elected officials and public employees, at any cost.
And your post reminds me why I rarely wade into Loserville and read the rantings of the truly disturbed.
You’re no slouch in either department.
BTW, it isn’t about me. Davenport has inadvertently let everyone know what really comprises the OC GOP.
And only someone like many of the losers in this community are oblivious to the racial connotations of comparing African Americans to primates.
I doubt any of those on this board are well read to know that the comparing of African Americans to primates was used as one of the justifications for slavery.
4SD why dost thou insist upon wearing thy ass as hat?
4SD says: “And your post reminds me why I rarely wade into Loserville and read the rantings of the truly disturbed.” Excuse me 4SD but you have a strange definition of the word rarely. You are as frequent a visitor of this site as there is. FFFF probably considers you one of its most loyal readers.
True! And we even gave 4SD a coveted Fringie Award. It was due to his/her mindless and slavish devotion to the Crooked Collaboratix, Pam Keller.
Wow, you sure spend a lot of time in Loserville. Get a life already.
4SD is a man.
Hey Johnny Donut, I’ll bet you know alot about thanking people for not kicking your ass.
Funny how the responses to my post were all personal attacks.
Typical actions of losers.
Oh the irony.
Still no response to my assertions regarding Davenport and its impact on the GOP.
Are you ready to discuss that issue?
Somehow I doubt it.
If, thou were done wearing an asshat, when ’tis done, t’were best it were done quickly.
Bill, you’re a funny guy.
Why don’t you stick to the topic of the post.
Or start your own blog. No can’t do that too much work. Let’s have the government do it. But no mean commenters.
Loser.
I agree. Bill never adds anything of substance other than feeble attempts at speaking in an Old English dialect.
You guys have really missed the point. This whole fiasco has nothing to do with “free speech” and even less to do with “criticizing Obama”.
It has everything to do with another out-of-touch republican publicly advertising her ignorance.
If you don’t understand why it’s not acceptable to compare a black man to an ape, then you and your party will slide further and further towards irrelevance.
Thank you Gonz.
I don’t expect anyone to respond intelligently.
Here is something Reagan, then the new and “surprisingly” pragmatic governor of California, said to a party group 40 years ago, speaking of the dangers of hyperpartisanship in attempting to appeal to the voters:
Because this is the great common denominator – this dedication to the belief in man’s aspirations as an individual – we cannot offer them a narrow sectarian party in which all must swear allegiance to prescribed commandments. Such a party can be highly disciplined, but it does not win elections. This kind of party soon disappears in a blaze of glorious defeat, and it never puts into practice its basic tenets, no matter how noble they may be.
Davenport and her ilk and driving this group towards that cliff with both feet on the gas.
Oh, that this too, too solid asshat would melt…
Gonzo, the future of the Republican Party is a matter of complete indifference to many of us here.
Hey Joe.
We have something in common.
Finally something we can all agree on.
Are you kidding? Bill nailed it. You are an asshat.
Such erudition from loserville.
how would you know?
john, Bill may believe he is using old English dialect, in fact shakespeare wrote in early modern English
Please. The name is “Shakesperare.”
I’m working on a screenplay. It’s called “4SD Observer Doth Maketh His Ass Into A Hat.”
HELLO THAT WAS ME WITH THE AFRO WITH THE BLACK ONE STRONG COMMUNITY ACTIVTIES. WE WANT TO PROVE OUT POINT. IT WAS A PEACEFUL PROTEST MACCAPONE(AT)HOTMAIL(DOT)(COM)
POWER FOR THE PEOPLE…. MISS DAVENPORT KNOW THIS WAS VERY RACISTS. I SEE NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT A BLACK GUY AS A MONKEY……
WE GOING TO KEEP DOING THIS (AT) ALL RALLY UNTIL SHE STEP DOWN POWER FOR THE PEOPLE……… NO JUSTICE NO PEACE…….KEEP FIGHTING
I remember back in the day we used to protest our arses off, and they paid off. We got our community (Norwalk) a new park and a new city council. Keep’m coming Maccapone!
Nice neighborhood in Fullerton. Gotta be rich to afford one of those houses
f. pantoja . YOU KNOW I’M DOING THIS UNTIL THE END OF TIME UNTIL I REST./….. FOR THE PEOPLE PERIOD.. I DO IT ALL NOT ONLY FOR MY PEOPLE BUT FOR ALL PEOPLE……….FIGHT THE POWER………..
TOO ALL THE COMMUNITY PROTESTERS AROUND THE WORLD FIGHTING FOR RIGHTS KEEP DOING IT. DON’T NEVER STOP. THE HATERS GOING TO HATE BUT YOU GIVE THEM THE REASON TO HATER. KEEP THE FIGHT GOING ON……… GOOGLE MACCAPONE