Eugene Kane is playing Follow the Leader.
He's taking a cue from Barack Obama and bashing some members of American society, too.
Kane writes:
Lucky for him, it's been months since Barack Obama won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin.
Considering his recent comments about small-town voters being "bitter" folks who turn to guns, religion and bashing illegal immigration out of frustration, he might not be as popular today.
Frankly, if it weren't for the kind of people in small towns in Wisconsin who love guns, hate gay marriage, scapegoat illegal immigrants and promote a segregated way of life, there are plenty of politicians who would never get elected around these parts.
I think Kane is saying that it's the gun-toting, gay-hating, ILLEGAL immigrant-scapegoating bigots who populate small towns in Wisconsin who elect those evil conservative politicians.
Gee, Kane sounds sort of bitter.
Since Obama won in February, it's been one public relations fiasco after another, including his incendiary black Baptist preacher and a clumsy attempt to lump his grandmother into a group with "typical" white people because of her racial attitudes.
This week, Obama must address yet another gaffe that could resonate for people still deciding between him and Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
During an appearance at a fund-raiser in San Francisco, Obama was overheard telling supporters that middle-class Americans in small cities and towns in the Midwest and other places were bitter about the current state of the country and often expressed that bitterness in specific ways.
"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years . . . And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," Obama said.
Obama's words became instant fodder for both his Democratic and Republican opponents.
Obama is lucky his supporters are as loyal (or blind) as they are because his campaign has included one train wreck after another.
I think his "America the Bitter" foul-up is resonating with voters because he berated their values and the exercise of their freedoms. That's serious business. Obama exposed himself to be an elitist. He looks down on the American people. If they aren't on his bandwagon, they're victims of their own frustrations. Poor, poor bitter people.
Hillary and McCain are right to hold Obama accountable for the revelations of the San Francisco fund-raiser. Americans are getting to know the real Obama, the behind closed doors with the millionaires and the billionaires, no press allowed Obama.
...In Wisconsin, state politicians have gotten good at using issues like gun control, gay marriage and illegal immigrants as scare tactics for voters looking to lay blame for society's ills. (I would add talking about the threat of "activist judges" ruining our way of life to that list.)
Kane just changed the subject. OK.
He says the values and attitudes that are held by the bitter Americans in Wisconsin are exploited by state politicians.
It sounds like Kane is still bitter about Louis Butler being rejected by Wisconsin voters.
It sounds like he blames those bitter types. He seems to look down on them, doesn't he? Rather than voting on principle and making an educated choice, they voted out of fear and stupidity and frustration. And bitterness, of course.
Wisconsin is known as a progressive state, but there's a move afoot to change things, including reinstituting the death penalty and allowing the carrying of concealed weapons.
Ooh, trouble is afoot.
The bitter people threaten the enlightened liberal bastion.
With Pennsylvania - another state filled with small towns - next in line for a major primary, it's almost certain the discussion will focus on Obama's true feelings about small-town voters instead of an out-of-control murder rate in a major city such as Philadelphia. It's also clear that the rest of the 2008 Democratic campaign will include more games of "Gotcha!" between Obama and Clinton as each waits for the other to trip over their tongue.
I don't think Obama's condescending view of some Americans is a minor issue. This isn't "Gotcha!" This is insight into Obama. This is the raw Obama.
An out-of-control murder rate is very serious and must be addressed. Not all Americans live in places with out-of-control murder rates. The concerns of small-town voters should also be noted. They matter, too.
Does Obama want to be president of the United States or president of the major cities of the United States?
There are bitter voters in small towns and villages across America, including Wisconsin, but it's likely nobody will get their votes by talking down to them. That's just common sense, which is something Wisconsinites are known more for than their bitterness.
WHIPLASH!
Kane has spent his column talking down to small-town voters and dismissing them as bigots and fools. Then he concludes by saying how counterproductive that is.
He compliments the common sense of the bitter voters in small towns, including Wisconsin.
That's weird, considering Kane mocked Wisconsinites for supporting conservative candidates and being part of a move afoot to reinstate the death penalty and allow concealed carry.
Did they take leave of their common sense? Did bitterness override it?
Is Kane paying conservative candidates a compliment for respecting voters in small towns?
Whatever, Kane could be Obama's understudy.
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