Mitt Romney’s Most Cynical Ploy Ever – Deliberately Draws Boos at NAACP Meeting to Boost Standing with Conservative Voters

Proof  Positive Mitt Will Say Anything to Win

[Update:  In one of the most blatant racist rants to date, Rush Limbaugh commenting on the Romney speech launched into a critique of his audience whom he called "these people".


Rush Limbaugh said Mitt Romney’s speech Wednesday to the NAACP fell flat because it was “over these people’s heads” and that the group booed the Republican candidate, who “sounded like Snow White with testicles,” simply because he’s white.


Mr. Limbaugh went on to reach new levels of offensiveness.

Limbaugh portrayed the crowd at the NAACP’s annual convention in Houston as ignorant of what was good for them and susceptible to pandering from Obama and other Democratic politicians.

“This group wants to hear about tax increases and bigger government to take care of people,” he said, according to a transcript. “They don’t want to hear about self-reliance, they don’t want to hear about free enterprise. Free enterprise means you’ve gotta do it yourself. Free enterprise means it’s up to you. Free enterprise means you’re on your own. This group doesn’t want to hear that.

Mr. Romney's spokespeople had no comment, apparently not wishing to offend the racist vote by condeming Mr. Limbaugh.  Oh and Politico reports that Mr. Romney got a standing ovation when he finished.  That racist enough for you Rush?]

When it was announced that Mitt Romney would be speaking to the NAACP Convention the reaction here to the news was fine. It was nice that Mr. Romney was invited by a civil rights organization, it demonstrated at least a willingness to hear the other side even if the chances of accepting Mr. Romney as a candidate were light.  And Mr. Romney’s willingness to go showed a certain amount of admirable fortitude.

But Mr. Romney and his advisers saw this opportunity as something different.  They saw it as an opportunity to stoke racial divisions, and to increase support for Mr. Romney amongst reactionary anti-civil rights voters.  So Mr. Romney developed a speech that would be certain to draw a hostile reaction from his audience.

Republican Mitt Romney earned boos Wednesday
at the NAACP annual meeting in Houston
 when he called for cutting “Obamacare,”
criticized Obama’s jobs record and said he
 would be the “best president for the
 African American community.”

The hundreds of African Americans in attendance at the NAACP’s national convention in Houston gave Romney polite although subdued applause. But he received a loud and sustained spattering of boos when he referenced his opposition to the health-care law he called “Obamacare,” when he said Obama’s policies were not helping create jobs and when he said he would be a better president for black families. 

That’s right, Mr. Romney went before a largely African American  audience and attacked the health care act not by its official name, but by the name ‘Obamacare’.  This was not a mere slip-up by Mr. Romney, it was an insertion in a speech designed to spur a hostile response.  Its purpose was to generate enthusiasm for the Romney candidacy among those who consider civil rights and civil rights organizations enemies rather than supporters of the American ideal.  It was just another implementation of the old ‘Southern Strategy’ first started by Richard Nixon. 

As the Washington Post reports, Romney advisers even admit that they were heartened by the reaction.

Although Romney appeared surprised by the boos, a campaign aide said he took it in stride, and his campaign advisers said they were not bothered by the reception he received. Indeed, they considered the speech gutsy. One adviser said privately that Romney has presented the same agenda to every audience since the start of the campaign and did not back down from advocating policies here that he knew black voters generally oppose, such as repealing Obama’s health-care overhaul.

They should have been heartened, it was what they planned and the result they wanted. It was ugly and cynical.  And it was disgusting.