3...2...1...

Time's up.

I wonder will he use the White Hood or keep it in the closet when he runs????

He could have mentioned Weimar Germany, perhaps a better-known example, but then he would've been hit with a Godwin's law violation...

Although I think you're unfairly prescribing two constraints (African and 21st Century). And give him a few more seconds.

I take it back -- you didn't say "African"

my error

I notice you needed to stipulate the 21st century, Elephantman, in order to exclude the obvious example of 1930s Germany, which is the classic example of hyperinflation.

That said, I do think Clyburn is being an idiot--we all know Zimbabwe is experiencing hyperinflation, and he damages his own credibility by claiming this is about race. It reminds me of that time someone said "niggardly" and lost his job.

With regard to the point about inflation, that's just moronic--we're undergoing deflation, people! Any inflation we experience right now is a good thing until the deflationary pressure goes away. And I'll also point out that we didn't experience major inflation during the Depression and WWII, even though the government was spending like crazy. Conservatism is an ideology that believes in things that seem to be true if you don't know any better.

Mentioning 1930s Germany is not the same thing as a comparison to Nazis (that would be something like "Clyburn/Sanford sure is sounding a lot like Hitler these days"). And even if it were, it would be a confirmation of Godwin's Law, not a violation.

Heck, he could have said "Argentina."

And let's clarify one thing: to be "beyond the pale" means to be outside the fort (the "pale" being the sharpened trunks that made up the fort) out there amidst screaming barbarians, i.e., not civilized.

"Conservatism is an ideology that believes in things that seem to be true if you don't know any better."

- That's a great description. Can I steal that?

My dad, a died-in-the-wool republican authoritarian if ever there was one, firmly believed (and perhaps still does) that an Obama presidency would inevitably round up all the white people in America and kick them out of the country, "just like Mugabe did." Now, like Elephantman and the others here, my dad will believe even the most absurd propositions so long as they make the Democrats look bad or the Republicans look good, and this is no exception.

However, my dad didn't dream that nonsense up on his own. He heard it somewhere. This makes me think that the Mugabe/Obama narrative is a republican talking point, that "Zimbabwe" means "the nigger president is gonna start rounding us all up", the same way "states rights" means "bring back Jim Crow".

Means living east of the Pale of Settlement which was the eastern frontier of the Polish kingdom until the early 1700's. The Jews who were expelled from Poland or politely asked to settle there were told to live beyond the Pale e.g. in the wilderness.

Stanford's "Zimbabwe comment" may be contrary to my ideology BUT his reference is absolutely appropriate and relevant. Hyperinflation is a bitch. So is the extreme nationalization and redistribution policy of Zimbabwe. If you are of Stanford's political ideology -- that is seeing the stimulus and Obama's budget as excessively redistributive and the borrowing dangerous and inflationary (which it will be despite the current deflationary cliff we are sliding down) -- the Zimbabwe image is right on -- even if it is hyperbole.

Clyburn's "race card" rhetoric is absurd at best. If all excesses of people of color are to be pulled from our common point of reference, all loose.

As much as it's the current urge to MAKE everything about the race card. More than being a 'black' nation, Zimbabwe is a failing state run into the ground by insane fiscal policies. The rate of inflation is what? 2 billion percent now? The basic unit of currency is the trillion dollar bill or something like that.

Thanks! And sure, go ahead and steal it.

...he'd have picked "Detroit."

It was the wall around Dublin. Vikings lived inside, and Irish lived outside.

And!!!!! Hyperinflation?! We have no such thing in the USA now. We have deflation (exact opposite), maybe.

And! Mugabe?! No parallel whatsoever with the USA or Obama. What are you trying to talk about?

The term pale, with a small p, is just a synonym of boundary, which makes sense. The English phrase "beyond the pale" is generally thought to have much more, well, English origins. Specifically, the English pale, a 20km radius around Dublin. Beyond the pale, of course, referring to the barbaric, gaelic-speaking, pope-worshipping locals.

Jeez, elephantman, according to Wiki, he could have named more than 2 dozen countries and had an example from the good old 1990's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation

3...2...1...

Time's up

Stop picking on poor little Elphie. He can't help it.

Oh yeah - "Barack the Magic Negro".

Nope, no racism there.

I think...

Uh oh. In your posts, this always precedes pure bullshit.

I think that if Gov. Sanford had really wanted to create an analogy to a failed society under Black leadership...

...he'd have picked "Detroit."

Nope. Not nearly scary enough. The republicans, and yourself included, have sunk to previously unheard of levels of desperation as they try and claw their way back to power. The only things that really motivate a republican are fear and greed, greed used more often when they're in a position of power, fear used more often when they're out of power.

For Sanford's attack to even show up on the scale, he needs the threat writ large. And there are few things a republican finds scarier than an unhinged black guy kicking ass and taking names, such as Mugabe has done. (I don't mean that to sound like I admire Mugabe.) Mugabe took a country where white people were once free to live the great life, and has turned it into a complete and utter mess. Sanford is hoping people see a connection between that and Obama. Keep in mind, this meme already got started among the hard-core racists in your party (all 90% of them), as evidenced by my dad's remark. (You'd agree if you knew him that my dad definitely has his finger on the pulse of the GOP.)

I'd say Sanford's intentions with this comment are pretty straightforward. And, glad to say, you're not going to find yourselves in power anytime soon doing it that way. Phew!