I think many other people do too. If it's got a racial/regional connotation, it's with Latin America. O'Henry actually coined the term in a story he wrote while he was in Honduras (he was on the run from fraud charges in the US). When I think of the stereotypical banana republic, I think Latin American dictatorship.

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

As usual, Lil' Ricky is full of shit in his analysis here, but I think he was going for a cheap accusation of corruption and not much else. I agree that he wouldn't have used the same words for similar actions by Bush, but I be he would have if Hillary were president.

nuff said.

But 'banana republic' doesn't really have much to do with bananas and certainly not apes. It's more a catchall term for tinpot dictatorships, corrupt behavior, etc.

As lame as Santorum is, I think he has the right to use this phrase and not be called a racist for it. The focus should be on the fact that it's hypocritical and not a very apt assessment.

No offense here, but it seems that's what you heard. Can you really pretend to speak for anybody else on this?

It sure isn't what I heard. I heard cheesy allegation of corruption for doing the same shit Bush did.

but... it makes them think of actual bananas and monkeys. So, Obama's got some bananas and monkeys going on in the Black House...oops I mean the White House.

You don't have to be able to define a banana republic, in fact, Santorum prefers that you don't know what a banana republic is! He just wants you to imagine Obama swinging around on a vine grabbing bananas.

If you can grasp that concept enough to follow a story about it (and be interested in what Ricky has to say about it), it's safe to assume you know what a banana republic is.

There's no way to prove any of this. But I believe that there's a point when the super-secret context is so obscure and debatable, that it's best just to take things at face value rather than reading hidden meanings into everything. I believe Santorum has the right to use a phrase that we heard many times in connection with the Bush administration. I think he's wrong to make the comparison, but I just don't see the racial subtext.

Now, we also heard 'chimp' in connection with Bush's appearance many times during his administration as well. I would draw the line there. But banana republic is pretty divorced from any racial context.

officially, at least. He can very convincingly claim innocence on this, that it was meant to be taken at face value. No one will dare call him out on this, because no can ever prove that he meant to conjure up images of Obama the black man grabbing bananas in a tree, when he has the plausibility of purely innocent word choice.

But we already know he likes to tap into racial stereotypes of black people. I am not 100% convinced he wanted to conjure up racial imagery, but, if Frank Luntz helped him with his word choice, then to me there's no doubt.

Have you ever known someone who makes subtle comments that have the plausibility of denial, but yet deep down you know they were insinuating something? There's no use questioning them about it, because they'll just say "nooo of course not!" and you will look paranoid for not taking their words at face value. It's a foolproof manipulative tactic on their part, unless they do it too often and people figure out their game.

if so, Ricky, were those the act of a 'banana republic'??

Granted, Dems are far from perfect, but Republican corruption is practically a punchline.

to say, Santorum the racist creep wants us to think about literal bananas, in trees. He wants us to envision monkeys swinging in the trees, eating bananas.

He is hoping that we will next envision President Obama swinging in a tree, grabbing bananas.

Am I alone in this interpretation? We already know Santorum goes for racist stereotypes against blacks. What do you think?

MOST of the time, a cigar is NOT a cigar.........Not in this game.

including judges William Pryor and Charles Pickering, Yosemite John Bolton to the UN and Swiftboater Sam Fox as
Ambassador to Belgium.

Unconstitutional!!
Banana Republic!!

Except when Dubya/Cheney did it.
Then it's A-OK with the Republican lackeys.

No matter how easily their objections are made laughable by a simple comparison to Bush,
these Republicans will always feign outrage under orders from their Wall Street owners.