The laughs were aimed at the Republican party and their lack of diversity.

They just took advantage of the child, based on his skin color, in order to make the joke.

You can justify it however you want. It's still racism.

...who taught African American Studies at Princeton and who has more African-American guests on her panels than any other news show is actually racist against African Americans....

and I don't think that just because people are African Americans they should be excused from being called upon for insensitive, stupid, racist comments.

Don't we - society, that is - have similar discussions about rap artists? They are African Americans who use racist remarks but who claim that their remarks are not racist because they are African Americans? Reminds me of Nixon who, when interviewed by David Frost, said when action are taken by a president they are not illegal..

Yeah, I do think MHP ended up coming across as insensitive, and it's good that she apologized for that. But I don't believe there was any real racism involved here. She just made a mistake, that's all.

It's a bastion of rightwing Yahoos!

Perhaps if you can copy and paste it onto google?

the Yahoo piece blows it way up out of proportion.....sheesh!

and started with a politician who texts his "member" and that his name is Wiener..

So why a joke about a little baby who was lucky to be adopted by a wealthy family that can care for him?

guess it went over your head.

SWOOSH!

set-up for the punchline?

typical kneejerk response...


did you happen to look at anything else about the picture besides the child? You might have gotten it then....I'd suggest taking another look.

to defend this "joke" and yet you can't seem to explain what the joke really is about. About the only evasion you haven't employed, as of yet, is the ol' "Well, if you can't figure it out there's no point in my trying to explain it to you" dodge.

there's your "clue" for today.

That's a novel theory.

Did you happen to notice how much effort to make everyone "look the same" was gone to in that picture?

it was inartful....sheesh.

It still wasn't "about" the child....

get a grip...it was inartful.

in was inartful humor and she apologized....


Now let's talk about you trying to "prove" something about me....

you do a good job all by yourself.

Now what were you trying to "prove" about me again?

You can tell who actually WATCHES MHP on a regular basis by the responses on this thread.

She doesn't shy away from issues of race. I find her one of the most refreshing voices on MSNBC.

and using him for a "caption" that he is not the same is worse than a joke. Is offensive.

From the link:

“One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just isn’t the same,” panelist Pia Glenn offered as a caption for the photo, which the Romneys tweeted on Christmas Eve. (Lyrics of the original Sesame Street song are, “One of these things just doesn’t belong.”)

And, as someone notes, below, young children and grandchildren who are not part of a campaign should be left alone. Period.

Or does this go over your head?

Romney....Republican....very few non Caucasians in the party...my pointing that out is racist? Did you happen to notice that even the style of dress was "all the same" in that photo? This is where the joke is...

or did that go over your head?

The Romney is the whiteness of white families.

Honest question.

Wealthy, sure, but he's going to grow up in a rarified environment where he is always the "nail that sticks up."

And we know what happens to the "nail that sticks up" don't we? It gets hammered down.

Money isn't everything.

Sandra Bullock and the Jolie-Pitts?

Are you saying that interracial adoption should be banned, or just for those you disagree with politically?

adoptive parents.

And no, I don't think "interracial adoption should be banned," (nice strawman attempt at painting me as some kind of racist, though) but I think it is best for a child to grow up and see one or two people in the whole wide world who LOOK LIKE him, and aren't driving the car, pushing the broom, or serving Mister Mitt in this way or that.

I've never seen a photo of Mitt Romney with a black person that wasn't a photo op. Mitt doesn't have black friends.

I'm pretty sure that child is going to have a tough time finding his place; we may one day read about it in his tell-all book, if he makes it through.

He'll probably grow up wondering if this guy was his daddy:

?w=400

I hope it was an open adoption but I'll bet it wasn't. A child has a right to know where they come from.

As an adopted child? Did You adopt a child? Just wondering.

There is a vanity associated with these international adoptions--and there's also a flouting of laws (see Madonna and Mali) and a sense that the rich can just buy a kid. Even Angelina Jolie had trouble with the parent of that first kid, and bought off the mother.

I don't think children should be bought and sold, but that's just me. I also think a child has a right to know who his biological parents are.

I'm very old. Back when I was growing up, the paradigm was for white actors like Ronald Reagan and Joan Crawford to adopt white kids that could pass for their own.

Now the idea is to go far and wide and grab an infant off every continent and make a big show of the "philanthropy" of the celebrities...when there are plenty of kids still looking for homes from here in the US of A.

Of course, some of them are older, they may be disabled, they may have a few issues, and they aren't "exotic." Which leads me to believe that some of these famous folk regard them as accessories.

"Inclusive." Cuz that's how much Romneys care.

making fun of a child who has done nothing wrong, certainly not to you, but who happened to be "not the same.."

I made fun of the Romneys, not the child, obviously. Goodbye forever.

but the were making fun of the relationship(or lack of) between the party and black people.

but i agree that they probably shouldn't have used the romney family pic for it. the "who let the dogs out" video would have been better.

The fact that Scott Brown was offended is meaningless to me

We're taking cues from HIM on issues of race? After the shit he flung at Elizabeth Warren?

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/09/26/senator-scott-browns-racist-and-anti-indian-campaign-rallies-why-progressive-people

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/08/1089812/-Scott-Brown-media-allies-using-racist-slurs-in-political-attack-campaign


Talk about letting the bigot control the narrative!

Scott Brown is the wrong person to make this type of attack.

He probably is under the mistaken impression that there are no black people in New Hampshire! Granted, there are damn few, so he probably figures he can get away with dissing MHP without a "Sharpton of the North" rising up outta Manchester or Concord and slapping him and his nasty-ass insinuations, like he deserves.

Lucky him, there are even fewer native peoples in NH than there are black folks--so he can use "Pow Wow The Indian Boy" or the "Tomahawk Chop" song as his campaign song if he'd like, the bigoted jerk.

History in a few brief images for anyone reading our conversation:

Twitted

I am sorry. Without reservation or qualification. I apologize to the Romney family

I work by guiding principle that those who offend do not have the right to tell those they hurt that they r wrong for hurting

http://swampland.time.com/2013/12/31/msnbc-host-apologizes-for-segment-mocking-adopted-romney-grandchild/

A picture of the attendees of the Republican party can send the same message.

I do not think they ment to make fun of a kid.

Did you see the clip??

Now, who, or what, do you think, they were referring to? Ann's left foot?

Who, or what, do you think they referred to?

"picking on the baby."

Anyone who doesn't understand that the ire of those women was directed at the patriarch dandling that adopted grandchild on his knee, whose economic and political policies serve to disadvantage people of color, is just being willfully and deliberately obtuse.

I am not going to suggest that a crew of black women are to be prohibited from pointing out that a guy who screws over black people as a matter of routine deserves a bit of "WTF" when he suddenly pops up "wearing" a black grandchild. I think the ladies have a point to make, and I think it makes some caucasian people really, really, REALLY uncomfortable because they want to pretend that the world is color blind, that no one should notice this odd juxtaposition, when we know the world is NOT color blind, when we know how Mitt approaches issues of race and economic inequality, when we know that if you're black or brown or some other shade that isn't lily or pale, you get a different set of cards dealt to you.

So I'm just not buying the "Shocked, shocked" routine or the fake poutrage. And I'm not buying the "Bad black women for pointing that shit out" either.

It's like the Duck Dynasty guy showing up to serve Christmas Dinner at the gay homeless shelter--unlikely, unexpected, and unusual. Mitt Romney has never been known for his outreach to the black community, so he's not the first guy in line you think of when you think "Grampa" to a black child.

Now...that's a joke everyday of the week. And, the jokes have been made before. It would have actually been funny AND true. And, I have no doubt their archives ARE FULL OF THESE KINDS OF PHOTOS.

Conservative and overwhelmingly white. Blacks fled the GOP a while ago and Hispanics and Asians are now doing the same.

Did you see the numbers from the last election?

Pretty pathetic.

phone calls that said "would you vote for a man who has a Black illegitimate child" against his daughter adopted from Bangladesh.

so that's not much of a shocker.

Is a boy wearing pink a crime now?

girls in blue?

Why is only the black child singled out in a pink costume?

It's not like he's old enough to pick out his own outfit, after all.

Congress should subpoena everyone of them and get down to the bottom of it.

But I do think the people crawling up MHP's butt on this need to get a life, and an appreciation of context. This is more about phony poutrage, with a goal to "get" that uppity woman who dares to point out hypocrisies on MSNBC.

So no matter who it is I don't do the letter writing, phone calling or boycotting thing. People should say what they think and stop apologizing no matter what side you are you. Everyone knows it is just PR anyway and the apology is fake so why do it?

That's also a baby BOY, born in July.

Jeeze. Anything else wrong?

Who knew you were such a proponent of gender stereotyping?

Why is it that only the BABY boys get pink, while the more mature ones get blue? Hmmmmm?

You're not a pro--you're a rank amateur at this. You certainly are trying, though--a bit too hard, I'd say.

Um, not even close.

remember at the end of the debate the Romney Grandson who seemed really into talking to Obama ? is it the one sitting on Ann romney's lap ? check out the look on his face, i wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being a liberal.

Har har, it's a black adopted baby in a mostly white family. That's pretty funny.

If Faux Noise had done this, the thread would be 5x as long.

Kids don't pick their family.

And, talk about hypocrisy. Lamont Hill suggested Romney was exploiting his family by sharing the photo. But, there were family photos before the child was born. In fact, that was a big joke, also. Everyone wears the same colors in the family photos.

Actually, I didn't think that was funny either. Lots of people coordinate for family portraits. But, as for the hypocrisy, this was the same argument used against Blasio. His opponent suggested that simply having his son in a photo or on the stage with him, was exploiting him for votes since he was black.

Again...it's offensive.

leave the kids alone. Especially when they are young and are not part of the campaign.

Now Liz Cheney is another matter.

It's DeBlasio. He used to work for Bill Clinton. Later, he worked on Hillary's campaign.

Meet his family:



And you're missing the point.

What's offensive is a Republican patriarch who, as a Presidential candidate, and in his daily life, champions policies that negatively affect people of color, dandling an adopted child of color on his knee, as though that child is an "antidote" for the patriarch's attitudes about work, wealth and the social safety net. These attitudes Grampa holds are ones that adversely impact--in a MAJOR way-- the racial group to which his adoptive grandchild belongs.

Such a crime for people to....NOTICE.

I had a senior moment on the last name for Deblasio.

Quote: "What's offensive is a Republican patriarch who, as a Presidential candidate, and in his daily life, champions policies that negatively affect people of color, dandling an adopted child of color on his knee, as though that child is an "antidote" for the patriarch's attitudes about work, wealth and the social safety net."

1. Except he wasn't "dandling" an adopted child of color on his knee as though the child was an antidote. EVERY year Mitt Romney sends out these corny images with his grandchildren. It would have been more offensive IF the first year he had a black grandchild, he didn't. Each year every kid has on the same color coordinated outfit on these family photos.

2. Mitt Romney did not adopt a black child. So, it wasn't his antidote. His son and his son's wife adopted a child. A couple simply adopted a child that happened to be black. Mitt Romney's policies suck...not only for people of color but for the human race. On that we agree. But, it was poor taste to pull out a family photo for captioning SIMPLY because a black child was sitting on his grandfather's knee. Even if grandpa was Mitt Romney. It ain't about Mitt for me. It was about a family (Mom, Dad, Big Sister, and New Little Brother) who should have had the opportunity to see that progressives do respect families. All kinds of families.

I respect you MADem. On this one, I simply disagree. To me, and it's really okay if it's only me, this was a self inflicted wound on Melissa Harris Perry's part. She pulled out the photo...then she set up the segment by pointing out the black child on Romney's knee. In my heart, progressive means a child is a child first. It was a cheap shot.

Some multiracial families found offense with it. Some did not. I'm in the camp that did. It's a point of sensitivity for me on many levels...1) adoption, in general; 2) multiracial families; 3) adopting kids from different backgrounds, etc.

Melissa Harris Perry apologized. I respected the fact that she attempted to do it without qualifiers, etc. To rationalize it would've just seemed too Fox Newsy. You know who should've pulled out the picture and asked for a caption. Glen Beck. Not Melissa Harris Perry.

Grampa's knee?

I still maintain that Mitt's goal with this card is to use that kid. See, see? I'm not like those OTHER Republicans! I don't hate the "blaaah" people like Rick Santorum!

All while he champions policies that negatively impact people of color, and he does it with that sick smile on his face.

That's where my sisters on Melissa's panel were going. And they were doing it in a lighthearted way, but making the point nonetheless.

I think sometimes the truth hurts. This was a truth, and it hurt. Of course, if Mitt would ever release his tax returns, and we could see the millions he donated to the UNCF well, maybe I will revise my POV. But I don't think there are any entries along those lines in his tax returns....

We know what Mitt thinks about people of color from his very public pronouncements. He doesn't believe in social safety nets, and he doesn't understand that if you're born in Roxbury MA to parents who make minimum wage your life--from Day One--is a very different slog than if you were born in Beverly Hills.

I know when to call it a day. Maybe you guys are all right...

Perhaps the entire Romney clan is inherently evil because they are Republicans. Perhaps son approached dad and told him...Pop, we've been wondering how to help you politically. So, we're going to adopt a black child. Or, maybe Romney held a family meeting. boys, I've got a master plan. We need some color in the family. People will like me better. And, then, at the family photo...maybe a different Romney child was on his knee...but Romney, now smarter than his ineffectual campaign, yelled out...no, bring my little black boy. This is going to play well for the camera.

But, being brilliant...some on DU have rightfully smelled out the rat. The only reason Romney could possibly have a black child on his knee is to use him. A less thought out person might have assumed he ended up with the baby on his knee, because that's the baby he was holding while standing up.

Or, maybe the person arranging the photo told everyone where to stand or sit. But, now to tell you the truth...I'm okay with feeling differently about this one. I always thought I was the biggest cynic I knew. But, I always pray not to have a hard heart. I feel better about myself and who I am if I keep thinking this is just Romney sending another goofy, matching family portrait. And, I do smile when I see the black child, because our kids often place us in situations that force us to deal with our own bigotry. Hopefully, he'll grow as a part of the process.

To paraphrase Kanye the nitwit (even a stopped clock...) "Mitt Romney don't LIKE black people."

I'm trying like hell to avoid a Godwin reference here, but the "RMoney way" is just cruelty--they take away from the needy--many of whom are people of color, and then they lecture them on pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, when RMoney has already TAKEN their bootstraps from them and left them without resources. What he did, here, in MA, to black and brown people was UNCONSCIONABLE.

Hell, it's bad enough how he acts towards his fellow humans, and I can understand that people outside the Bay State might not fully realize or be aware of how he targeted the poor and disenfranchised with his "business politics," but you can get a hint of what he's about by the way he treated his poor DOG--that gives us a pretty accurate sense of what a soulless shit that guy is.

I feel for that child. He's going to be singing that song MHP et. al. got excoriated for eventually. I hope his adoptive parents have some good answers--and some role models--for him when he starts asking questions.

Once they are adults and, especially if they become politically active, then they are fair game.

disgusting. I don't care who said it. And I believe this is much worse than anything Bashir said about Palin.
I hate to say it but bye-bye Melissa. The public is very unforgiving ...

The jokes weren't funny. There are probably literally thousands of things they could have said about Mitt Romney that would have been funny. But, that picture was brought out for the express purpose of putting a bulls eye on the black child sitting on Mitt Romney's knee. Literally...a "Hey, ya'll. Look at the black baby on Mitt Romeny's knee. Now, let the jokes begin."

Since, the joke was supposedly about Mitt Romney and republicans, the black baby used to sell it was treated as expendable in their big joke.

I didn't think it was funny. Mitt Romney's son and his wife chose to adopt a child. Something probably none of those smug individuals has done or would do. This is generally done by people truly looking to give a child a better life and they feel they have enough love in their hearts to share. Often, before adoptions can occur, home studies are done to be sure there will be a support system. Not only financial, but also emotional. They didn't have to adopt. They're rich enough to do whatever they want. They chose to adopt. This is something we want families to do. Not to mention, we want them to consider ALL CHILDREN as potential matches. It's no small decision to decide to adopt a baby of a different ethnicity, one with special needs, older children, etc.

I want a world that encourages people to adopt and celebrates families. And, when families adopt children from backgrounds that are different from their own, I want a loving, receptive world for them. Not smug snark and nastiness.

Melissa Harris-Perry didn't know exactly what would happen when she pulled out that picture. I think her own mother is white. But, she was hoping to generate some buzz at the expense of a family photo. I like Melissa Perry. But, I'm hoping she jumps ship from MSNBC. Apparently being a part of MSNBC causes some people to become judgement impaired. I think she's smart, witty, and generally on target. But, as their ratings circle the drain, the staff seems to be suffering from some form of deficient thinking. I'm hoping its not contagious.

Poor judgement at best...offensive at worst. I don't care how often I agree with some of their hosts, they get no cover from me on this one.

without making ANY comment about the black baby. Shame on them.

mitt existed.

if Fox News had done this to De Blassio. I am betting it wouldn't have been joyful. I fail to see the difference here.

+1

No difference at all between Democrats and Republicans?

between Professor Perry's behavior and that of people who would have done the same in regards to De Blassio. both are inexcusable.

At the very least, you don't think their motivations would have been different? The context?

We whine, cry and moan that prolife people don't adopt. We call them hypocrites and worse because they don't adopt. well here is one who does and we hold his kid up for national ridicule to make a political point.

You think everyone who's pro-choice says that? They don't.

Look, I personally think kids of politicians should be off limits. That goes for both sides. I don't like it when anyone brings their kids into it. But I don't think she was making fun of the grandbaby. The intended target was the Romneys. And I don't think her message was the same as it would be if RWers were attacking the DeBlasios. Not at all.

instituted policies in his public life that fucked over black people, did he?

DeBlasio never advocated for a death penalty, that impacts black people far more than white folk, like Mitt did?

Deblasio never disestablished the state Equal Opportunity Office, like RMoney did, did he?

Deblasio never withdrew state funding from disadvantaged urban areas, like RMoney did, did he?

DeBlasio never cut school programs, social safety net programs, or raised "user fees" on the poor and disabled, like RMoney did, did he?

Those women were calling Mitt out on his hypocrisy. They weren't "making fun of a black baby."

Anyone who doesn't see that, doesn't know MITT.

You guys must not know any Mormons, or you didn't realize that there are fewer black Mormons than there are black Republicans.

Either way, Ben's motives for adopting a black baby are suspect.

The Romney family now has a "token".