Racist skit at Dorchester?

It appears that a young Latino Republican is raising a red flag about a skit performed at Dorchester - the GOP swankfest from last weekend.

During the tent show there was skit about the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, or GitMo. The speaker asked questions about people looking to Git Mo', or get more, one of which was "driver's licenses to Hispanics." I specifically remember the term, Hispanic and not illegal immigrants. Does this advocate that legal or not, Hispanics do not deserve licenses?

Another commenter - and Dorchester attendee - commented:

I think you're justified in some concern, and you must have been out of the room when one of the open mike speakers used even more offensive language.

There's more at Ask ORblogs and at Loaded Orygun.

Discuss.

  • Tenskwatawa (unverified)
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    <h1></h1>

    Racist skit at Dorchester. Go ahead, lose the question mark.

    Republicans were there, right? Their darlin' Liars Larson was there, right? It was racist.

    And supremacist, and lockstep, ja wohl. And criminal liars -- would you believe?. What part of Republicanazi* is in question?

    <h1></h1>

    [ * Autocrat: opposite of Democrat. ]

  • Daniel (unverified)
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    Gosh, an accusation with no proof? I'm shocked. Hey, I heard someone somewhere say that Kulongoski hates blacks. Discuss.

    Oh yeah, and you know that "Robert" is not a Republican because he's whining about his feelings like a woman. Discuss that as well.

  • Fact Checker (unverified)
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    Good try but unless you were there you will not understand the context of the skit in question. You might want to read these comments from the blog you linked to and edit this story...

    Well, as another Hispanic, allow me to alleviate your concerns.

    What Robert hasn't mentioned yet is that the person making the assinine comments was playing the character of "the unknown democrat comic." He had a bag over his head, and everything he said was offensive.

    It was a skit to point out the rank hypocrisy of the left. It was not someone advocating a Republican platform position.

    Ask ORblogs

  • askquestions1st (unverified)
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    I am having more than a little trouble understanding how a skit that uses detainees at Guantanamo Bay in any humorous way, if indeed this happened, except in sardonic condemnation of this sociopathic criminal adminstration, says anything more than that there are truly depraved individuals in the state Republican Party.

    And in the light of this event, again if indeed it did happen, to the rest of you cowardly Republicans who say you are "the other party" for your own selfish reasons, I say your morals and character are judged by the company you choose to keep quite about rather than denounce.

    Here's two other little things to remind the rest of us of just how sick and twisted those reponsible for Guantanamo Bay are --- and that includes both civilian and military individuals.

    US urged to abandon force-feeding at Guantanamo http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-03-10T001115Z_01_L09686813_RTRUKOC_0_US-GUANTANAMO.xml

    Cheap Watches Trouble for Gitmo Prisoners http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/09/AR2006030901331.html

  • (Show?)

    What Robert hasn't mentioned yet is that the person making the assinine comments was playing the character of "the unknown democrat comic." He had a bag over his head, and everything he said was offensive.

    In all seriousness--I don't see how this somehow alleviates the problem.

  • LT (unverified)
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    We know this was done by people more unified in their disgust for anyone not a registered Republican, than by people trying to reach a broad cross section of Oregonians and try to earn their trust and their votes.

    A skit truly trying to make fun of Democrats but without being nasty would have had someone playing "the unknown DEMOCRATIC comic".

    Anyone who thinks all Democrats march to the same drummer has no clue.

    And the Republics who drop the last syllable off the name of FDR's party (Ted Ferrioli is a Republican, and the Republican Senate leader, Kate Brown is a Democrat, and the Senate DEMOCRATIC leader) just because 20+ years ago someone started that fashion to needle those who didn't think Reagan was the greatest president of the 20th century, are not going to win over anyone to vote for their candidates. Esp. anyone who sees Ben Westlund and Frank Morse (and to some extent Ted Ferrioli) as the sort of Republicans they grew up with. Such people are not likely to vote for any 21st century GOP candidate just because the candidate impressed Dorchester.

  • jfe (unverified)
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    wow, a couple of those comments were full of hate, thats tolerance? Humor takes many forms, remember Richard Pryor, was he a racist? But he did make jokes that some would say were "offensive", yet jokes make people look at issues and think.

    Have any of the readers been to the comedy factory in Los Angeles?

    And for Republican bashers, what about those cartoons lampooning Condi Rice with racist stereotype features? But I guess its O.K. to make racist jokes as long as it keeps blacks in the Democratic Party.

    Further, what party is the original party of civil rights? Yes, thats right the Republican Party. Which president and what party did he belong to, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation? Republican Abraham Lincoln. Republicans past the 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments to the Constitution without help from the Democrats who at that time were "the white man's party" as their own description.

    Ancient history I know, but who today advocates for "school choice"? And who supports it? Answers: Republicans, and African-Americans(who want the best education for their children, so they can succeed.), respectively.

    Lets take race out of politics, lets stop throwing the race card at each other, its bad politics, its not good for society or the Nation.

  • PanchoPdx (unverified)
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    I was there.

    The unknown democrat comic skit was marginally funny, but not nearly as funny as the above attempts (by people who were not there) to stir up a steaming pot of righteous indignation.

    Hilarious.

    But let me provide you with more material to get stomping mad about...

    The best skit of the night was a take off on the Wizard of Oz (Called the wizard of R's). It was cast with real politicos singing musical numbers. Dorothy (played by Amy Casterline Langdon) sang a song about how somewhere over the rainbow the Oregon Republicans might find a winning candidate for governor. She and her little dog Dodo (aka, Ben Westlund) go off in search of the Wizard.

    Along the way they find Kevin Mannix (played by Sen Ferrioli) who says he thinks he could be governor if he only had a heart. Later they find Ron Saxton (I think played by atty Jim Westwood in a Harpo Marx wig), who says he could be governor if he only had the nerve to be a real conservative. Then they come across Jason Atkinson (played by a lobbyist dressed up as a little boy) who says that he could be governor if he only had the age.

    The wicked witch of the west (aka, Vicki Walker) arrives to threaten them all. All the candidates are afraid because she wants to be governor. But Dodo/Westlund comes to the rescue and pees on her leg, then she melts away.

    Not offensive enough?

    Second best skit was a duet with Kate Brown and Peter Courtney singing "I Got You Babe." The part of Kate Brown was played by one of the logcabin Republicans dressed in drag. Courtney was played by a guy in a gray wig. Brown made fun of Courtney's age, Courtney made fun of her sexuality.

    Republicans are clearly racist, chauvinistic, ageist, homophobic SOB's.

    Shout it from the mountaintops!

    Hilarious.

  • red (unverified)
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    Seriously, people, get over it. It was a joke. Becuase it obviously needs to be said, the tent show is not sanctioned by the Republican Party, and it does not reflect the official platform of the party. The Republican party does not promote nor advocate racism.

    The tent show is a time to throw off our inane political correctness and laugh at ourselves - Republicans and Democrats. We make fun of both parties, and we even throw in an independent for good measure.

    And Robert, get over yourself. If you feel victimized, become a Democrat; they'll foster that victimization and you'll feel right at home.

  • LT (unverified)
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    This part IS funny--I really laughed. Some of it is too true! Ferrioli has more heart and wit and good nature than Mannix has had in years--too bad Ferrioli didn't run for Governor.

    The best skit of the night was a take off on the Wizard of Oz (Called the wizard of R's). It was cast with real politicos singing musical numbers. Dorothy (played by Amy Casterline Langdon) sang a song about how somewhere over the rainbow the Oregon Republicans might find a winning candidate for governor. She and her little dog Dodo (aka, Ben Westlund) go off in search of the Wizard.

    Along the way they find Kevin Mannix (played by Sen Ferrioli) who says he thinks he could be governor if he only had a heart. Later they find Ron Saxton (I think played by atty Jim Westwood in a Harpo Marx wig), who says he could be governor if he only had the nerve to be a real conservative. Then they come across Jason Atkinson (played by a lobbyist dressed up as a little boy) who says that he could be governor if he only had the age.

  • ellie (unverified)
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    Robert, get over yourself. If you feel victimized, become a Democrat; they'll foster that victimization and you'll feel right at home.

    Classic!

    I just love it when partisans go cannibalistic. It's so entertaining.

  • askquestions1st (unverified)
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    I notice none of the apologists addressed the actual question of if or how Guantanamo Bay prisoners were used as characters in the skits or not. Anyone know the facts on this or not? I would think Kari and the rest who feel BlueOregon should be a real force in politics would recognize the importance of ascertaining exactly what happened and speaking out appropriately. But maybe I'm wrong about what BlueOregon'ers are really all about...

    You seem to want to be a defenders of the warped right, PanchoPdx, red, Daniel, Fact Checker, jfe. So why don't you give us a precise and full reporting of how Guantanamo prisoners were referred to in these skits, if at all? Or don't you have the guts to take responsibility? And claiming that the Republican party didn't endorse the show is intellectually dishonest --- if the prisoners were used in a humorous way, they didn't denounce it.

    And how about you cowardly lurkers from the press who read this blog? We know you are out there, but apparently not reporting on these skits at all. Do you deny that it is a fact that some skits happened, and that it is a fact some members of the press were there who should report "objectively" what they were about? Are you really suprised when you behave like this, that it is through your own ignorance, incompentence, and cowardice that you have lost the respect of the thoughtful segment of society who were the most important defenders of the "Fourth Estate"?

  • (Show?)

    Uhhh... First, remember that BlueOregon isn't journalism. We don't have dozens of full-time reporters tracking down stories. We have zero.

    And, second, we didn't publish these criticisms -- they were published by a Latino Republican who was there, over at Ask ORblogs. Go read it.

  • sasha (unverified)
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    Gawd some of you people are pathetic. Let political correctness reign!

    First, no Gitmo prisoners "were used in a humorous way." There was simply a reference to Gitmo by the stand up comic (who was not very funny at all) and he said something like: "You think Gitmo is a military base in Cuba? No - we Democrats have another meaning for it: to get more....."

    Did he say "Hispanics" rather than illegal alien? Probably. So what? Guess the text of the jokes weren't run by the PC Police.

    Why isn't anyone complaining about all the gay jokes? Most of which involved the openly gay Jerry Keane, who writes most of the Tent Show stuff?

    You all are really proving that there is no humor section in a liberal bookstore. I see now why research shows Conservatives are so much happier than liberals.

    Keep whining....

  • jim (unverified)
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    To askquestions1st: you really are taking yourself too seriously. An investigation? "What did the president know and when did he know it." Get a grip, this was a comedy skit, gee, you'd think the guy had never watched "Saturday Night Live", or been to a comedy club. Does shrill come to mind, or "1984" thought police, to make there is no unPC thoughts roaming free. Finally, no wonder Democrats always seem so grim, lighten up, smile and have a great day.

  • askquestions1st (unverified)
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    Kari, over the last few months I've had a hard time deciding whether your comments deflecting or misrepresenting the point of a post are being politically clever, or simply that you, like a lot of BlueOregon posters, just didn't get it. I remain undecided, but I hope the pols who read this blog learn that that kind of ambiguity on the part of those who claim to be using the force of citizen blogging to reform how politics is done, is one of the biggest problems we face in trying to get this experiment in representative democracy back on track after this right wing criminal administration has run it off the rails.

    So let me spell out my point in elementary detail: I would think if the collective that is BlueOregon wanted to be taken seriously, the named writers and individual posters would put a premium on soliciting the truth in their posts, and using their social networks to find out the truth to inform their posts. And in this case above all else: We are talking about war, wholesale violations of international law and human rights, and all manner of illegal domestic activity by this administration, and then the activists for that party using some of the most abused victims as butts of their jokes --- if it happened at all at Dorchester.

    It is a little immature, and not much use to the political process, to simply pass off the lack of curiousity about ascertaining the truth as in effect: "Blue Oregon is just a place for Oregon progressives to gather 'round the water cooler and share news, commentary, and gossip." "News" is about facts, "commentary" should reference the facts to be informative, and "gossip" that is cruel or spreads falsehoods should have no place. You can't hope to be taken seriously as the best local blog, and a forum that Oregon pols take seriously, without doing what blogs are supposed to be about in reforming the political culture: Telling the true stories that the mainstream media is too cowardly, too ignorant, or too incompetent to tell.

  • Jay Bozievich (unverified)
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    Wow, all this over a comedy act gone bad! I was there and the stand-up "comic" was reading from a script and stumbling over most of his lines. He could have just read wrong or sustituted the words incorrectly. Jeez, it was one of the worst skits in the show and was poorly recieved. Not exactly and endorsement from the RNC of a policy statement.

    The number that brought the house down at the end of the show was really funny. Tent Show regulars known as "the Greasers" ( a take off on a 50's Do-Wop group, nothing racist there) sang a version of the Fifth Dimensions "Aquarious/Let the Sunshine In" except the chorus was "Jack Abramoff" instead of aquarious and it finished with "Let the Money In" incuding a malfunctioning drop bag of toy money that required a ladder and a pole to be used while the singing continued.

    At least Republicans can laugh at themselves and our follies.

  • (Show?)

    Fair enough, AQ1.

    On this story, all I got is that a bunch of people who were there agree that it happened. Some of them think it was no big deal - but there doesn't appear to be any disagreement on what happened.

  • (Show?)

    Man, things have certainly gotten meta lately. Apparently BlueOregon should consider this a sign of respect--for months it didn't occur to anyone to take us seriously enough to question our ethics...

    To the post: Seriously, people, get over it. It was a joke.... The tent show is a time to throw off our inane political correctness and laugh at ourselves - Republicans and Democrats.

    Yes, but it was a public event, and so discussing it publicly isn't out of bounds. You don't get to be both "irreverent" and beyond criticism. Someone compared the old, white mean of Dorcester to Richard Pryor (which took balls)--you think he wasn't prepared for blowback? You want to be irreverent. Sounds like you were. So have the courage to actually stand by your irreverence.

    Republicans mistake the embarrassing attempts--what, a generation ago now--at speech policing with actual content. Should we forgive the KKK a boys-will-be-boys cross burning and condemn their critics as PC nazis. Or maybe all speech isn't the same. When the GOP, which is comprised almost exclusively of white Protestants slips and reveals bigotry, it's not PC to point it out. It's stating the obvious.

    Or, more briefly: apologists, methinks you doth protest too much.

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    (That last post was sort of riddled with my usual typos. One to identify is the "white mean of Dorcester" which I meant to render "men.")

  • jami (unverified)
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    "whining about his feelings like a woman"?

    republicans say: latinos shouldn't drive and women are bitches.

    want to fill the big tent with a comment about homosexuals, fact checker?

  • Fact Checker (unverified)
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    Jami-

    Actually you are the one that said both of those things. My tent is big enough for people of varying lifestyles and I prefer not to use the crass language you do for people who might not share/conform to yours.

  • PanchoPdx (unverified)
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    I'll try:

    Jami's last comment was so gay.

  • Anonymous (unverified)
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    I wanted to see what college students were saying about Dorchester so I searched xanga... What I found was frightening: http://www.xanga.com/warrenik/454428954/denied.html

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