Last night, TRMS took another look at the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate from West Virginia. His name is John Raese. Now, on first appearance, his name appears difficult to pronounce. When I first saw it, I thought it was just pronounced "race." He must get that a lot.
Especially since in order to get elected, he likes to use race as a tool, as bait -- in part to entertain, but also to get elected. In the segment above, you'll hear Raese willfully mispronounce foreign-sounding names like "Sotomayor" and "Chu". (What Raese does with that last one you will not believe.)
But here's the funniest thing -- at least, to me -- about Raese acting like a clown: he acted like a clown because he thought that's how his voters act. "Real Americans" can't pronounce "Ahmedinijad"! To me, the people who ought to be most upset are the white West Virginians whom Raese was clearly attempting to woo with his willful ignorance. Note that one of his audience members at the League of American Voters corrects him on the pronunciation of the Iranian president's name, and reflexively, he beats down all that fancy talk with another mispronunciation. You're appealing to the common man? The common man just corrected you, guy!
I liken that to a forum that I attended at my church months ago. An African-American Ivy League professor was speaking to us about the "Black Church." I found it considerably odd that this professor, who said that he doesn't attend church regularly, felt the need to reach down into his belly and go into PreacherSpeak®, affecting his cadence and putting forth the kind of stereotypical platitudes that makes me think he got his idea of the Black church from a movie.
Perhaps it's natural to try to acquire an affectation of speech or behavior when trying to appeal to those in a foreign environment to listen to you (and do things for you, such as vote). When traveling to a foreign land, it's natural to try to speak the language. An American can go to France and try to speak French, but if they don't know the culture or the language that well, they might sound like they're doing a bad Pepe LePew impression.
When I hear Raese doing his "I'm not a career politician" bit, I hear someone trying desperately to appeal to an audience that he himself has stereotyped. Keep in mind that this is the same guy who brags with a surprising candor that he made his money "the old-fashioned way" -- by inheriting it. He wants to take labor laws and regulations back to the Stone Age in the name of "capitalism, the way it should be". But most germane to this discussion is the fact that the dude has a degree in education from West Virginia University. Yet, we're supposed to believe that "Chu" ties his tongue (and therefore, makes him a "regular guy")?
Leave a Comment:
Actually, it's called "code-switching." It's a pretty interesting phenomenon.
something I hear all the time living in St. Louis - if a politician is stumping in one of the large cities, STL or KC, they say "Missour-ee". (the commonly accepted 'educated' pronunciation). If they are in the more rural middle parts of the state, they say "Missour-uh". That's playing to your crowd.
Rachel I completely agree. I think he does this to deflect the fact that he is NOT very well educated. He does his 'ah shauks' routine so that he can then laspe into the 'educated' common man. If he simply spoke as himself, he would be seen an not particularly bright. This way, he can show the difference and how 'educated' he is, when in reality, he is not.
Tonight, a roundtable discussion at Columbia Univ.: "Is the Black Church Dead?"
http://www.iraas.com/node/158
Same as event at Jamil's church?
I'll say this: one of the professors at that event is the person to whom I was referring.
Posters for this event are plastered all over campus up here at 116 St/Bway. I wasn't planning on attending, but it would be interesting if the prof in question utilizes the same oratory tool with this particular audience (my guess: no).
This guy is something else. He laughs at himself, he thinks he is funny. He was funny at age 10 in the 3rd grade kinda funny sorta. Even the smart 3rd graders think this guy is dumb. I can't believe that a xenophobe, homophobe and who knows what other type of phobe, can even be in contention for a top political office, it is an embarrassment to the majority of people who respect others in the USA. Seriously, does he have a white unibrow, he could pass for one of the elders in planet of the apes.
This guy is a sympton of a much larger issue of greed. He doesnt just want to take us back to the stone age, he and all his ilk want to return to the days of Indentured servitude. No more no less. They want workers working at their station until they drop, they dont care about middle class people and definately do not want educated people. Educated people ask too many questions and begin to wonder down dangerous pathways of thought such as why does he have everything and why dont I have any? what's he done to earn all this and why am I starving to death?
They want your home owed to them and your family indentured to the corporate interests because thats what a true free market economy is. The rich get richer and the poor can suck it. They want you to buy everything at the coproate stores so you have to pay off the three squares a day and the roof over your head by working longer.
And when not if, when. you keel over at your desk, your children take on your debt, and they work.
thats what these people represent. they represent a new aristocracy that thinks its ok to do what ever they want because theyre rich and entitled.
they should remember the last countries where the rich got to full of themselves and where the poor got upset. it was france and Russia. in those countries the rich got very fat and happy and the poor got very angry. The poor then rose up and introduced the rich to Mr. G and Mr.G bit their heads off, and that showed the rich they werent as untouchable as thye thought.
We need to get this country back on track and these republican anchors around are neck need to be dropped where all anchors are dropped. the bottom fo the ocean.
Education does not necessarily make a person expert in plain, old fashioned common sense. He sounds like a carnival shill to me.
In any case, he is as dangerous as any of the righty-tighties IMO.
John Raese is offensive for a lot of reasons, not least of all because of his patronizing and condescending tone toward people whose families actually live in the Mountain State all the time. I'm a 9th generation mountaineer, a regular gal from a regular family, and absolutely no one in my family has trouble pronouncing "Justice Sonia Sotomayor" or "Dr. Steven Chu" or even "Ahmedinijad." It's ridiculously insulting to hear a serious contender for Sen. Byrd's seat to make those kinds of "mistakes," especially since he seems to think that's what the peons would say and wouldn't know any better anyway.
It completely cracks me up to hear Raese say that he's "not a career politician." I guess that's technically accurate since he's never been elected to office. However, he is actually more or less a career political candidate. In addition to being heavily involved in WV Republican politics for decades (including a stint as the party chairman), he's been a candidate for one statewide office or another off and on since 1984. That's a long time to be a politician and still not consider oneself a "career politician."
I just worry that a majority of my fellow mountaineers will buy what he's selling this time around. That worries me more than the thought of Republicans taking over the House, in part because WV tends to get comfortable with "the devil we know" and re-elect. If we get Raese this year, we'll probably be stuck with him for quite some time. And I guess we'll get exactly what we deserve.
Yes, You are exactly right. If you vote against your own best interest, because of bigotry, hate, stupidity, or any other laim ass reason. You WILL get what you deserve. The republican party of this nation, don't think the middle class deserve ANYTHING. The words middle class are not in their vocabulary. Why would you vote for an uneducated racist windbag that is hell bent on destroying this country????????
Jacqlyn, I wouldn't vote for Raese or anyone like him, personally, and I really can't explain why other people would. I can respect a desire for fiscal restraint and responsibility and balanced consideration of corporate and individual interests in economic issues, but I can't respect of support hypocrisy that calls for sacrifice only from the middle and lower-classes and and that prioritizes corporate profits over people in the name of "economic progress." I *hope* that WV will vote for Joe Manchin (although I'm disappointed with the recent turn of his rhetoric) because I believe that he actually does have the best interests of the majority of WV-ains at heart.
Please understand that WV-ians are not especially stupid or hateful or bigotted people--at least not any more so than the rest of our fellow Americans. Using that kind of inflamatory language about and narrow lens with which to view my state will do nothing to help progressives make sustainable in-roads into understanding and influencing policies and perceptions here. Just like many middle class folks around America, some of my fellow mountaineers are being seduced by cynical and very effective fear mongers shouting that we'll become like Soviet Russia if Democrats are allowed to propose policies and promising that things really will be different and prosperity will reign if only we let Republicans do the same things they've always done (even if those policies haven't worked and led us into the current recession).
This obsession with electing "regular guys" is puzzling to me. Politicians (and please don't tell me that some of these people are not politicians. The very act of running for political office makes the politicians. But, I digress). Anyway, politicians should be able to connect with the public. They should be able to explain their positions and the bills on which they are voting. This is one reason why people fail to realize the accomplishments of the current administration--they are not communicating it clearly. But please, people, quit assuming that acting stupid makes you "regular." Case in point-CO'D not being able to name a recent SCOTUS decision that she disagrees with does not make her a regular person. Perhaps it just means that she agrees with every decision the SCOTUS has made in the past year. No one expects her to be a SCOTUS scholar, but at least show that you've been paying attention. At least say "I think the Supreme Court has done a wonderful job." Or "I couldn't agree more with the Citizens United decision! Well done, SCOTUS!" I'd be careful doing the deer in the headlights routine if I was CO'D given that her mentor likes hunting and outdoorsy kind of stuff. Plus, if she really wants to know what it is like to be a regular person, I can tell her, that as a "regular person", if I told my boss "I'll look it up and get back atchya" every time I was asked a question at work, I'd eventually get fired for being incompetent. This dumbing down of America has gone too far. Next thing you know, we'll see signs for Snooki-Situation 2012.
Please. The only act is Rachel's. People know the country is going down the drain and they are willing to give businessmen like Paladino and Raese a chance. The retort by snot noses like Maddow...or is it Mad Now is to belittle the non professional candidates, the tea party movement and all of the United States inbetween Wallstreet and Hollywood. Go for it Rachel.
Just another example of an rich person who didn't take advantage of the the superior education he was given. George W. Bush comes to mind?
LOL!!!!! You said it, and every day the line gets longer........
Uh, everyone knows it's Mad Cow. And I don't think some of these candidates need any help being belittled. All they have to do is open their mouths and all doubt is removed. I hope at least Palladino miraculously gets in. Maybe people will fuggedabout "Chicago style politics" and start harping on New Yawhker politics.
Anyway, I don't even know why some of these candidates would think their antics make them "regular" when we all know that it is Activia that makes one regular. DUH!
Oh haven't we evolved from Mr. G into something more inline with the how the Romans had fun in the Coliseum with many diverse methods.
Fortunately there is a well-spoken, progressive candidate for the WV Senate seat in Jesse Johnson (www.jesse4ussenate.org/). Unfortunately the majority of the votes will be split between business-as-usual Joe Manchin and the just plain ridiculous John Raece; West Virginia will remain a beautiful backwater with increasing pollution controlled by the coal industry.