Default To Racist Asshole Mode

GOP politicians have these devices that usually moderate their default racism, but when those devices go on the fritz and the truth about how they feel about anyone who's not white comes out, it's both instructive and angering.  Today's contestant is good ol' Lindsey Graham, who used this argument twice, on the Senate floor and again on the Today Show:

"Throughout the nation there are going to be thousands more people enrolled in Medicaid and every state except one is going to have to come up with matching money," Graham remarks. "I have 12 percent unemployment in South Carolina. My state's on its knees. I have 31 percent African-American population in South Carolina."

"We've got it tough," he adds. "We're on our knees. 12 percent of our people are unemployed and 31 percent of our people are black."

Graham later says: "My state, with 30 percent African-American citizens, a lot of low income people in South Carolina is going to cost my state a billion dollars, that's the same old stuff that I object to. That's not change we can believe in. That's sleazy."

Now, there's a couple of problems with these statements, besides the fact that Lindsey here is a racist assclown.  First of all, somebody needs to tell Lindsey that there are more people who are on Medicaid in South Carolina who are white, as Media Matters explains:

DISTRIBUTION OF THE NONELDERLY WITH MEDICAID BY RACE/ETHINICTY (2008)                            
 

And secondly, that if Lindsey there wants to really make this bill about race, the GOP is going to lose this battle terribly.

Now I know that I've said that the real reason the GOP wants to kill this bill is exactly because of race:  that this bill will help minorities is anathema to the teabagger jagoffs who "want to take the country back".  Some, not all, but some of the opposition to this bill is racism, pure and simple.

It's telling how desperate the Repubs are that they are now playing this card as a last resort.  It's also a sign of how much better than the status quo it will be.  Right now the focus is on this being a "big government spending" bill.  But if the GOP wants to make it a "welfare handout to blacks" issue, the center is going to turn on the Republicans again.

Hell, go ahead, guys.  Play the race card as hard and as loudly as you can.