Romney insults the NAACP Convention, gets lustily booed

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Daily Star today published a condensed version of this McCaltchy News report by Maeve Reston of the Los Angeles Times on Willard "Mittens " Romney's speech to the NAACP Convention on Wednesday. Romney's speech to NAACP draws boos from audience. I was struck by a key passage in Reston's reporting:

But murmurs of disagreement ran through crowd when he argued that his policies would help "families of any color more than the policies and leadership of President Obama." And he was met with loud boos when he said he would reduce spending in part by eliminating "expensive, nonessential programs" and repealing the health care law. For 15 seconds, Romney stood quietly, smiling at the audience as they voiced their disapproval.

Here is how another McClatchy News report by William Douglas and David Lightman of McClatchy News accurately reported this key moment in Romney's speech. As Romney courts NAACP, audience boos vow to repeal health law:

The overwhelmingly Democratic group roundly booed him, however, when he declared that he'd repeal the health care law.

"I'm going to eliminate every nonessential, expensive program I can find; that includes Obamacare," Romney said to a long chorus of jeers. A woman in the back of the hall shouted, "You mean Romneycare?"

The Arizona Republic published an AP report by Kasie Hunt that also accurately reported this key moment in Romney's speech. Romney makes NAACP economy pitch, is booed:

[Romney]was booed when he promised to get rid of the Obama administration's health care overhaul.

"I will kill every expensive and unnecessary program I can find, and that includes Obamacare," Romney said, then waited and smiled through the crowd's disapproval.

So it was Arizona Daily Star readers who were treated to the "softened" reporting by Maeve Reston of the Los Angeles Times. A reader who did not see this moment of the speech (video below the fold) would not understand why the NAACP was booing Romney.

The right-wing uses "ObamaCare" as a pejorative, some have argued even as a racial epithet against an African-American president. For Romney to use "ObamaCare" before an African-American audience of the NAACP, he may as well have been using the "N" word in front of this group. This explains the immediate reaction of this group to the use of "ObamaCare" by lustily booing Romney for over 15 seconds. Romney insulted his audience by his intentional use of this pejorative (and racial epithet) "ObamaCare."

Romney was not speaking to the NAACP audience in the room. They were only photo-op stage props. Romney adviser admits Mitt used NAACP speech as a photo op. Romney was speaking to what GOP strategist Ed Rollins recently described as the "white, old, fat" Tea-Publicans who watch FAUX News and listen to hate radio all day. He was reassuring the conservative "white privilege" base that he is one of them by intentionally insulting the NAACP, then waiting and smiling through the crowd's disapproval. FAUX Nation got the message.

Romney is still running in the GOP primary, rather than pivoting to the broader electorate he needs to appeal to in the general election. Who is he still running against?

Here is the video of the key moment in Romney's speech (h/t Talking Points Memo).

UPDATE: Following his speech to the NAACP Convention, Romney went on FAUX News for a victory lap. Romney said he met with "black leaders" who told him they support his policies but are afraid to do so publicly.

The NAACP's Hilary Shelton claimed on The Ed Show on Wednesday night that they were likely people brought in by the Romney camp "to actually provide the cheering for him." MSNBC reports Did the Romney campaign plant supporters at NAACP speech?:

"Quite frankly, the campaign actually gave me a list of African-American VIPs that they brought into the NAACP meeting," Hilary Shelton told Ed Schulz. "So we were aware that they had people brought in specifically for the campaign. So I'm sure those were the ones they sat down with, because quite frankly none of the rank-and-file NAACPers met with him."

* * *

Shelton said that none of the people Romney met with were active NAACP leaders, and that Romney's referring to African-American conservative politicians like Niger Innis who "was brought in from New York."

Pressed by Ed Schultz about whether Innis and the others were actually members of the NAACP, Shelton said: "They're bringing people in that they know will support his agenda from other places, that aren't active with the NAACP. These are people who are brought in to actually provide the cheering for him, so there will be some support along those lines."

* * *

Mark Thompson, a radio host who attended Romney's speech, is backing Shelton's claim.

Thompson told Lawrence O'Donnell, host of The Last Word, that Romney "brought about 20 black Republicans with him," who served as "applauders for his applause lines." Thompson called the move "bizarre," and added, again echoing Shelton, that these were the black leaders Romney was referring to in his comments on Fox.

* * *

Roland Martin of TV One's Washington Watch, tweeted earlier today: "Romney bussed in about 200 supporters, including a number of African Americans, including Fla Lt Gov Jennifer Carroll."

If this story is substantiated, it is one of the most pathetic attempts ever by a campaign to stage manage an event. Romney and the GOP are shameless.

UPDATE: From the Rachel Maddow show on Wednesday evening, Mitt Romney responded to being booed during his speech at the NAACP for saying he would end "Obamacare," at a fundraiser in Hamilton, Montana by saying this:

ROMNEY: Remind them of this, if they want more free stuff from the government tell them to go vote for the other guy — more free stuff. But don't forget nothing is really free.

That pretty much exposes Romney's speech at the NAACP Convention as a photo-op for the "white, old fat" people of FAUX Nation. How dare he invoke his father's civil rights credentials in his speech when the son is clearly following the GOP's long-established Southern Strategy of race-baiting division.