Rand Paul Explains Black History to Black People

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/rand-paul-explains-black-history-black-people




If, in his speech to the students of the historically black Howard University on Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., sought to demonstrate he was down with the concerns of African Americans, his approach left a bit to be desired.

He explained black history to black people. He suggested that he was brave to have shown up. He quoted a poem that is said to be the lament of a sexually frustrated middle-aged man.

Paul went on to deny killing budget autonomy for the District of Columbia, despite the three poison-pill amendments he added to the bill. During the question-and-answer period, he chided a young voting rights activist for comparing voter ID laws to the obstructions African Americans faced at the polls during Jim Crow. And he said he had nothing against the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- despite being on record as opposing the provision that desegregated the lunch counters that were occupied at great peril by the Freedom Riders who fought the South's Jim Crow laws.

In short, Rand Paul delivered a pretty embarrassing performance, but perhaps not in ways that the audience for whom his speech I believe his speech was intended -- Republican primary voters -- would notice.

[marmar]

1. When I saw the headline, I assumed that this was from The Onion.

But this tragicomic event actually happened.

[MrScorpio]

2. With today's Republicans, the jokes write themselves. nt

[xchrom]

3. i saw excerpts from the event -- you;d still think it was from the onion. nt

[JHB]

4. Rand Paul/Dunning-Kreuger 2016!

I mean, since he's going to such lengths to associate himself with a pair of psychologists, he might as well go all out!

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average. This bias is attributed to a metacognitive inability of the unskilled to recognize their mistakes.[1]

Actual competence may weaken self-confidence, as competent individuals may falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding. David Dunning and Justin Kruger of Cornell University conclude, "the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

[BlancheSplanchnik]

8. Win!

Good one!




Rand Paul. To say he's a detestable, privileged, prevaricating, filth-gargling, Randite (Ayn), elitist, silk-lined-jack booted WEASEL would be a grave insult to weasels.

[charmay]

5. The republican bubble.

They are so used to surrounding themselves with idiots, they think we're all stupid.

[99Forever]

6. When one of our dogs does this:

We call it Rand Pauling.

[freeplessinseattle]

13. Ha! love it:) n/t

[AndyA]

7. This man must be one of the stupidist human beings alive

Reminds me of George W. Bush, except Rand Paul *thinks* he's intelligent. Bush knew he was an idiot, and that his family's money and friends in high places would cover for his idiotic acts.

Really, there should be an intelligence test for people in Congress. If they don't know history, if they don't understand the Constitution, if they don't have basic knowledge of world events, geography, etc., they are ineligible to serve in public office. That would take care of a few of the idiots like Rand Paul, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Louie Gohmert, James Inhoff, and others.

The American people deserve better representation.

[MarianJack]

9. rand paul had 2 goals for this appearance,...

...and they're the same as Willard's goals were in appearing before the NAACP last year.

He wanted to be able to tell the media that he isn't a racist.

He wanted to get boo'd so he could tell his racist teabagger base that HE, and he alone, knows how to "put those black people in their place"!

It was probably the only politically smart thing that Willard did during the campaign, since the teabaggers never really trusted him. For a teabagger darling like rand paul, it was probably just like white noise. If it IS white noise, than it's more interesting and intelligent than any of paul's other speeches!

PEACE!

[Quantess]

15. Sounds like Rand Paul made a slightly better impression than Rmoney did,

but that's not saying much.

[usmc03]

10. With the Right, satire is becoming irrelevant.

n/t

[Buzz Clik]

11. It's a great strategy: go to a Black university to lecture them on traditional GOP values.

There must have been at least one or two budding young Ben Carsons in the audience who thought Rand was awesome.

[mountain grammy]

12. Heard this on whatever was on the teevee last night, they said "video after commercial"

Oh boy, I thought, this ought to be good! I fell asleep during the commercials and woke up much later thinking I must have dreamed it and was very disturbed to be dreaming about Rand Paul. So happy to see this post today before the Dr.'s office opened.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. THEY THINK WE'RE FUCKING STUPID!!!!

THEY THINK WE'RE STUPID!! That's what's really offensive and infuriating! They totally think we black Americans are dumb as hell!!!