Oh yes, we’re there.
Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren was practically beside herself over the Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill decision, accusing President Obama of “dividing our country” again.
It’s not Tubman or feminists that Van Susteren has a problem with, she tells viewers. It’s just that Obama should have given Tubman a NEW bill instead of “booting” Andrew Jackson off the $20 bill and thus (cover your ears, the dog whistle is a comin’) “dividing the nation.”
Watch Greta’s “Off the Record” comment here:
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Van Susteren opened with the obvious Fox News link everything negative to Obama tactic and pretend Obama is stupid, “The Obama administration went stupid again and went stupid for no reason!”
“Rather than dividing our country between those who happen to like the tradition of our currency and want President Andrew Jackson to stay put and those who want to put a woman on a bill,” Van Susteren said, setting the racial stage for her audience, using “tradition” to mean white presidents, as “tradition” always means “white straight person” on Fox News.
“It’s so easy to keep everyone happy! We could put a woman on a bill, Tubman, acknowledge her courage but give Tubman her own bill like a $25 bill. We could use a $25 bill. Put her picture on that and we could all celebrate. That’s the smart and easy thing to do,” Van Susteren announced smugly.
But of course, Obama is stupid and would rather divide the nation, Van Susteren tells her viewers who love nothing better than to feel smarter than the black man in the White House even though he is actually a brilliant Constitutional scholar, “But noooo Some people don’t think, would rather gratuitously stir up conflict in the nation. That is so awful and yes, dumb.”
Yes it’s true, “some people don’t think.” I’ll just leave that here as a general reminder before we take this apart. Van Susteren would rather the government make a new bill than dare to put the first woman and first black person on a bill that a white man was on.
Although she uses words “Obama administration” to mean smear Obama, the choice to put a woman on a bill wasn’t just President Obama’s whim.
In June of 2015 Business Insider reported:
The push to put a woman on the printed US currency has been in progress for some time. In March, the organization Women on 20s began asking the public to vote for top female candidates to replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.
Among the 15 women included in the vote were Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Clara Barton, and Harriet Tubman. In May it was revealed that Tubman edged out Roosevelt with almost 34% of the vote.
Yes, people voted. Also known as “dividing the nation.”
And more on that almost 34% vote for Tubman from a separate Business Insider article (my bold) in which it’s clear that Treasury Jacob Lew is the person being persuaded to do this:
More than 350,000 people cast their votes during the final round last week, and with almost 34% of the vote, Harriet Tubman edged out former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt as the people’s choice for Andrew Jackson’s replacement.
If Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew agrees to the replacement, Tubman would be the first woman and the first black person to be the face of an American paper currency. Lewis and Clark expedition guide Sacagawea and women’s suffrage advocate Susan B. Anthony have been featured on the relatively unpopular US dollar coins.
This is Obama “dividing the nation” by giving women and black people a piece of a pie that a white person had. If women and black people want pie, Van Susteren thinks they need their own pie. They don’t get any of the white man’s pie. You “divide the nation” when you attempt to share the nation’s resources with those who are not systemically at the top of the power chain.
The “diving the nation” dog whistle is so old, as is blaming the first black President for “dividing the nation” just because some white people have a problem sharing the pie.
Who is dividing the nation? Hint: The people so full of Obama hate that they are this upset about his administration taking votes into account to pick who they put on a bill.
“Some people don’t think, would rather gratuitously stir up conflict in the nation. That is so awful and yes, dumb.” I know, right? It is so awful that some people would rather gratuitously stir up conflict in this nation. Awful and dumb.
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