[soflorattler]

This is from Uchi' neck of the woods....

Orange County might be a beautiful oceanfront locale, but it's also home to Holocaust deniers, vicious anti-gay bigots and freakish big-haired televangelists.

Here, one of our Republican politicians welcomed the inauguration of the first African American U.S. president in early 2009 by sending out an email that depicted a watermelon field in front of the White House.

That incident drew embarrassing international attention, but now another Orange County Republican has apparently topped the watermelon imagery with another racist attack on President Barack Obama.

The Weekly has obtained a copy of an email sent to fellow conservatives this week by Marilyn Davenport, a Southern California Tea Party activist and member of the central committee of the Orange County Republican Party.

Under the words, "Now you know why no birth certificate," there's an Obama family portrait showing them as apes.

(Donald Trump must be elated to finally have an explanation about Obama's true birth circumstances.)



Reached by telephone and asked if she thought the email was appropriate, Davenport said, "Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people--mostly people I didn't think would be upset by it."

The image did upset several local Republicans.

"It's unbelievable," one high-ranking OC GOP official told me. "It's much more racist than the watermelon email. I can't believe it was sent out. I'm not an Obama fan but how stupid do you have to be to do this?"

Another GOP official, who also asked not to be identified, said that Davenport is "a really, really sweet old lady so I am surprised to hear about this."

Scott Baugh, chairman of the OC Republican Party, told Davenport that the email was tasteless, Davenport--a Fullerton-based political activist--admitted to me during the telephone interview.

"You're not going to make a big deal about this are you?" she asked me. "It's just an Internet joke."

But Baugh believes the email is a big deal.

"When I saw that email today I thought it was despicable," Baugh said. "It is dripping with racism and it does not promote the type of message Orange County Republicans want to deliver to the public. I think she should consider stepping down as an elected official."

Michael J. Schroeder, an Orange County resident and former chairman of the California Republican Party, also said he was disgusted.

"This is a three strikes situation for Marilyn Davenport," Schroeder said. "She was a passionate defender of former Newport Beach city councilman Dick Nichols who stated that he was voting against putting in more grass at Corona del Mar's beach because, he said, there were already 'too many Mexicans on the beach.' She was also on the wrong side of the fence with the Los Alamitos mayor and his White House watermelon patch picture. Now, she has managed to top both of those incidents by comparing African Americans to monkeys. She has disgraced herself and needs to resign. If she doesn't, the Republican Party must remove her."

But Davenport does not appear ready to concede she has made a mistake. After this story was published, she sent another email to fellow California conservative activists. It demanded to know the identity of "the coward" who supplied me with a copy of her offensive email.

Several Los Angeles television news broadcasts are planning coverage of this story tonight.

(Update: KCAL and KCBS reported during their respective 10 and 11 p.m. broadcasts that in a telephone interview Davenport blamed the media for this controversy and slammed down the phone.)

In February 2009, Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose, another Orange County Republican, emailed the White House watermelon image and then apologized.



Ironically, Obama reversed decades and decades of tradition by not getting trounced at the presidential election polls in Orange County, long known as Ronald "Reagan Country." In fact, he won an impressive 48 percent of the vote in 2008. The last Democrat to win a decent showing here: Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Orange County is also home to Orly Taitz, the Soviet Union-born dentist who lives in Laguna Niguel and is one of the world's leading proponents of claims that Obama is killing homosexuals tied to his old Chicago church, was born in Kenya, is personally funding Hamas terrorists and ordered a secret agent to break into her vehicle.

Alas, if you really want to be disturbed, read THIS RECENT RELATED STORY by my colleague Gustavo Arellano.

Just two percent of Orange County's 3 million population is African American.

[y04185]

I'm in agreement with Mr. Baugh.

[81alphaeagle]

Y, I am glad you do but your friend, OS will see nothing wrong with it.

Reached by telephone and asked if she thought the email was appropriate, Davenport said, "Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people--mostly people I didn't think would be upset by it."

I guess her black friends are the Oldsport Family, who happens to be THE BLACKS who Trumps has a good relationship with.

[CIAA-FAN]

THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHY I HAVE NOTHING BUT TOTAL CONTEMPT AND A COMPLETE LACK OF RESPECT FOR ALL THINGS GOP-RELATED.  ...AND ANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN WHO CANNOT SEE THIS IS EITHER AN UNCLE TOM, A FOOL OR BOTH.

[soflorattler]

Overheard when the prez was shown this picture and email- "She's confused.  I'm not a member of her family."...

[Strike79]

Overheard when the prez was shown this picture and email- "She's confused.  I'm not a member of her family."...

........Brutha soflo, certainly understand the point you're making here^^^^^, but this disgusting photo reminds me of another concern I had when Obama first announced his candidacy for prez back in February, 2007.  And that is the impact his run, and now holding the office, would have on his children.

Look, as parents, we ALL do things, knowingingly or not, that might adversely impact our children.  But if you're Malia and Sasha's parent, what do you say when they ask you about stuff like this? And how do you shield/protect/explain to your children the kinds of vile, sick and base stuff that folks will say and print about your dad because they don't like a black man being prez.  Mr. and Mrs. Obama can make a decision to run for president all they want, but these children are precious innocents in the matter.  I'm NOT saying that the Obamas should not have run.  But it comes with TREMENDOUS sacrifice to their children, and I wanted to acknowledge that.

The Obamas are intelligent parents, and I'm sure they have mechanisms in place to respond to their children, but its THIS kind of stuff that REALLY troubles me for Sasha and Malia. 

[soflorattler]

By being honest with their children, letting them know the kind of world that they're inheriting, and the kind of solutions that the parents are working on to turnover a better world to them.

Always asking for their input, ideas, and thoughts. If they're being taught to be a part of the solution as opposed to part of the problem, like those behind the email, then they'll be okay, and there will be no reason to shield them.

Also, lets give these kids credit for being smarter than we think they are. They may be innocent, but hardly naive.

They have 2 great parents who I believe, keep it real for them.

[iceman4221]

Y, I am glad you do but your friend, OS will see nothing wrong with it.

Reached by telephone and asked if she thought the email was appropriate, Davenport said, "Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people--mostly people I didn't think would be upset by it."

I guess her black friends are the Oldsport Family, who happens to be THE BLACKS who Trumps has a good relationship with.

  The chickens are coming home to roost...

With President Obama taking office in January 2008 don't we now have a "color-blind society" - NOT!!!

[Que82]

I have friends who are black.

Do ya'll notice how whites who make racist statements or send racist jokes always say this. 

[Jay_Thomas]

I have friends who are black.

Do ya'll notice how whites who make racist statements or send racist jokes always say this.  

Yes.  Somebody needs to tell them that the people who cook and clean for them are their employees, NOT their friends. But I digress because their idiocy and confusion completely fills their brains.  Or they may be counting Whoopi Goldberg as a friend?  

[oldsport]

THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHY I HAVE NOTHING BUT TOTAL CONTEMPT AND A COMPLETE LACK OF RESPECT FOR ALL THINGS GOP-RELATED.  ...AND ANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN WHO CANNOT SEE THIS IS EITHER AN UNCLE TOM, A FOOL OR BOTH.

If you believe there are no racist and prejudice against Blacks in Dem-O-Crap Party, you're a dyam fool. Of course, I believe you're a dyam fool for not acknowledging that fact. IDIOT.

So, I guess Blacks that stayed in the Dem-O-Crap party in the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's when it was loaded with Klansmen and racist were Uncle Tom ....and fools both. YOU DYAM IDIOT!

[MisterIkester]

OS, since you're here spouting bs, what do you think of the email?

[oldsport]

OS, since you're here spouting bs, what do you think of the email?

It is what it is. It was so funny that you K----s did not seem to voice objections to the obviously racist inspired attacks on Black conservatives (i.e Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice and others) by liberals/socialist and communist. There were hundreds of such incidents.

Moreove, former President Bush was portrayed as a monkey. Yet, you K----s had not objection. GET REAL! Your outrage is as phoney as all of you K----s are.

[MisterIkester]

''It is what it is''?

81 was right.

[Ken]

I see why OS "cuts and paste " all the time.  He really don't know what he is talking about.

BLACKS VOTED MOSTLY REPUBLICAN FROM AFTER THE CIVIL WAR AND THROUGH THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY.  THAT IS NOT SURPRISING WHEN ONE CONSIDERS THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS THE FIRST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT AND THE WHITE SEGREGATIONIST POLITICIANS WHO GOVERNED SOUTHERN STATES IN THOSE DAYS WERE DEMOCRATS.  IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1924 THAT BLACKS WERE EVEN PERMITTED TO ATTEND THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTIONS IN ANY OFFICIAL CAPACITY. MOST BLACKS LIVED IN THE SOUTH WHERE THEY WERE MOSTLY PREVENTED FROM VOTING AT ALL,. THE ELECTION OF ROOSEVELT IN 1932 MARKED THE BEGINNING OF A CHANGE.  HE GOT 71% OF THE BLACK VOTE FOR PRESIDENT IN 1936 AND DID NEARLY THAT WELL IN THE NEXT TWO ELECTION. BUT EVEN THEN, THE NUMBER OF BLACKS INDENTIFYING THEMSELVES AS REPUBLICANS WAS ABOUT THE SAME AS THE NUMBER WHO THOUGHT OF THEMSELVES AS DEMOCRATS.

IT WAS NOT UNTIL HARRY TRUMAN GARNERED 77% OF THE BLACK VOTE IN 1948 THAT A MAJORITY OF BLACKS REPORTED THAT THEY THOUGHT OF THEMSELVES AS DEMOCRATS. EARLIER THAT YEAR TRUMAN HAS ISSUED AN ORDER DESEBREGATING THE ARMED SERVICES AND AN EXECUTIVE ORDER SETTING UP REGULATIONS AGAINST RACIAL BIAS IN FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/when_did_blacks_start_voting_democratic.html