A HISTORY OF OBAMA’S VIOLENT RHETORIC

During his short time in the American mindset, Barack Obama has used violent rhetoric on several occasions to get his point across. His public use of use language is one of many firsts for this president. Here is a list that is sure to grow as time goes on.

1.  “Whose Ass To Kick”

Obama got very defensive when questioned about his inaction on the BP oil spill during an interview for American television on June 7, 2010 and said the following:

2. Bring a Gun to A Knife Fight

During a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania furndraising stop during the campaign on June 13, 2008, Obama echoed Sean Connery’s famous “Chicago Way” monologue during the election campaign.

“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” Obama told the audience. “Because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles fans.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal

3. “Argue With Neighbors, Get In Their Face”

At another campaign stop on September 18, 2008, Obama advocated that his supporters “argue with [people], get in their faces”:

4. “I don’t want to quell anger… I’m angry!”

At the height of public resentment at bonuses being paid to Wall Street investment bankers, Obama said on March 30, 2009 that “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry. I’m angry.”

Although Obama did say he wanted to “channel our anger in a constructive way,” he did not specify how that anger would be channeled.

Source: The New York Times

5. “Get out of the way”

On August 8, 2009, Obama lashed out at Republican critics of his handling of the economy.

“I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don’t mind cleaning up after them, but don’t do a lot of talking.”

6. “Gearing up for a Fight”

During a weekly radio and television address on February 28, 2009, President Obama laid out his plan to reform healthcare in America. He also had a message to the special interests opposed to his agenda.

“I know they [the special interests and lobbyists] are gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this: so am I.”

7. “Hit Back Twice As Hard”

During the town hall meeting protests of the summer of 2009, Senior White House adviser David Axelrod and deputy chief of staff Jim Messina told Democrat Senators, “If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard.”

Although the quote is attributed to Messina, it has been tied to Obama and did come from an official top source in the Administration.

Source: PatDollard.com

8. “Punish Our Enemies”

In a 2010 midterm campaign message to Latino voters, Obama urged Hispanics to “punish our enemies” by…. voting Democrat, of course. What were YOU thinking?  And who exactly is “our,” anyway?

9. Michelle: “Shake Them”

First Lady Michelle Obama has used violence in her public speeches as well. In a US$1,000 per person fundraising event on September 28, 2008, Michelle said, “I’m sure everyone in this room knows some trifling person who is not registered. You need to talk to them, those folks, and shake them. Tell them we don’t have time to play. Because the choice is clear. We know what we will get if Barack Obama doesn’t win.”

Source: The Washington Post

10. Michelle: “Shake Them” (Again)

Mrs. Obama apparently likes to tell people to “shake” others, as she repeated her use of the phrase “shake them” two years later during a campaign speech for the 2010 midterm elections.  Attempting to fire up her audience to get unregistered voters to participate, the First Lady said:

“We all need to find those folks who plan on sitting this one out because they think there’s nothing at stake, and we need to shake ’em up and tell them that they can’t vote just once and then hope for change to happen. They’ve got to vote all the time. We gotta shake them up, ladies.”
Source: Politico.com

11 “Itching For A Fight”

In an attempt to show his Democrat Party that he did not “cave in” to Republicans on extending the Bush tax cuts, Obama told the party faithful on December 13, 2010:

“I will be happy to see the Republicans test whether or not I’m itching for a fight on a whole range of issues,” Obama said last week. “I suspect they will find I am. And I think the American people will be on my side on a whole bunch of these fights.”

Obama repeated this phrase over and over again during many speeches. He also described the next two years of his administration’s relationship with the Republican-controlled Congress as a “fight.”

Source: USA Today

12. “Hand-To-Hand Combat”

In a direct plea to African-American and other minority voters, Obama said during October 7, 2010 radio interview that a Republican victory in the mid-term elections would mean “hand-to-hand” combat on Capitol Hill for the next two years.

“If they’re successful in doing that, they’ve already said they’re going to go back to the same policies that were in place during the Bush administration. That means that we are going to have just hand-to-hand combat up here on Capitol Hill.”

Source: The LA Times

13. “It’s Time To Fight For It”

Barack and Michelle got together for this mid-term election plea to ACORN and SEIU members that now is the time to “fight for it.”

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