I hope this is going to go national. Earlier today I posted on the shameful event of a rodeo clown dressed as Obama at the Missouri State Fair last night.
Here is the picture.
Here is the description of the event from facebook by the person, a friend, who took the picture.
Last night[8/10/13]/, Lily and I took a student from Taiwan to the rodeo at the Missouri State Fair. Just prior to the start of the bull riding event, one of the clowns came out dressed in this. The announcer wanted to know if anyone would like to see Obama run down by a bull. The crowd went wild. He asked it again and again, louder each time, whipping the audience into a lather. One of the clowns ran up and started bobbling the lips on the mask and the people went crazy. Finally, a bull came close enough to him that he had to move, so he jumped up and ran away to the delight of the onlookers hooting and hollering from the stands. We then left quickly and quietly. Lily's student is an inquisitive boy and asks a lot of questions about what he sees, and though he had never been to a rodeo he asked nothing about it, nor anything about America this time. We rode the sixty miles home in silence. In a way I'm glad. I had no answers for him.
It has now gained some traction in the Missouri media.
Yael T. Abouhalkah, a columnist and member of the editorial board of the Kansas City Star, has been the one to first post on this. Here is his latest.
Abouhalkah notes that the state of Missouri contributes $400,000 to the fair.
There have been condemnations from the political spectrum:
• Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican, tweeted: “I love the MoStateFair and will attend this week. I implore GovJayNixon to hold the people responsible for the other night accountable.”
• Also from Kinder: “The MoStateFair celebrates Missouri and our people. I condemn the actions disrespectful to POTUS the other night. We are better than this.”
• Democratic Rep. Jeremy LaFaver of Kansas City tweeted: “I will no longer be attending MOStateFair events with family.”
• Republican Rep. Caleb Rowden of Columbia tweeted, “I don’t agree w/this Prez on many things. But he is deserving of respect and shouldn’t be the object of political stunts. Out of line!”
The Missouri Fair Association blames the clown. In the Abouhalkah piece is the Fair Association's statement:
The performance by one of the rodeo clowns at Saturday’s event was inappropriate and disrespectful, and does not reflect the opinions or standards of the Missouri State Fair. We strive to be a family friendly event and regret that Saturday’s rodeo badly missed that mark.
Of course, the clown did not do any of the announcing. Perry Beam also has some film. Listen to the announcer.
The problem is with the Fair Association for not doing its due diligence and the company that organized this stunt. The company that organized this rodeo is doing a rodeo in my county next month.
Oh, and one more thing. The announcer is the superintendent of schools in Booneville, Missouri.
Redstate America -- isn't it grand?
[Thank you for my first diary to be so honored. If you want to see the unfiltered hate directed ar Obama look at the comments section of the KC Star columnist.]