A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from May 01, 2011
Racer (race + -er)

The term “racer” (race + -er) follows such terms as “truther,” “tenther” and “birther.” Radio host Tony Katz coined “racer” in April 2011 to describe people who “play the race card” (an older phrase) to deflect criticism.
 
President Barack Obama is half black; “racers” defend criticism of Obama’s policies by labeling his critics as racists. The term “racer” has the potential problem in that the word already exists in a different context (e.g., a car racer or a horse racer).
 
   
Pajamas Media
Downhill Racers
April 28, 2011 - 2:39 pm - by Ed Driscoll
I’m not sure if the phrase originates with him, but PJTV’s Tony Katz, riffing off of Richard Fernandez’s post yesterday on how Obama’s evasions and atmosphere of duplicity in general has inflamed the Birthers’ arguments, has a great meme going here, fighting back against Contessa Brewer and the pro-Obama MSNBC spin machine. Here’s a rough transcript of the key quote in his conversation:
 
This whole idea of race: if there are Birthers, and they’re all crazy and silly for actually wanting to see a birth certificate, well, let’s talk about the ‘Racers,’ the people who believe that everything’s a conspiracy about race – it’s Obama’s race [that makes] people want to see the birth certificate. It’s Obama’s race [that causes] people not to like the out of control spending. It’s not his race; it’s that he’s awful – the policies are terrible. Obamacare is a lie and a failure; QE1 and QE2 didn’t work.
(...)
COMMENTS
1. Buck O’Fama
The “Racers” – that’s a good one. That’s a narrative I can believe in…. “Hey, didja know the NY Times is LOUSY with stupid idiot RACERS????” I like it. I like it a lot.
April 28, 2011 - 2:53 pm
   
The People’s Cube
Are You A “RACER”????
Opiate of the People
4/28/2011, 8:07 pm
Comrades, a new conspiracy theory has emerged but unlike the “birthers”, it is one we can and should (and will) embrace. I am talking about the RACERS or those of us who cling obsessively but correctly to the idea that all criticism of Dear Born-in-Hawaii Leader Obama has no basis in reality but is purely an expression of racism. This term has its origins with an enemy of the people (which one it is not clear for no one so far is claiming credit; see http://pajamasmedia.com/eddriscoll/2011/04/28/downhill-racers/ ) but like any good prog, I don’t care, I just take what I think is necessary to promote the common good.
 
YID With LID
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Conspiracy Theory That’s WORSE Than Birthers or Truthers—“Racist-ers”
(...)
In their own way Birthers and truthers will debate you all day long; talk about why Donald Trump is right or the Popular Mechanics explanation of 9/11 is wrong. Heck, it seems as if they will stop people on the street, to explain their positions.  But Racersists are trying to silence all debate about President Obama’s policies. Their goal is to shut you up.  That’s why Racersim is the worst kind of political conspiracy theory. Because one of the great things about America is freedom of speech, even if it is misguided, ultimately the purpose of Racerism is to take away that freedom.
 
StateBrief Blog
Birthers, Truthers, Race-ers!
By StateBrief Op-Ed Contributors– April 29, 2011
A new term for the obsessed left
By Tony Katz
(...)
Thus, I coined the term “Race-ers.”  Race-ers are those people who are completely consumed with race. They are the ones who believe that any opposition to Obama, his policies or him personally, is solely based on the racism of the opponent.  As political correctness exists only to silence opposition, the Race-er uses racism to silence their opposition.  Further, the Race-er sees racism everywhere.  Nothing can be judged on its merits, as the merits (for the Race-er) are simply insignificant.  My colleague at Pajamas Media picked up on this in an article he wrote yesterday.
 
NewsBusters
Tea Partier to MSNBCer: Media That Blame All Criticism of Obama on His Skin Color Are ‘Racers’
By Noel Sheppard | April 30, 2011 | 09:25
You’ve heard of Birthers and Truthers.
 
Tea Partier and talk radio host Tony Katz on Thursday, while appearing on MSNBC News Live Contessa Brewer, called media members that blame all criticism of Barack Obama on the color of his skin “Racers” (video follows with transcript and commentary):
(...)
KATZ: They didn’t say it was race. Everything that comes out of the racers, and they exist - the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Huffington Post”, some people at your very network, and you know I enjoy having these conversations with you. They are so focused. Everything is about race. It’s not about race.
(...)
Let’s hope the term “Racer” catches on, for it indeed represents a sizable percentage of America’s media that for over four years have aided and abetted Obama in avoiding any criticism whatsoever as a result of the color of his skin.
 
Bravo, Tony! Bravo!
 
Big Hollywood
Letterman Sounds Blacklist ‘Dog-whistle’; Threatens to Ban Trump for Being a Communist Racist
by John Nolte
Posted Apr 30th 2011 at 10:02 am
(...)
Just as there are Birthers, there are now Racers — people obsessed with race and using the race card as a political weapon.
     
MJHawkeye
Saturday, April 30, 2011
What’s A Racer?
There’s a new word floating around brought to us by a guy named Tony Katz. I’ve never heard of him but, evidently, he’s a conservative talk show host.
 
Regardless, he’s initiated the word “Racer”. Whatever the Right says about Obama is because of race. “Gas is to high so blame it on the Right who are racists”. “Conservatives hate Obama because he’s Black”. That’s a “racer” statement even though white America helped elect him. Whatever refers to Obama in a negative way is the excuse given by a “Racer”.
 
HotAir—The Greenroom
Latest Conpiracy Theory: Meet the Racers
posted at 12:07 pm on May 1, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
(...)
Now there are the “Racers.” The term was coined by Tea Partier and talk radio host Tony Katz to designate members of the media who claim that all criticism of Barack Obama stems from racism.
The difference between this conspiracy theory and those mentioned earlier is that Racerism lacks even the supporting wisp. Those who subscribe to the theory commit the logical fallacy of cum hoc ergo propter hoc, which in this case boils to the proposition “There is racism toward blacks in this country, and Barack Obama is black, so those who do not like Obama are racists.”

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