Neb. Parade Committee Won’t Change Rules After Obama Outhouse Float

US President Barack Obama G7 summit, Brussels, Belgium - 05 Jun 2014 (Rex Features via AP Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

After Norfolk, Neb. residents and the state Democratic Party decried a July 4 parade float depicting Obama’s presidential library as an outhouse, the town’s parade committee said it will not change its rules for float entries.

The float featured a wooden outhouse with a sign that read “Obama Presidential Library,” with an overall-clad dummy attached.

In a Sunday meeting, the parade committee voted against changing its policy from only banning “morally objectionable” floats that are lewd or contain nudity, according to the Journal Star.

“We all agree here that we aren’t going to tell someone what they can and can’t enter,” parade emcee Wally Sonnenschein said on Monday. “There are plenty of people who support our defense of freedom of speech.”

Norfolk resident Dale Remmich created the controversial float and defended it in an interview with the Norfolk Daily News.

“I am not a hate-monger. I am not a racist. This float was not disrespectful of the office of the presidency. I am sorry if there was misunderstanding about that,” Remmich said.

The Nebraska Democratic Party had denounced the float as one of the “worst shows of racism and disrespect for the office of the presidency that Nebraska has ever seen.”

Remmich also tried to clear up a misunderstanding about the float. He said the mannequin depicted himself, not President Obama.

“I’ve got my bibs on, my walker, I’m covering my ears and I’m turning a bit green — I intended it to look like a zombie who has had enough,” he explained.

Latest Livewire
65
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Here’s what the spineless shit of a mayor said which seems to be mostly a defense of what the racists did. But at least she said she was “disappointed.”

    “We recognize and respect our citizens’ differing political beliefs and their rights to express them freely; however, we are disappointed that the occasion of this family-friendly celebration of America’s birth was used in a way that disparaged the office of the president.”
    “This incident and the controversy it caused does not reflect the character and spirit of our city or our state…”

  2. I imagine the decision would have been a bit different if it had said “Billy-Bobs Baptist Church” instead of “Obama Presidential Library.”

  3. Yeah well I say phuck all of those racist pond scum slime. They deserve to live in a hell hole called Nebraska.

  4. This is not even an original gag. Been done several times already.

  5. I bet you won’t see any floats mocking the State Religion–the University of Nebraska football program. For what it’s worth Norfolk’s claim to fame was being Johnny Carson’s home town–I assume the float was a reference to the Here’s Johnny line that the Carson show was famous for–and when applied to an outhouse resulted in a suit by him.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

59 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for runfastandwin Avatar for pluckyinky Avatar for josephebacon Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for lochsabill Avatar for imkmu3 Avatar for oz3472 Avatar for chammy Avatar for trippin Avatar for ctvoter Avatar for happycozy Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for wwss Avatar for fourlegsgood Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for jkrogman Avatar for magical_panda Avatar for fitley Avatar for rb639 Avatar for Marco Avatar for darrtown Avatar for LollyBee Avatar for WiserWords2

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: