Updated

As Barack Obama’s poll numbers collapse along with support for his initiatives, the left in our country has continued to shamefully refer to any American that doesn’t agree with the president as racist.

On Tuesday, former President Jimmy Carter joined this growing list telling NBC’s Brian Williams:

"I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American. I live in the South, and I've seen the South come a long way, and I've seen the rest of the country that shared the South's attitude toward minority groups, at that time particularly African-Americans. That racism, inclination, still exists. And I think it's bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people, not just in the South, but around the country, that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country. It's an abominable circumstance and grieves me and concerns me very deeply." -- Watch a clip from the interview below:

This came just two days after New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote the following about Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-S.C.) “You lie” outburst during President Obama’s recent health care address to the nation: “Some people just can’t believe a black man is president and will never accept it.”

Since the early days of the Tea Party movement, attendees have been called racists. No one will ever forget Janeane Garofalo’s disgusting comments on MSNBC’s “Countdown” back in April:

"You know, there's nothing more interesting than seeing a bunch of racists become confused and angry at a speech they're not quite certain what he's saying. It sounds right and then it doesn't make sense. Which, let's be very honest about what this is about. It's not about bashing Democrats, it's not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston tea party was about, they don't know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House." -- Watch the clip below:

As the protests at town hall meetings grew this summer, attendees were similarly disparaged by Democrat officials and the Obama-loving media.

This all represents a disturbing trend that should worry folks on both sides of the aisle.

After all, freedom of speech might be the most important right bestowed upon us by our Founding Fathers. Is it any wonder it was granted in the First Amendment?

Yet, now that right is under attack from the side of the aisle that typically postures as being its greatest defender.

Taking this to a new level, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced an updated primer on Tuesday outlining what words can’t be uttered about the president on the floor of the House of Representatives. -- It’s a good thing this wasn’t offered when George W. Bush was in the White House or Democrat speeches in Congress would have been very short.

On the flipside, as the left rebuke all rebukes, their minions in the media refuse to cover anything that might reflect negatively on the president.

Consider how little attention the controversial revelations concerning Obama’s green jobs czar Van Jones got until after he was forced to resign.

Maybe even worse, as videos surfaced exposing ACORN representatives giving business advice to a couple posing as running a child prostitution ring, America’s news media couldn’t have cared less.

In the end, if the left has its way, and all criticism of Obama is boycotted, forbidden, or categorized as racist, America will have indeed become exactly what the Tea Party attendees and town hall protesters have been cautioning: a socialist nation with a totalitarian dictator whose policies can’t be questioned in public.

Talk about your inconvenient self-fulfilling prophecies.

Noel Sheppard is Associate Editor of the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters.org. He welcomes feedback at nsheppard@newsbusters.org.