Juan Williams and the S.C. Debate Boo-birds…
The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz writes about all the booing aimed Juan Williams’ way at the South Carolina debate last night…
And then there was the showdown with Newt.
“Speaker Gingrich,” Williams began, “you recently said black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps. You also said poor kids lack a strong work ethic and proposed having them work as janitors in their schools. Can’t you see that this is viewed, at a minimum, as insulting to all Americans, but particularly to black Americans?”
Gingrich, of course, didn’t see it that way at all. He said his daughter Jackie had worked as a church janitor when she was 13 and
Williams pushed back hard, almost as if he was a rival candidate. He said his e-mail and Twitter accounts have “been inundated with people of all races who are asking if your comments are not intended to belittle the poor and racial minorities.”
The crowd started booing lustily.
Williams kept going, noting that a woman in a black church had asked Gingrich why he refers to Obama as “the food stamp president.”
The booing got louder.
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January 17, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Remind me why there’s an audience at these things?
January 17, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Newt has a whole box of dog whistles, and knows just who to blow them at.
January 17, 2012 at 2:02 pm
Joe and Jaun need to send the audience to a reeducation camp.
January 17, 2012 at 3:08 pm
I’ll suggest that if that had been Alan Colmes instead of Juan Williams the same reaction would have taken place.
The condescending tone by Gingrich was directed at a liberal journalist. Race had nothing to do with it. Ideology was the driving force. Although I’ll admit I can’t read people’s minds like others apparently can.
We’ve all seen Gingrich take on the same attitude with liberal commentators or interviewers. He’s confrontational and condescending.
People, like dogs, can hear things that just turn out to be the wind.
January 17, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Joe:
Your comment is beyond absurd. But, you’d fit in well with Matthews who now says calling Juan Williams, “Juan” is racist.
Neat tricks you lefties play. Is there anything you’re not willing to throw the race card at?
Racist! Everybody is a rucist, racist, full of rucismismisms
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chris-matthews-accuses-newt-gingrich-of-racially-charged-pronunciation-of-the-name-juan/
January 17, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Erich:
There’s no sense in putting together a thoughtful response to such an irrational charge.
January 17, 2012 at 3:14 pm
^I prefer to light a candle then curse the darkness.
Er, something like that.
Yeah, I’m gonna’ need a bigger candle for Joe. Sheesh.
January 17, 2012 at 3:29 pm
I just don’t see a reason to respond with anything other than pointing out the irrational absurdity of the claims. Responding with a thoughtful response gives credibility to the aburdity of the premise, IMO.
January 17, 2012 at 3:37 pm
I never argued that the crowd booed Juan because he’s black, but thanks for playing. They booed him for accurately suggesting that Newt Gingrich is a race-baiting goon serving red meat to a bunch of redneck crackers.
January 17, 2012 at 3:42 pm
They booed him for accurately suggesting that Newt Gingrich is a race-baiting goon serving red meat to a bunch of redneck crackers.
Man, I’m gonna need a bigger candle.
Several in fact.
Although since Joe can read people’s minds I won’t be able to sneak up on him.
January 17, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Joe’s having one of those days. All conservatives are racist “redneck crackers”.
Gotta love liberals. They live with their own special kind of hate.
January 17, 2012 at 3:50 pm
It goes both ways, Eric. In spite of numerous examples of race-baiting from that old jerk, you’ll get a dozen righties on here who will assert that they just know “he doesn’t mean that”, after presuming I said something I didn’t say. There’s plenty of mindreading going on here..
January 17, 2012 at 3:51 pm
See? LS has decided I think ALL conservatives are like the douchebags in that crowd. Enjoy the echo..
January 17, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Oh come on, Joe. You gotta admit that your hate is pretty special…
January 17, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Newt travels in obscene stereotypes no one else in this race will touch. He was a goon in 1994, and he’s a goon now.
January 17, 2012 at 5:29 pm
What stereotypes? He answers questions honestly. Political correctness and coddling has done wonders for the inner cities…just ask any liberal.
Liberals have destroyed the lives of millions & millions of people by teaching them to be dependent on the government. It’s an atrocity.
January 17, 2012 at 6:23 pm
It was a fair question asked by Juan Williams, although not a good one for a Republican primary race. The crowd, even those not interested in ever supporting him, saw Gingrich’s as being supportive of teaching values and success with no “belittling” whatsoever.
January 17, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Matthews takes the way people pronounce names very seriously. Remember how he insisted it was “Chee-nee” for Cheney, even though he was the only one to do so.
So of course he could decide that Gingrich’s pronunciation was offensive.
He is Chris Matthews! Decider Of Names!
January 17, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Best to curse the candle when sets fires in the darkness..
January 17, 2012 at 7:13 pm
GrAssHopper.
January 17, 2012 at 7:20 pm
“Food stamp President” is a racist reference, and those dumbass crackers love it.
January 17, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Everything is a racist reference when you’re constantly looking for racist references.
January 17, 2012 at 7:42 pm
That’s the same BS response I always get. According to the echo chamber at ICN, nothing a white guy says is EVER racist. It’s ridiculous.
January 17, 2012 at 7:50 pm
@ Joe
Is “cracker” a racist reference?
January 17, 2012 at 7:51 pm
I suppose if only blacks were allotted food stamps then “Food Stamp President” might be rightly interpreted to be a racial statement, but in that instance so would the allotment of food stamps. Not that it matters, but more whites are on food stamps than blacks.
January 17, 2012 at 8:08 pm
Yes, and anyone who thinks Newt doesn’t know EXACTLY what he’s doing by applying that term to the first black President is a blithering idiot.
Since most of you agree with me that Newt is a big jerk, maybe you should stop defending the indefensible. He’s a race-baiting goon for a willing audience of goons.
January 17, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Claiming that he is “race-baiting” is little different than calling him a racist, and that is on the same level as being called a child rapist. Falsely accusing someone of either is a wrong that is worse than both of them combined.
A “blithering idiot” is one who chooses to give someone an evil label rather than intelligently counter his arguments.
January 17, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Joe, you’re simply being an idiot. Gingrich would be using that term no matter what color the liberal potus was. You should go back and look at the attacks directed at every potus and prez candidate and pretend they were all black. Then, put your race card glasses on and decide if you would call each of those statements racist. Gingrich it’s attacking Obama for being a liberal democrat. Nothing more, nothing less. You and your merry band of race card playing jackholes know this.
January 17, 2012 at 8:33 pm
You’re searching for an excuse to play the race card and it makes you look like a tool.
January 17, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Newt said he wanted to go to the NAACP to “teach them” how to get off food stamps. The man clearly thinks of food stamps and welfare as a ‘black thing’. You people are oblivious.
January 17, 2012 at 8:44 pm
“And so I’m prepared if the NAACP invites me, I’ll go to their convention and talk about why the African American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps,” – Newt Gingrich, Jan 6, Plymouth, N.H.
January 17, 2012 at 8:46 pm
Claiming that he is “race-baiting” is little different than calling him a racist, and that is on the same level as being called a child rapist.
That’s ridiculous. There’s plenty of people who race-bait for political gain or ratings who are not actually racist; and plenty of racists who wouldn’t harm another person, especially a child. By your standard, it becomes impossible to ever call out a racial slur.
I don’t think Newt is inherently racist. He’s just an a$$hole who will blow the racial whistle for votes. I used to think the same about Rush, but he seems to have come to believe his own race-baiting lately. He’s a racist. Which doesn’t make him a rapist. Gimme a break.
January 17, 2012 at 8:59 pm
For being so hideous and harmful, racists should be ostracised by society at a level comparable to that of a child rapist. Those who falsely accuse are even worse scum.
January 17, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Even better. It’s not Gingrich who’s racist, it’s his base like me, Al, Laura, blue, Erich, Larry, etc. he’s sending these secret coded messages.
January 17, 2012 at 9:12 pm
I didn’t falsely accuse anybody. Newt is a race-baiter, and Rush is a racist. And unless you guys were cheering that sh!t in SC last night, I didn’t accuse YOU of anything but being in denial about some of the crap that goes on in your party.
January 17, 2012 at 9:13 pm
Sigh. Not getting involved, but I do love the idea, promoted elsewhere, that Newt somehow singled-out Juan Williams for disrespect, when that’s the way he treats every questioner from the Left. And the audience responds in kind.
January 17, 2012 at 9:20 pm
I don’t support the “Juan singled out” idea. Newt does that to everybody in the media.
You all should think twice about your apoplexy over me daring to single out conservative race-baiting. I’ve been hearing about Al Sharpton’s on this blog for months. Did you see me going into a rage and comparing it to child rape? Get over yourselves.
January 17, 2012 at 9:39 pm
“race baiting” has been dummied down to a level of being just a liberal charge made that has no punch.
January 17, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Of course it has no punch in SC. You’re either a Democrat who would never vote Republican, or a Republican who doesn’t mind. Easy peasy.
January 17, 2012 at 9:50 pm
^ And it’s a charge that’s so bloody stupid! No candidate is going to win many votes race-baiting in the Republican Party. An irony that Joe will not be able to see.
January 17, 2012 at 9:54 pm
Sorry, Al..it’s only stupid to smart people like you. There’s some dumbass Republicans in SC, and quite a few of them were at that debate last night.
January 17, 2012 at 9:55 pm
But we’re all a bunch of racists, especially in the South. That’s the assumption, and it will never be overcome. Because it will always be promoted, for some mysterious reason.
January 17, 2012 at 10:09 pm
That’s the problem with pointing out specific examples. Every righty in earshot goes into a panic because somewhere, somebody called “all of them” racist. I didn’t do that, and I didn’t grow up in an environment in which this was a generally accepted belief, so it’s been a bit of a shock for me the last few years.
Righties come here all the time and blab about Al Sharpton’s sins, but when I dare to point ot that some rightwing douchebag is race-baiting to rile some low-knowledge hateful knuckledraggers, all hell breaks loose. Fine. You just keep pretending it never happens, and I’ll stop taking hell for what “everybody always calls you”. I didn’t do it.
January 17, 2012 at 11:38 pm
For Joe:
January 17, 2012 at 11:47 pm
I saw this guy on CNN with Ari Fleischer, calling Newt a racist. When Ari reminded him of this, he denied having also called Herman Cain a ‘racist’, stating that he only called him ‘bigoted’. I suppose it’s possible to make the charge so many times that you forget you did it.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/09/30/cornell_belcher_cains_brainwashed_remark_was_a_racist_bigoted_statement.html
January 17, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Big Time:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2012/01/17/will-msnbcs-buchanan-ban-lead-sharpton-backlash
January 18, 2012 at 12:37 am
Why you baggin on the Rev? He’s just tellin the truth, man..
January 18, 2012 at 12:58 am
Waiting the Rev to star in the blueberry version of American Pie.
(try to get that image out of your head)