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Simple Advice to Campaign Surrogates Accused of Offensive, Racist Remarks: SYFPH
Dear Campaign Surrogates (But Especially Mickey Kantor and Rev. Wright):
When a YouTube video is released showing ugly and offensive comments (like, for example, your contempt for the good people of Indiana), you have one responsibility and one responsibility only: to shut your effing pie hole. I can see from this Huffington Post article that you are not taking this simple and obvious advice.
Even the good Reverend Wright realized as much - at least for a month and half, that is, before the spotlight became too tempting. But you're an old political hand, Mickey. You really think that claiming a "conspiracy" is going to make this go away? You think people aren't going to inspect this tape and pass it around even more now that you've weighed in? You think you're helping Hillary by trying to get into a public wrestling match with the originator of this video? You do realize, right, that you still quite clearly called the people of Indiana "shit." Buddy, you just don't get it, do you. In fact, I'm starting to think that you must be out of your damn mind, you worthless white...
Comments (5)
I think it's funny that he doesn't want HuffPo to even run his explanation as it makes the story an issue. Sounds funny coming form the Clinton side.
yeah...you can have one word back. Now tell an entire state why they are "worth shit."
May 2, 2008 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Damn straight. If he really said "How would you like to be in the White House right now?" why would he lower his voice and lean in?
May 2, 2008 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, I did hear him say something about the White House, and then he leaned into the other guy and made a comment that might have been what is being alleged. When I listened to it very carefully, I heard the alleged racist remarks, but I feel compelled to note that it was hard to make out, and I had been primed, so…
(The racist remarks in question happen, if they happen, at 4:56 in the version being touted as the "original".)
May 2, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well said!!
And you might want to add that if they insist on talking, then being respectful, perhaps a bit contrite and not STUPID is a good idea! (Wright's PBS interview alone might have helped)
According to HuffPo, however, Kantor said:
"And I was talking about the polling and not the people... If you look at The War Room, this is not the way Carville or George interpreted my statement. This is frankly libelous."
Well, it just isn't libel when the only thing done is a replay of your own words. Even if the clip is taken wildly out of context, as the Rev. Wright video loop was, it's just not actionable.
And, well, when someone says "those people" are (whatever) and uses epithets based on skin color, it's usually interpreted as referencing human beings, not political entities such as a state.
Another moment in which I get this awful fear that an HRC administration would look so much like a GWB administration. There is just no limit to their willingness to insult people's intelligence -- clearly they think if they can wrap words - any words - around something, folks will believe them because they are the "Voice of Authority" or something. Like Fox News: say it and it's so.
Well, it's no more fair to tag Clinton with this (even though Kantor and Carville ARE official and high up people in her campaign) than it was to tag Obama with Wright's ravings (even though Obama had asked Wright to step down from an active role in his campaign, precisely because of scandalous sentiments and statements) ..... but just as it's fair to assess Obama on how he responded to the situation, it will be interesting to see how Clinton deals with this. (Let's see. A staffer calling a political candidate a "witch" compared to one calling the residents of an entire state "s**t" and "worthless white n*****s" .....)
May 2, 2008 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Elizabeth are you really that dumb???? Kantor says the part about "shit" is out of context. THe "n" word stuff was completely dubbed in. As Stein points out in the article, the orginal film is out there for people to see and Kantor does not say this in the film and the director says he did not say it.
This is typical Obama campaign behavior. I just hope they get caught this time.
May 2, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
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