Harry Reid: Open Door...into Face

[fossten]

Harry Reid apologizes for "light skinned" remark about Obama

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) apologized today for referring to President Barack Obama as "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect" in private conversations during the 2008 presidential campaign.

"I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words," said Reid in a statement. "I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans for my improper comments."

The Senate Majority Leader was officially neutral in the primary fight between Obama and then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.). Reid's remarks about Obama were revealed in "Game Change", a book detailing the 2008 race penned by Time's Mark Halperin and New York magazine's John Heilemann.

The details about Reid's remarks were first reported by the Atlantic.

Reid's apology comes on the same day that a new poll conducted by the Las Vegas Review Journal showed him facing an uphill fight for re-election in 2010. Reid trailed former state Republican party chairwoman Sue Lowden by a 50 percent to 40 percent margin and was behind businessman Danny Tarkanian (R) 49 percent to 41 percent. Only one in three voters viewed Reid favorably while 52 percent saw him in an unfavorable light in the poll.

Tarkanian said that Reid "disgraces himself almost monthly with some disparaging remark about his constituents, political opponents, or now the president," in a statement released Saturday afternoon.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee echoed that sentiment in a statement of its own release Saturday afternoon. "For those who hope to one day live in a color-blind nation it appears Harry Reid is more than a few steps behind them," said communications director Brian Walsh. "Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a long history of embarrassing and controversial remarks by the senior Senator from Nevada."

Despite Reid's dismal poll numbers, he told the Review-Journal that he has no plans to follow his colleagues Byron Dorgan (N.D.) and Chris Dodd (Conn.) into retirement. "I am absolutely running for re-election," Reid told the paper. "These are difficult times for Nevada and as the majority leader of the Senate I have been able to take action to address those challenges."

It's unclear whether the near-certain controversy his remarks about Obama will cause might force Reid to reassess his re-election plans.

 

[Calabrio]

Perhaps the NAACP will call for his resignation.....oh wait,he's a Democrat. Never mind.

 

[topher5150]

and what of this have we heard from main stream media (cricket chirp)
Rush Limbaugh mentions the phrase "black guy" and he is put on a cross
and besides the fact the democrats were the one's who enslaved, and passed all of this legislation against the black man

 

[fossten]

Two words...Trent Lott.

 

[lincolnx2]

what is "negro dialect"?

 

[lincolnx2]

and what of this have we heard from main stream media (cricket chirp)
Rush Limbaugh mentions the phrase "black guy" and he is put on a cross
and besides the fact the democrats were the one's who enslaved, and passed all of this legislation against the black man

This guys statement was directed at one person, Rush attacks an whole race.

 

[fossten]

This guys statement was directed at one person, Rush attacks an whole race.

Citation please, liar.

Also, Limbaugh isn't an elected official.

Want me to quote Reverend Wright?

How about this?

Top Racist Democrat Quotes

“You cannot go to a 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian Accent.”
-Senator Joe Biden

Mahatma Gandhi “ran a gas station down in Saint Louis.”

-Senator Hillary Clinton

Some junior high n*gger kicked Steve’s ass while he was trying to help his brothers out; junior high or sophomore in high school. Whatever it was, Steve had the n*gger down. However it was, it was Steve’s fault. He had the n*gger down, he let him up. The n*gger blindsided him.”

– Roger Clinton, the President’s brother on audiotape

“You’d find these potentates from down in Africa, you know, rather than eating each other, they’d just come up and get a good square meal in Geneva.”
– Fritz Hollings (D, S.C.)

“Is you their black-haired answer-mammy who be smart? Does they like how you shine their shoes, Condoleezza? Or the way you wash and park the whitey’s cars?”

– Left-wing radio host Neil Rogers

Blacks and Hispanics are “too busy eating watermelons and tacos” to learn how to read and write.” — Mike Wallace, CBS News. Source: Newsmax

Black on Black

“In the days of slavery, there were those slaves who lived on the plantation and [there] were those slaves that lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master … exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him. Colin Powell’s committed to come into the house of the master. When Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture.”
– Harry Belafonte

“Republicans bring out Colin Powell and J.C. Watts because they have no program, no policy. They have no love and no joy. They’d rather take pictures with black children than feed them.” — Donna Brazile, Al Gore’s Campaign Manager for the 2000 election

(On Clarence Thomas) “A handkerchief-head, chicken-and-biscuit-eating Uncle Tom.” — Spike Lee

“He’s married to a white woman. He wants to be white. He wants a colorless society. He has no ethnic pride. He doesn’t want to be black.”

– California State Senator Diane Watson’s on Ward Connerly’s interracial marriage

Comments From The Past

“Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.”

– Former Klansman and current US Senator Robert Byrd, a man who is referred to by many Democrats as the “conscience of the Senate”, in a letter written in 1944, after he quit the KKK.

“I am a former kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan in Raleigh County and the adjoining counties of the state …. The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia …. It is necessary that the order be promoted immediately and in every state of the Union. Will you please inform me as to the possibilities of rebuilding the Klan in the Realm of W. Va …. I hope that you will find it convenient to answer my letter in regards to future possibilities.”

– Former Klansman and current US Senator Robert Byrd, a man who is referred to by many Democrats as the “conscience of the Senate”, in a letter written in 1946, after he quit the KKK.

“These laws [segregation] are still constitutional and I promise you that until they are removed from the ordinance books of Birmingham and the statute books of Alabama, they will be enforced in Birmingham to the utmost of my ability and by all lawful means.”

– Democrat Bull Connor (1957), Commissioner of Public Safety for Birmingham, Alabama

“I’ll have those n*ggers voting Democratic for the next 200 years.”

– Lyndon B. Johnson to two governors on Air Force One according Ronald Kessler’s Book, “Inside The White House”

(On New York) “K*ketown.” — Harry Truman in a personal letter

“I think one man is just as good as another so long as he’s not a n*gger or a Chinaman. Uncle Will says that the Lord made a White man from dust, a ****** from mud, then He threw up what was left and it came down a Chinaman. He does hate Chinese and Japs. So do I. It is race prejudice, I guess. But I am strongly of the opinion Negroes ought to be in Africa, Yellow men in Asia and White men in Europe and America.”

-Harry Truman (1911) in a letter to his future wife Bess

“There’s some people who’ve gone over the state and said, ‘Well, George Wallace has talked too strong about segregation.’ Now let me ask you this: how in the name of common sense can you be too strong about it? You’re either for it or you’re against it. There’s not any middle ground as I know of.” — Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallace (1959)

On Jews

“You ****ing Jew b@stard.” — Hillary Clinton to political operative Paul Fray. This was revealed in “State of a Union: Inside the Complex Marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton” and has been verified by Paul Fray and three witnesses.

“The Jews don’t like Farrakhan, so they call me Hitler. Well, that’s a good name. Hitler was a very great man. He rose Germany up from the ashes.” — Louis Farrakhan (1984) who campaigned for congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in 2002

“Now that nation called Israel, never has had any peace in forty years and she will never have any peace because there can never be any peace structured on injustice, thievery, lying and deceit and using the name of God to shield your dirty religion under his holy and righteous name.” — Louis Farrakhan who campaigned for congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in 2002, 1984

‘*****s.’ ‘*****town.’ — Jesse Jackson’s description of New York City while on the 1984 presidential campaign trail.

“Jews — that’s J-E-W-S.” — Democratic state representative Bill McKinney on why his daughter Cynthia lost in 2002

 

[Calabrio]

This guys statement was directed at one person, Rush attacks an whole race.

How many times do we have to repeatedly explain and demonstrate that the comments you're referencing were either actually never stated or completely misrepresented and out of context?

At least acknowledge the double standard in the media so far.
The book this was in has been out all week and the media had advance copies, unfortunately they were too busy looking for stuff to bad mouth Palin with.

 

[fossten]

At least Limbaugh never murdered any innocent, helpless, defenseless babies like a f***ing coward.

 

[lincolnx2]

At least Limbaugh never murdered any innocent, helpless, defenseless babies like a f***ing coward.

WOW Princess, are you upset? Like I said before, keep your kids away from me. Cowards run from service.

 

[lincolnx2]

You guys are right, thats why he was never fired from ESPN!

 

[fossten]

You guys are right, thats why he was never fired from ESPN!

You're a total dumb@ss. Keep drinking that Kool Aid - it keeps you believin'.

 

[lincolnx2]

You're a total dumb@ss. Keep drinking that Kool Aid - it keeps you believin'.

Am I getting under your skin? Why do you resort to name calling? I dont drink Kool Aid, It has too much sugar, can't stay fit drinking all that sugar, or was that suppose to be a racist statement, since all black people are suppose to drink Kool-Aid. Calm down Foss, it's not that serious. You need to get laid, is your wife holding out?

 

[fossten]

You're a total dumb@ss. Keep drinking that Kool Aid - it keeps you believin'.

Am I getting under your skin? Why do you resort to name calling? I dont drink Kool Aid, It has too much sugar, can't stay fit drinking all that sugar, or was that suppose to be a racist statement, since all black people are suppose to drink Kool-Aid. Calm down Foss, it's not that serious. You need to get laid, is your wife holding out?

Keep the faith brutha!

 

[shagdrum]

what is "negro dialect"?

Presumably "gangsta" type talk...

This guys statement was directed at one person, Rush attacks an whole race.

Can you prove that? Or is that simply a bare assertion that cannot be backed up (like most claims concerning Limbaugh being a "racist")?

 

[fossten]

Haha, there's more from this book.

[A]s Hillary bungled Caroline, Bill’s handling of Ted was even worse. The day after Iowa, he phoned Kennedy and pressed for an endorsement, making the case for his wife. But Bill then went on, belittling Obama in a manner that deeply offended Kennedy. Recounting the conversation later to a friend, Teddy fumed that Clinton had said, A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.

 

[fossten]

Obama, the hypocrite, from 2002:

“It seems to be that we can forgive a 100-year-old senator for some of the indiscretion of his youth, but, what is more difficult to forgive is the current president of the U.S. Senate (Lott) suggesting we had been better off if we had followed a segregationist path in this country after all of the battles and fights for civil rights and all the work that we still have to do,” said Obama.

He said: “The Republican Party itself has to drive out Trent Lott. If they have to stand for something, they have to stand up and say this is not the person we want representing our party.”

And:

In an interview with ABC News Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., called for the firing of talk radio host Don Imus. Obama said he would never again appear on Imus' show, which is broadcast on CBS Radio and MSNBC television.

"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude."

Obama said he appeared once on Imus' show two years ago, and "I have no intention of returning."

And from Obama's book:

“I ceased to advertise my mother’s race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.”

 

[lincolnx2]

Keep the faith brutha!

what is “brutha” MY blackberry didn't even recognize that word.

 

[fossten]

Do you even read the posts in this thread?

zzzzzz...

 

[Calabrio]

You guys are right, thats why he was never fired from ESPN!

He was fired from ESPN after making a comment about the media's embrace of Donovan McNabb after giving in to the organized pressure put on Disney/ABC prior to his hiring by political smear merchants and character assassins and people like yourself who had been convinced of a lie.

But, Rush Limbaugh is a voice on the radio.
He is not THE MAJORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE.

See the difference there? You're sort of changing the topic completely by bringing up a DJ here. Why don't we talk about Trent Lott? He was also the Majority Leader of the Senate who lost his position after saying something silly while trying to be nice at an ancient old guy's birthday, Strom Thurmond.

However, the story just broke today, the book has yet to be released.
How much coverage will this get on even the Sunday morning news/talk shows? And will there be the same organized outrage as his "insensitive" comment.
Is it really any worse than Joe Biden calling him the first "clean African-American" to run?

 

[04SCTLS]

A scandal is when a politician tells the truth.
Ried has apologized for the poor(sic) wording of his comments but not the comments themselves.
There's nothing to apologize about other than getting caught using the dated word Negro which seems to be getting elevated to veiled N word status.
Essentially he was saying Obama is an articulate educated guy (unspoken: not like (in his opinion) most of them)

 

[Calabrio]

Your interpretation of what Reid said is actually quite damning, but even if it were more benign, I'm most offended by the double standard we continue to see here.

It demonstrates, once again, that this cry of "racism" is void of meaning. It's little more than a political club that the progress-left uses to batter their political opposition. Had any Republican or conservative voice made comments that resembled what Reid, Biden, or Clinton had made, the opportunistic, politics-at-all-costs ,left would be relentless in their effort to have their power stripped. They'd also aggressively be working to perpetuate the false image that conservatives are racist.

Unavoidably, the story was addressed briefly on all of the Sunday morning shows. And universally, everyone was very much on point dismissing it, with the exception of Lynn Cheney on ABC. And there seemed to be an organized movement to dismiss the story and deflect to a story about the RNC chairman.

Is it racist to discuss race?
I don't think so. I think it demonstrates a kind of racism to break things down into racial terms at all times. But I think there's also a special kind of condescension in what Harry Reid said, not just towards black people, but the entire American public in general.

I'm not familiar with the Clinton quote yet. If he really said "a few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee" referencing his race, there should be outrage.

But with all of this, the writing is on the wrong. I just heard Al Sharpton spend five minutes defending Harry Reid while deflecting and lying about Trent Lott's comments. Racism is a bankrupt term that has no meaning. It's little more than a political attack that should be dismissed at this point.

 

[fossten]

Your interpretation of what Reid said is actually quite damning, but even if it were more benign, I'm most offended by the double standard we continue to see here.

It demonstrates, once again, that this cry of "racism" is void of meaning. It's little more than a political club that the progress-left uses to batter their political opposition. Had any Republican or conservative voice made comments that resembled what Reid, Biden, or Clinton had made, the opportunistic, politics-at-all-costs ,left would be relentless in their effort to have their power stripped. They'd also aggressively be working to perpetuate the false image that conservatives are racist.

Unavoidably, the story was addressed briefly on all of the Sunday morning shows. And universally, everyone was very much on point dismissing it, with the exception of Lynn Cheney on ABC. And there seemed to be an organized movement to dismiss the story and deflect to a story about the RNC chairman.

Is it racist to discuss race?
I don't think so. I think it demonstrates a kind of racism to break things down into racial terms at all times. But I think there's also a special kind of condescension in what Harry Reid said, not just towards black people, but the entire American public in general.

I'm not familiar with the Clinton quote yet. If he really said "a few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee" referencing his race, there should be outrage.

But with all of this, the writing is on the wrong. I just heard Al Sharpton spend five minutes defending Harry Reid while deflecting and lying about Trent Lott's comments. Racism is a bankrupt term that has no meaning. It's little more than a political attack that should be dismissed at this point.

You win the thread, Cal. Well said.

 

[lincolnx2]

Maybe people should address the real issue why is it that white elected politicians are saying this type of stuff and getting away with it. Why was this thread created to bring to light the double standards between political parties and not the problem of radical racist that serve in both parties. Could it be racism is still present in majority of American citizens both black and white. SoRry about the lack of puncuation I am on my BB.

 

[Calabrio]

Maybe people should address the real issue why is it that white elected politicians are saying this type of stuff and getting away with it.

Getting away with what?
You're speaking in generalities, you're meaning is become almost as washed out as the opportunistic false cries of "racism."

Why was this thread created to bring to light the double standards between political parties and not the problem of radical racist that serve in both parties.

It does demonstate the hard double standard in politics and the media.
But it leaves to debate whether what Harry Reid said was actually "racist." Or if he himself is a "racist."

Could it be racism is still present in majority of American citizens both black and white.

I don't think so.