NBC shills for Obama: Gingrich must be racist after mentioning food stamps
This is how the mainstream press treats Republicans now. They simply default to the racist charge. NBC news anchor David Gregory interviews Newt Gingrich, GOP candidate for president, and calls him a racist since he mentioned 47 million people are now on food stamps.
Really David … is this all you’ve got? I agree with Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit. This is pathetic. David Gregory is pathetic.
Note the way Gregory highlights “in Georgia” the first time he says it. David Gregory just clearly implied he thinks all of you in Georgia are racist.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oDHF8bnrU8
Transcript courtesy Gateway Pundit, with my emphasis in bold.
DAVID GREGORY, HOST: What, what about jobs? Jobless rate now at 9 percent. You gave a speech on Friday in Georgia, and you said the following about this president:
(Videotape)
NEWT GINGRICH: You want to be a country that creates food stamps, in which case frankly Obama’s is an enormous success. The most successful food stamp president in American history. Or do you want to be a country that creates paychecks?
(End videotape)
GREGORY: First of all, you gave a speech in Georgia with language a lot of people think could be coded racially-tinged language, calling the president, the first black president, a food stamp president.
[Gregory had to mention Gingrich gave the speech in Georgia once again.]
GINGRICH: Oh, come on, David.
GREGORY: What did you mean? What was the point?
REP. GINGRICH: That’s, that’s bizarre. That–this kind of automatic reference to racism, this is the president of the United States. The president of the United States has to be held accountable. Now, the idea that–and what I said is factually true. Forty-seven million Americans are on food stamps. One out of every six Americans is on food stamps. And to hide behind the charge of racism? I have–I have never said anything about President Obama which is racist.
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NBC shills for Obama= Water is wet!
Isn’t the racism really on the part of the person that assumes that criticism of a program that is likely used by as many whites as blacks is racist?
The NYTimes has a utility to show food stamp usage by county (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/28/us/20091128-foodstamps.html).? Oddly, it only measures whites and blacks.
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If, in fact, the program is used by all minorities, is that not more an indictment of the failure of the “helpful” programs of the government, in particular, the Democrats, who purport to represent the poor and minorities (for their votes anyway)?? The programs are there; why aren’t they working?
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I really miss Tim Russert.
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Depending on the prism of ones viewpoint, mention of food stamps in the context of high unemployment is racist but 95% of any group voting for one of their own is not.? American journalistic template on display.
Readers: you have your own kind of prejudice: and that is if a news personality points out that a Republican is using racially charged language, he must be expressing his liberal bias. While in some instances that may be true, I don’t think?it applies to comments about Newt Gengrich.? He is a master at using language to stir old prejudices. Take for example his comment before Georgia Republicans when he claimed that the 2012 election was the most important since 1860.? While he didn’t spell out the comparison between then and now, his comment presses emotional, as opposed to intellectual, buttons,?about both race and northern agression toward the southern way of life. Two things about which we northerners have little sympathy.? Newt knows his audience. A few years ago in Georgia a white sherrif, as he described an act of violence against a black suspect,?told me?that blacks were responsible for all problems in his state. It was a chilling experience.?In more recent years, in the same region, ?I have??heard comments about black people that are not repeatable on this blog. Last week on C-Span,?I heard?speaches by?Newt and Ron Paul, which contrasted the ideas and characters of the two men. Ron Paul showed that he is a man of character when he did not?rely on propagandist speech to appeal to the emotions rather than intellect of his listeners. On the other hand Newt showed he was just another politician when he?appealed?to every?old fear and prejudice. In my view, Newt is a danger to the Republican Party. The quicker he is gone from the Presidential race, the sooner men of character will come to the fore.
@DavidR: So in other words, you agree that what Gingrich said was “racially charged language.” That’s completely absurd.
This is absurd, David R – it’s political correctness at its worst when you can’t talk about the increase in food stamp recipients under this President because he happens to be black. Don’t you see that NBC is trying to marginalize Newt Gingrich as well as anyone who supports him? And it’s not just Gregory. The day after Newt announced, Chris Matthews said that Gingrich was using racial code words by comparing the economic situation in Detroit to the growth in jobs in Texas. Even a commentator from Politico was unsettled by Matthews’ charge and tried (weakly) to defend Gingrich as not being racist. How can you not be disgusted by this blatant attempt by NBC to smear Gingrich?
I am sorry I wasn’t clear. I didn’t say David Gregory was right to accuse Newt of being racist for talking about food stamps. I won’t defend the media for its clumsy attempts to nail him for something. What I do mean though is that I don’t think?Newt is worth defending. In terms of personal morality he more than any Republican reminds me of? Bill Clinton. He is a good speaker and like all politicians his speech is peppered with words that press the buttons of the folks he is trying to attract. I don’t know if he is a racist, but I know he knows what the code words are that?excite his base and ?isn’t shy about using them.? What do you think he meant when he said that the next presidential election was as important as 1860’s?? He can? deny that he wasn’t referring to race, but I’ll bet the racists in his audience felt pretty good about it.
Sorry David, but I must disagree (my apologies to anyone that thinks I am dominating this thread).? Recall the comparison between the remarks made by? Trent Lott re: Strom Thurmond?? He lost his speakership.? Now find the comparative remarks made by Dodd about Robert Byrd.? Compare what was said and what happened to him.? A big fat nothing.
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Just so you can have a flavor of the story: http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2010/jan/11/2004-flashback-dodd-sen-byrd-would-have-been-great/
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Finding racism where it wasn’t intended is just as heinous as when it is intended.
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@David R: Why would I even read anything else you typed after you wrote “…?if a news personality points out that a Republican is using racially charged language, he must be expressing his liberal bias.”?
I refuse to accept your premise, and your suggestion that racists are some sort of significant voting block that needs to be appeased is another premise I refuse to accept.
Get this – I’m no fan of Newt … this is about the media attacking conservatives any way they can – their favorite these days is to use the racism charge.
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David R, if you want to find racism and prejudice, go to Obama’s Kenya.? 50+ tribes of black people and an ethnic cleansing problem.?? A real master of using words to stir old prejudices might be Al Sharpton who says America is the most racist nation on earth.? Racism is alive and well all around the world, but Sharpton would never leave the USA and take a real stand for real victims or real causes.? I was waiting for him or Jesse Jackson to go bargain for peace or hostages in Iraq, but these windbags are too busy taking on the real enemy- whitey.? LOL!
Between 2000 and 2007 how manny times did the media or politican refer to someone as a racist?? Between 2008 and today how manny times???? It has been so overused it no longer has any effect.? In the 2012 campaign it is all this adminstration has, so get used to it.
@DavidR – I’m no Newt expert, but weren’t his ‘1860’ comments from an historians perspective and?regarding the ultimate fate of the Union?? Had Lincoln been defeated the South likely would?have been allowed to secede.? If you like the current makeup of the United States of America, that whole Civil War thing (as horrific as it was) is kind of a big deal.???Newt believes that Lincoln was the only candidate that?would have have prosecuted the war.
But?if it makes you feel better, Newt must be a raaacist anyway.
David R is right, especially after his clarification.? Newt is a smart guy?and chooses his words quite carefully.? It’s like when the owners of Hooters say, “What, it’s an owl…wink wink”.
Do we need a review of some of the statements made by the Great Orator, ?bama?!?!?? You know, the “bitter clingers”, “typical white woman” and “stupid” cops?
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Let’s hold everyone to the same standard.
David Gregory is nothing more than Obama’s [Removed by admin … adds nothing to the conversation].
SeeingRed: Thanks for the additional information. I didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt, which perhaps I should have, because of his audience. Thanks to Nixon’s brilliant politics,?the racist Democrats of the south became Republicans..to a great extent in?response to?the?efforts?of Kennedy and?Johnson.? I will add that I thought long and hard about some of the comments I received.? I have to agree that the media is harder on Conservatives on certain issues including race. I also think that the media does a greater disservice when it isn’t equally as hard on Democrats when they use “code words” as Clinton did during his campaigns. “Racism” is largely unconcious, and nobody I know wants to think of themselves as racist, but I believe racism is rampant, and we are getting more clever at masking it.? I recall a black man telling me that in the South the whites love the individual Negro, but hate the race. In the North, he said, it’s just the opposite. That might apply to politics as well.
@DavidR- you’re making yourself look like a fool and digging a bigger hole when you refer to “his audience” – again making some sort of crazy foolish assumption there are a bunch of closet racists that need to be appeased … and Gingrich is their man.
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The media is “harder” on conservatives? Are you kidding? The real racists are provided an exclusive free pass on their e-ticket media ride.
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I have no idea what your fascination is with this “largely unconscious” and “rampant” racism issue. I’m totally disgusted by your generalizations.
Well DavidR – you got me.? It certainly is enlightening to have a clairvoyant – such as yourself – instruct on what Newt is feeling, you know, really deep down and depending on who he’s talking to.
Steve: Because no other issue I’ve commented on has raised so much dust, let me continue to make a fool of myself. From my experience in the South, where I live part of the year, the KKK is alive and well.? Racist comments and use of the “N” word are common. It was in Georgia that a sherrif told me blacks were responsible for all the problems in his state. So I feel comfortable saying that racism has a big footprint in at least one corner of the country. One of the problems with the term “racist” is that it is over-used and doesn’t differentiate between the KKK member at one extreme and the person who wouldn’t want a person of color living next door. If the term is used in its broadest sense, it encompassses a lot of people. As a result it is hard to tell who the real racists are and who aren’t. Chances are you’d like to think that only Liberals are “real racists”. To that I’d say no one group has a lock on the racist?label.??The basic tenent of morality is? “love thy neihbor as thy self”, which in my view entails trying to understand what it is like to walk in “thy neighbor’s” shoes. I don’t see many whites trying to do that, instead whites seem to assume they know what it is like to be black in this country. There are plenty of good books about race and the black experience written by black people. I may be wrong Steve, but I don’t think you have read any of them. I recommend Carl Rowan’s “The Coming Race War in America” to start. Finally.. do I think there are a bunch of closet racists in this country that need to be appeased? You bet.
David R:?
I agree completely with your assertion. In my opinion, many of these bloggers are analyzing this issue from a singular prospective, and basing their conclusions solely on their prospective.
In other words, they may not perceive Newt Gingrich?s usage of the term ?food stamp? as part of a racially coded speech. Therefore they conclude that it?s inconceivable for anyone else to reach a different conclusion.?
However, the key point that they are overlooking is that Newt?s speech is specific for a targeted audience.
Let me explain it this way?whether these bloggers?are aware of this or not, many Americans lack the ability to engage in deep critical thinking.
In the thought processes of?some Americans, certain words or phrases convey a certain meaning or remind them of a specific thing.
Coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population has a different or more specific meaning for a targeted subgroup of the audience.?
So, a group of people may hear the word ?food stamp? and they may instantly think of poor black families. Or, they may hear a phrase such as ?A lady with seven kids drives a Cadillac to the welfare office? and they instantly conjure up thoughts of a black woman on welfare living in the projects. (Incidentally, this was part of an advocative speech given by Ronald Reagan when he pushed for welfare reform).?
The problem is that so many people are so hypersensitive to race and racial issues that it impedes their ability to critically evaluate issues, such as whether Newt Gingrich was deliberately using racially coded language. Instead, the go into defense mode and their critical thinking thought process shuts down. ?
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Got it. You both think that if someone brings up a fact that 47 million people are on food stamps, that’s a racist comment since we happen to have a minority president. If I think that is a stupid assertion – and it is – my critical thought process has shut down.
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To prove your case for you, I’m shutting the comments off on this thread.