I def thought we “Blah’ People was under the radar. Now ,Santorum outed us. He used to focus on ‘black people’. DAMN!
Rick Santorum! I have read Santorum is a ‘stand-up’ guy. A guy who is completely embodied in bigotry (and I am starting to feel also a full blossomed case of racist) will not stand-up to his remarks in Iowa. He will not own-up to the bigoted remark embedded below.
I was def on being under the radar. Damned Santorum outed us “BLAH PEOPLE” . Now, we will have to compete other other groups for hand outs. Damn!
Rick Santorum! I have read Santorum is a ‘stand-up’ guy. A guy who is completely embodied in bigotry (and I am starting to feel also a full blossomed case of racist) will not stand-up to his remarks in Iowa. He will not own-up to the bigoted remark embedded below.
OK, so Santorum goes about insulting the intelligence of his supporters and he does so in an unabashed matter-of-fact way. He is not lying to people on the Left, as we know Santorum as a complete bigot. No, he is trying to manipulate independents who might be inclined to support him. Large numbers of GOP voters will support him despite his obvious social issues; a tragedy for the GOP. How are his remarks any different from the following hypothetical, “I am not a racist but I believe black people are leeching off the nation’s welfare programs“? There is no difference in that exampled remark than Santorum’s remark to an audience he knew was empathetic to his beliefs. Hence, the applause after the remark.
I understand bigotry and racism without one iota of acceptance of the flawed psychological state of mind. Why not go ahead and act as a stand-up politician, like George Wallace, Lester Maddox and others of their ilk? They stood tall in their racism; Santorum should do same!
Why such a bold-faced lie?
Some people have a penchant for believing the ‘clean-up’ words of such people, and may feel Santorum’ denials are honest. When you finish with that naive mental assimilation, help me understand more about the “BLAH” ethnic group. How about the “BLAH” poor people. I have written affirmative action plans and I have consulted diversity workshops, there is no “BLAH” ethnic group.
How much lower can the GOP move towards their seemingly wanton crawling through the gutter?
People like Santorum long for a time when the nation was one of unequal rights for all people. Yes, For those us who were privileged to watch the change, most can member George Wallace, Lester Maddox and that famous racist Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus,as they fought for ‘white supremacy’.
As I often state, “I am not hearing one “PROUD” black conservative address the Santorum or Gingrich’s remarks.”
I wrote last week about Ed Schultz’s interview with Santorum. An interview in which the bigoted Santorum clearly indicated that all people should have some form of state identification. That declaration is not so stark, as it is in part true. The problem with the comment was Santorum’s utterances related to the need for State ID when buying “cigarettes, alcohol and to get on a plane”. Do I have to furnish ID to purchase cigarettes or alcohol (If I partook in either and I do not)? No, based on my obvious age. Does the former Senator not realize that we have millions in the nation who have not flown on a plane, will not fly on a plane, and all for reason related to affordability? Of course, he is more intelligent than that, but how else could he support clear efforts in voter suppression. He has to make illogical and asinine statements. Oh, and woe-be-it upon Ed Schultz for not pushing a bit further in that regard.
Santourm is well known for his bigoted position against the GLBT community. As of yesterday he has proveded validity to the commonly known premise that bigotry spans many boundaries. If one is a bigot, they subscribe to stereotypical discrimination in many areas. It should not surprise that Santorum would take an unnecessary swipe at black people via a bigoted remark.
Apparently, during a town-hall type setting while campaigning the the Great State of Iowa, Santorum was asked a question not related to race. He was asked about foreign influence on the US economy. Santorum took the question and moved into the realm of entitlements.
What? He went straight to a place where Newt Gingrich figuratively lives; he went to ‘welfare” programs. While many do not like to admit it the word ‘welfare’ when uttered from most conservative is ‘code’ for black people, or African-Americans. The 19 second video bellow shows bigotry that cannot be disputed. You may want to note how Santorum thought for a second and stammered a bit before uttering the words, “black people”. (I was taught early in life to go with your first hunch. During his stammer, he should have found a better example vs. showing his obvious bigotry).
In fairness, I should point out that the perfunctory applause at the end of Santorum’s remarks could be taken a couple of ways. Some might think, well typically ‘code’ delivered, understood and applauded by his audience. Others might say the empathetic people in the audience responded to Santorum’s comments about the black family (the manner in which he ended his ill-advised utterance). Applause is a contagious act, in many cases, so I am going to try to place a positive spin on the applause and lay it to empathy for the effects of an ill-advised set of words.
As I often post, Ronald Reagan once said, “Facts stubborn things“.
What is welfare? You might be a candidate for ‘welfare‘ if…..
For exaple, a family might simultaneously receive benefits from: TANF, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Public Housing, WIC, Head Start, and the SociService Block Grant. It is therefore important to examine welfare holistically.*
Let’s take a look at Iowa.
Composition of Health, Human Services (HHS) Budget 2010 (as pasted below excludes published comparisons to 2008 & 2009) Page 9.
Mandatory Programs (Outlays) 1/: Medicare 2/………………………………………………..452,370 Medicaid 2/…………………………………………………289,763 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 3/…….19,447 Foster Care & Adoption Assistance…………………..7,198 Children ‘s Health Insurance Program………………10,095 Child Support Enforcement………………………………4,588 Child Care……………………………………………………..2,938 Social Services Block Grant……………………………..2,009 Other Mandatory Programs………………………………2,601 Offsetting Collections …………………………………….-1,102 Subtotal, Mandatory Outlays ………………………….89,907 Total, HHS Outlays ……………………………………. 879,196
1/ FY 2009 and FY 2010 Recovery Act funding included in this table. See details on Mandatory Recovery Act table.
2/ FY 2010 does not include Medicaid savings of $1.450 billion and Medicare savings of $520 million to finance healthcare reform .
3/ Includes outlays for the Child Enrollment Contingency Fund in FY 2009 and FY 2010.
What constitutes Health and Human Services for the State of Iowa (on a percentage basis)
Composition of the FY 2010 Budget $879 Billion in Outlays
Medicare (generally not considered ‘welfare’) 52 %
CBS points out thatonly nine percentof Iowans on food stamps are black — and 84 percent are white. Nationally,39 percentof welfare recipients are white, 37 percent are black, and 17 percent are Hispanic. So Santorum’s decision to single outblackwelfare recipients plays right into insulting — and inaccurate — stereotypes of the kind of people some voters might expect to want a “handout.”
Attacking families who receive government aid has been a theme among many of the Republican candidates. In nearly every speech, Newt Gingrich accuses President Obama of being a “food stamp president” and even said “really poor children” have bad work habits and no knowledge of how to make an income “unless it’s illegal.” (HT: Raw Story).
In follow-up to the ThinkProgress Food Assistance data, I offer the following specifics related to population.
Overall state population 2000 Total population 2.926,324 White 2,748,640 93.9% African-American 61,853 2.1%
Population data alone places Santorum’s bigoted remarks squarely in
the realm of ‘politics speak with a dash of “code”.
How about a bit more demographic data from Iowa”? The data categories are broken down by Poverty among the State’s ethnic groups.
I really do ‘get it’ when it comes to political rhetoric and hyperbole. The voting publicshould step-in, when political parties use race based jargon, code, our outright references which are based in stereotypicalbeliefs and comment that perpetuates harmful bigoted paradigm. . Such references serve no purposebeyondwinning elections. However, the remarks such rhetoric falls on non-listening ears for those who are independent in thought, intellectually curious, and questioning of generalconservative bullshit, .
Two additional points.
It is fairly easy to research the level and scope of GOP politics which lead to outright lies and harmful generalizations. I offer a couple of non-ethnic examples: Liberals are bigger spenders of federal funds and liberals are soft of national defense.
Use of stereotypical generalizations which are commonly used by at least three GOP candidates for the 2012 nomination are easily refutable with data available a quick Google search. There-in lies the success of a networks like Fox News or radio shows like Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Boortz, and Ingram. There listeners and viewers are not interested in factual argument and retort, they wish to be entertained via their innate biases and paradigms.
Santorum should be held accountable for his bigoted remarks. Again, I am hearing nothing from those “PROUD” African-American conservatives who criticize minorities for a predominant aversion to the GOP. We also have a telling situation if media does not challenge Santorum.
[NOTE: We are cognizant on a per capita basis more Black people derive benefit from ‘welfare programs’ then whites. However, Santorum’s use of black people for his Iowa crowd is clear use of “code” considering the state has a white population of 92.3%. Why not use welfare recipients comprehensively. Alas, a thought from a non-bigot and one that would have less impact with Santorum’s crowd.)
Sources Information:
Think Progress.com
Your Black Politics.com Iowa State Census and Health and Human Services data (2000-2009)
The Pardu’s Feed
The Pardu's Scroll 