CNN: Reid apologizes for 'Negro dialect' comment

[RedskinsTime]

The fact that Democrats are not calling for Reids head is a joke. Politics/hypocrisy at its best.

[TimmySmith]

The fact that Democrats are not calling for Reids head is a joke. Politics/hypocrisy at its best.

Think Tiger Woods. His sponsors supported him in the beginning. Then when the stuff really started to hit the fan, the support dried up. Mark my words, Reid will be a pariah in a few days.

[RedskinsTime]

I hope so.

Libs on the board- do you agree with democratic leadership that Reid should not resign? How can you justify this argument?

[Thiebear]

Politics as Usual:

Jake Sherman, Mike Allen Jake Sherman, Mike Allen – Mon Jan 11, 5:05 am ET

Democrats are preparing to throw the race card back in the laps of Republicans as part of a counter attack designed to help save Harry Reid’s political career.

First, Reid’s allies plan to distribute the NAACP vote ratings of Republican senators who have scolded him. The data will be made available to editorial boards, cable programs and the blogosphere — including votes on minimum wage, community-oriented policing, education funding and HIV/AIDS programs.

Separately, the Congressional Black Caucus plans to issue a new statement Monday, defending Reid and brushing back Republicans.

Its not about the person that made the quote and should be responsible for it.

Look over there, over there is the problem, not the actual story.

Lee added that she looked forward to Reid serving as majority leader.

"There are too many issues like the economy, job creation and energy for these regrettable comments to distract us from the work that must be done on behalf of the American people," she said.

its about the work

isn't it always when your side screws up?

[Burgold]

I hope so.

Libs on the board- do you agree with democratic leadership that Reid should not resign? How can you justify this argument?

I'd definitely argue that he should step down as Senate Leader and lose chairmanships. I'm not sure about resigning. It was a god-awful and inappropriate thing to say... and worse, it was so stupid he likely meant it.

That said, resignations should be over acts of corruption or crimes, stripping him would suffice to me. Although it is funny that all of this repudiation and vengeance is coming out of a thread announcing his apology.

Often we get into this lather because the idiot refuses to acknowledge what they said, rationalizes it, or refuses to apologize. Still, that doesn't change the fact that what he said was really, really stupid. Gilbert Arenas stupid.

[Thiebear]

How about we go by Reids own words:

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in 2002 agreed with former Sen. Trent Lott's (R-Miss.) decision to resign his leadership role after Lott made what some felt were racist remarks at former Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party.

"He had no alternative," said Reid at the time claiming, "If you tell ethnic jokes in the backroom, it's that much easier to say ethnic things publicly. I've always practiced how I play."

-----------------------------------

[RedskinsTime]

I'd definitely argue that he should step down as Senate Leader and lose chairmanships. I'm not sure about resigning. It was a god-awful and inappropriate thing to say... and worse, it was so stupid he likely meant it.

That said, resignations should be over acts of corruption or crimes, stripping him would suffice to me. Although it is funny that all of this repudiation and vengeance is coming out of a thread announcing his apology.

Often we get into this lather because the idiot refuses to acknowledge what they said, rationalizes it, or refuses to apologize. Still, that doesn't change the fact that what he said was really, really stupid. Gilbert Arenas stupid.

Maybe so, but given the fact that Republicans and Democrats alike called for Trent Lott's resignation, isn't it only fair that Reid suffer the same fate? While the situations are not identical, they are damn close.

[twa]

The CBC says we got more important things to deal with...No Biggie:)

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/10/congressional-black-caucus-backs-reid/

Truth Hurts:evilg:

[Burgold]

Maybe so, but given the fact that Republicans and Democrats alike called for Trent Lott's resignation, isn't it only fair that Reid suffer the same fate? While the situations are not identical, they are damn close.

That's probably a fair point though Lord knows that Delay and Lott were corrupt as heck. Then again, Reid probably is too... after that many years in power how couldn't he be?

[TimmySmith]

That's probably a fair point though Lord knows that Delay and Lott were corrupt as heck. Then again, Reid probably is too... after that many years in power how couldn't he be?

Coming from Nevada, I'd say he was from the get. In any event, he represented his constituents well. Another reason for term limits, these guys get so entrenched they lose all sense of propriety and end up being their own worst enemy.

[Henry]

How about we go by Reids own words:

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in 2002 agreed with former Sen. Trent Lott's (R-Miss.) decision to resign his leadership role after Lott made what some felt were racist remarks at former Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party.

"He had no alternative," said Reid at the time claiming, "If you tell ethnic jokes in the backroom, it's that much easier to say ethnic things publicly. I've always practiced how I play."

-----------------------------------

Ouch.

[Burgold]

Ouch.

Yup. A pretty damning quote. If that's what he said that is how he should live.

For some reason, probably because it was in yellow I thought that was part of your sig, TB and didn't read it the first time around.

[Kilmer17]

Why is what Reid said racist? I think it's 100 percent accurate. We can ****foot around the issue, but if Obama had the EXACT same credentials but was as dark skinned as someone like Garrett Morris (some of you will get the reference) and used ebonics in his speech pattern, he wouldnt have made it out of the state senate of Illinois.

That said, if a GOPer had said it, it would have been more than a 2 paragraph mention on page 18 of the NYTs.

Also, this is NOTHING like the Lott comment. Not even close. The only similarity is the position both men occupy.

[techboy]

We can ****foot around the issue, but if Obama had the EXACT same credentials but was as dark skinned as someone like Garrett Morris (some of you will get the reference) and used ebonics in his speech pattern, he wouldnt have made it out of the state senate of Illinois.

Garrett Morris: Good evening, and welcome to "Black Perspective". I'm your host, Garrett Morris. Tonight our guest is Mr. Julian Bond, and we'll be talking about the myths surrounding black I.Q. Specifically, the myth that whites are inherently more intelligent than blacks.

Julian Bond: Good evening, Garrett.

Garrett Morris: Now, Julian, perhaps you could explain something to me. In all these studies comparing black I.Q. to white I.Q., what kind of test is used to measure I.Q.'s in the first place?

Julian Bond: Well, this is the major problem with these studies. The measurements of I.Q. which form the basis of comparison come from tests composed by whites for whites. The tests are culturally biased; it's not surprising that whites would score better than blacks.

Garrett Morris: Could you give us an example of what you're talking about?

Julian Bond: Certainly. Here are some questions that have appeared on recent I.Q. tests. Number one: "You have been invited over for ****tails by the officer of your trust fund. ****tails begin at 4:30, but you must make an appearance at a 6:00 formal dinner at the Yacht Club. What do you do about dress?

A. Wear your blue-striped seersucker suit to ****tails and change into your tuxedo in the bathroom, apologizing to your host for the inconvenience.

B. Wear your tuxedo to ****tails, apologizing to your host for wearing a dinner jacket before 6:00 PM.

C. Walk to the subway at Columbus Circle and take the "A" Train uptown."

Garrett Morris: Uh.. I guess I'd choose the last one.

Julian Bond: I'm sorry, that's incorrect.

Garrett Morris: Damn.

[alexey]

Not sure what's racist about this comment. Yeah instead of "Negro dialect" he should have said "African American Vernacular English" or at least "ebonics". "Negro dialect" heh that strikes me more as nerdy rather then racist.

Looked up Trent Lott... Apparently he had a strong record of voting against civil rights and he said: "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either."

There seems to be a big difference between saying "Negro dialect" instead of "ebonics" vs saying that we should have kept those blacks segregated.

[Kilmer17]

This part is worse IMO-

Bill Clinton- "A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee"

wow.

[Thiebear]

Yup. A pretty damning quote. If that's what he said that is how he should live.

For some reason, probably because it was in yellow I thought that was part of your sig, TB and didn't read it the first time around.

Thats because you dont see color..

its a good thing.

[TimmySmith]

Why is what Reid said racist? I think it's 100 percent accurate. We can ****foot around the issue, but if Obama had the EXACT same credentials but was as dark skinned as someone like Garrett Morris (some of you will get the reference) and used ebonics in his speech pattern, he wouldnt have made it out of the state senate of Illinois.

"Truth" as it relates to race never works as a cogent argument. Is what Jimmy "The Greek" said untrue?

[81artmonk]

just as well, his poll numbers in NV are falling and he won't be re-elected in 2010.

[mjah]

"Truth" as it relates to race never works as a cogent argument. Is what Jimmy "The Greek" said untrue?

Um, yes. It certainly is untrue.

Seems to me that Democrats and the GOP should just forge a backroom agreement to dump both Reid-as-leader and Steele-as-mouthpiece on the same Friday afternoon, so neither gets the full media press.

[gbear]

why is what he said wrong? I'm with this editorial:

http://www.theroot.com/views/was-harry-reid-right?hpid=topnews

How dare he say that which has been shown to be true in study after study. How dare he acknowledge the impact of our prejudice and damn him for not using "ebonics" as the only even marginally acceptable term that doesn't twist the mouth in circles for 5 min to describe an inner city dialect associated with an uneducated inner city population with a darker than fish belly white complextion.

The irony is the attempt to demonize him among those whom have been descriminated. The outrage acts as if he should never acknowledge the impact race and skin color had on the election.

Must we stick our collective heads in the sand? I say this as a father of a black child. I know we get stares. To say so doesn't mean spit. I also know we get some extra attention, positive and negative as a result. I don't think it's racist to see and say that truth.

Maybe it's my head in the sand. I don't know. I do know there are still quite a few people who self identify as "Negro." That is not the other "N" word, and this smacks of the "niggardly" outrage from a few years ago.

[Wrong Direction]

I hate how ridiculous politics have become.

1. What Harry Reid said was 1/2 true. I don't agree about skin color but 50 cent isn't exactly going to speak to a convention and give people confidence that he's the man for the job. Obama sounds smart, which is why he got votes. People (including whites, mind you) who speak with so-called ebonics do not sound smart. Saying Negro dialect doesn't change that fact. It just dates the man.

2. What Trent Lott said years ago was meaningless and inflated by a race-baiting political atmosphere headlined by Democrats. He was at a celebration and made an offhand compliment of a 100 year old man. He didn't say...gee, I wish we still had segregation. The Dems inflated that issue and took advantage of the fact that he was a Republican and made the whole party look like they're racists.

3. The Sen. Allen comment was by far the worst of the three because it directly and personally attacked a man based on his race. That was real bad, the others are not.

In any event, Reid should lose his seat if for no other reason than to not would make his entire party - including himself and the president - hypocritical. Of course, they are hypocrites, so I don't know what's going to happen.

Race baiting is stupid and only further divides us.

[sacase]

This is so funny, watching the die hard liberals try to spin this. You would be better off saying my bad and I am stepping down than defending it.

[Predicto]

This is so funny, watching the die hard liberals try to spin this. You would be better off saying my bad and I am stepping down than defending it.

Which die hard liberals did that?

Kilmer? Wrong Direction? :laugh:

[Redskinizzle]

Judge a man by his actions, not by his words. Was what he said stupid to say? Yes.

Look at his actions, votes, and history. It's obvious this man is not racist. If anything he falls on the side of those who have worked and contributed for years to the efforts to move this country into a color blind future.