Posts Tagged ‘South Carolina’
Newt Gingrich’s triumph in the recent South Carolina Primary has been largely attributed to his sharp performances in two recent televised debates.
The signature highlight of debate #1 was a confrontation Newt had with Fox News correspondent and former-NPR reporter Juan Williams.
Williams asked Newt Gingrich if calling President Obama the “Food Stamps President” could be considered offensive to low-income people and people of color.
Gingrich’s indignant response, showcased in the clip above, largely blew-off the question. Williams followed up the former Speaker of the House’s response with his assertion that Gingrich might be coming across as “belittling people.”
Gingrich dismissed the claim.
Clearly “Food Stamp President” was meant to be a pejorative slam. But it’s not a surprise that the statement carries a racial connotation for many.
It is reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan’s 1976 presidential campaign term “Welfare Queens” that many studies have shown carry a clear racial code. Representative Clyburn and Representative Sheila Jackson Lee condemned the label as racially coded.
“Food stamps” is the now-outdated term for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that President Bush had a large part in rebranding and de-stigmatizing.
When taking a look at the hard numbers, the President who hailed the largest number of food stamps recipients and who experienced the largest program growth was President George W. Bush, with a 63% jump in recipients and an increase in recipients for 7 out of his 8 years in office.
What was arguably more despicable was Gingrich’s pointed comment about Juan Williams after the debate:
I had a very interesting dialogue Monday night in Myrtle Beach with Juan Williams about the idea of work, which seemed to Juan Williams to be a strange, distant concept.
Hmm, not sure we follow you there, Newt. Especially when considering the way Williams reacted during the debate – oh, and the fact that Williams has been pretty prominently employed as a journalist, author, and commentator for years.
We tend to agree with this quote by senior editor at The Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates, which pretty much sums it up:
The notion that Gingrich is somehow unaware of that “food stamp president” has racial connotations, that he is being on the level when he says the black community should not be satisfied with food stamps, requires an extension of supernatural generosity.
South Carolina Primary final numbers, courtesy Current.com
Before any of the numbers were in last night, Newt Gingrich was declared the victor of the first Republican primary in the South by all of the major news networks.
Exit polls showed that Gingrich was double-digits ahead of Mitt Romney, a candidate that has been struggling with media coverage and losing popularity after Gingrich’s attack on Romney, in which he painted the Massachusetts Governor as a moderate and exploitative capitalist for his work at Bain Capital.
Many commentators are predicting a similar outcome in Florida, the next primary stop. Other commentators suspect a Santorum drop-out, with the possibility of a Gingrich endorsement. All in all, the three votes so far do not point to a clear winner, with each of the three showings declaring three unique outcomes.
To see the final numbers from the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, click the image above.
Image from MSNBC!
What better way to spend your Saturday than getting ready for the announcement of South Carolina’s primary results tonight? Check out the stories below and get excited for a primary party tonight!
Endorsements Galore!
Rick Perry drops out and endorses Newt. VA Governor Bob McDonnell endorses Mitt. SC Governor Nikki Haley endorses Mitt. Jon Huntsman endorses Jon Huntsman…I mean, Mitt. And Stephen Colbert endorses Herman Cain…or is Herman Cain endorsing Stephen Colbert?
Debate Highlights!
Haven’t had a chance to tune into all of the South Carolina debates? Luckily, we’ve got some highlights for you. John King versus Newt Gingirch and the marriage question. The Sumter Item breaks down the bests and worsts. And oh yeah, and Ron Paul – “He was there, too!”
Poll the Pols!
Public Policy Polling has Gingrich up by 9 points. But that’s okay by Mitt – Romney says he won’t win every primary.
Voters approve a new cabinet in Tunisia.
How will young voters be heard in 2012?
Voter ID Laws: Justice Department – 1, South Carolina – 0.
Michigan takes a step back in gay rights.
All right, y’all… time for another installment of the politicraziness that is the 2010 election: “I Am Woman” edition!
We at USDemocrazy like to speak out (especially when it’s our turn to wash the dishes). So the question is: when does speaking out become too out spoken?
That’s a question Representative Joe Wilson, of South Carolina, has heard since he shouted his feelings (“You LIE!” to be exact) during President Obama’s speech on health care (see video above). …read more.
We at USDemocrazy are familiar with extramarital affairs. Ummm… let’s refine that statement: We at USDemocrazy are familiar with blogging about extramarital affairs.
You see, politicians are really the ones who are intimate with affairs (puns always intended). They can’t seem to stop having them… Berlusconi, Spitzer, Edwards, and now adding to that illustrious list are Nevada Republican Senator John Ensign and South Carolina governor Mark Sanford. (That’s just to name a few.)
Sanford made the news over the past few days when he disappeared from the face of the earth (it seemed) for days, even missing Father’s Day with his children. Aides to the governor didn’t know where he was, but reported that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Right.
Apparently, the gov sought warmer climes and warmer – ahem – shall we say, company? According to Sanford’s wife, the two had just embarked upon a trial separation, and Sanford’s rhetoric in a press conference yesterday indicated that he had gone to Argentina, where he broke off an affair with a woman who lives there. The New York Times reports:
Mr. Sanford strongly implied that he had ended the affair. “The one thing that you really find is that you absolutely want resolution,” he said. “And so oddly enough, I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina.”
And so, this is politics, and immediately one’s mind goes to not the torn-up family but, of course, Sanford’s political ambitions!
Sanford, as his own breed of maverick (to take a page out of John McCain’s book), was widely considered to be at the forefront of the Republican party for a launch into national politics… dare we say, the presidency. But, a lot of people, like the folks at the Financial Times, believe that Sanford can kiss his political career goodbye (though he gave no indication of even giving up the governorship). Says the FT:
His downfall further -narrows the pool of Republican talent for 2012.
Blunt, but perhaps true.
This affair could just be too much ammo for the “liberals” to have when in an election against this man, if that were too occur in the future. In fact, Phil Bronstein of the San Francisco Chronicle has some evidence, or, you know, words, to make this all apparent as an Obama-liberal-Democrat conspiracy:
You think it was a coincidence that as the Governor was into the meat of his dishonor, the CNN scroll noted that President Obama was going to the Vatican to meet with the Pope?
And surely Sanford’s future is doomed, especially when you can read his e-mails to this Argentine mistress. Plus, he allegedly has flown to Argentina before on taxpayer dollars. Well.
So, it’s up to you to read the Tweets, watch some Jon Stewart, and interpret this mess, and then tell us why he hasn’t learned anything from Jon Gosselin?!
