We were going to wait a little while for things to sort out and come up with a fully-baked take on what went down this evening, but with WACH’s Bryan Cox tweeting and thumping his chest that only they had a story up among local media (and including blogs in that), here we go. Now, “Pub Politics” is usually a tame affair. But today’s pre-primary/sine die hootenanny became all sorts of interesting. Toward the end, Sen. Jake Knotts sat down with other legislators and the fellas and gave his take on the gubernatorial race. Paraphrasing, he said that we already have one raghead in the White House, we don’t need one in the Governor’s Mansion.
There’s about a dozen different things wrong with that comment, starting out with the fact it’s a racist reference to Arabs. We don’t see how a mixed-race gentleman born in Hawai’i or the daughter of Indian immigrants (yeah, it was a reference to Rep. Nikki Haley, a fellow Lexington Republican) can even be accurately slurred in such a way, but there you go.
Immediately, it hit Twitter, and spread like the clap. Like the flu. Like the rage virus. Shit — it spread and it was quick. Suddenly, there are stories popping up on CNN and Politico. S.C. Republican Party chairwoman Karen Floyd issued a condemnation of the remarks.
The South Carolina Republican Party strongly condemns any use of racial or religious slurs. Senator Knotts should apologize for his inappropriate comments, so that we can put this unfortunate incident behind us and focus on issues important to moving our state forward.
Knotts later issued an apology, saying the comments were “intended in jest.”
Haley’s supporters, digging deep down in their well of self-righteousness — of which they run a surplus — went nuts. Now, maybe I’ve just read too much Slate over the years, but there’s something else here that’s been going on for a couple weeks that has us thinking.
Really, what the fuck is it with people who are neck-deep in S.C. politics everyday, going out and saying, “Oh, that’s awful. Politics in this state are so bad. Wah, wah, wah.” Um, yeah, no shit. Why act so surprised? A consultant/blogger and a consultant/lobbyist allege sexual relations with a gubernatorial candidate. A state senator says something racist and stupid. You know, if this were Louisiana, somebody would already be facing criminal charges for something pretty bad. Get real, and get with it.
As for Haley somehow winning the primary outright, well, that’s about one of the most idiotic things we’ve ever heard. Of course, we wouldn’t put it past the South Carolina electorate, which hasn’t always seemed the smartest when it goes to the polls.
There are a few theories put forth as to why this might happen. One is, “Wah! Those boys are ganging up on the girl!” OK. This is 2010, not 1977. That argument didn’t work for Hillary Clinton. So, if there were two women who were former consultants for one of the male gubernatorial candidates saying this, y’all would probably be calling that candidate a predator and a slimeball. See how the gender stereotyping works when the shoe is on the other foot?
The other is, “That yokel called her a bad name! Now she’ll certainly win!” Alright, this makes even less sense. We haven’t seen that tea partiers calling President Barack Obama a Muslim and a Kenyan (and the way they say it is derogatory) is making his poll numbers tick up any. Maybe when it just happens to a female conservative from the suburbs, eh? Because implied in both this statement and the first is that she can’t defend herself — yeah, didn’t think of that, did you?
And yet another goes, “The Establishment hates her! This is just another example.” Well kids, last time we checked Will Folks and Larry Marchant were card-carrying members of the Sanford cabal, along with Haley. Racist remarks aside, yeah, it’s no shock that Knotts is no fan of Haley. Knotts and the Sanford cabal have been at each other for a while.
Personally, we hope she loses. Not because of any bias, but because Gov. Mark Sanford‘s cronies have had a strangle-hold on the Governor’s Office for eight years and need to go. If Haley is elected, we’ll be dealing with this mess the whole way. Four more years of enmity between the governor and the General Assembly. Governance more suited to a political philosophy class than elective office. In short, if you liked what 2002-2010 has looked like, especially the last four years, then by all means, vote for Sanford 2.0. And then don’t be surprised when a Democrat is elected in 2014.
BONUS: Well, it sure looks like the campaign of U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett is either leakier than a beached wooden barge in the Cooper River, or someone over there just loves talking to reporters, bloggers, and generally rolling over on the campaign.
A source close to the campaign of one rival — Rep. Gresham Barrett, who touts his Christian faith in his ads — said the Barrett campaign has at least discussed playing the religion card. The source said his aides sometimes refer to her by the Indian name with which she was born, “Nimrata,” in the campaign office.
“They always thought that the religion thing would be what would save Gresham in the end against Nikki,” said the source, an outside adviser to Barrett who said he was speaking to a reporter because he disliked the notion of attacking Haley on her faith.
A racist spray-painting on the Laurel Street side of Columbia City Hall caused much shaking and swaying in the capital city. City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine tweeted, “well, vacation is over and back to the real world. We are not even a week from celebrating the birth of Jesus and we have to deal with hate.” A number of others expressed displeasure. Mayor Bob Coble said, “We all as a group want to convey the message that this is not Columbia. This is not what Columbia stands for. We are a city of the new South, a diverse city that embraces everyone in our community. This incident is not reflective of our city.”
It all came down to this:
The message, in red paint in 18-inch letters, according to Coble, was “No n—- mayor die.” It was discovered at about 7 a.m. this morning and city crews removed it with a pressure washer by 8:15 a.m., according to City Manager Steve Gantt.
The graffiti was painted in the center of three arches on the side of the building.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize the message was directed at Steve Benjamin, the odds-on favorite for becoming the next mayor. It’s interesting, though, that some aren’t thinking this is some random hate crime and is, instead, politically-motivated. Hey, it’s South Carolina. You never know.
How lame is Auburn? Take Clemson, remove the lake, and put it in an even more remote location. Then add fans who like to toilet-paper the campus after a win (classy!). Obviously, our schadenfreude meter was red-lining this morning after being apprised of not one, but two nasty lawsuits that are coming at the school.
Football players gone wild
According to Decari Jenkins, a student at Auburn, he was beaten up by three Tiger football players, suffering permanent scarring and a concussion. The suit has been filed in U.S. District Court, naming running back Eric Smith and two other as yet unnamed players. Believe it or not, drinking was involved.
Smith, with the aid of teammates, “began to pummel Plaintfiff Jenkins with hands and fists about his face and body,” the lawsuit claims. “Though Plaintfiff attempted to defend himself, he was knocked to the floor where Defendant Smith and his cohorts continued to punch and kick him.”
Jenkins says he escaped and fled down the outside stairway to the front of the hotel. While outside, Jenkins claims, Smith ran toward him and punched him in the back of his head with four Auburn city police officers standing nearby.
“Defendant Smith then kicked the Plaintiff, turned away from the officers, and casually walked away as if nothing had happened, leaving Jenkins unconscious in a pool of blood,” the lawsuit states.
Racism on the Plains
A group of black university employees at Auburn are suing because they contend they’re being paid less that white employees for doing the same work. The workers have filed papers with the appropriate places, and lo — politicians are getting involved. Controversy, ahoy!
Mike Clardy, director of university communications, said the university is working with the employees to resolve the issue.
But the University’s response has been too slow, according to Auburn City Council Member Arthur L. Dowdell, who said he plans a press conference early next week to highlight the issue.
Dowdell said the group of about eight black employees who do custodial work filed complaints with the university and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in Birmingham in early October.
We usually don’t trust national people who peek into S.C. politics and pick heroes and villains. South Carolina is an insular state with a political culture that is more mobster-like and incestuous than most could imagine.
So, our eyes practically sprained themselves while rolling in response to RedState‘s Erick Erickson‘s (what, was John Johnson taken?) lovefest over Rep. Nikki Haley‘s run for governor. It’s not unlike the Wall Street Journal‘s editorial page’s journalistic fellatio of Gov. Mark Sanford, despite what we all know here that he’s an empty suit and owned by special interests.
It was fairly absurd:
And Nikki Haley puts her votes where her mouth is. Republicans in South Carolina punished her for daring to push for fiscal restraint and transparency in the state legislature by yanking a prime committee position in the State House, but she kept on pushing till she won. She got her start in state politics by challenging and beating the longest serving state representative in South Carolina — and she did it in a Republican primary.
Nikki Haley is not afraid to challenge the establishment Republican Party. She is not afraid to set standards for the party and expect those around her, and herself, to live up to them.
Let me be blunt: if conservatives and libertarians cannot unite behind Nikki Haley and get her onto the national stage as a fresh face for both Republicans and small government, we might as well call it day.
The GOP needs Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion. The grand coalition that last put the GOP in power needs someone of Nikki Haley’s integrity and spine to get us back both on the path of small government and back into a position to lead the nation. Nikki Haley.
Oh, that is funny. Let’s run this scenario (again, yawn) — the Big Three were already known, hiring staff and fundraising before Haley even came close to announcing. To win, she’d have to beat two of the three in the primary to make it into the runoff. Can a third-term state representative from Lexington manage to raise enough money and get more earned media and turn out their supporters better than a sitting congressman, lieutenant governor and attorney general?
The only way she had a chance was if Sanford’s base and shell groups were organized, united and behind her. It’s not. It, because the people behind it are smart and smart with their money, have split between the Big Three. They’re trying to back a winner.
Then there’s her given name, which cuts both ways. Niche Indian diaspora sites have been running her full name as a tribute to Indian immigrant success (her parents came over, settled here and built a successful business). Now, there’s some concern in state GOP circles if “Nimrata Nikki Kaur Randhawa Haley” is barnstorming through rural towns instead of Nikki Haley, suburban wife, mother, accountant and state legislator.
It’s not something we want to see — watching racism in the South isn’t something that makes us feel good. But, everyone knows what happened to U.S. Sen. John McCain‘s adopted daughter in the 2000 primary. It’s also to be expected.
Of course, there’s also an upside. She’s currently trying to tap her friends and family fundraising base, many of whom only know her as Nikki Randhawa. So there’s that.
But, there’s reason to worry about an ignorant backlash. In 1998, Democratic operatives were worried that Inez Tenenbaum wouldn’t get traction because her name would be considered too Jewish. Sen. Greg Ryberg, a Catholic, also ran into that. We don’t quite know what differentiates a German name or Eastern European name from a Jewish name. For instance, we’re following a Wolfe on Twitter that’s a rabbi.
It will be interesting to see how this all goes down.
As is usual, when someone in the South utters something racist (extra points if they’re Republican), a brush fire ignites and national coverage ensues. Such is what happened with former S.C. Election Commission chairman Rusty DePass, who made a comment on Facebook saying, regarding the escaped gorilla at Riverbanks Zoo, “I’m sure it’s just one of Michelle’s ancestors — probably harmless.”
The reference to the First Lady went viral, leading even today to state NAACP president Lonnie Randolph to ask for a “proper” apology. As WIS‘ Judi Gatson tweeted Monday evening, DePass made another apology at the day’s Rotary Club meeting.
Then came the tweet/Facebook post from Starboard Communications associate Mike Green, who wrote, “JUST HEARD OBAMA IS GOING TO IMPOSE A 40% TAX ON ASPIRIN BECAUSE IT’S WHITE AND IT WORKS.” The kicker was that Richard Quinn & Associates associate Adam Piper gave the Facebook “thumbs up” to the post, saying he “likes this.”
For what it is worth, Green came out and apologized, writing, “I sincerely apologize for the comments I made on Twitter yesterday. I made a mistake,” and, “I realize that my comments were hurtful, wrong and have no place in civil discourse.” Piper has yet to respond.
Not to be outdone, a new account has shown up on Twitter, @scgopracism. While we immediately thought it was run by Democrats, a careful consideration of factors led us to decide that there is, or are, Republicans typing away. In our experience, there are a precious few Dems around here that have the thought to go online with this sort of thing or the tenaciousness to pound away at it. Or, heavens, maybe not. Your guess is as good as ours, since they seem to think that Jay W. Ragley is still SCGOP executive director.
It’s been non-stop over there, with tweets looking like this:
- @scgop Should DePass/Mike Green (@gopgreenhouse)/Adam Piper (@adampiper) racism stand? Plz respond. #sctweets @thestate @greenvillenews
- @adampiper is 3rd Vice Chair of @scgop He should have to address this issue of condoning racism. #sctweets @thestate @wltx
- #SCTWEETS Mike Green (@gopgreenhouse) apologizes for racist tweet but will Adam Piper (@adamper)? Will he resign? http://tinyurl.com/mfe7ow
- #SCTWEETS GOP operative @adampiper, who works for US House hopeful @RexRice, refuses to denounce racist joke. In fact, he “liked” it. #TCOT
- #SCTWEETS @scott_english But should @gopgreenhouse @adampiper apologize/resign for their racist jokes? #TCOT
- @WolfeReports do you think @gopgreenhouse should still work 4 GOP officials in light of his sense of humor? @ragley won’t respond. #SCTWEETS
- @ragley has condemned Mike Green @gopgreenhouse for racism but when will anyone else speak up? #SCTWEETS #TCOT
So, there’s that. But, let’s be honest, here. For anybody that’s a white Southerner, if you haven’t heard racist jokes like this your whole life, you’re lying. WR, living in relatively progressive environs around the South, thought most talk like this was gone (especially among those under 50 years old), and only encountered the odd racist or anti-Semitic joke (though gay jokes always seem to be in vogue). But, our three-year sojourn at Carolina proved that definitively wrong. It’s only that now, with Facebook and Twitter, what would once be uttered over beers on a front porch is now seen worldwide.
TWITTER/FACEBOOK BONUS
That’s right, kids. Coming right on the heels of racial insensitivity, we have an elected official advocating for drowning cats.
Yes, Rep. Tommy Stringer, after adopting a cat, couldn’t seem to care for it and is now bitching about taking it back. As one who adopted a shelter cat four years ago ($60 bucks for the cat — had all shots, spayed and litter box trained), we believe this says a hell of a lot more about the person adopting the cat than it does about the pet’s behavior.
UPDATE: We forgot this tweet from SCHotline‘s Jeffrey Sewell comparing President Obama to Curious George back in November of last year. Where was the Daily News when that happened?
