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Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum Pander to Hate by Reigniting 'Welfare Queen' Stereotype
With almost spot-on predictability, two contenders for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination have begun using a popular conservative campaign tactic: the "Black Bogeyman" card. Don't know what that is? Well, let me explain.
Whenever politicians, traditionally conservatives, want to obtain votes and political ground quickly (usually to prove they are true Republicans) they target the fringe element of their party by appealing to these people's intolerant and racist belief systems. Typically, the politicians use code words and thinly-veiled "us vs. them" commentary.
However, occasionally, a few of them get bold and say it how they really mean it. This usually happens when they're in their comfort zone, a safe environment wherein most, if not all, the people surrounding them look like them, share similar life experiences and hold the same opinions. Such was the case with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum this week.
At an Iowa campaign stop on Sunday, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum told his supporters:
"I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money."
Okay, what? Once again we have a politician reinforcing the grossly unfounded and forever-enduring stereotype that blacks in this country refuse to work (i.e. are lazy). According to Mr. Santorum and others, we'd rather collect a welfare check every month (i.e. don't "earn" what we have; abuse the system).
This sentiment is a slap in the face to all the hardworking black Americans who get up each morning and earn a living. A living that feeds, clothes, houses, and all around supports both themselves and their families. Last time I checked, this was the vast majority of the African American community. I know it represents my reality and that of my friends, family and loved ones. So why the continuous lie, Mr. Santorum, if not to pander to hate?
But, wait. Mr. Santorum is not alone in his pandering to the lowest of the low in his party. On Thursday, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told a crowd of supporters at a town hall meeting in Plymouth, New Hampshire, that if the NAACP invited him to their annual convention this year:
"I will go to the NAACP convention and tell the African American community why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps."
So, what are we to take away from this comment? Yet again, it presupposes that: (1) all blacks are receiving welfare, and (2) we don't want to work. For reasons already stated, this statement is beyond offensive. Politicians should be working toward knocking down racist ideologies and stereotypes NOT reinforcing them.
SHAME ON YOU RICK SANTORUM AND NEWT GINGRICH
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Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum Pander to Hate by Reigniting 'Welfare Queen' Stereotype
With almost spot-on predictability, two contenders for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination have begun using a popular conservative campaign tactic: the "Black Bogeyman" card. Don't know what that is? Well, let me explain.
Whenever politicians, traditionally conservatives, want to obtain votes and political ground quickly (usually to prove they are true Republicans) they target the fringe element of their party by appealing to these people's intolerant and racist belief systems. Typically, the politicians use code words and thinly-veiled "us vs. them" commentary.
However, occasionally, a few of them get bold and say it how they really mean it. This usually happens when they're in their comfort zone, a safe environment wherein most, if not all, the people surrounding them look like them, share similar life experiences and hold the same opinions. Such was the case with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum this week.
At an Iowa campaign stop on Sunday, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum told his supporters:
"I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money. I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money."
Okay, what? Once again we have a politician reinforcing the grossly unfounded and forever-enduring stereotype that blacks in this country refuse to work (i.e. are lazy). According to Mr. Santorum and others, we'd rather collect a welfare check every month (i.e. don't "earn" what we have; abuse the system).
This sentiment is a slap in the face to all the hardworking black Americans who get up each morning and earn a living. A living that feeds, clothes, houses, and all around supports both themselves and their families. Last time I checked, this was the vast majority of the African American community. I know it represents my reality and that of my friends, family and loved ones. So why the continuous lie, Mr. Santorum, if not to pander to hate?
But, wait. Mr. Santorum is not alone in his pandering to the lowest of the low in his party. On Thursday, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told a crowd of supporters at a town hall meeting in Plymouth, New Hampshire, that if the NAACP invited him to their annual convention this year:
"I will go to the NAACP convention and tell the African American community why they should demand paychecks instead of food stamps."
So, what are we to take away from this comment? Yet again, it presupposes that: (1) all blacks are receiving welfare, and (2) we don't want to work. For reasons already stated, this statement is beyond offensive. Politicians should be working toward knocking down racist ideologies and stereotypes NOT reinforcing them.
