Newt On Food Stamps And Race
Chris Matthews is right. Gingrich is using insensitive and racist language to attack President Obama as the food stamp President.
Gingrich should immediately stop attacking white people, as Bloomberg reports:
About 34 percent of food-stamp recipients are white, while 22 percent are African Americans and 16 percent Hispanic, with the rest being Asian, Native American or those who chose not to identify their race, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
4 comments:
First, I don't support Newt in this primary, as he has shown in the past that he does not always govern conservatively. Nor do I think he gives republicans the best chance to defeat Obama, but really?
He is being charged with racism because he called a man by his first name? I listened to it live, and again on clips. He doesn't say the name "Juan" any different than anyone I have ever heard speak the name.
Talk about grasping at some straws.
An open letter to the candidates says:
“As Catholic leaders who recognize that the moral scandals of racism and poverty remain a blemish on the American soul, we challenge our fellow Catholics Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum to stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail.
“Labeling our nation’s first African-American president with a title that evokes the past myth of ‘welfare queens’ and inflaming other racist caricatures is irresponsible, immoral and unworthy of political leaders.
“Some presidential candidates now courting ‘values voters’ seem to have forgotten that defending human life and dignity does not stop with protecting the unborn. We remind Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum that Catholic bishops describe racism as an ‘intrinsic evil’ and consistently defend vital government programs such as food stamps and unemployment benefits that help struggling Americans.”
Gingrich recently said Obama should go to the NAACP and tell African Americans to “demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps.”
In Iowa, Santorum said, “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better” through government aid. Only 9 percent of Iowans on food stamps are black. After facing criticism for his remarks, he denied making them.
Thirty-nine percent of Americans on welfare are white. An increasing number of food stamp beneficiaries have jobs and receive paychecks that are the primary source of their income but still fall below the poverty line. "
http://www.wisconsingazette.com/breaking-news/catholic-leaders-ask-gingrich-santorum-to-stop-their-racist-rants.html
Here's a table from 2000Census Supplementary survey. It shows 3.7 percent of Caucasians on food stamps. While the numbers are higher for Caucasians due to the fact that they comprise the majority of the population, the actual percentage of Caucasians on assistance is far lower than that of other groups that make up a much smaller percentage of the populace. http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/ckaks/census/7803_table10.pdf
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