Minority caucuses unite to decry GOP rhetoric

20th February 2012   ·   0 Comments

By Frederick Cosby

Special to Black­America­Web.com

Tired of what they consider racist and xenophobic rhetoric from Republican presidential hopefuls, congressional candidates and their supporters, leaders from the House of Repre­sentatives’ three minority political caucuses urged the GOP Tuesday to stop with the divisive talk or be prepared to be called out.

The heads of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus issued a joint statement that said enough is enough.

“I cannot stand by while people of color and the economically disadvantaged in this country continue to be used as punching bags by presidential candidates who are vying to serve all Americans, whether rich, poor, Black, white, Latino or Asian,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), the Black caucus chair. “Our nation has struggled with racism and inequality throughout history. Allowing extremists to participate in panel discussions, calling President Obama the ‘food stamp president,’ and saying African Americans are overly de­pendent on handouts and government assistance are unacceptable, vicious attacks.”

Cleaver added that “the CBC is launching a rapid response team to speak out immediately as these issues tinged with racial hatred and bigotry continue to arise, and I encourage my Congressional colleagues to do the same. Let’s keep the rhetoric respectful, civil, and move this country forward.”

As he stumps for the Republican presidential nomination, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has repeatedly referred to President Barack Obama as “the food stamp president” and fosters an image that the urban poor have a work ethic so horrendous that their children should be allowed to take jobs as school janitors to develop work habits that their parents lack.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Il.), a member of the Hispanic Caucus, grew so tired of the Obama food stamps analogy that he took to the House floor last week to remind his colleagues and the American people that the majority of citizens on food stamps today are white.

Armed with charts and graphs, Gutierrez pointed out who statistically should be considered the food stamp president—or presidents.

“George W. Bush is the food stamp president,” he said. “Under food stamp president George Bush, we spent more money, had more recipients and gave each recipient more money for food.”

“I know some of you are saying, ‘Luis, you’re not being fair! Aren’t there other food stamp presidents?’ Yes, you’re right,” Gutierrez continued. “Under yet another food stamp president, spending in­creased by more than $9 billion , the number of recipients increased by almost seven million and the amount of benefit increased by almost $17. George Herbert Walker Bush was also the food stamp president.”

“It runs in the family,” he added, tongue firmly in cheek. “Food stamp president senior and junior. It’s hereditary—a rampant family disease that makes them want to give food to poor people.”

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas), chair of the Hispanic Caucus, said, “It’s time we move toward a more civil tone,” expressing disappointment that Republicans allowed Peter Brimelow, an anti-immigration activist who’s listed as a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center, to speak at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

GOP presidential candidates Gingrich, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania also spoke at the annual conference.

“It was also gravely disheartening to see the CPAC organizers validate the extremist rants of Peter Brimelow by giving them a platform,” Gonzalez said. “It’s time Republicans clean up their act and be held accountable for these falsehoods and incendiary comments.”

Brimelow, a British-American, told CPAC that multiculturalism is essentially killing America.

“In 50, 60 years, the Montreal Anglos have gone from being Romans to being Anglo-Argentineans … they’re essentially assimilated,” he said. “I think that something like that is going to have to be done [in the U.S.]. It’s not enough to have official English at the government level. I get email all the time from people at eastern Washington state and places like this, who say that kids can’t get jobs at McDonald’s and places like that because they don’t speak Spanish. Essentially, this is a ferocious attack on the living standards of the American working class … just as immigration policy in general is.”

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), chair of the Asian Pacific American caucus, said, “Those running for elected office should hold themselves to the highest of standards and treat Americans of all backgrounds with civility and respect.”

Asian-Americans were outraged on Super Bowl Sunday by a negative television campaign ad by former Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra aimed at Debbie Stabenow, the Michigan senator he’s trying to unseat. The ad, titled “China Girl,” featured an Asian woman riding a bike by what appears to be a rice patty and speaking in broken English.

The 30-second ad generated a lot of buzz, but apparently not the kind Hoekstra hoped for. A poll released Tuesday found that 54 percent of Michiganders were aware of the ad, and 45 percent said it made them less likely to vote for him.

He has fallen 14 points behind the incumbent Stabenow, who leads her GOP rival 51 percent to 37 percent. Last July, her lead was just nine points.

Without mentioning the “China Girl” ad, Chu said that “we must remember that this country is great because it welcomes people of all backgrounds and views, and if those who want to lead this country fail to recognize that fact, they don’t deserve to lead us.”

This article originally appeared on BlackAmericaWeb.com.

This article originally published in the February 20, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.