Posted on 10/23/2006 3:22:55 PM PDT by Indy Pendance
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Democratic U.S. House candidate Steve Kagen apologized Monday for commenting that he was late for a meeting on an Indian reservation because "we're on Injun time."
"I did not mean any harm by my words and I humbly apologize if I offended anyone. That was not my intent," he said in a statement hours after the National Republican Congressional Committee released a tape recording of the comment.
Kagen attended a meeting Friday on the nearby Oneida Reservation and at his next stop in Green Bay he made the following remarks:
"Appreciate getting here almost on time. Our excuse in Oneida was, well, we're on Injun time. They don't tell time by the clock. Our excuse here is that I am a doctor and that we're never on time."
Kagen, a 56-year-old Appleton doctor, is involved in what political observers call a very close race against Republican John Gard, a 43-year-old veteran state lawmaker, for the two-year seat in District 8 in northeast Wisconsin. The two are seeking to replace GOP U.S. Rep. Mark Green, who is running for governor.
District 8 has one of only 29 open House seats in the country, making it a prime target for Democrats who need to pick up 15 seats on Nov. 7 to gain control of the 435-member House.
Kagen's spokeswoman Stephanie Lundberg said he heard the term "Injun time" used by Native Americans.
"I don't know if he was trying to be funny. It was in the context of a self-deprecating comment," she said.
Bobbi Webster, a spokeswoman for the Oneida Nation, said Monday that Kagen's comment was not being taken as disrespectful by tribal members. No apology was sought, she said.
"Tribal members say that themselves. It is not uncommon to hear somebody come in late and say, 'Oh-Oh. I am running on Indian time.' The time you get there is the time to do your thing," Webster said.
The term "Injun" also is not necessarily disrespectful, she said.
"If I thought an individual was trying to be disrespectful, then I might think about it in that term," Webster said. "But if I thought a person was trying to be funny, then I might enlighten him and say, 'You know, I know what you are trying to do but you may want to just say it a little differently.'"
Kagen and Gard were on the reservation Monday for a debate, and no tribal members brought up the "Injun" comment, Webster said.
"We were laughing about all the calls we got today in regard to the Indian time comment and we said. 'My God, aren't they interested in what the issues are all about? The health care. The education. The jobs,'" she said.
An Indian in South Dakota was less forgiving of Kagen.
Bruce Whalen, a Republican seeking election to the U.S. House in South Dakota's only district, called Kagen's remark a "racist comment" that insults Native Americans everywhere, according to a statement released by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Whalen, a member of South Dakota's Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation, demanded that Kagen apologize.
Oh, so when Native Americans say it that's fine and dandy, but let a honkey say it and suddenly everybody's feelings are hurt.
What a gaff. Everybody knows the correct term is "Native American Time".
MACACA!
Tell that to the Macaca.
-PJ
Exactly. Gee, the macaca thing was the big story for at least a week. Insulting Indians about being on Indian time is at least as offensive as someone using a word that nobody in the MSM had heard of until Allen said it. Then they decided it was a racial slur and played it up as such.
We'll see how much coverage this gets. Democrats love American Indians. That's why Indian reservations are such oases of prosperity.
Right. The Big Smoke is on the 12 and the little smoke is on the 9.
-PJ
Was it Injun Daylight Time or Injun Standard Time?
Many moons?
Mark Belling on this right now. www.newstalk1130.com
That's why I posted it, he was just talking about it, I searched and didn't see it posted. If this was a republican, it'd be the breaking news story on all the msm channels.
Many Moons is my girl friend. Do you know her?
Bobbi Webster, a spokeswoman for the Oneida Nation, said Monday that Kagen's comment was not being taken as disrespectful coming from a Republican by tribal members. No apology was sought, she said.
Here's a link to an earlier discussion when Charlie Sykes reported on it:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1724395/posts
Thanks, I searched 'injun', and didn't see it posted.
Is Injun time anything like stripper time? I knew a dancer a few years back, she explained to me there was real time and stripper time. Stripper time runs 30-90 mins behind real time.... LOL
I would suspect it is similar to "15 minutes," which is the time many a native Mexican tells you it will take to do something, even if it takes 3 days.
Blacks also often use the "N" word with each other. It's verboten to others.
and Indians (many still prefer "Indian" to the so-called PC "Native American") - and there's a big difference between "Indian" and "Injun."
However, no sweat , no issue - it was a democrat...
and contrary to what his people said, he WAS asked to apologize. Of course, that's all a democrat ever has to do - a republican would already be outta town on a rail - provided, not by the Indians, but the "outraged" democrats
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