Joan Walsh: 'It's Almost Certainly a Fact That Romney Is More Comfortable Around White People'

NewsBuster.org ^ | July 5, 2012 | Noel Sheppard

[Kaslin]

As NewsBusters reported Saturday, Politico has officially cut ties with White House correspondent Joe Williams for saying presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is more comfortable around "white folks."

Throwing caution to the wind, Salon editor at large Joan Walsh on Thursday doubled-down on these caustic comments writing, "It’s almost certainly a fact that Mitt Romney is more comfortable around white people":

But it is just a fact that Republicans today are disproportionately white and older than the rest of the country. It’s almost certainly a fact that Mitt Romney is more comfortable around white people (unless he leads a secret multi-culti life that we don’t know about). Look at his crowds. Look at his friends. Look at his advisors. Look at that video where he sings “Who Let The Dogs Out?” with black people on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Jacksonville, Fla.

What precipitated these comments from Walsh was her desire to defend herself from a NewsBusters article reporting racist remarks she made on Monday subsequently linked by the Drudge Report Wednesday:

I spent part of my Fourth of July with Matt Drudge fans, after Drudge linked to a silly Newsbusters piece taking umbrage at my interview with PBS’s Tavis Smiley on Monday. (Here’s the whole thing.) Umbrage-addicted Noel Sheppard found fault with most of what I said, but he and his readers were most outraged when I told Smiley that Republicans have “an older white base that doesn’t quite understand how healthcare works.” Also big on Drudge Wednesday: Chris Rock Tweeting “Happy white peoples independence day, the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks.

Umbrage-addicted?

Talk about the pot and the kettle, Walsh at this point in her career spends most of her time on MSNBC taking umbrage with every conservative on the planet.

If there were a methadone treatment for umbrage-addiction, Walsh's recommended dosage would 100 time mine.

But I digress:

In the context of my interview with Smiley, it’s clear I’m taking about healthcare reform, or Obamacare. I could have been clearer about that. Either way, the statement is factually true. On the “older white base” part: Only 64 percent of Americans today are non-Hispanic whites, but 89 percent of voters who identified themselves as Republicans in 2009 Gallup polls were non-Hispanic whites. In 2012, more than 90 percent of GOP primary voters were white, and voters over 50 comprised a majority of the electorate in every single exit poll conducted, according to National Journal. In the 2010 congressional midterms, 63 percent of whites over 50 voted Republican

.

voted for McCain versus 40 percent that voted for Obama. This wasn't that much different than the total white population which went 55-43.

In 2010, 60 percent of whites voted for Republican House members. There was no "Vote by Race and Age" category in those exit polls, but 59 percent of those 65 and over voted Republican.

As such, in the previous two elections, there wasn't a huge difference between how whites and older whites voted.

But the reality is that ageism isn't the issue. It's that Walsh accused any segment of one race of not understanding how something works.

She tried to defend herself thusly:

On “they don’t quite understand healthcare [reform]” – well, that almost goes without saying, because to be honest, almost nobody entirely understands it. It is complicated, I’ll concede that. But that’s a dodge I don’t need to use. The Tea Party’s failure to understand the healthcare system, and not merely Obamacare, is immortalized in its members’ many demands to “keep government out of my Medicare” — reported not only by President Obama but by conservative Republican Bob Inglis.

I would agree that "almost nobody entirely understands" healthcare, but that's not what she said. She specifically accused older whites of not understanding it.

As for the Tea Party sign regarding keeping government out of Medicare, that point was specific to the section in ObamaCare that takes money from Medicare to fund it.

Many seniors on both sides of the aisle were displeased by this thereby making this Tea Party claim by Walsh a red herring that so many of her ilk like to resort to.

But here was the real laugher: "We are living in a moment when right-wing extremists are casting any critical observation about white people as racism — and the mainstream media, already tongue-tied about race, has no idea how to respond."

This from a woman who casts any critical observation about Obama as racist. One example among many was when she accused Newt Gingrich of racism for calling Obama "the most successful food stamp president in American history,"

She also agreed in November 2010 that conservative criticism of Obama's trip to India had racist overtones.

The fact is that Walsh smells racism in everything associated with this president, and has been pointing fingers at white people for months if not years:

Actual Joan Walsh Salon Headline: 'What’s The Matter With White People?'

Joan Walsh: GOP 'The Party of Old White Men'

Joan Walsh: 'Newt Is the Face of the Politics' of 'Racism and Angry White Male Rage

Joan Walsh - The Most Bigoted Journalist in Media?

Joan Walsh: Sherrod Can Call Fox and Breitbart Racist Because Father Was Killed By White Man

Salon’s Walsh Jumps the Shark -- Calls GOP Senators Bigots for Invoking Manhattan’s Upper West Side

Hardball: Joan Walsh Calls Republican Critics of Obama 'Un-American' and 'Traitorous'

Matthews, Walsh Unsubtly Accuse Obama Opponents Of Racism

See a trend here?

Walsh sees racism everywhere EXCEPT when she's the guilty party.

In this instance, I very much agree that citing race statistics when covering politics or the economy should not be deemed as racist.

However, when you point fingers at part of an ethnic group for not understanding something, that's a whole different story?

Being white and old doesn't make people stupid, and saying it does is racist no matter how you try to defend it.

It is a metaphysical certitude Walsh and her ilk would be shouting racism from the rooftops if a conservative commentator said there is "an older black base that doesn’t quite understand how healthcare works."

As that most certainly would have started a liberal firestorm, it should be equally offensive when the word "white" is substituted for "black."

Anyone disagreeing with that must be, well, racist.

[Olog-hai]

Walsh’s new mascot.

[MeganC]

Joan has never heard of Chris Rock or else she’d know that plenty of black people also feel more comfortable around white people than they do around black people. This is a big, huge “So what?” to me.

[albie]

And Joan is most comfortable around Dung Beetles.

[GraceG]

Gee and it almost certainly a certanty that Obama is more comfy around other black people.

DUH, this is human nature in it’s rawest form. Humans seprate into tribes, groups, etc etc....

Polish people are more comfortable around other polish people, Japanese around Japanese, Chinese among Chinese....

Liberals taking basic human behavior memes and then twisting them to advance political idealogies is very dishonest.

Some of the most “Racist Condescending” attitues I have ever seen have come from liberal pukes. They spout things like: “He is going to need extra help cause he is (inser ethnic minority here) “

Idiots all of them.

[Kaslin]

She's coo coo or alright

[DuncanWaring]

The Rev-rund Jesse Jackson has also stated that he is more comfortable around white people.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

You knew it was coming. The old “Race Card”. It will only intensify through the next 4 months.

[Navy Patriot]

It’s Certainly a Fact That Joan Walsh Is More Comfortable Around Liars, Criminals and Muslim Marxists.

[EyeGuy]

So what, you propagandizing Commie Beatch?

Even the likes of human detritus, Race Pig Jessie “Extortion” Jackson, has said he is more comfortable around whites.

[Godwin1]

So are a lot of people, including, I would bet, Joan Walsh. And Obama is more comfortable around Black people. He says so in his book.

[marron]

Democrats see everything through the prism of race. They can’t help it; its who they are.

Not only do they see everything as racial, they can’t believe that there is anyone out there who isn’t like them.

So, to make it simple; if you see race in everything and everyone, there is a political party for you and it is the Democratic Party. Thats where you belong and you will be welcome there among like-minded people.

If you don’t see race everywhere you look; if you care about character, and philosophy, and principles, then you probably won’t be very happy there. You are either a conservative Republican already, or you are headed our way.

[JaguarXKE]

I just heard Walter Williams, filling in for Rush, play a clip of Obama launching his African Americans for Obama campaign. Can you image the heads that would be spinning if Romney announced Whites for Romney? Yet Obama does this divisive crap and gets away with it.

[formosa]

Okay Joan please go to the ghetto and hang out with the rapper crowd that absolutely despises your evil white a**. We can all take bets to see how long you stay.

[AppyPappy]

Any time you hear the phrase “Almost certainly”, you can ignore whatever is said next. It’s like being kinda pregnant.

[hecht]

maybe he’s more comfortable with Mexicans

[shalom aleichem]

Is this dumb B trying to get fired, too?

Jesse Jackson has said that he too is more comfortable on a dark street around white folks rather than Black ones.

[Doogle]

....get the “white” people talking about race, since it doesn’t work if Odungo mentions it...THE MSM is worried more and more people are finding out who Odungo is...Right Barry, Harrison, barack....LET’S SEE, if he still has three more Social Security numbers....that means possibly three more aliases...which also means (my thinking...three more unemployment,welfare,food stamp accounts....hey a street hustler has to hustle)

[Kaslin]

You said it, but then that is to be expected from thes lunatics

[driftless2]

Liberals using the race card!!???!! I’m shocked!!! Shocked I tell you. Actually, libs have using the race card for as long as I’ve been somewhat aware of politics in the early sixties. But this latest one is hilarious. I guess there’s some machine that can test how comfortable people are around other people who they don’t physically resemble. These are arguments of ignoramuses (Walsh, etal) created to appeal to the ignorati who swallow their lies whole.