Posted on 10/24/2012 5:48:51 PM PDT by Kaslin
Liberal cable anchor Chris Matthews, who in 2010 used the phrase "shuck and jive," on Wednesday assailed Sarah Palin as racist for using the phrase "shuck and jive." Referring to a Facebook post the former Alaska governor wrote about Obama and Libya, Matthews ranted, "You know, a dog whistle is a dog whistle...A trumpet call is another."
The MSNBC host insisted that "shuck and jive" has "a particular ethnic connection" and "to throw it at the president as an ethnic shot is pretty blatant." On July 7, 2010, Matthews, while talking to Rachel Maddow and her visit to Afghanistan, wondered, "What has it been like, as you shuck and jive, hang out with the men over there, the women over there, in uniform risking their lives every day?" The late Tim Russert also used the term on July 18, 2003.
In 2008, then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said of Barack Obama: "You can't shuck and jive at a press conference." Steve McMahon, a Hardball regular, talked to then-MSNBC host Tucker Carlson and demurred, "Well, that's not the way I would have put it."
On September 7, 2011, Jay Carney, a spokesman for Matthews' beloved Obama, told the press corps, "Sorry. I'm going to shuck and jive! Time to shuck and jive."
Palin entitled her Facebook post, "Obama's shuck and jive ends with Benghazi lies."
On Wednesday, Hardball guest Jonathan Alter, a former Newsweek editor, railed against Palin, "...Shuck and jive, that's like talking about watermelon... for Jews, talking about Jews are greedy or the Irish are drunk."
Apparently, shuck and jive is only racist when conservatives say it.
A transcript of the October 24 exchange is below:
5:36
CHRIS MATTHEWS: The blatantness of this thing, I think, went through the roof the other day when Sarah Palin, about whom people have mixed views put out a Facebook post entitled "Obama's shuck and jive ends with Benghazi lies" regarding to the Obama administration's handling of the attack on the Libyan embassy. You know, a dog whistle is a dog whistle, Clarence. A trumpet call is another. Shuck and jive has a particular ethnic connection, not necessarily bad in all cases, it's sort of slang. It doesn't mean evil but to throw it at the president as an ethnic shot is pretty blatant.
...
JONATHAN ALTER: Chris, I actually think my old friend Clarence is being a little bit polite. I think this is rank racism. You know, sometimes people on the right get very upset when people on the left charge racism, but, you know, shuck and jive, that's like talking about watermelon or, you know, for Jews, talking about Jews are greedy or the Irish are drunk, whatever. These are racist tropes and we need to call them what they are, and I actually think at least implicitly Trump was playing on racism today with his ridiculous stunt demanding Obama's college transcripts.
MCNBC is racist. They were the All-Whites until they got Al Sharpton, and then the only reason they put on Sharpton is because they want people to think black people are as ignorant and stupid as Reverand Al.
MSNBC: The Projectionists.
Matthews is a disgrace to America and to public TV in general. Such a waste of human flesh. I long for the day of objective news reports without the IDIOT’s personal opinion. Freak of nature doesn’t even begin to describe this moronic POS.
OK, now “Piss Matthews” is going after Sarah Palin.
Dude [to Piss Matthews], Palin isn’t running for POTUS. Have you noticed Romney is the candidate. What Palin says doesn’t mean Romney or republicans, for that matter, are racist.
Sarah Palin’s response;
Sarah Palin
For the record, there was nothing remotely racist in my use of the phrase “shuck and jive” – a phrase which many people have used, including Chris Matthews, Andrew Cuomo, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to name a few off the top of my head. In fact, Andrew Cuomo also used the phrase in reference to Barack Obama, and the fact that Mr. Cuomo and I used the phrase in relation to President
Obama signifies nothing out of the ordinary. I would have used the exact same expression if I had been writing about President Carter, whose foreign policy rivaled Obama’s in its ineptitude, or about the Nixon administration, which was also famously rocked by a cover-up.
I’ve been known to use the phrase most often when chastising my daughter Piper to stop procrastinating and do her homework. As she is part Yup’ik Eskimo, I’m not sure if this term would be deemed offensive when it’s directed at her or if it would be considered benign as in the case of Chris Matthews’ use of it in reference to Rachel Maddow. Just to be careful, from now on I’ll avoid using it with Piper, and I would appreciate it if the media refrained from using words and phrases like igloo, Eskimo Pie, and “when hell freezes over,” as they might be considered offensive by my extended Alaska Native family.
The outrageously outraged reaction to this expression from perennial hypocrites like Chris Matthews has only made me laugh. Mr. Matthews, let me share with you my favorite Irish toast: “May we always be happy, and may our enemies always know it.”
Guessing that the phrase “jive turkey” is now racist. While we’re at it, “cool” was copped from black slang as well.
I'm getting just real sick and damned tired of Chris Matthews and his ilk running their mouths on Sarah Palin like she was some kind of gin-mill tramp.
Chris needs an attitude adjustment.
See, I can do it too, Chrissie.
So is it the "shuck" or the "jive" that's racist, Matthews?
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