Posted on 02/27/2004 3:47:18 PM PST by j_accuse
MORE SHAMEFUL RACIST REMARKS FROM A MEMBER OF CONGRESS:
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown verbally attacked a top Bush administration official during a briefing on the Haiti crisis Wednesday, calling the President's policy on the beleaguered nation "racist" and his representatives "a bunch of white men."
Her outburst was directed at Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill. Noriega, a Mexican-American, is the State Department's top official for Latin America. . . .
Noriega later told Brown: "As a Mexican-American, I deeply resent being called a racist and branded a white man," according to three participants.
Brown then told him "you all look alike to me," the participants said.
I agree with this assessment of Brown's remarks:
That's unacceptable language, no matter who says it. Representative Brown needs to suffer at least as much criticism as Trent Lott did for praising for a fellow who ran on a segregationist platform. Lott's statement could be interpreted as support for segregation. Representative Brown needs no interpretation...what she said was simply racist.
Fortunately, however, the Bush Administration has people who are capable of standing up to racism, and pointing out the idiocy of those who engage in it:
After her comments about white men, Noriega said he would "relay that to (Secretary of State) Colin Powell and (national security adviser) Condoleezza Rice the next time I run into them," participants said. Powell and Rice are black.
Rep. Brown's colleagues in Congress need to condemn this racist behavior immediately. And she should probably resign. Perhaps she can get a guest slot on Howard Stern's show, where she'd fit in just fine.
UPDATE: David Adesnik notes that there's sexism here, too:
Everyone seems to be up in arms about the racial aspect of Corrine Brown's remarks. But how about the sexism? In this day and age, people still try to undermine successful women by impying that they are not feminine enough. Calling Condi a white man just plays into that kind of prejudice.
Indeed it does. No doubt NOW will be demanding an apology from Rep. Brown shortly.
Bonilla: Muted Reaction to Brown Shows Double Standard
Friday, February 27, 2004
MIAMI — House Rep. Henry Bonilla(search), a founding member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has taken back his demand that Rep. Corrine Brown resign her seat in Congress for remarks she made accusing the Bush administration of racism in its Haiti policy.
But even after Bonilla accepted Brown's apology, he said the fact that her comments raised few hackles demonstrates a double standard among Democratic Party members.
"If a Republican had made such derogatory, insulting and discriminatory remarks there would be a firestorm of outrage. The current silence is deafening," Bonilla, R-Texas, said. "If we truly advocate zero tolerance for racism, then we must insist the statement be addressed."
Brown, D-Fla., issued an apology on Thursday for remarks she made a day earlier when she said Hispanics and whites "all look alike to me."
Brown made the statement during a Wednesday briefing on Haiti with Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega (search), a Mexican-American, and the Florida congressional delegation. During the meeting, attended by about 30 people, Brown sat across the table from Noriega and launched an attack on President Bush's policy on Haiti (search).
She said Republican leaders were "racist" in their policies toward the Caribbean nation, which is almost entirely black, and called the president's representatives "a bunch of white men."
....
After the dressing down, which sent a hush over the hour-long meeting, Noriega responded that he would relay her comments to Secretary of State Colin Powell (search) and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (search), both high-level African-American members of the Bush administration. Rice is also female.
Participants in the meeting said Noriega later told Brown: "As a Mexican-American, I deeply resent being called a racist and branded a white man."
Noriega also pointed to Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (search), a Republican member of the delegation who was born in Cuba, and asked whether he appeared to be a white man. Diaz-Balart's brother, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (search), is also a congressional member from the state.
Brown's response, according to witnesses, was: "You all look alike to me."
U.S. Rep. Mark Foley (search), a Florida Republican who organized the meeting, called the comments "disappointing."
"To sit there and browbeat this man who is a Mexican-American and call him names, it was inappropriate," Foley said.
...
Aside from the Florida delegation, several other Congress members and officials attended Wednesday's meeting with Noriega. U.S. Reps. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; John Maisto, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States (search), and Adolfo Franco, an assistant administrator with the U.S. Agency for International Development (search), all were in attendance.
Fox News' Teri Schultz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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IF THEY HAD BEEN ALL "WHITE" MEN, NOBODY WOULD EVEN BE TALKING ABOUT THIS!!!
Even her.
Look! ONLY WHITE MEN CAN BE RACISTS!!
No one cares when a black racist and a democrat says anything like this. The media doesn't care, the hysterical blacks don't care, the step-n-fetchit Congressional Black Caucus doesn't care and Ghandi working in the St. Louis gas station doesn't care.
It only counts when a Republican says it!! GOT THAT??
Resignation? Are you crazy?? Blacks don't resign for racism. Black don't even apologize for racism.
Save your breath.
Noriega said that after his blood was boiling from Ms. Corrine calling him part of "a bunch" of "racists".
I agree with you that a "I resent" or even better "I beg to differ" would be more appropiate, but that kind of hair-splitting is tough even for a diplomat when you are attacked in front of Congressmen, your peers and nationwide on C-SPAN - specially when engaging a career-killer issue for an appointed official like race.
Unfortunately, the media does not treat Republicans and Democrats alike.
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