Gov. Rick Perry calls on Bill White to apologize for 'master' comment

The Dallas Morning News ^ | August 11, 2010 | GROMER JEFFERS Jr.

[LA Woman3]

Rick Perry is calling on Bill White to apologize for telling a black audience in Dallas that he wanted to be a “servant” leader, while the incumbent governor wanted to be “treated as master.”

Perry campaign aides contend the remarks, made Tuesday and reported by The Dallas Morning News, were racially motivated and designed to fire-up black voters who are sensitive to terms that hark back to slavery.

“Today I am calling on Bill White to immediately apologize to the people of Texas for his insensitive remarks that are nothing more than an attempt to divide our state,” said Perry campaign manager Rob Johnson. “Yesterday, Bill White showed just how low he will go in his race for governor, by making racially motivated remarks attacking Gov. Perry.”

Before the Perry campaign jumped on White’s comment, the former Houston mayor’s aides were quick to point out that “servant leadership,” in a biblical sense, has been a campaign theme that White has pushed before many audiences.

"Servant leadership is a deeply held value of Bill White,” said spokesperson Katy Bacon. “People of all backgrounds and all parts of Texas agree that we need a governor who's in it for Texas, instead of Rick Perry, who's in it for himself. Bill's talked about servant leadership everywhere from the Kingwood tea party to the Texas Farm Bureau to the Democratic Convention."

[LA Woman3]

At the Kingwood event, White said: “We need as our governor somebody who is a servant, not a career politician who’s acting as if they’re in control and they’re the master."

He used similar language in a speech to the Texas Farm Bureau.

“If a governor ever acts like he owns positions on state boards and commissions, and appointees are expected to serve his personal re-election agenda, then surely it is time to find a new governor,” he said. “We need a governor who understands that he should serve as a humble servant rather than a demanding master,” White said.

And at the Texas Democratic Convention he accepted the nomination for governor by stating: “In Rick Perry’s Texas state boards and agencies are pressured from the top to serve those who help the Governor’s re-election. In our Texas government will be the servant, not the master, and our customers will be ordinary Texans.

Robert Ashley, who hosts a popular radio talk show targeted at black audiences, attended the meeting and said he was not bothered by the remark.

“I could understand what Bill White was saying. He was speaking the language of the community,” Ashley said.

Ashley said that among black voters, there is a perception that the governor -- and Republicans in general -- would rather dictate than be humble servants.

“That characteristic of the governor, to some extent, rings true,” he said. Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, a black Republican who backs Perry, countered that White's comments were "simply ignorant and offensive." "Pandering to an all-black audience by inserting race into this political campaign should be offensive to not only us African-Americans, but all Texans," Williams said in a written statement.

[Ann Archy]

Democrats OWN the BLACK SLAVERY MARKET! They are the PLANTATION OWNERS!

[LA Woman3]

Bill White damage control since he didn't meet with Obama.

[Howie66]

You nailed it.

[Farmer Dean]

Increasingly more desperate Dems letting their inner douchebags slip out.

[Michael Barnes]

Oh for pete's sake; enough with the damn sensibilities already.

One thing that irks me to this day are the mind numb that look at me like I am wrong when I talk about master/slave configurations in clusters...ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!

[Paladin2]

Bill Whitey is a cracker!

[Repeal The 17th]

I grow weary of all of this political correctness.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It sounds like a reasonable enough figure of speech, but got to watch those thin skinned black people, they might think it’s racist. And slavery was banned when?

[McLynnan]

Yes, I saw this and my first thought was that they make it so easy for Perry to hit a home run.

[no dems]

...the former Houston mayor’s aides were quick to point out that “servant leadership,” in a biblical sense, has been a campaign theme that White has pushed before many audiences.
Yeah; of course. Talking about "servants" and "masters" to a Black audience always causes one to think of it in a "Biblical sense" only. (/S)

[JLAGRAYFOX]

I can’t get excited about this. Why? Because Bill White is gonna take a serious butt whipping from his fellow Texans on November 2, 2010. Hello, Governor Rick Perry!!!

[sourcery]

From now on, no conservative should ever, under any circumstances, refer to this slimeball as anything other than “Bill Whitey, the Race-Baiting Honky Donkey”

[Deagle]

Yes, this really gets old doesn’t it? Almost everything can be taken out of context it seems - especially if you can bring race into it...

I just wish they would all shut up and get into the problems of today...

[dps.inspect]

ewww

[LA Woman3]

You are right!

[LA Woman3]

“Bill Whitey, the Race-Baiting Honky Donkey”

LOL! Very catchy name!

[patriot08]

“Bill Whitey, the Race-Baiting Honky Donkey"

[LA Woman3]

Perfect!!