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Dems stick up for Kanjorski
Several black and Hispanic members of Congress are rallying behind Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11), defending him in the wake of comments the longtime incumbent made Wednesday that some interpreted to be racist.
The show of support, from Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-1), among others, came less than 48 hours after Kanjorski made his initial remarks—comments that, viewed in their full context, appeared to be much more impolitic than they were racist. “I fully support my colleague… for his unwavering diligence to ensure those facing mortgage foreclosure due to unemployment are provided an opportunity to hold onto the American dream of home-ownership,” Fattah said in a statement. “To try and twist the words of a man who has advocated for every segment of America’s diverse population is shameful. I urge my colleagues not to become distracted by partisan politics, and instead focus on what is important; making sure America’s unemployed get to keep their homes.”
In the sound bite that dominated a news cycle, Kanjorski says people benefiting from government relief are “not minorities and they’re not defective … these are average, good American people.” But the full video clip of his remarks, pushed out to reporters by his office, shows that he was making a larger point in rebutting criticism of foreclosure prevention programs.
Kanjorski also got a show of support from House Democrats Maxine Waters, Mel Watt, Luis Gutierrez, Elijah Cummings and Gregory Meeks. In a joint letter, the lawmakers wrote: “We know that Congressman Kanjorski is a strong supporter of minorities and all Americans, and we are deeply outraged by political opportunists that have twisted his words.”
That didn’t stop Kanjorski opponent Lou Barletta and the National Republican Congressional Committee from continuing to push the issue. “Paul Kanjorski needs to come out from hiding and explain exactly what he meant by his remarks,” NRCC spokesman Tory Mazzola said in a statement. “He owes it to voters across northeastern Pennsylvania, and every hard-working American deserves an apology. Instead, Kanjorski is acting like the out-of-touch career politician that he is. Rather than addressing this honestly and appropriately, he’s dodging the media in hopes of riding out the firestorm.”
See the full video of Kanjorski’s remarks below.
June 25, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Tags: Lou Barletta, PA-11, Paul Kanjorski
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95 South
Jun 25th, 2010
Typical Double Standard and Doublespeak from all the Communist Apparatchiks.
gort42
Jun 25th, 2010
Such BS.
Kanjo fumbled his comments but he was addressing the Rush et al nonsense that the mortgage crises was caused by banks lending money to black people.
Tony Soprano
Jun 25th, 2010
Is Kanjo a racist? Of course not. Well, I don’t know, maybe he is… but the guy said something stupid. Nobody would love to see him “explore opportunities in the private sector” more than me, but nobody on any side of this really believes he’s a racist.
What this really shows, though, is the ridiculous nature of race relations in America. I’m sure this will be repeated many times, but if a Republican had said this, those same black leaders would be lining up to hit the Sunday news shows talking about the deep racism of the Republican party.
But the real story here is that the race debate of the day in this country isn’t about slavery, segregation or lynchings, but about the slip of the tongue of a B-list Representative. By even discussing this, America shows how far it has come in race relations.
95 South
Jun 26th, 2010
Gort 42, the financial crisis was caused by FORCING banks to LEND money to people, of any race, who COULD NOT AFFORD to repay in the first place.
And while we are at it, after reviewing the new financial regulations passed by the Politburo, FANNIE and FREDDIE are NOT ADDRESSED in the law. Kind of funny that the two agencies that caused the collpase are not even addressed in this new law.
Adam S.
Jun 26th, 2010
Why is this a big issue for the election. Barletta’s campaign, and his popularity/notoriety, is pretty much based on racism anyway. I’m pretty sure that one weird comment doesn’t change the fact that Kanjo is the obvious choice for non-racists.
95 South
Jun 26th, 2010
It appears that the racist Kanjo, who actually MADE the racist remarks, is the choice for liberals/communist/socialist and people that advocate and support the destruction of the American Constitutional basis of Government
If a Republican said that He or She would be drunmmed out of office
Jun 26th, 2010
So thne why let a democrat get away with it
Frank
Jun 27th, 2010
Nice to see Democrats standing up for one of their own, just like how they backed Robert Byrd after he used the N word on tv. It’s hilarious that minorities back this party. Or, maybe it’s sad and pathetic? Doesn’t really matter, since minorities are doing so well under Obamanomics.
moeursalen
Jul 2nd, 2010
That Afro Democrats are still lending support to Kanjorski shows how mercenary and desperate Democrats are to remain in power. The message is “We’ll tolerate racism from our own party in the interest of staying in office, but we’ll randomly accuse others of racism for disagreeing with our bankrupt policies and ideas.”