Neocon on Little Men, Ditch Diggers and "Rag Heads"
Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 12:06 am
DOUG
Is there anyone so naive that he or she doesn't know the GOP is racist?
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(AP) Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, referred to his house painter as “a nice little Guatemalan man” and suggested that worker as well as employees of a roofing company he hired might be in the country illegally.
“The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see your green card?’” Burns said at a June meeting recorded by Democrats. “And Hugo says, 'No.' I said, 'Oh gosh.’”
...Burns' comments come on the heels of controversial remarks by Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia, who called a Democratic staffer of Indian descent “Macaca.” Indian-American groups and others criticized Allen for his racially insensitive comments after a video was posted on the Internet.
A staffer for Allen's opponent, Democrat James Webb, caught that incident on tape. Likewise, Montana Democrats have been filming Burns as he campaigns across the state. In a video released by the Tester campaign this week, Burns is seen interrupting his own stump speech at a campaign event to take a cell phone call and then appears to speak to the painter.
“Hugo is a nice little Guatemalan man who is doing some painting for me ... in Virginia,” Burns told the audience, to laughter, after hanging up on the call. “No, he's terrific, love him.”
...In July, he confronted members of a firefighting team at the Billings airport and told them they had done a “piss-poor job,” according to a state report. The Hotshot crew had traveled 2,000 miles from Staunton, Va., to help dig fire lines for about a week around a 143-square-mile wildfire east of Billings.
The crew was awaiting flights home when Burns made his comments. The senator, who has a house in Billings, said he was expressing the frustration of ranchers who were critical of the way the fire was handled. He later apologized.
In 1999, Burns issued a written apology after referring to Arabs as “rag heads” during a speech while commenting on oil prices.
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Read the rest here.
Is there anyone so naive that he or she doesn't know the GOP is racist?
=========
(AP) Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, referred to his house painter as “a nice little Guatemalan man” and suggested that worker as well as employees of a roofing company he hired might be in the country illegally.
“The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see your green card?’” Burns said at a June meeting recorded by Democrats. “And Hugo says, 'No.' I said, 'Oh gosh.’”
...Burns' comments come on the heels of controversial remarks by Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia, who called a Democratic staffer of Indian descent “Macaca.” Indian-American groups and others criticized Allen for his racially insensitive comments after a video was posted on the Internet.
A staffer for Allen's opponent, Democrat James Webb, caught that incident on tape. Likewise, Montana Democrats have been filming Burns as he campaigns across the state. In a video released by the Tester campaign this week, Burns is seen interrupting his own stump speech at a campaign event to take a cell phone call and then appears to speak to the painter.
“Hugo is a nice little Guatemalan man who is doing some painting for me ... in Virginia,” Burns told the audience, to laughter, after hanging up on the call. “No, he's terrific, love him.”
...In July, he confronted members of a firefighting team at the Billings airport and told them they had done a “piss-poor job,” according to a state report. The Hotshot crew had traveled 2,000 miles from Staunton, Va., to help dig fire lines for about a week around a 143-square-mile wildfire east of Billings.
The crew was awaiting flights home when Burns made his comments. The senator, who has a house in Billings, said he was expressing the frustration of ranchers who were critical of the way the fire was handled. He later apologized.
In 1999, Burns issued a written apology after referring to Arabs as “rag heads” during a speech while commenting on oil prices.
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Read the rest here.
