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You are here: Home / Archives for Race

Clinton Confronted Race While GOP Stammered

June 23, 2015 at 9:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

“The massacre last week at a church in Charleston, S.C., opened a leadership opportunity for the nearly two dozen politicians running to be the next president.  But few stepped forward to seize it. The Republican hopefuls mostly stammered and stumbled in response to the shootings. At first, some resisted calling the massacre racially motivated, only to reverse course when it became obvious it was,” the Washington Post reports.

“Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, by contrast, has forcefully initiated a conversation about race and bigotry in recent days. At this moment of national trauma, the Republican candidates seemed as though they didn’t know what to say.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, Race

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

June 22, 2015 at 10:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

“Racism, we are not cured of it. And it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say n—– in public. That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not.”

— President Obama, in an interview on the WTF podcast.

Filed Under: Race

Clyburn Blames ‘Rightward Drift’ for Murders

June 22, 2015 at 7:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) blames the “rightward drift” in the United States for the atrocity at a Charleston church, where a young white man shot and killed nine African American members of a Bible study group, CNS News reports.

Said Clyburn: “I’ve been saying for some time now, my friends in the Congressional Black Caucus will tell you, I’ve been saying to them that there’s this rightward drift in the country that I think is going too far. And people get emboldened by all of this.”

Filed Under: Race Tagged With: James Clyburn

A Defiant Show of Unity in Charleston Church

June 21, 2015 at 9:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

New York Times: “In a display of unity, resolve and defiance, ‘Mother Emanuel,’ as people here call the church, opened its doors for its regular Sunday service, just four days after three men and six women were left in a bloody pile in its basement.”

“The chocolate wooden pews with scarlet cushions were packed here, with whites sitting next to blacks, locals next to visitors. Similar gatherings spanned the country, as churchgoers mourned and prayed and honored the lives lost Wednesday evening. They hoped to show that the suspect’s reported goal of setting off a race war had failed miserably.”

Filed Under: Race

Romney Wants Confederate Flag Taken Down

June 20, 2015 at 12:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 66 Comments

Mitt Romney called for the removal of the Confederate flag that flies over the state house in Charleston, South Carolina, calling it a symbol of “racial hatred,” Politico reports.

The Huffington Post reports that Jeb Bush ordered that the Confederate flag be taken down from Florida’s state capitol in 2001.

Filed Under: Race Tagged With: Mitt Romney

The Age of Obama

June 19, 2015 at 9:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 87 Comments

David Remnick: “Obama is a flawed President, but his sense of historical perspective is well developed. He gives every sign of believing that his most important role in the American history of race was his election in November, 2008, and, nearly as important, his re-election, four years later. For millions of Americans, that election was an inspiration. But, for some untold number of others, it remains a source of tremendous resentment, a kind of threat that is capable, in some, of arousing the basest prejudices.”

“Obama hates to talk about this. He allows himself so little latitude. Maybe that will change when he is an ex-President focussed on his memoirs. As a very young man he wrote a book about becoming, about identity, about finding community in a black church, about finding a sense of home—in his case, on the South Side of Chicago, with a young lawyer named Michelle Robinson. It will be beyond interesting to see what he’s willing to tell us—tell us with real freedom—about being the focus of so much hope, but also the subject of so much ambient and organized racial anger: the birther movement, the death threats, the voter-suppression attempts, the articles, books, and films that portray him as everything from an unreconstructed, drug-addled campus radical to a Kenyan post-colonial socialist. This has been the Age of Obama, but we have learned over and over that this has hardly meant the end of racism in America. Not remotely. Dylann Roof, tragically, seems to be yet another terrible reminder of that.”

Filed Under: Race Tagged With: Barack Obama

Quote of the Day

May 12, 2015 at 1:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 50 Comments

“I find it stunning that the National Football League is more concerned about how much air is in a football than with a racist franchise name that denigrates Native Americans across the country. The Redskins name is a racist name.”

— Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted by the Washington Post, on “deflate-gate.”

Filed Under: Race Tagged With: Harry Reid

Cruz Ducks Question About Blacks Panhandling

April 30, 2015 at 8:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 28 Comments

“One day after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Hispanics don’t panhandle because it would be shameful for them, the Republican presidential contender is refusing to offer an opinion about African-Americans who beg for money on the street,” the AP reports.

“Asked Thursday what he thought of them, Cruz turned away without speaking, striding into a senators-only elevator in the Capitol and waiting for the doors to close.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, Race Tagged With: Ted Cruz

Clinton to Call for End to ‘Mass Incarceration’

April 29, 2015 at 6:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Hillary Clinton will call for far-reaching reforms in the criminal justice system that would “end the era of mass incarceration,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“The speech will mark the unveiling of Clinton’s first major policy proposal as a presidential hopeful, coming as candidates are under pressure to confront the unrest in Baltimore. The city erupted in rioting Monday night, following the funeral of Freddie Gray, an African American man who was mortally injured while in police custody.”

Politico: Hillary’s forgotten death penalty shift

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, Race Tagged With: Hillary Clinton

Baltimore Becomes Latest Flash Point for Race and Police

April 28, 2015 at 7:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“National Guard troops fanned out through Baltimore, shield-bearing police officers blocked the streets and firefighters doused still-simmering blazes early Tuesday after riots, looting and violent unrest engulfed swaths of the city Monday,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The unrest came just hours after thousands of people attended a funeral for Freddie Gray , a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody earlier this month. Fifteen officers were injured, and at least 27 people were arrested as Baltimore became the latest national flash point for race relations and law enforcement.”

Politico: “Obama and Congress are busy arguing over the Iran nuclear negotiations, a trade deal, what could become the broadest climate change agreement in history. But each city that erupts is a reminder of how little’s been done to address the hopelessness that’s hitting Americans in some communities across the country much more immediately.”

Filed Under: Race

Kirk Won’t Talk About Race

April 16, 2015 at 9:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

After some unfortunate remarks earlier this week, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) told the Chicago Sun-Times he won’t be talking about race or ethnicity in the future.

Said Kirk: “I would say that whenever a targeted member talks about race or ethnicity, it is impossible for him to get it right. So I’ll leave it at that.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, Race Tagged With: IL-Sen, Mark Kirk

Even Conservative Latinos Don’t Like the GOP

April 9, 2015 at 9:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

First Read: “In the new MSNBC/Telemundo poll, which contained a Latino oversample, Democrats enjoy a 31-point advantage in party ID among Latinos, 47%-16%, with 36% identifying themselves as independents. That’s compared with Democrats having 7-point advantage among all voters in the poll. But get this: Political ideology among Latinos is almost identical to all voters… In other words, there are plenty of conservative Latinos. They’re just not willing to identify themselves as Republicans.”

Filed Under: Race, Republicans Tagged With: Latinos

Video Contradicts Police Story in South Carolina

April 7, 2015 at 7:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 43 Comments

“A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting and killing an apparently unarmed black man in the back while he ran away,” the New York Times reports.

Filed Under: Race

Quote of the Day

March 13, 2015 at 4:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

“I hate to mention it because of what happened afterwards, but (he should be saying) the kinds of stuff Bill Cosby used to say.”

— Rudy Giuliani, quoted by the New York Daily News, saying President Obama should tell African-Americans they need “to focus more on education, be better parents and avoid lives of crime.”

Filed Under: Race Tagged With: Barack Obama, Bill Cosby, Rudy Giuliani

Remembering ‘Bloody Sunday’

March 7, 2015 at 4:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 49 Comments

President Obama spoke at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the events of “Bloody Sunday” when over 600 non-violent protesters were attacked by Alabama state troopers as they marched for voting rights. It’s definitely worth watching or reading.

It is a rare honor in this life to follow one of your heroes. And John Lewis is one of my heroes.

Now, I have to imagine that when a younger John Lewis woke up that morning fifty years ago and made his way to Brown Chapel, heroics were not on his mind. A day like this was not on his mind. Young folks with bedrolls and backpacks were milling about. Veterans of the movement trained newcomers in the tactics of non-violence; the right way to protect yourself when attacked. A doctor described what tear gas does to the body, while marchers scribbled down instructions for contacting their loved ones. The air was thick with doubt, anticipation, and fear. They comforted themselves with the final verse of the final hymn they sung:

No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you;

Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.

Then, his knapsack stocked with an apple, a toothbrush, a book on government – all you need for a night behind bars – John Lewis led them out of the church on a mission to change America.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Political History, Race, White House

GOP Leaders Skip Selma Anniversary

March 6, 2015 at 6:50 am EST By Taegan Goddard 28 Comments

“Scores of U.S. lawmakers are converging on tiny Selma, Alabama, for a large commemoration of a civil rights anniversary. But their ranks don’t include a single member of House Republican leadership — a point that isn’t lost on congressional black leaders,” Politico reports.

“None of the top leaders — House Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy or Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was once thought likely to attend to atone for reports that he once spoke before a white supremacist group — will be in Selma for the three-day event that commemorates the 1965 march and the violence that protesters faced at the hands of white police officers. A number of rank-and-file Republicans have been aggressively lobbying their colleagues to attend, and several black lawmakers concurred.”

Filed Under: Race

Bonus Quote of the Day

March 1, 2015 at 12:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 44 Comments

“I reject bigotry of all forms.”

— House Majoriy Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), quoted by The Hill, trying to mend fences with the black community since it became known he spoke to a group in 2002 that was founded by a former Ku Klux Klan member.

Filed Under: Race Tagged With: Steve Scalise

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

February 24, 2015 at 2:22 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

“I would think, as we approach the 50th anniversary of Selma, that Republicans should be more sensitive about what they’re doing to this woman.”

— Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), quoted by Bloomberg, on the stalled nomination of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General.

Filed Under: Race, Senate Tagged With: Loretta Lynch

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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