November 12, 2015

How are the presidential candidates leveraging the racial unrest at college campuses?

1. Donald Trump: "I think it's just disgusting. I think the two people who resigned are weak, ineffective people... When they resigned, they set something in motion that's going to be a disaster for the next long period of time.... Many of those [demands by protesters] are like crazy."

2. Bernie Sanders: "I'm listening to the #BlackOnCampus conversation. It's time to address structural racism on college campuses." Sanders tweeted.

3. Hillary Clinton (retweeting something her staffer wrote): "Racism has no place anywhere, let alone an institution of learning. Standing w/ the students at Mizzou in my home state calling for change."

4. Marco Rubio: "I am concerned about a broader issue and that is — ah, maybe this is not related to Missouri — freedom of speech on campus seems to be under assault in some of the finest institutions in this country."

5. Rand Paul: "I think freedom of speech is very, very important. Does freedom of speech mean there will be boorish people who say things you don't want to associate with? Yes. But really in a free society, there's got to be a place for people to make their argument."

6. Chris Christie: "I think part of this is a product of the president’s own unwillingness and inability to bring people together.... When people think justice is not applied evenly and fairly, they take matters into their own hands. The lawlessness that the president has allowed to exist in this country just absolutely strips people of hope.... Our administration would stand for the idea that justice is not just a word, but it’s a way of life.... Laws will be applied evenly, fairly, and without bias to everyone."

89 comments:

mccullough said...

Sounds like Chrisitie is against amnesty.

sean said...

A more interesting question, for those who care about the life of the mind, is how are professors and administrators leveraging the racial unrest at college campuses? So far as I can see, they are mostly using it to purge some of the remaining insufficiently leftist professors. How long until Yale gets rid of the Christakises? Anyone give them more than a year? It will be a bigger deal if Vandy gets rid of Swain, but does anyone want to bet they won't try?

Kirby Olson said...

I like Christie best. Maybe he will rebound.

Peter said...

Donald Trump, being incoherent as usual. Yes, these two people may be "weak, ineffective" people, but, there will always be such people and sometimes they will be in positions of authority. So? If you want to talk "disaster" and "crazy," how about specifics? What disaster is going to happen, and in what way are they crazy?

Hillary Clinton: "Racism has no place anywhere, let alone an institution of learning. Standing w/ the students at Mizzou in my home state calling for change."

Change == free tuition? Coupled with immediate cutoff of federal funds to any school (I think that's what an "institution of learning" is called) that fails to effectively muzzle student and faculty speech. Oh, and failure to expel all males accused of sexual misconduct.

Marco Rubio, Rand Paul: Well, yes, it's about freedom of speech. But, you don't really think the First Amendment could be ratified by popular vote of either students or faculty at most of these "finest institutions in this country," do you?

Chris Christie: yes, Obama's had little constructive to say, but that doesn't mean Obama is the driver of these campus dramas. More likely campus activists see (as Hillary! apparently does) that there's fresh opportunities to repress your enemies in these incidents.

damikesc said...

Christie's take was shockingly well thought out. Rubio kinda fumbled.

And Hillary's answer should be in TV commercials with these petulant shits in the background.

damikesc said...

Marco Rubio, Rand Paul: Well, yes, it's about freedom of speech. But, you don't really think the First Amendment could be ratified by popular vote of either students or faculty at most of these "finest institutions in this country," do you?

Honestly, the only thing that would teach them a lesson would be for somebody to be in charge and simply violate their free speech rights.

Thorley Winston said...

I think Ann forgot to add one candidate from the article she linked to:

7. Republican Ben Carson, the only black candidate in the 2016 race, said the resignations are a sign of the "politically correct police" going too far. "It's OK to disagree with people, but it's not OK to destroy them," Carson said Thursday on Fox News. "People are so frightened of the politically correct police that they are willing to do things that are irrational in order to appease them. I believe it's going to be necessary for those people who truly believe in our system, who believe in our Constitution, who believe in our principles and values that made America great, to be willing to stand up."

I agree with Dr. Carson.



themightypuck said...

I thought Trump was dead on and very coherent. The problem isn't just coddled college kids, it is people in the administration having zero backbone.

Dan Hossley said...

Donald Trump as "everyman". Go figure.

JackWayne said...

It can't be repeated enough, "the best thing about the Obama era is all the racial healing".

Sebastian said...

@Peter: "Donald Trump, being incoherent as usual"

No. There's nothing incoherent about ridiculing failure of university leadership and warning of disastrous consequences.

"fresh opportunities to repress your enemies in these incidents"

Exactly. Which is why a Trumpian response, though not sufficient, is necessary.

It's all Prog politics by any means necessary.

Steve M. Galbraith said...

The Christie response was awful, just awful. Obama's to blame?

Not as bad as Sanders' and Clinton's. But not far behind.

richard mcenroe said...

For once I agree with Hillary. Racism has no place on a campuses.

But no one's gonna expel that many black students in one bunch...

Hagar said...

Geez! How many home states does she have?

Gusty Winds said...

Hillary and Bernie interpreted.

"EEEEGCCELENT. Everything is going according to plan."

chuck said...

I'm with the Democrats, universities are hotbeds of racism, rape, and misogyny. I'll go further, they should be shut down, the faculty put on trial, and their facilities auctioned off to repay student loans.

Hagar said...

If it was not for the way the adjective has been used by certain notables in the past, I would say Dr. Carson is the most articulate candidate running.

But then, what do I know, being a foreigner and all, and not that familiar with the American version(s) of the language.

M Jordan said...

Trump wins. The rest are cowards and liars. Rubio's comment is very disappointing.

MikeR said...

Amazing the stuff that the Democrats think they can get away with. Will the non-black part of the Democratic constituency not notice this? As with so many other things Clinton does, I wonder why this won't alienate a good part of her support. Of course, she didn't explicitly speak in favor of firing a college president because he failed to kowtow to the PC line. But won't anyone ask her about it?

Gusty Winds said...

Bernie Sanders: "I'm listening to the #BlackOnCampus conversation. It's time to address structural racism on college campuses." Sanders tweeted..

Maybe what is being exposed here are how protective all the white tenured facility and administrators are of their privilege. They're just using the black students for lefty photo ops while they still expect them to bring the food. Like the Hippie men with the chicks.

I have to admit. There's a part of me that just wants to watch this thing catch fire all over American Campuses. The no due process bulldozing is now spread further than just the front steps of Phi Kappa Psi and the Duke Lacrosse Team, where faculty were cheering the persecution.

And keep the Melissa Clicks front and center. She, for the moment, is the face of College Liberal Arts. Let the sunshine in.

exhelodrvr1 said...

"It's time to address structural racism on college campuses."

Sanders is right. But probably not in the way he intended.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Thorley,
"I agree with Dr. Carson"

But what about the pyramids? I thought that was more important than what he thinks on the actual issues facing the nation.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

And people wonder why Trump is so popular...

The thing that kills me is that this isn't rocket science. Why wouldn't the common sense position be the default position of every politician, instead of almost none? I see stuff like this and I start to think that Trump is going to win the nomination and, just possibly, the White House.

Will said...

Christie and Trump said it best

I suggest you all listen to the audio of the Mizzou football coach too… He clearly did not think this through at all, which is pretty stunning.

The Godfather said...

A+ for Christie. Of all the candidates quoted by Althouse, and adding in Carson per Thorley Winston, he was not only correct, he made it political. We can't allow the Democrats to be the only ones who politicize every issue.

Fernandinande said...

They were all pretty reasonable, Trump by far the best, except for Sanders and Billary, who are silly people with silly ideas.

"USC junior Vanessa Diaz was raised in Dallas. But at a party two years ago, she was asked if she could speak English.

When Diaz became offended, ..."

... it became national news!

Ann Althouse said...

I left Carson out because his comment was insufficiently on topic.

M Jordan said...

"I suggest you all listen to the audio of the Mizzou football coach too… He clearly did not think this through at all, which is pretty stunning."

Yeah, that man is not a tower of intellect. I think he'll be gone before next year. How does one not think of the ramifications of tweeting out a picture in support of a cause that calls for the ouster of the university president? Amazing display of ineptitude.

rcocean said...

More hot air from Christie.

Hagar said...

I left Carson out because his comment was insufficiently on topic.

Huh?

furious_a said...

Bernie Sanders: "I'm listening to the #BlackOnCampus conversation. It's time to address structural racism on college campuses." Sanders tweeted.

He'd better be, or it's going to be #BlackSomethingSomething all up in his grille, again.

rcocean said...

"Racism has no place anywhere, let alone an institution of learning. Standing w/ the students at Mizzou in my home state calling for change."

And Hillary throws the Mizzou Chancellor and President under the bus. Must hurt them since 100-1 both are Democrats.

rcocean said...

"Huh?"

Well that certainly put Althouse in her place.

madAsHell said...

The Christie response was awful, just awful. Obama's to blame?

When the President states that "the police behaved stupidly", and "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon", then yeah.....Obama is part of the problem.

furious_a said...

Yeah, that man is not a tower of intellect. I think he'll be gone before next year.

Mighty Tigers have lost to Kentucky (4-5) and Vanderbilt (3-6, who hadn't won a conference game in almost two years), among others, this season.

Brando said...

Missouri is Hillary's home state?

Nice to see pathetic pandering by the Democrats to keep their racialist masters. A scary image of what the Clinton presidency will be like.

Trump's statement was the best one. Call this out for the thuggish anti-liberty behavior that it is, and stop trying to dance around it. This isn't a cry out for racial understanding and brotherhood--it's the primal scream of hate filled demogogues who deserve nothing but our derision.

Known Unknown said...

"my home state"

Which one would that be?

Quaestor said...

Given that 27% of self-identified Democrats are actually fascists the fact neither Sanders nor Clinton defended free speech in their comments is not surprising.

grimson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Steve M. Galbraith said...

"When the President states that "the police behaved stupidly", and "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon", then yeah.....Obama is part of the problem"

I haven't seen a shred of evidence that these crazy students with their crazy views on free speech and "safe spaces" have been influenced in any way by Obama's statements or policies. How can you connect Trayvon Martin to this nonsense?

This is the result of weak-spined university administrators and a feel good culture rewarding these misguided young people.

If Obama wasn't president I would suggest it would be even worse.

grimson said...

"I left Carson out because his comment was insufficiently on topic."

The topic: "How are the presidential candidates leveraging the racial unrest at college campuses?"

The quotes from Clinton and Sanders both referecnce racism.

The quotes from Rubio and Paul reference freedom of speech, instead.

The Trump quote is about the weakness of the supposed leaders at Mizzou.

The Christie quote is about the failure of Obama to unite the country and uniformly enforce the law.

The omitted quote from Carson is about the responsibilities of freedom of speech, along with the weakness of the Mizzou administrators in defending it.

Carson's quote seems just as on-topic as Rubio's, Paul's, and Trump's. (If any quote is off topic, it is Christie's.)

Given the responses (and the selection of topic), Democrats think racism is an issue that needs America's attention now, but Republicans think there are more important issues.

Big Mike said...

I left Carson out because his comment was insufficiently on topic.

Based on the synopsis of his remarks on Politico, I venture to say that Ben Carson had the best comments on Yale and Mizzou.

Tank said...

No one is talking about how diversity is strength anymore.

jr565 said...

Grimsom wrote:

Given the responses (and the selection of topic), Democrats think racism is an issue that needs America's attention now, but Republicans think there are more important issues.

no, that assumes that people who are stressing the freedom of speech aspect of this's ant there to be racism on campuses. They are not saying such displays of racism are acceptable. They are saying they are isolated incidents and do not suggest a pattern of racism on campus.
This is the left pushing racism culture the same way they pushed rape culture. I'm no fan of rape, but neither am I a fan of shutting g down speech and people rights under the guise thst single incidents become dispositive of a culture on campus.

Ken B said...

Trump is right. The thug tactics worked. Had these tenured professors stood their ground, and after all they did nothing wrong, and asserted their rights perhaps that might not have spiraled. But instead the thugs got easy wins. They got groveling. They feel vindicated. Instead of being told off they were pandered to. And it spreads.

Paco Wové said...

"Structural Racism": the Left's phlogiston, or the Left's luminiferous aether? Discuss.

wildswan said...

Nothing happened in Missouri except demonstrations till the football team spoke of a boycott of a game on TV with sponsors and THEN within 36 hours the college President was gone. So in Missouri the football team has the power to get rid of a university president which makes the university in Missouri a joke as an academic institution. The candidates don't discuss this but to me it seems the most interesting thing that happened. I guess everyone is hoping that the left didn't notice the power the football team had. As if.

Paddy O said...

"I left Carson out because his comment was insufficiently on topic."

Speaking of structural racism in universities... Ann silences the black man for not being on topic when he talks about the protests and reactions.

Poll test!

walter said...

"What disaster is going to happen, and in what way are they crazy?"

Most would be able to see that their actions validate submitting to this nonsense and set a dangerous precedent. And yes, he tends to overuse the word "disaster". So let's just say it's a pretty gutless falling on the sword, bending over to grab ankles etc.

Bob R said...

I suggest you all listen to the audio of the Mizzou football coach too… He clearly did not think this through at all, which is pretty stunning.

Not if you've seen the football team lately.

Michael K said...

My impression thus far is that Carson is what people like Ann thought they were voting for in 2008.

It must be very hard to admit how badly you misjudged Obama.

I can see why she doesn't want to quote Carson.

Ann Althouse said...

I wanted to put Carson in. I tried. But I just couldn't see it as on topic, so I felt I had to leave it out.

walter said...

"I left Carson out because his comment was insufficiently on topic."

Well..ok..perhaps in terms of not politically "leveraging". But the other comments are really equivalent in that sense/tone..except Christie, wh goes into how his admin will prevail over this BS.

So..really no reason to exclude..except.."raaaaacist".

walter said...

(Just trying to get trendily reflexive with word)

madAsHell said...

I haven't seen a shred of evidence that these crazy students with their crazy views on free speech and "safe spaces" have been influenced in any way by Obama's statements or policies. How can you connect Trayvon Martin to this nonsense?

How do you connect a poop swastika to racism?

I see the Obama's comments as agitation, and irresponsible. He's been doing this for 7 years now. At some point, the rhetoric is reflected in behavior, and I believe we are seeing it in Missouri. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest

I do agree that the university president should have taken another course of action. He should have fired the football coach, and terminated the full ride tuition contracts of the student-athletes.

grimson said...

jr565 wrote: "This is the left pushing racism culture the same way they pushed rape culture. . ." I did not intend to suggest otherwise.

But, "They are saying they are isolated incidents and do not suggest a pattern of racism on campus." That is what you think; you are not all Republicans.

MikeD said...

All this aggrieved sno-flake/racial angst is pure comedy. 1960's Sacramento, CA I had as close friends a mixed race couple (he was Chinese & she was Japanese, both sets of 2nd gen. parentals were aghast) Anyway, short story long, his family owned a small supermarket chain & decided to expand to Houston, TX. My friends relocated there & opened the store. Their neighbors & customers were amazed at how well this 3rd gen. family spoke English. They found it hilarious, as did the neighbors & customers. The perfect ending came when they returned to Sacramento with two elementary school children with very pronounced TX accents. Comedy gold!

narciso said...

Peyton head, lead instigator met with obama on four different occasions, he was An intern with Rahm. The catalyst was related to the some lives matter narrative, of Ferguson.

Michael K said...

Claremont McKenna College, one of the Claremont Colleges in California had another incident and the Dean of Students resigned.

The Claremont Colleges advertise themselves as "Liberal Arts." One of the five is Harvey Mudd which is all engineering and science. I will pay attention when Harvey Mudd has an incident. It won't. Only the "Gender Studies" colleges have these incidents. The Yalies were all into gender studies.

Hagar said...

Watched Gutfeld and McGurk on O'Really! tonight and for once they were both good and funny.
They also ran a clip of Claire McCaskill which I did not understand was supposed to be a satirical teaser for The Colbert Show until it was explained.

AA probably would have picked that up right away.

sunsong said...

Commenters here are still unconscious to what is going on. Structural racism does need to be addressed and blacks everywhere are fed up with racist acts and racism in general. Ferguson, in many ways, set this off and it's not going to stop. Freedom without responsibility becomes tyranny. Free speech doesn't mean that you can create an unsafe environment and harass people. Bullying is not a right. And a university is not a public square. There are rules of conduct. Whether belittling women or minorities or disabilities etc there is no place for it in a educational or work setting.

Alice Aforethought said...

We had a #Blackoncampus protest at my university this afternoon and it was sad. Nobody but the police were paying attention and they didn't even have the T-shirts with the fist on them. #getwith the program.

Luke Lea said...

Trump is the only one who trusts his instincts on the matter, which are of course perfectly right. One quality you want in a democratic leader.

Fabi said...

'And a university is not a public square.'

It's a state university. It is, indeed, a public square.

Ken B said...

A former chancellor of two universities agrees with Trump.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/11/11/mizzou-leaders-squarely-fault-campus-fiasco/75542910/

Anonymous said...

sunsong @11/12/15, 8:25 PM:

Please see Paco @11/12/15, 6:37 PM.

Hey sunsong, it shouldn't take nine sentences worth of tired bullshit just to say "shut up and pay up, whitey".

Big Mike said...

I wanted to put Carson in. I tried.

Really you tried. I'm sure you tried really, really hard. Like so many people before you, your racism is so embedded in your psyche you just can't get past it no matter how hard you work at it.

If you really and truly want to get past your past, you need to start by reading and listening to Ben Carson, Tom Sowell, Clarence Thomas, and Claude and Shelby Steele. You'll start to make progress when you pay more attention to them than to Ta-Nehisi Coates.

walter said...

"a university is not a public square"

Well..it's not supposed to be an extra-judicial system alternative universe either...but they keep heading there.

Ken B said...

Alan Dershowitz thinks Trump is right.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/alan-dershowitz-goes-off-on-pc-college-culture-the-fog-of-fascism-is-descending/

Achilles said...

"Free speech doesn't mean that you can create an unsafe environment and harass people."

I assume you are talking about conservatives being harassed on campuses by the progressive thug mobs.

chickelit said...

Ann Althouse said...
I left Carson out because his comment was insufficiently on topic.

WTF?

From a CNN article: Republican Ben Carson, the only black candidate in the 2016 race, said the resignations are a sign of the "politically correct police" going too far.

Carson is spot on and more honest that Althouse.

chickelit said...

@Big Mike: Maybe she doesn't like that Carson sounds white.

Achilles said...

After reading that article I cannot understand why Carson's comments were not mentioned in the original post. They were very germane to the discussion. I am not going to jump to racism as the cause because I don't believe that. It is apparent that Althouse just doesn't like Carson. I would posit that professors like Althouse don't like people who are smarter than them.

Anyhow...

While I understand Bush's comment being left out I want to post it here because I am a jerk:

"As I understand it, (former President Tim Wolfe) didn't respond to legitimate concerns of acts of racism on campus, and may have missed an opportunity to try and heal the wounds and give people the sense that the university had no tolerance for that," Bush said. "I don't know, I haven't followed it that carefully so I can't say if his resignation was appropriate or not."

Bush is completely worthless.

Known Unknown said...

Structural racism does need to be addressed and blacks everywhere are fed up with racist acts and racism in general

What's ironic is that structural racism is most evident in locations dominated by more progressive politics.

chickelit said...

I would posit that professors like Althouse don't like people who are smarter than them.

Perhaps Althouse fancies herself to be a sort of intellectual brain surgeon -- to be a person who operates on thoughts instead of tissue. It's a software/hardware rivalry.

Do programmer geeks admire computer hardware geeks?

chickelit said...

Bush is completely worthless.

He's truly turned out to be the stunted Bush -- the real shrub as it were.

effinayright said...

Tens of millions of righteous Americans willing to break their ankles off in tens of millions of stupid young people's asses is all it would take.

IOW parents who should have disciplined their spoiled-rotten kids.

As Flanders on the Simpsons once whined about his own out-of-control kids: "We tried doing nothing,man, and it didn't work"!

Annie said...

SMGalbraith, both Occupy and Ferguson activists showed up at Mizzou, to give 'counsel'. Obama had met with #blacklivesmatter and he has given his support to what is happening at Mizzou. I'd say Obama's influence is all over it and it's actors.

Quaestor said...

Free speech doesn't mean that you can create an unsafe environment and harass people.

Sunsong has a cute picture of herself as a baby. She must have been one of those Lebensborn brats who imbibed fascism along with mother's milk.

Achilles said...

sunsong said...
"Commenters here are still unconscious to what is going on. Structural racism does need to be addressed and blacks everywhere are fed up with racist acts and racism in general. Ferguson, in many ways, set this off and it's not going to stop."

And all of the structural racism is coming from progressives. I agree we should be addressing it.

First thing we need to do is reform the public school system. It is deeply segregated, as everything progressives run ends up.

Second thing we need to do is end the grievance factories on campus. We are dumping debt on college students and using that capital to pay for "..." studies programs. And they get nothing from it but lessons in how to die in a quad and endlessly protest the society that they mooch off of.

Fen said...

"Structural racism does need to be addressed and blacks everywhere are fed up with racist acts and racism in general."

Bullshit.

And according to FBI hate crime stats, blacks are the largest demographic of racist acts and racism in general.

But I'm sure you're one of those libtards that believes blacks can't be racist because of their skin color...

Fen said...

Aaaaaaand its looking like the fecal swastika was staged. Go figure.

walter said...

"Perhaps Althouse fancies herself to be a sort of intellectual brain surgeon -- to be a person who operates on thoughts instead of tissue"

aka Altparse

Rusty said...

And a university is not a public square.

If I'm paying for it, it is.


There are rules of conduct.


There is? Who made up these rules? You?



Whether belittling women or minorities or disabilities etc there is no place for it in a educational or work setting.


How about belittling stupid people?
The field seems ripe for sarcasm.
Although I have to admire Neil Cavutos patience when talking to the "million student march" spokes person.

The BubFather said...

I'm not reading all those posts...but I'll just ask this....If Hillary was born in Chicago, IL....lived in Arkansas, Washington D.C. and New York.....how in the blue hell is Misourri her 'home' state?

walter said...

Maybe she owns some real estate there: Hilary's Roadhouse

mikee said...

In the Nixon era, covert campaign activities to destroy opponents and rile the base were call "rat fucking" by Nixon's campaign henchman Donald Segretti.

Today's very professional campaign activists, err, political activists, on campus are preparing Hillary's battlespace for her campaign, with a lavish rollout of racial, gender, ethnic and class ($$$$$, not 8:00am) protests that will paint Republicans as racists and worse.

Just remember that these protests are as spontaneous as was the October Revolution, and the end goal of the leaders is pretty much the same - totalitarian statism.

Ken B said...

This is a fantastic editorial from a student paper.

http://claremontindependent.com/we-dissent/

BRAVO

Hyphenated American said...

By "structural racism" in the institutions of higher learning, I assume we are talking about discrimination against whites and Asians in afmission policies, correct? Nothing is more racist than that.