June 20, 2019

Cory Booker's great response to Biden's "Apologize for what? Cory should apologize. He knows better. There's not a racist bone in my body."

Booker's response: "For someone to show the lack of understanding or sensitivity to even know when they've made a mistake, and to fall into that defensive posture and said, 'I'm not apologizing' — that I should apologize to him! — is really problematic.… The fact that he has said something that an African-American man could find very offensive, and then to turn around and say, 'I'm not a racist! You should apologize to me!' … As Angela Davis used to say, in a time of racism, it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist. What we need from a former vice president, from a presidential candidate, what we need from each other is to be allies, to be seeking understanding, to be seeking empathy.… So for his posture to me to be, 'I've done nothing wrong; you should apologize to me; I'm not a racist,' is so insulting, and so missing the the larger point that he should not have to have explained to him."

I'm reading these quotes this morning at my son John's Facebook page.

Biden's "Apologize for what?" came after Booker criticized him for saying "I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me 'boy'; he always called me 'son'" (and so forth). Booker's response to that was "You don't joke about calling black men 'boys.' "

Neither of those remarks makes complete sense. Why was Biden impressed that Eastland called him "son" and not "boy"? Biden isn't black. I guess Biden was just thinking about the way old men might patronize young men by addressing them as "son" and not thinking about the much more denigrating use of "boy" to address black men. That's the only sensible interpretation, really, but it does show Biden's a bit out of touch. It's unsympathetic to regard that as a "joke about calling black men 'boys.'" Not only is it unlikely that Biden was referring to the old practice of calling black men "boys," it doesn't at all look like any kind of joke.

But Cory Booker is running for President, and he's running way behind Joe Biden. He has to grab for an issue when he can. He got a lot of attention and he really hurt Biden. But he did it by deliberately pretending to misunderstand Biden (or possibly, by actually misunderstanding Biden, which is much less likely). Booker could have said, instead of "You don't joke about calling black men 'boys,'" something more like: Biden is so out of touch about race that he talks about an old segregationist calling him "son" and not "boy" without even noticing how bad that sounds to anyone who remembers the way black men were called "boy."

The newer statement from Booker is much better formulated. Quite impressive, I think. And he would never have said it if Biden hadn't gone big with, "Apologize for what? Cory should apologize. He knows better. There's not a racist bone in my body."

Biden's instincts are bad! And his rhetoric is almost babyish. And clichéd — "not a racist bone in my body." That's a silly metaphor, the idea that character traits are located in particular bones. And it's also the sort of thing you say about someone else when you're vouching for them. You can't claim it for yourself. The dumbest part of Biden's statement is that it turned all eyes on Booker, who's been struggling to get some attention, and Booker took advantage.

I particularly like "it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist." It's not that helpful to bring up Angela Davis, but the sentiment is a good one. Maybe the conversation about race would go better if we stopped accusing people of being "racist" and only criticized them for not being  anti-racist enough.

141 comments:

rhhardin said...

It's all fake offense.

Francisco D said...

I particularly like "it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist."

It's not enough to be declared "not guilty". You need to prove you are innocent.

Hmmm. Where have I heard that before?

rhhardin said...

Working on a call black men boy joke.

Black couple has baby.
Is it a boy or a girl?
Racist!

MadisonMan said...

After several years of hearing how the President is racist -- when it's actually the case that the speaker simply disagrees with policy -- I just ignore all politicians who pull out that word.

MadisonMan said...

I will add: the big problem with Booker's reply is its length. One's eyes start to glaze over when reading it, or hearing it.

rhhardin said...

Black people make themselves into land mines and trip wires. It's a living.

Shouting Thomas said...

Black hucksters like Booker are always scamming for a payoff and an ass kissing.

So, yeah, race scammers like Booker are boys.

Scamming for a handout from The Man is the behavior of a boy.

Tank said...

Biden is right. Good for him.

Ah, he’ll probably grovel by noon.

rhhardin said...

Don't act like a boy then.

rhhardin said...

Everybody's outraged about AOC calling something concentration camps. More fake outrage.

The right is as nuts as the left, for media mob action, these days.

rhhardin said...

The dem candidate will be chosen by outrage competition.

rhhardin said...

Scott Adams has to protect his career by taking outrage seriously and not mocking protected groups. A serious hit to humor.

Laslo Spatula said...

Trump has said something along the lines of 'Obama rescued Biden from the scrap heap'.

Which makes me curious: does Obama feel that Biden is slighted in that take, or does he nod and and think 'Damn right I did. I needed an old white male to be more palatable to be elected President, so I took this useless dumb-fuck and became President while carrying his dead weight'.

Because I bet Obama probably thinks along the latter.

And I think Trump knows this.

So Trump has played the situation where -- in supporting Biden -- Obama has to accept less plaudits for himself: he has to act like Biden actually mattered, that Obama needed him for more reasons than a white face on the ticket.

When -- like his riff about being his own best speechwriter, etc -- he probably thinks he was his own best Vice President.

In his own Trump way, Trump was COMPLIMENTING Obama: you made it DESPITE having to keep Biden around. YOU were the winner.

But can Obama turn down a compliment?

I am Laslo.

AllenS said...

Instead of reparations, how about a one way airplane ticket to Africa? Because that's the best we can do. Oh, and sorry about slaves from Africa being brought over here. The biggest mistake early Americans ever made.

David Begley said...

Biden will fail.

Watch him get constantly attacked during the debate.

rhhardin said...

It's not enough to say I'm not a humorist. You have to be anti-humorist.

That's not funny.

rhhardin said...

The connection to humor is by way of Kafka, who was a religious humorist, according to Thomas Mann.

Kafka rules in woke society.

rehajm said...

Neither of those remarks makes complete sense.

As Taranto would say, Evergreen when it comes to these two.

Swede said...

Maybe Cory could share some little gem of wisdom from Louis Farrakhan as well.

Might as well, he's got nothing left to lose.

rehajm said...

But Cory Booker is running for President, and he's running way behind Joe Biden

Characterizing Booker as running way behind a white man, Ann? Like he was his slave or something? You're definitely not anti-racist enough!

Hey! That's kind of fun...

JML said...

Angela Davis, winner of the Lenin Peace Prize. Booker should ask her how she feels about gun control, seeing as how she purchase several guns used in the murder of a Judge and three others in CA. I bet she gets a pass...

Tina Trent said...

Not the Angela Davis who smuggled a shotgun to a murderer who shot up the courtroom, took hostages, murdered a judge and crippled another man -- and traveled the Soviet bloc as an official propagandist denying the existence of the gulag and the secret police and the mass murder of dissenters -- and now rides the fatted racial gravy train getting 20K an hour to sow sanctioned hatred against whites?

Surely they mean another Angela Davis.

JPS said...

“As Angela Davis used to say”

Yeah, sorry. What she said is true. But neither she, nor anyone who cites her approvingly, gets to lecture me on anything.

It’s not enough not to be a communist. You have to be anti communist. And it’s not enough not to personally be an armed robber, you have to not procure their weapons for them.

sdharms said...

Ann, how about we don't tolerate calling every failing of blacks due to racism.? How about we shout that blacks enslaved (and still do) the blacks. How about blacks admit that the tribal behavior and crime are not due to racism of whites.
Yes, racism did and does exist, but until we are careful and narrow in use of the word, then use of the word is meaningless..

rhhardin said...

What do blacks living in a black nation take offense at.

whitney said...

https://nypost.com/2019/06/18/man-nabbed-for-bronx-rape-allegedly-said-she-deserved-it-for-slavery/

Mike Sylwester said...

It's not enough to say you are not a Communist. You need to be anti-Communist.

Humperdink said...

"What do blacks living in a black nation take offense at."

Not being invited to join the boat for the trip to the US/Mexican border (to join in the racism parade).

Gunner said...

Someone forgot to tell Eastland that all white guys like him were convinced by the "Southern Strategy" to vote for Republicans instead of Jimmy Carter, the guy Eastland actually supported in 76.

Mike Sylwester said...

It was not enough for Biden to merely warn that the Republicans would put all the Blacks back into chains.

He needed to take real action to prevent Republicans from putting the Blacks back into chains.

Kevin said...

Under the Angela Davis standard, do black people have to be anti-racist too?

Do they have to march against Harvard for their treatment of Asians?

Do they have to fight against the affirmative action which benefits them?

Or like “black people can’t be racist” do they get a pass on this as well?

Perhaps Corey Booker can fill us in.

Laslo Spatula said...

"...and only criticized them for not being anti-racist enough."

Perhaps we can determine what is "enough" after they answer when they stopped beating their wife.

I am Laslo.

David Begley said...

Madeline Albright said there is a special place in hell for women who didn’t vote for Hillary. Is hell the destination for any Black who doesn’t vote for Booker or Harris?

Biden is finished.

Joel Winter said...

This is the fundamental problem in the Biden/Booker back-and-forth: "The fact that he has said something that an African-American man could find very offensive, and then to turn around and say, 'I'm not a racist! You should apologize to me!'"

Simply because someone takes offense at something ("an African-American man") does not make it racist. Yes--a person could be offended. Yes, it wasn't thoughtful, kind or nice--or "sensitive." Yes, Biden pushed some of your buttons around the topic of race--and your race. But being racial, or discussing race in a way that offends you is not--ipso facto--racISM.

Certainly, much of what we call racism is subjective--but it's not a foregone conclusion (nor should anyone allow it to be) that mere offense permits a counter-charge of racism (or hate, or any other -ism or -phobia). This counter-charge is done far too often. Colleges and leaders need to help people deal with their (our) offenses in more creative, constructive ways than just responding with ad hominem (and misplaced, weakly supported) characterizations of "You're a racist/Islamophobe/homophobe/mysogynist."

rehajm said...

Biden is finished.

I recall when Cherokee Liz was finished too. You can't stop them. They're all leftie zombies!

Kevin said...

The difference between left and the right isn’t that those in the right condone racism.

It’s that those on the left embrace it to show how anti-racist they are.

They believe addressing a single racist is more important than maintaining our individual freedoms and civil rights.

The right isn’t willing to sacrifice our freedom to stamp out thoughtcrime.

Even if it were possible.

Hagar said...

Biden and Booker will both attempt to be whatever they think looks good for a politician to be at the moment, but neither can see beyond the little bubble he lives in.

Laslo Spatula said...

What happens if testing shows that Biden's bones are 1/64 to 1/1024 racist?

I am Laslo.

Jeff said...

Biden's response was far too long and polite. He should have just told Booker to fuck off.

Automatic_Wing said...

Eh, as a political zinger, it's pretty lame. More like a general exhortation from a communist propaganda poster.

Is not enough to say that you are not an imperialist, comrade. One must be resolutely anti-imperialist.

I guess that kinda makes sense, since it was said by an actual communist.

Bob Boyd said...

Cory: I tagged Joe and said the magic word. He was supposed to fall down and count to a hundred, but he didn't. And now he says the magic word doesn't work on him. That's no fair.

Mike Sylwester said...

Corey Booker is able to cooperate civilly with Communists like Angela Davis.

Kevin said...

Can Corey Booker vote for Joe Biden if he’s the nominee?

Or would that make Booker insufficiently anti-racist?

Where there is no principle, there is only political theater.

Mike Sylwester said...

Joe Biden is able to "reach across the aisle" and cooperate civilly with race-baiters like Corey Booker.

Roger Sweeny said...

I suspect that there are a lot of Democrats who do not like Trump but who are also kind of sick of "wokeness". They may be cheering inside for Biden's "I will not apologize", for "standing up to" the scolds.

Bob Boyd said...

There's a racist bone in Biden's throat.

Paco Wové said...

The Angela Davis quote took Booker's response from the quotidian yet-another-black-person-yapping-about-Racism! into a special stupid category of its own, as if Obama went around praising the inspirational sayings of Bill Ayers.

whitney said...

Cory Booker has Bluer eyes than my dad

Big Mike said...

Maybe the conversation about race would go better if we stopped accusing people of being "racist" and only criticized them for not being anti-racist enough.

And maybe if Althouse and the rest of the white liberals joined Republicans in working towards a color-blind society instead of indulging race baiters like Booker and Harris we could actually make some progress. Yeah, I know, never going to happen.

Kevin said...

Maybe Biden can diffuse the situation by saying nice things about Booker.

Like how he’s articulate. And clean.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Booker quotes a Communist. That's problematic, isn't it?

Swede said...

There appears to be quite a few white people here that are misspelling Cory's name.

Is that on purpose? Is there something there that needs to be investigated?

Time for another PhD dissertation?

iowan2 said...

I ignore all of this because my experience tells me almost every time the word racist is used, it means nothing. This means nothing. Booker means nothing. He is not offended, his response means nothing.

Lets be clear. I'm racist. I am just as racist as Booker, and Harris and Obama, etal. Pre judging people due to their visible cues. I discriminate against people is subtle ways. Where I live, that means I discriminate exclusively against whites. My interactions with Blacks? Just the opposite, I automatically show deference, to err on the side of acceptence no matter how they treat me.
Right now I am working with a local store owner attempting to get some parts and service on a big ticket item I bought from him,(black)because I want to support local stores when I can, rather than big box stores. I am not being treated well. Calls not returned, information wrong, incompetence, and general lack of public customer service. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt not because of skin color, but because I want local business to survive. With this Black store owner, I have refrained from unloading verbally the way I would with a White store owner. I am actually doing the store owner a disservice because He needs a lesson in customer service, and I won't help him, because to do so would be construed to be racist.
Some people choose the means of their own destruction.

Jeff said...

I particularly like "it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist." It's not that helpful to bring up Angela Davis, but the sentiment is a good one.

Put something else that is presumably despicable in there and see how it reads:

It's not enough to say that I'm not a child-rapist; you need to be anti-child-raping.
It's not enough to say that I'm not a thief; you need to be anti-thievery.

It's ridiculous. No one of good will favors raping children, stealing, or treating people differently because of their skin color.

This is not just Cory Booker trying to get some media attention. It's also a not-very-subtle attempt to tar as racist anyone opposing whatever the current "anti-racist" agenda is, be it quotas, minority set-asides, reparations, etc.

Big Mike said...

Instead of reparations, how about a one way airplane ticket to Africa?

Because we need good relations with many of those countries. I am not being entirely facetious. Go ask African black people — they do not respect American black people at all.

Kalli Davis said...

Biden's recollection of a Southern Man calling him SOon (vs Boy) is Biden testimony of history. Not a Joke. Booker being offended 1) because he conflated history qith joking joking and 2) claiming to represent all black men accross all time.... is simple grandstanding.


Trying to appease the offended "Royal we", weather the royalty be Kings, Queens, or Activists... is futile.

Bob Boyd said...

Biden called Obama to vouch for him, but Obama hasn't him called back yet.

MikeR said...

Scott Adams 48-hour rule: You have to accept people's clarifications - whether they are telling the truth or not - if they are said within 48 hours.
So what Biden should say is (he still has some time): "Sorry if I gave offense. What I meant was, ___. I certainly didn't intend any joke about black people being called 'boy', which was an awful thing that these racists used to do."
Completely sufficient.

J Severs said...

Shorter Sen. Booker: "Biden needs to learn to love Big Brother".

I'm Full of Soup said...

Is America a racist country today? If not Senator, then please STFU.

Bob Boyd said...

Maybe Joe doesn't have a racist bone in his body.
Maybe they accidentally put in a racist hair plug and that's what's causing the problem.

Eleanor said...

Booker (and Warren) are in the Monday night debate. Biden (and Sanders) are on Tuesday. The candidates on Monday night may be constrained from sending zingers at the Tuesday crowd because it would be seen as being in attack mode, but the Tuesday night crowd can criticize anything the Monday night folks say in the name of defense. No one with any sense believes the roster was really chosen at random. The only downside to being in the Tuesday crowd is Monday will be so boring no one will tune in on Tuesday, although if you're on Tuesday, that might b an upside, too.

Fernandinande said...

Anti-racism is really just anti-white racism; if you don't think so, look it up and parse the dishonest jargon.

'I've done nothing wrong; you should apologize to me; I'm not a racist,'

Good for Biden. Well, except for lying, since he is a racist, like nearly all Democrats.

Booker's response to that was "You don't joke about calling black men 'boys.'"

Booker is an anti-free speech fascist racist.

MikeR said...

"I don't have a racist bone in my body". I've heard Dennis Prager use this phrase for years. https://www.c-span.org/video/?68514-1/think-time
I had not known that Joe Biden was a Dennis Prager fan.

Rory said...

It is not enough to say that "I'm not a fascist". You need to be anti-fascist.

stlcdr said...

re. being 'anti-racist': 'If you are not for us, you are against us'.

Also, Cory Booker is a fucking wanker.

Bill Peschel said...

These tactics are good for a day, but at the end, it's still "Cory Who" and "Cory Why?"

Trump got that, which is why he's in the Oval Office.

None of these swine can answer the "Why" part, because the answer is "so we can exploit you."

Higher minimum wage resulting in fewer entry-level jobs.
Higher taxes funding their donors' projects and industries.
Free stuff paid for by ballooning the debt beyond sustainability and praying the wheels come off in someone else's administration.
More accusations of racism and sexism.
More censorship of any voices not their own.

The crash is going to hurt when Trump leaves.

Temujin said...

Back in 2007 Biden famously said this about the 'new' Barack Obama: "I mean, you've got the first sort of mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

He was impressed with a young black man who was not only bright, but...clean.

Biden is such a caricature of an old school guy, he doesn't even know when he's being racist. But you tend to get 50 year passes when you're a Democrat. His time is up.

Fernandinande said...

A black Jewish boy runs home from school one day and asks his father, "Daddy, am I more Jewish or more black?"

The dad replies, "Why do you want to know, son?"

"Because a kid at school is selling a bike for $50 and I want to know if I should talk him down to $40 or just steal it!"

Phil 314 said...

This all about Biden’s huge lead in the polls with black Dems. So we now get this tragedy from Cory Booker:

“Hey Everybody, I’M BLACK!”

(And Joe Biden isn’t)

T-bone can vouch for Cory’s blackness.

gilbar said...

Why was Biden impressed that Eastland called him "son" and not "boy"?

well, mostly for the same reason that Jo Biden is able to "reach across the aisle" to the Democrats

The Most important thing to remember about Jo Biden is that he has Brain Damage (LITERALLY!)
Jo never was very bright; and he is a shadow now of what he was.
Speaking as a person with a Traumatic Brain Injury, you don't want to expect much from a person with Brain Damage (like me).

wendybar said...

The race card got WAY overplayed, and the only racists I see that are left, are the lefties crying for the olden days OF racism. If they think reparations are going to heal, they couldn't be more wrong. It will just DEEPEN resentment and make MORE racism. Who is causing this divide? Look at who is pushing for reparations, and all the candidates on the left now kissing the ring of the GREAT RACE BAITER....Al Sharpton!!!

Jeff Brokaw said...

Oh great — another story about manufactured racism outrage. Just what everybody needs.

Didn’t read the post, didn’t read the story, don’t care about this shit.

Wasted days and wasted nights ...

gilbar said...

Jo Biden said There's not a racist bone in my body."

Please tell that to the owners of convenience stores in Delaware
I think Jo means that his racism is in his Brain damaged Brain, not in any of his bones

Oh, and don't forget; Delaware is (was) a slave state.


Skipper said...

He quotes Angela Davis? Really? Maybe that's the real story here.

Beasts of England said...

Biden can't be racist - he has a BHO BFF bracelet!!

Clyde said...

Is Booker capable of “seeking understanding” or “seeking empathy” with an old white guy like Biden? Or is the seeking of understanding and empathy only supposed to go one direction?

William said...

What jumped out was the quoting of Angela Davis in an approving way. WTF. How did she get to be an arbiter of racial etiquette in America. Okay, Biden has to appeal to the black vote, but doesn't Booker have to not offend white voters.

M Jordan said...

Disagree with you, Ann, on your Biden take here. His “not a racist bone in my body” line is cliched but it’s the vernacular of the people. Plus it’s succinct, dismissive, and best of all, completely not an apology. Not apologizing has become the political super-power. Trump showed the way. AOC has learned and now Biden.

Henry said...

It would be tempting to say Biden is Teflon, but it's more like he's cocooned. No one cares about the damage to the cocoon. Everyone waiting to vote for the moth.

iowan2 said...

I've had msdnc on tv this morning

Morning Schmoe, and now the lady that follows him. More than two hours. It has broken down into extreme leftists blacks, against extreme leftist white. Whites are defending Biden, and Blacks are backing Booker.

I haven't been this happy for a while. The left eating themselves. This is soooo delicious!

bagoh20 said...

""it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist."

Oh, bullshit! Nothing is ever enough. The goal posts are on rollerskates. Here is your proof: Have you ever seen someone call someone "racist" and then take it back and apologize, becuase the target altered their rhetoric? The goal is to damage or silence - not to eliminate racism. If you call people "racist", as I do often do, you are not trying to change them. You are doing battle.

Tommy Duncan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
iowan2 said...

Now a black guy on the msdnc panel just accused Buttajeidge of being unable to properly control his police. Since a white cop shot a black person. So its the WHITE mayors fault, for the evil White police
Mayor of Baltimore,etal unavailable for comment.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

I'm really going to enjoy the woke retards damage Biden so much during the primary that Trump tears him apart. Aided and abetted by lefty academic feminist boomer idiots. Circular firing squad engage!

iowan2 said...

Oh, bullshit! Nothing is ever enough.
I never give unsolicited advice, so this is not advice, it's just an observation
This might make a good tag.

bagoh20 said...

Booker doesn't care about Biden's racism anymore than he cares about his own. Biden is a target, the competition. This is so obvious, and it should inform everything you see and hear these people say. It has nothing to do with what they actually think, even when they have a case. If it did, Booker would have said this about Biden long before now. It's all about winning, or more precisely, it's all about fighting. Booker does not expect to win, but he knows he's expected to fight. Vote for the person who will most do what you want done, period. Ignore what they say, wear, promise, or pretend to be.

readering said...

You have to work with what you've got.

MayBee said...

I'm guessing the percentage of people who care about this tiff is 1.5%. It's all outrage theater.

Leland said...

It seems to me that to be racist or anti racist, you first must develop hate for another and most likely base that hate on the color of someone's skin.

Dude1394 said...

Screw booker, he could care less about Biden, he is just using him ( like a crab in a trap ) to pull himself upu.

Sebastian said...

"I particularly like "it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist." It's not that helpful to bring up Angela Davis, but the sentiment is a good one."

Yeah, it's not "helpful" to quote an accessory to terrorist murder, a winner of the Lenin Peace Prize, and a proud communist, but hey, what a great sentiment! It's a form of inclusion, just like we all enjoy quoting nuggets of wisdom from, oh, John Calhoun and Benito Mussolini and Charles Manson and Ezra Pound.

After you're done feeling the good feelz of sharing the sentiment, though, you might ask if Angela Davis and nice liberal women mean the same thing by "anti-racism."

Personally, I am strongly anti-racist: opposed to racial preferences, opposed to the denigration of Asians, opposed to race-baiting, opposed to double standards that keep blacks down, and so on and so forth.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

bagoh20 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

We really need to abort the practice of hyphenated classes. 1/2 American, really? That is so racist. It's also an ambiguous characterization of an individual, even before immigration reform. A name, if it's known. A characterization of visible physiological attributes, if it isn't. That said, don't be a diversitist. Don't indulge color judgments. Don't miss the baby for the clump of cells.

bagoh20 said...

The more accurate phrase would be: "it's not enough to not be racist; you have to be the correct race." Which, of course, is Biden's real problem here.

Change one thing: Biden's skin color, and all this goes away. He's the victim of racism.

Known Unknown said...

Never apologize.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

I just read the post, and I didn't notice Biden calling Booker, or any other child, a boy, or joking about it.

Ken B said...

An obscene post by Althouse. Biden was called racist for saying he was able to work with even people he strongly disagreed with. The criticism leveled at him is like calling FDR a commie for working with Stalin.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It's is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you have to murder a judge.

Ken B said...

It’s rare that I agree with Coyne over Althouse, but here he puts her to shame.

https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/huffposts-repeated-smears-of-joe-biden/

You should be ashamed of this post.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Booker doesn't care about Biden's racism anymore than he cares about his own. Biden is a target, the competition. This is so obvious, and it should inform everything you see and hear these people say”

Biden is the target now because he is well out in the lead right now, which means that unless he can be taken out, no one else has much of a chance.

My gut feeling is that he isn’t mentally fast enough any more to survive a year of this sort of attacks. I don’t think that Crazy Bernie is much better. Two old white guys. I think that a lot of people are seeing that, and seeing that maybe Fauxhauntis Warren may be made of sterner stuff. She may have a tin ear, but so did Crooked Hillary, and she came pretty close to winning.

What is going to be interesting to me is to see how Trump reacts to this. Strategically, I think that it would be better to pull back on the Slo Joe attacks. We shall see.

Roger Sweeny said...

What jumped out was the quoting of Angela Davis in an approving way. WTF. How did she get to be an arbiter of racial etiquette in America. Okay, Biden has to appeal to the black vote, but doesn't Booker have to not offend white voters.

Of course. But the threshold of offense for white voters has been raised considerably, while the threshold of offense for black voters has been lowered considerably.

Ar least that's the conventional wisdom.

gerry said...

Since when have we started to wonder about racist boners?

Disgusting.

Especially Biden's.

Humperdink said...

I am somewhat surprised Biden didn't pull out the Obama card and play it against Booker's race card. I believe Joe's card Trumps Booker's card. *cough*

Jupiter said...

"Neither of those remarks makes complete sense."

Michael Fitzgerald said...

It's not enough to say that you aren't a democrat party member, you have to be anti-democrat party member...

Ken B said...

When Ann was growing up were there any prejudiced kids in her class? I bet there were. Did she properly refuse to play on teams with them, properly refuse to join in classroom singing with them? Maybe Ann wasn’t racist in school, but was she antiracist? Or did she “cozy up” to racists?

RigelDog said...

Maybe the conversation about race would go better if we stopped accusing people of being "racist" and only criticized them for not being anti-racist enough.>>>

You are suggesting a full surrender to bullying from those who assume unearned moral superiority and who would have the power to unleash hell on those they presume to find are inadequately "anti-racist." Every man/woman able to unleash their inner Caligula, to demand explanations from me and beliefs from me at their whim. Apparently, for the rest of my life. Not doing it.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

KenB@9:43AM That article was real garbage and vulgar rage. Read like it was written by some antifa asswipe. Biden is a fucking piece of shit and always has been- Always has been. Democrat party scumbag. That opinion written by some rat bastard maggot blaming social unrest and discontent on Republicans is just more of the same old brain dead democrat party propaganda spewed by the time violent traitors loyal to party over country. GTFOH with that shit!

madAsHell said...

I don't think Booker should be talking about "bones" in his body.

AllenS said...

That T-Bone person you people keep talking about, was he a boy that Cory Booker knew?

Ken B said...

Michael Fitz
So it’s clear you are ignoring the specific situation and issues and just ranting “sniff man bad”. Sniff man could be the worst candidate in history and it still doesn’t make the argument Booker and Althouse advance worth spit. Thatcher worked with Gorbachev, and the ANC worked with de Klerk.

Ken B said...

You know what you get when the standard becomes “are you pure enough”? Twitter.

Rick said...

That T-Bone person you people keep talking about, was he a boy that Cory Booker knew?

He's a character Booker invented to make his fabrications seem more vivid.

Limited blogger said...

Does Trump have to get involved to save Joe?

Rick said...

I particularly like "it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist."

Let's start with this then: no one who supports race preferences is anti-racist.

narayanan said...

Eleanor said... Booker (and Warren) are in the Monday night debate. Biden (and Sanders) are on Tuesday. The candidates on Monday night may be constrained from sending zingers at the Tuesday crowd.


Trump will be twitter zinging on both days.

narayanan said...

Biden's "Apologize for what?" came after Booker criticized him for saying "I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me 'boy'; he always called me 'son'" (and so forth).

Booker's response to that was "You don't joke about calling black men 'boys.' "

I want to know who did Eastland call 'boy' for this to have made such lasting on Biden memory.

MacMacConnell said...

Biden's race problem isn't that he worked with segregationist Democrats like Eastland to get laws past. It's Biden's authorship of Bill Clinton's racist crime bill and Biden's anti-busing legislation. You see Northern Democrats loved Federal troops integrating Southern school houses in the 1950s and 1960s, but shit their pants when it was their turn.

elkh1 said...

Biden should call himself a reformed-racist.
Why was Biden so proud of being called "son" and not "boy" by a segregationist? Did he revere the segregationist as a father figure?

Biden does not have a racist bone in him, he has a rib-cage of racist bones.
Sen. Joe Biden's (D-Del.) remarked in 2006 that it was impossible to enter a 7-Eleven or Dunkin Donuts in Delaware without a "slight Indian accent"

Greg P said...

"Booker's response: "For someone to show the lack of understanding or sensitivity to even know when they've made a mistake, and to fall into that defensive posture and said, 'I'm not apologizing' — that I should apologize to him! — is really problematic.… The fact that he has said something that an African-American man could find very offensive, and then to turn around and say, 'I'm not a racist! You should apologize to me!' … As Angela Davis used to say, in a time of racism, it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist."

I AM anti-racist. Racism is judging people by the color of their skin, not the content of their character / quality of their actions.

"The fact that he has said something that an African-American man could find very offensive" doesn't mean shit, and Booker is a racist pig to claim otherwise.

it is racist to claim that your skin color / "ancestry" gives you special powers.

Cory Booker, stop being a racist pig

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Ann Althouse said...Maybe the conversation about race would go better if we stopped accusing people of being "racist" and only criticized them for not being anti-racist enough.

Respectfully, Professor, that's stupid. That's so stupid I have a hard time believing you mean it.
There is no "anti-racist" enough for activists. People like me who said college students should have basic due process when accused of sex offenses on campus were called "rape apologists" because we weren't anti-rape enough. It's the same dynamic, but even worse!

Do you really think changing from "prove you're not X" to "prove you've done enough to oppose Y" is good--is somehow a better or more reasonable standard?!

Sure you've never done anything racist yourself but how much money did you give to the NAACP last year? Sure you say you're not racist but you live in an area that's overwhelmingly white--you've chosen to segregate yourself from POC. You're now guilty through inaction/lack of sufficient action opposing racism, not just through actions you did in fact take.

That's very stupid.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Biden is the target now because he is well out in the lead right now, which means that unless he can be taken out, no one else has much of a chance.”

So, now, Biden’s surviving son, Hunter is now being sued for paternity for a 10 month old kid. Wasn’t he still shacked up with his former sister in law then (widow of his brother)?

As I said, the long knives are out for Slo Joe Biden.

MacMacConnell said...

Does Cory Booker and Kamala Harris know that by the time Sen. Eastland's career was near it's end he was being endorsed by none other than the Mississippi President of the NAACP and Charles Evers?

Eastland was a smart and powerful politician in Mississippi and the US Senate, I seriously don't think he ever call anyone "boy" in his entire adult life. He did use the word "Negra" which is the way Southerners once said "Negro". When a Southerner say the "N word" they say the "N word".

james said...

"it is not enough to say that 'I'm not a racist'; you need to be anti-racist"

Who died and made Booker God? You need a little more authority than a mere politician to claim "If you are not with me you are against me."

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Instead of "prove you haven't committed witchcraft" it's "prove you've opposed witches strongly enough," and of course there's no objective standard for what "strongly enough" means.

I have some shot at proving I haven't committed any racist acts. I have no shot of proving, to the satisfaction of people who don't like me, that I have taken sufficient anti-racist actions.

Ken B said...

Angela Davis? Wasn’t she the one who said “It’s not enough not to be racist. You need to bomb people you call racist.”

Doug said...

Althouse, you are the worst kind of"white intellectual".

Wilbur said...

Angela Davis' guitar kills racists.

MartyB said...

"As Angela Davis used to say, in a time of racism.."

Isn't Booker using this phrase a "tell" that most accusations of "racism" these days are known to be phony by those who make them, or at least known by Booker to be so?

Why make the distinction that this was said "in a time of racism", other than to tacitly admit today is different, i.e. not a "time of racism"?

Michael Fitzgerald said...

KenB@11:19AM No, I ignore nothing. You present, as a defense of a particularly odious individual, an opinion piece written by someone who declares that he supports Democrat party members exclusively because "there are no moderate Republicans", and I am supposed to value that stupid bigoted assholes support for an another stupid bigoted asshole?

I'll spell it out so that even cucks get it- You have to be actively opposed to the democrat party and Democrat party members.

Joe Biden is a bigot, he is a racist, he is a traitor, he is a corrupt liar, he is anti-American, he is scum, he is a Democrat.

deepelemblues said...

Lol what?

Booker's remarks were pseudo sophisticated woke ideological babble

Biden, for all his faults, talks like an actual human being you can connect with and not like a cheap computer program running a struggle session, like Booker does

The professor has some strange ideas about what is effective political speech

Rick said...

Booker's remarks were pseudo sophisticated woke ideological babble

In the Democratic primary what could be more appropriate?

Achilles said...

Racism is really bad. Right?

Microsoft employees question racist diversity incentives in hiring.

"Does Microsoft have any plans to end the current policy that financially incentivizes discriminatory hiring practices? To be clear, I am referring to the fact that senior leadership is awarded more money if they discriminate against Asians and white men,” read the original post by the Microsoft program manager on Yammer, a corporate messaging platform owned by Microsoft. The employee commented consistently throughout the thread, making similar arguments. Quartz reviewed lengthy sections of the internal discussion provided by Microsoft employees."

“I have an ever-increasing file of white male Microsoft employees who have faced outright and overt discrimination because they had the misfortune of being born both white and male. This is unacceptable,” the program manager wrote in a comment later. The Microsoft employees who spoke to Quartz said they weren’t aware of any action by the company in response, despite the comments being reported to Microsoft’s human resources department."

"Another Microsoft staff member, who leads the team that helps the board of directors determine executive pay, explained the diversity-based compensation initiative. “Our board and executive leadership team believe diverse and inclusive teams are good for business and consistent with our mission and inspire-to culture,” she wrote. “Linking compensation to these aspirations is an important demonstration of executive commitment to something we believe strongly in."

So it is OK to base employee compensation on race according to these people.

deepelemblues said...

In the Democratic primary what could be more appropriate?

Quoting at length from What Is To Be Done?, Quotations from Chairman Mao tse-Tung, and A Critique of Pure Tolerance, for starters.

phantommut said...

If Booker can get away from the consultants I think I'd like him.

ken in tx said...

Anti-racist is a code word for a self-loathing white, or an anti-white bigot.

Bob Loblaw said...

It's not enough to support the party. Your support must be enthusiastic! Clap, comrades, clap!

Nichevo said...

T-bone can vouch for Cory’s blackness.

6/20/19, 8:02 AM


Don't call him Cory. That's his slave name. Call him "Tenderloin." He must be pissed that Bootygag is horning in on his act, but pas d'ennemi a gauche, so he takes out his hissyfit on Old White Joe.

Ann, you know, you have some privilege here. You are entitled to say "I scorn all these rejects," instead of playing zero-sum and pretending that any are winners or any are right or any are good.



But it's not enough to go up on the roof with the black man at 5am. When he says "Take off your clothes," you better jump, do what he says, show him a good time, and hope that he only half kills you, as above: https://nypost.com/2019/06/18/man-nabbed-for-bronx-rape-allegedly-said-she-deserved-it-for-slavery/

After all, Emerita, you deserve it, for slavery.

Lurker21 said...

How does quoting Angela Davis make for a "great response"?

Corey is all phony outrage.

"Tears of rage."

"Just doing their jobs."

Maybe phony outrage, by becoming a requirement for the nomination, somehow becomes "real," but it doesn't go down well with the larger public.