Gingrich fires back at Carter’s ’subtlety of racism’ charge
In an interview to air on Piers Morgan’s show tonight, Jimmy Carter suggests Newt Gingrich is engaging in “that subtlety of racism” when he talks about food stamps and “welfare mommas”:
Over the phone a few minutes ago, Gingrich gave me this response to Carter’s words:
It’s sad to watch people on the left who have no solutions for the problems of poverty and who automatically start talking about racism the minute a conservative starts talking about how to solve poverty. Carter tried The Atlanta Project*, it didn’t work. You would think he’d have a little happiness that someone was trying to solve poverty.
Gingrich sounded cautiously optimistic about his chances in South Carolina but did not commit to a particular share of the vote or ranking he thinks he needs to hit. (”I hope to come in first.”) If he does well there and in Florida on Jan. 31, Super Tuesday on March 6 — with Georgia as a major prize — will be a huge day in the campaign. Texas, too, “depending on where Governor [Rick] Perry is.” If Perry is out of the race by then, as many observers now expect, Gingrich expects to do well in Texas relative to Mitt Romney.
As for Georgia: Gingrich cited his friendships in the state, including his supporter in the governor’s mansion, and volunteers, many of whom are working for him in South Carolina at the moment. His campaign themes here are unlikely to differ from those elsewhere:
Jobs and economic growth will be number one. National security and American strength, number two; American exceptionalism, number three; and balancing the budget, number four.
—
*I have never heard of The Atlanta Project. Fwiw, this evaluation is not exactly boastful (”TAP doesn’t claim to have all the answers, or the solution for eliminating urban decay”) and it’s probably not a good sign that the link to the TAP page at the Carter Center doesn’t work and the most recent document about TAP on the Carter Center’s site is from 1999. If someone has more recent or complete information about TAP, post it below.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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212 comments Add your comment
HDB
January 19th, 2012
8:36 am
One basic question trhat no one has addressed: When has Newt EVER been subtle….about ANYTHING (racism included)??
Statick
January 19th, 2012
8:38 am
It’s funny how Right-wingers love to pull the Lefty Card. We Moderates love to criticize Gingrinch, too. He’s a loud-mouth idiot who attracts loud-mouth idiots.
td
January 19th, 2012
8:40 am
HDB
January 19th, 2012
7:57 am
Words get twisted around by sensitive people to mean what they want them to mean. If one walks through live only seeing color then all words will be seen through that lens.
Actions and measurables are the real indicators of ones worth. Look at not what someone says but instead on what they do and accomplish to find out the true meaning of their words.
MiltonMan
January 19th, 2012
8:40 am
“For all those who have stated how President Carter is so stupid, he was elected President of the United States. If you are so smart, why haven’t you been elected to the Presidency?! How about dog catcher? Why do all you leaders hide behind your keyboards?”
…and this guy uses the screen name Road Scholar??? Road Kill would be more appropriate.
td
January 19th, 2012
8:43 am
HDB
January 19th, 2012
8:24 am
So banks get all the fault and Government is blameless?
JDW
January 19th, 2012
8:45 am
@JohnnyReb…”The South has been a magnet for business for many years”
Guess that explains why the Georgia unemployment rate has exceed the National Average for 52+ months in a row with no end in sight and why Atlanta’s ecnomy recently ranked 189 out of 200 worldwide right down there with Richmond (No. 191), Madrid (195) and Athens (200).
Sounds like someone is firmly committed to the past…
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
8:47 am
“If you’re going to BLAME an entity…blame the BANKS!!”
I suspect HDB you have not seen the sunshine on this issue for a very long time.
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
8:51 am
Statick – so, you are a moderate. I believe that is the group responsible for putting Barry into office. Go to jail, directly to jail.
JDW – your 8:45 is another example of a Leftie knowing so much that is not true. For example, where have the last few auto manufacturing plants been located? Clue – it’s not North of the Mason Dixon.
td
January 19th, 2012
8:51 am
JDW
January 19th, 2012
8:45 am
If you would take off you partisan spin machine mentality for one minute then you would know the real reason why the metro Atlanta area is not doing very well right now. When you build one of the fastest growing economies in the world almost solely on the backs of the construction industry then you have a recession and the housing market is still in a depressed state then your economy is going to be at the bottom. Add to that fact the increase of over 1 million people then you can lead in business moving in a record levels and still have an overall bad economy.
Don Abernethy
January 19th, 2012
8:57 am
Seems every Republican in the race has baggage. Newt has his divorces,Romney has his Mormanism,Paul has his isolationism, and on it goes. Obama has his socialism. Is there anyone a christian can be proud to vote for? Surely we can find a suitable candidate in 350 million people.
JF McNamara
January 19th, 2012
8:57 am
A rare grain of truth from Carter. First, admitting that politicians understand this dynamic, then going further to say that the Republicans are using it.
Gingrich and Santorum have already gone to the playbook. It is what it is.
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
8:59 am
To add to td’s excellent post @ 8:51, but he may not agree because someone is bound to state my comment is racist.
Another reason the Atlanta region economy is not recovering quickly is the so-called disadvantaged that have flocked to Atlanta. Two words – Detroit, and Katrina.
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:02 am
@TD…”When you build one of the fastest growing economies in the world almost solely on the backs of the construction industry”
and there in lies the point…which as usual escapes you.
This economy was built on the backs of the construction industry which was driven and was dependent on companies and people moving here. The entire industry was poorly regulated…see bank failures, miserable zoning, traffic congestion etc…
Now over the last 10 years we have allowed ourselves to fall further behind the curve and the benefits of the region no longer outweigh the negatives. Surprise, surprise sufficient numbers of people and companies are not moving here, and folks like you just didn’t see it coming.
You are looking at the results not the reasons.
the red herring
January 19th, 2012
9:03 am
in the 7th grade i cleaned and washed dishes in the lunchroom for free lunches and i got to keep my lunch money for myself–a wonderful lesson—i am white and came from low-middle class folks– i learned the value of an education and i also learned a wonderful work ethic from them. while not a huge fan of newt –i never heard him say black kids go clean toilets– he said underprivileged kids need a chance at some learning a work ethic—that is common sense not racism. racism goes both ways and has for the past 25 years—it’s time to move past it and see people (and promotions) for what they are worth and not their color. no doubt gingrich would make a far better president that either carter or obama.
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:08 am
@Johnny Reb…”For example, where have the last few auto manufacturing plants been located? Clue – it’s not North of the Mason Dixon”
Irrelevant, we are not attracting enough companies and people to support the economy…for example where is the preponderance of fast growing new companies with high paying jobs…hint not here.
td
January 19th, 2012
9:12 am
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:02 am
Your numbers are a little off. The worst thing that ever happened to the Atlanta metro area was winning the Olympics. The change over in the economy happened the day after the announcement in 1990. The Democrats and the Republicans are to blame because it does not matter the county (Cobb, Fulton, Dekalb, Gwinn, Clayton) they all started changing their zoning laws to have very dense housing. I railed for years in Cobb county to not allow 2, 3, 4 or more houses on a acre lot.
Greg
January 19th, 2012
9:14 am
The problem with Newt is that he does use race in subtle ways to make his point. Talking about food stamps and then using the NAACP draws the line and we all know it. Any person with a brain can see it.
I am sure it turns off Liberal Whites and Some Moderate Whites who are not racist and condemn this nonsense as well. It must, because these are the people who voted Obama into office.
It most certainly must turn off Middle Class blacks who have never taken a food stamp in their life, but are also being lectured by Newt about the importance of working to get ahead in life..while they see Republicans doing everything in their power to prevent them as well as all other Middle Class Americans from doing just that..Getting Ahead.
Keep up the good work Newt!!
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:15 am
Take a look at the VC stats…in Q3 the ENTIRE Southeast generated 3.41% of all deals…the REGION (GA,AL,TN, SC, NC, FL) was outperformed by the NY Metro and LA Metro areas with San Diego, DC, and Boston right on it’s heels…cities are outperforming the entire region….
Not exactly a rousing endorsement now is it…
williebkind
January 19th, 2012
9:15 am
The environmentalist are pushing for Obama to stop the pipeline, farmers in NY are going under but have huge amounts of gas/oil on their land that they cannot get due to EPA regulations. Now you whacko liberals want to blame the conservatives for a bad economy. When will the democrats take back their party and kick the wacho progressive liberals out. There is no utopia and it does not matter how many books you read or group studies you present. Obama’s election was a historical event after that Obama is zero.
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
9:16 am
JDW – you switched horses in the middle of the stream. We have more than enough people, but many have no, that would be zero, skills. There are very few new companies Nationawide opening that offer large numbers of employment. That will improve immediately upon Obama’s defeat, similar to unemployment going up immediately upon his election.
clyde
January 19th, 2012
9:16 am
I think Jimmy has slipped a cog here.
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:18 am
@TD I fail to see how creating more sprawl in the Metro area that is already the largest sprawl helps solve the problem.
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
9:18 am
Can’t the Left put forth any debate of substance without using race? Race, discrimination, et al. I’m tired of hearing about it. If any race has been discriminated against since LBJ’s big plan, it has been white men. Quit using race as an excuse.
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:20 am
@JohnnyReb..”We have more than enough people, but many have no, that would be zero, skills. ”
That would be a reflection of our negligence over the last 10 years…our skill pool was once sufficient but we did not continue to invest and grow it thus falling behind the curve.
td
January 19th, 2012
9:21 am
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:08 am
The solution then is to make it not so attractive to stay here. Immigration reform was a good first step. Now we need to pass the drug testing for government benefits. After that then we need to change the laws to make people pick up trash to get FS, unemployment or welfare. We need to place co-pays and premium payments on Medicaid. When you make the parasites responsible for there actions and have to pay their own way then they are not going to want to stay and will look for a more inviting place to live. The results will be more jobs for the producers, less taxes for the producers to pay and better schools.
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:22 am
@JohnnyReb…”you switched horses in the middle of the stream.”
How so, the issue is this area is not attracting sufficent quantities of people and companies to support the economy…where was the switch?
Statick
January 19th, 2012
9:23 am
@ JohnnyReb
If I am party of the responsible party, then I’ll own up to it. You Righties, however, generate the candidates who cause the problems, then you don’t own up to it, blame everyone else and then turn around and nominate the same type of candidate. It’s no wonder Strom Thurmond kept getting elected time and time again, even after they had to prop him up at the podium half-dead with Alzheimer’s.
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
9:24 am
JDW – you are correct on insufficient productive companies, but we don’t need more people. We have too many now. What we need are the ones we have to learn skills.
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
9:25 am
Statick – we will just have to agree to disagree. From my viewpoint, it’s the left – Progressives – who cause the problems.
Greg
January 19th, 2012
9:25 am
WillieBkind and JohnnyReb…
I find it funny that you feel that its Obama’s fault that the economy and unemployment is so high.
Again…facts are facts. The housing and banking mess caused this economy to tank. Housing went, banks went belly up, people stopped spending on non descressionary items and making home improvements because many lost that home.
Or economy stinks becasue government before Obama…(both Libs and Repubs) let it get that way.
Fallout always comes after the storm. This is where we are now. Has Obama done a great job..I’d call him 50%. However, given the fact that Government has been broken for years and will never be great..this is what we all can look forward too in the future.
No matter what party has control of the USA.
All this Libs stink and Repubs are devilish is nonsense and I think we all know it….
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:25 am
@TD,,,”The solution then is to make it not so attractive to stay here.”
I see if we can just get rid of those damnable undesirables everything would be ok. Of course then you have to pick your own crops (how did that work our for you), do your own yard work, pay housing prices reflective of true labor costs, serve your own food, wash your own dishes ect…
td
January 19th, 2012
9:27 am
Greg
January 19th, 2012
9:14 am
“I am sure it turns off Liberal Whites and Some Moderate Whites who are not racist and condemn this nonsense as well”
Talk about using subtle points. The underlying message in the above is that all conservatives and most moderates are racist.
“It must, because these are the people who voted Obama into office.”
Only racist voted against Obama.
See how it works. Anyone can read anything they want to into someones words as long as they put the right lenses in to see.
#occupy my desk...
January 19th, 2012
9:29 am
Carter needs to go into a home. He says that about even the most benign conservatives. Any aversion to Obama’s policy is racism in his opinion. Unfortunately, he is not alone in this.
Dee
January 19th, 2012
9:29 am
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
9:18 am
Can’t the Left put forth any debate of substance without using race? Race, discrimination, et al. I’m tired of hearing about it. If any race has been discriminated against since LBJ’s big plan, it has been white men. Quit using race as an excuse.
Wow. Now this is a classic case of the chickens coming home to roost. The main group who has historically generated and perpetuated racism in this country against minorities and women are now not liking the feeling of discrimination when it comes back on them and are now whining about being the victim. What poetic irony.
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:29 am
@JohnnyReb…”What we need are the ones we have to learn skills.”
We are not going to teach adults to be engineers, sales people, software coders etc… at this point in their life, we must attract them to the area. Jobs for the lower skill levels will have to be created as the economy transforms and demand for services they can deliver improves.
td
January 19th, 2012
9:30 am
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:25 am
@TD,,,”The solution then is to make it not so attractive to stay here.”
I see if we can just get rid of those damnable undesirables everything would be ok. Of course then you have to pick your own crops (how did that work our for you), do your own yard work, pay housing prices reflective of true labor costs, serve your own food, wash your own dishes ect
No because even if the state implemented the all the measures only a 1/3 to half of the parasites would leave. There would be plenty people left that made bad choices in life to do the labor intensive work.
Don't Tread
January 19th, 2012
9:33 am
Anyone remember “stagflation”, 16% mortgages (if you could get one), Navy ships that couldn’t leave port due to lack of fuel, and military salaries so low they qualified for welfare? That’s Carter’s, um, “legacy”. He sides with America’s enemies most of the time anyway.
Whatever comes out of his mouth isn’t good for anything except maybe fertilizer.
Somewhere over there
January 19th, 2012
9:34 am
Looks like the left wing media is unloading on Gingrich. I’ve never seen the American media so communistic as it is now.
Where was the left wing media when Obama’s racist pastor was around?
Where was the left wing media during the Resko trial?
Where was the left wing media during gun gate?
Where was the left wing media during the Sylandra fiasco?
clyde
January 19th, 2012
9:35 am
Greg— The only difference I can see between the parties is that Republicans have a tendency not to spend us into oblivion quite a rapidly as the Democrats.
Somewhere over there
January 19th, 2012
9:35 am
HDB
Oh average, how long did it take you to earn your Black Panther membership?
Somewhere over there
January 19th, 2012
9:36 am
Jimmy Carter is about as relevant as Piers Morgan. Both are failed talking heads.
td
January 19th, 2012
9:36 am
Greg
January 19th, 2012
9:25 am
WillieBkind and JohnnyReb…
“I find it funny that you feel that its Obama’s fault that the economy and unemployment is so high.”
The actual recession was not Obama’s fault alone. (It was both Democrats and Republicans fault for the laws they have implemented for the past 20 years). Obama does get some blame because he was part of Congress. Obama does get the blame for the recession lingering on this long and for the high unemployment rates due to his policies since coming into office.
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:36 am
@TD…”No because even if the state implemented the all the measures only a 1/3 to half of the parasites would leave.”
I think you very clearly make President Carter’s point.
Somewhere over there
January 19th, 2012
9:38 am
For all the talk from libs about how dumb Palin is.
THIS takes the cake. Face it left wingers, this idiot is the face of liberalism and it’s stupidity.
Biden’s oops moment in SF: “Giants on their way to Super Bowl”
http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2012/01/18/bidens-oops-moment-in-sf-giants-on-their-way-to-super-bowl/
Somewhere over there
January 19th, 2012
9:40 am
Jimmy Carter hates Jews. How he has the balls to say Newt is a racist is hilarious.
Jimmy Carter: Embarrassment to GA since 1976.
Somewhere over there
January 19th, 2012
9:40 am
“Obama does get the blame for the recession lingering on this long and for the high unemployment rates due to his policies since coming into office.”
Obama blames everyone else for his idiotic policies.
Somewhere over there
January 19th, 2012
9:41 am
Ever notice that when Carter is around the other former presidents the other presidents never want to be anywhere near him when the cameras are on?
JohnnyReb
January 19th, 2012
9:43 am
Dee @ 9:29 – I spent 28 years at Delta Air Lines with about half of it in management. There was not one case where a qualified minority was held back to put a white man into the job. There were numerous cases where better qualifed white men were put aside to put in a minority man or any race female. If that’s not discrimination, what is?
Dee
January 19th, 2012
9:43 am
Hmmm…I wonder what dirt Newt’s ex-wife # 2 is going to drop on him on ABC tonight…
td
January 19th, 2012
9:44 am
JDW
January 19th, 2012
9:36 am
@TD…”No because even if the state implemented the all the measures only a 1/3 to half of the parasites would leave.”
I think you very clearly make President Carter’s point.
I think you made my point to Greg @ 9:27. There is no where in any of my post that even attempts to make race a part of my argument. You see it through your colored lenses you are obviously wearing. A parasite is a person that has chosen to not get an education, that has chosen to not have a good work ethic, a person that depends of government for their subsistence because of the decisions they have made and will not take responsibility for their own actions. It does not matter if the person is white, black, Asian or Hispanic. I do not discriminate because they are all parasites.