Deal expresses regret for ‘ghetto grandmothers’ remark
The list of forbidden phrases in Georgia politics grew by one this morning: “Ghetto grandmothers.”
On Saturday morning, before a breakfast gathering of the Cherokee County GOP, congressman and candidate for governor Nathan Deal was describing his role in legislation to demand proof of citizenship for federal or state health care benefits.
Said Deal:
“We got all the complaints of the ghetto grandmothers who didn’t have birth certificates and all that. We wrote some very liberal language as to how you can verify it. My mother was born in 1906 and she didn’t have a birth certificate. They didn’t give birth certificates back then. But we got her one, because you can do it under the proper procedures of your state.”
Unfortunately for Deal, videographers from the rival campaigns of Karen Handel and Eric Johnson were there to record the moment. One of them provided this:
This morning, Deal issued the following statement: “I regret my choice of words and in no way meant to offend anyone.”
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301 comments Add your comment
Elvis
October 5th, 2009
2:16 pm
I lived in the ghetto!
Big AL
October 5th, 2009
2:19 pm
Charles, your first mistake was this line “Let me first begin by saying that I am an African American male.” Either you are as old as he is and already obselete, or you are a white person pretending to be BLACK.
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
2:21 pm
Luv 2 Hate Me
except Plex is in jail. funny how they put black people in jail for hurting nobody but themselves, then people like ( white ) Matt Jones, who is one of the biggest dope dealers in the state of Fla, gets pulled over, caught with a kilo or two, all he gets is a ticket and a notice to appear.
just curious.
The Prophet
October 5th, 2009
2:21 pm
Reality check! Go to google. Type in Ghetto. Click images. Tell me how many white neighborhoods come up. The perception is….??? Cased closed.
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
2:22 pm
DSKI
C. other, you would be swinging from a tree in his back yard.
Shondra
October 5th, 2009
2:24 pm
To the black community who voted for Barack -
Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone…
-Jesus
To the white community -
The word “ghetto” used in this context refers to the poor black community, i.e., “ghetto grandmother” would refer to a poor, black grandmother – usually one who is on welfare
Dr. R
October 5th, 2009
2:25 pm
Keep an eye on Eric Johnson. He’s smart, he’s conservative but seems to be his own man. He was wise to give up his legislature job in order to focus on his campaign, and to be able to raise money during the session, which his opponents all can do. More officeholders should do this to avoid conflicts of interest. Johnson also has the benefit of being from South Georgia, i.e., not from Atlanta, which plays well throughout the state. There’s a reason we haven’t had a governor from metro Atlanta in awhile, save for Roy Boy’s one term. All the folks from downstate don’t trust the big city. If a guy like Johnson can get the bulk of support from rural Georgia and a fair split of the metro vote, he’d be tough to beat.
billy
October 5th, 2009
2:26 pm
i’m white. i use the word ghetto just like i use the word trailer trash. the funny thing is, i didn’t even know what it meant to call someone ghetto until a friend of mine(who happens to be black) told me. oh me, we are a nation with to much time on our hands now.
PLOW
October 5th, 2009
2:26 pm
Atlanta BNP
October 5th, 2009
1:04 pm
Ghetto Grandmother, in the context (seemingly) used, is simply a factual/pragmatic statement that is quite amusing to intellectually honest folks. As ever the ONLY real offence caused is by the phony manufactured outrage by the left and other cynical professional racebaiters. “Ghetto: is a racially neutral term, the inferences drawn on this forum by racebaiting blacks and white liberals are quite shameful, but utterly unsurprising.
“Again I say, let’s ask him what he meant by “ghetto”. Ghetto is not a racially neutral term, it might be in Europe but not here is the US. We know what you mean when you say it.”
Blacks are undeniably overwhelmingly “racist” in their voting patterns. According to ALL the 2008 exit polls around 95% of blacks voted for Hussein Obama – and look how that disaster is already turning out. Blacks are by far the most racially biased voting bloc in the USA. Rarely, if ever ever voting for a non-white conservative against a black democrat. Blacks overwhelmingly vote for democrats, at a level even higher than the drive by state controlled one party media hacks.
“As opposed to teabaggers, wingnuts, fringe crazies who are overwhelmingly racist in that they would vote for a republican even if he were black” I don’t get your point?
Falalala
October 5th, 2009
2:28 pm
Okay, Big Al, it’s time to let someone else use the computer machine. Put your helmet back on, go grab some jello and get ready for Olberman.
Racist???
October 5th, 2009
2:28 pm
Why are people crying racism? Are there no white people in the ghetto? Maybe he was referrin to white ghetto grandmothers.
People just love to play that racism card…
Big AL
October 5th, 2009
2:30 pm
@ Shondra
You’re not to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.
Malcolm X
US black nationalist leader (1925 – 1965)
BCatl
October 5th, 2009
2:33 pm
I guess Deal can’t complain about the Welfare Queens anymore because now the Welfare Queens are the Wall Street banks.
Why are we picking on the poor people anyway? The people who took 700 billion dollars of taxpayer TARP money weren’t poor. They were some of the richest people in America! Of course, you’ll never find a Rebublican that didn’t love a rich man.
Georgian
October 5th, 2009
2:34 pm
I think his regret is that he got caught…
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
2:35 pm
PLOW
you said “Blacks are undeniably overwhelmingly “racist” in their voting patterns. According to ALL the 2008 exit polls around 95% of blacks voted for Hussein Obama”
yet you FAIL to mention, that BEFORE this past election, 100% of the white people who voted, VOTED FOR THE WHITE MAN how did you miss that? just curious.
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
2:36 pm
BCatl
Ditto
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
2:36 pm
Georgian
Ditto
Old Vet
October 5th, 2009
2:37 pm
One of, if not the most ineffective, do-nothing Congressman ever sent to Washington. Wonder how Joe Frank feels about “his” candidate today? You thought he was backing Barnes? So does Roy.
Jerome
October 5th, 2009
2:41 pm
Its whats alot of white folks think, he just got caught, But there is no on the right that has a problem with race that hate Obama. The libs are just playin the race card! Child Please!
Kitty
October 5th, 2009
2:42 pm
Enter your comments here
So, If I was born before 1906, have no children, I am rich as Blank, but with no birth cert., am I a Ghetto Grandmother?
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
2:43 pm
Kitty
are you black?
The Real Deal
October 5th, 2009
2:44 pm
This will put Deal on the map for Georgia voters, look at how McCain beat Obama in Georgia. Deal is playing to the Georgia Voter.
Barclay Knots
October 5th, 2009
2:46 pm
BCatl,
Unlike Phoenix Falcon who doesn’t seem to have any original thoughts of his own, here’s one for you…
Republicans in fact despise plenty of rich people: Michael Moore, George Soros, John Edwards, 99% of Hollywood, Keith Olberman, Louis Farakan, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton. Need a few more or will you have excuse for this too?
lkgf
October 5th, 2009
2:49 pm
is cracker barrel for whites only
Shondra
October 5th, 2009
2:52 pm
phoenix falcon, your reasoning appears partly faulty.
Any comparison of black, white or hispanic voting patterns would have to hold constant the “party” of the candidate. As in, how did a black/white/hispanic vote for a list of candidates given that he is a Democrat, or how did he vote given that he is a Republican.
Kitty
October 5th, 2009
2:52 pm
Enter your comments here
Phoenix Falcon, I’m human, and old. What does color matter? Why did the man refer to me as Ghetto Grandmother? Didn’t he mean ‘citizen without a birth certificate’?
Ishmael
October 5th, 2009
2:54 pm
Don’t worry about it. Everythings gonna be Pickrick.
Earnedit
October 5th, 2009
2:55 pm
If you are 30 and you are a grandmother… Perhaps you should work harder to get out of the ghetto.
Jack
October 5th, 2009
2:57 pm
I don’t think it has been mentioned here, but we all know Deal said what he did because Bush told him to.
Jane Doe
October 5th, 2009
2:57 pm
Wow. It doesn’t take long for an idiot convention to break out when the topic of politics comes up.
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
2:57 pm
Kitty
no puss, ur i mean Kitty, he meant black people
DSKI
October 5th, 2009
2:57 pm
QUIZ
It’s 1860 and slavery is still legal in GA. How many slaves would Deal own?
a. 10-20
b. 20-40
c. 40-60
d. none because Deal likes black people
Greg
October 5th, 2009
2:58 pm
Considering that minorities…mostly blacks with Black Leaders in the forefront were against the requirement that Voter ID should be manditory…it would not be a stretch the saying “ghetto grandmothers” meant blacks. As I recall, Minority Ederly folks were spotlighted in this debate over Voter ID cards as the cost of getting one would be a hardship.
Therefore, the statement was overtly pointed at black old people.
You can call people playing the race card all you want, however, its the truth.
Stop minimizing the feelings of black people. They have these feelings for very legitimate reasons…whether you like it or not.
DSKI
October 5th, 2009
2:58 pm
C. other, you would be swinging from a tree in his back yard.
THANKS. I was thinking he would have paid me off
You can't make this up
October 5th, 2009
2:59 pm
1 Oct 2009 // Now might be a good time for U.S. Sen. David Vitter to rethink the whole zero tolerance thing.
I know, I know, righteous indignation is his calling card. Always has been, ever since he made a name for himself in the Legislature by pointing his moralistic outrage at the all-too-deserving governor, Edwin Edwards.
But you’ve got to admit, ever since Vitter was forced to own up to his involvement with a Washington escort service two years ago, zero tolerance just isn’t working for him.
Consider how Vitter’s recent offensive against another supposedly easy target, the scandal-plagued community activist group ACORN, blew up in his face.
ACORN has long been a favorite target of the GOP’s right wing, particularly since some of the group’s workers got caught in 2008 submitting fake registrations for nonexistent voters. It’s exactly the kind of crusade Vitter likes to lead, and that’s just what he sought to do. Last spring, for example he tried and failed to prohibit federal funding to the group through the National Service Act.
Then the storyline suddenly veered in an unexpected direction that, for Vitter, was much too close to home.
The good news for the GOP: a couple of independent activists posing as a hooker and pimp caught ACORN workers in several states offering advice on how to conceal a prostitution ring. The bad news for Vitter needs no explanation.
Suddenly, cracking down on ACORN had gone mainstream. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 83 to 7 to block the group from receiving any financing from the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. Vitter skipped the vote, but didn’t stay quiet for long. Soon he was back, demanding, among other things, a racketeering investigation into the group’s activities.
You’ve got to wonder, for a smart guy, shouldn’t he have foreseen where this would all go?
This week, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington decided to turn the spotlight right back on ACORN’s self-appointed accuser when it announced it had filed a bar complaint against Vitter, an attorney by trade.
“Vitter Seeks Investigation of ACORN for Assisting Fake Prostitution Ring,” the gleeful press release read. “CREW Seeks Investigation of Vitter for Role in Real Prostitution Ring.”
Here’s CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan explaining why her organization decided to jump in: “Sen. Vitter’s zeal to see ACORN criminally investigated for offering advice in setting up a prostitution ring reminded me he has yet to be held accountable for his own role in a prostitution ring,” she said. “While ACORN’s conduct is indefensible, so is Sen. Vitter’s, and what is good for the goose is good for the gander.”
In response, Vitter’s spokesman didn’t address the prostitution allegations, but suggested that the complaint is a merely a stunt designed to change the subject from ACORN, which has long ties to the Democratic Party. Sloan, he pointed out, is a former Democratic Senate staffer, although the group has also gone after Democrats such as former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.
Yet the real problem for Vitter is that the CREW complaint doesn’t distract attention from the ACORN story at all, it just joins him with ACORN as an object of scorn.
When ACORN critics have everyone from the majority of Senate Democrats to Glenn Beck on their side, they don’t need a guy like Vitter to be their leader.
DSKI
October 5th, 2009
3:00 pm
QUIZ
It’s 1950 and the civil rights marchers are facing rioters. Where is Deal?
a. throwing rocks at the marchers
b. waving his confederate flag and throwing rocks
c. at home because hs isagainst Jim Crow laws
D. other
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
3:02 pm
Shondra
um, ok, LET ME SAY THIS AGAIN, ALL white people who voted, voted for the white guy, 100% of the time ( before this pass election ) all white repubs who voted, voted for the white guy, all white dems who voted, voted for the white guy, all black repubs who voted, voted for the white guy, all black dems that voted, voted for the white guy.
Miguel
October 5th, 2009
3:02 pm
I live in Gainesville and have the pleasure of having mr. Nathan Deal as my congressman. As someone who immigrated into this country the right way “legally”, I appreciate what Mr.Deal has done to fight illegal immigration. i have had the pleasure of meeting Mr Deal several times and know that he has nothing against immigrants, he is fully supportive of improving the immigration system. He just understands that if somthing is “illegal” we should not do it. What is the use of having laws if we do not enforce them. It just incourages more people to break the law. Conservative Latinos that came here legally will show up in huge numbers to vote Mr Deal in. He is a good man, there is not a racist bone in him. The people responsible for this are dirty and cheap. The good news is the voters will have the last say, and that will be voting for Mr. Deal.
Captain Hand
October 5th, 2009
3:03 pm
So, Greg, you’re a mind-reader, eh? Well, based on your passive aggressive response, you clearly have a history of abusing others. Like it or not, we all know it.
Kitty
October 5th, 2009
3:03 pm
Phoenix, If he ‘meant’ black grandmothers, than he is indeed a bigot. Why did he mean to excluded all of the white grandmothers without certificates? Doesn’t he care about them, or is he trying just to be ‘nice’ to black ghetto grandmothers?
Shondra
October 5th, 2009
3:03 pm
DSKI, only a person who doesn’t know where they’re going keeps looking back as much as you. It’s 2009 and you were never a slave – opportunity awaits.
Taxpayer Funded Option, NOT!
October 5th, 2009
3:05 pm
SAWB “Smart Ass White Boys” didn’t seem to hurt Bill Campbell, did it?
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
3:05 pm
Miguel
how long have you been doing his yard?
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
3:06 pm
kitty, you are giving me a migraine
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
3:07 pm
i’m going to jack in the box, i’m hungry
songbird
October 5th, 2009
3:09 pm
It doesn’t matter whether the elderly woman is black, white, asian or hispanic. The term “ghetto grandmother” is just rude and anyone who would use that terminology to describe anyone should not be Governor of any state. We need someone of higher class to run this State. Look where we are after 8 years of Sonny.
@ BS APlenty
October 5th, 2009
3:12 pm
Listen to the entire sermon of Rev. Wright, don’t just listen to parts. Obama is of both black & white genes so for him to be a racist would make him really ignorant sort of like the people that don’t know their history & understand the AFRICAN DNA they have no matter what color they are on the outside. People, if you have a problem with people of other races, take your complaint to the man that made us all. So much for a Country built on Christianity & so many complaints about the Muslim Faith.
Nonya
October 5th, 2009
3:13 pm
@ Shondra, and totally off topic – “Only a person who doesn’t know where they’re going keeps looking back.” I needed to hear that…THANK YOU.
Shondra
October 5th, 2009
3:13 pm
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
3:05 pm
Miguel
how long have you been doing his yard?
phoenix falcon (black) = Racist. Math doesn’t lie.
Melissa's mom
October 5th, 2009
3:17 pm
Are we assuming “ghetto grandmothers” are African American? White folks live in ghettos.Don’t you remember Elvis Presley’s song “down in the ghetto”? I don’t think he was singing about a black person. Let’s not look for racism where there isn’t any. Enough already!