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
DSKI
October 5th, 2009
3:22 pm
It’s 2009 and you were never a slave – opportunity awaits.
QUIZ
It’s 2009 and the prisons are 80% black. While white offenders get a slap on the wrist, and black offenders get prison time, where is Deal
a. not giving a ‘bleep’
b. supporting unfair sentencing
c. no where to be found
d. all of the above
Nick
October 5th, 2009
3:22 pm
Good one Capt’n Hand. So true.
DSKI
October 5th, 2009
3:22 pm
QUIZ
It’s 2009 and the prisons are 80% black. While white offenders get a slap on the wrist, and black offenders get prison time, where is Deal
a. not giving a ‘bleep’
b. supporting unfair sentencing
c. no where to be found
d. all of the above
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
3:27 pm
Shondra
Wtf r u talking about? i’m racist because i ask a guy how long he has been working for a racist? wtf? how come it was not racist when i ask the so called black guy how long he has been driving for a racist?
go heckle somebody else.
Mageta
October 5th, 2009
3:28 pm
Remember back in the good ol’ days when you could always count on Democrats like Earl Butz to come out with the asinine remarks? Sorry, I can’t quote him here; you’ll have to Google it.
The Democrats grew up, apparently. Nowadays, you can ALWAYS tell when it’s a Republican speaking.
The Dogfighter Returns
October 5th, 2009
3:29 pm
Georgia’s finest on display for the whole country.
“ANY person or group that attempts to systematically demonize another group because of race is, by definition, RACIST.”
Where did you get your “edumacation” from? UGA? Still confused about the difference between bigotry and racism?
Wow, Just Wow
October 5th, 2009
3:30 pm
Oh cut the crap. The word “ghetto” is very much associated with African Americans living in poverty. You know it, I know and Deal knows it. Stop with the Wikipedia references and the so-called historical context. The man made a poor choice of words. Is he racist? I don’t know and neither do you. I don’t live in his district, so I truly do not care. His District is resposible for him. If they like him, they can keep him. If not, they can boot him.
gwen pitts
October 5th, 2009
3:37 pm
He is from georgia, what do you expect. He is so comfortable saying it like it’s a part of his normal behavior.
zzzzz
October 5th, 2009
3:39 pm
I have the solution – I am just going to get one large spray gun and spray paint everyone hmmmm let’s say purple – I like purple – then we’re all the same – I’m so tired of color/race being an issue in everything. Ghetto is ghetto – white, black, red, purple with green polka dots. Ghetto (or being poor) does not know ethnic boundaries. I don’t know the man from Adam, so I can’t debate whether he is a racist or not – but using the term “ghetto” does not in and of itself say he is such. To much time and energy is wasted on color. It’s not the color of a person’s skin that makes or breaks the person – it is their heart – whether it is good or bad.
BS Aplenty
October 5th, 2009
3:39 pm
Pup-slather,
Ad hominem attacks are THE principal indicator of a juvenile’s presence.
Nick
October 5th, 2009
3:41 pm
i agree with Black man’s view. This comment is not racist in any way. The only reason that this is a big deal is because a regular citizens have made it a big deal. If that was a black candidate this comments page would not even exist. The problem is, that the race card is pulled far too often and I am over it.
Say It Aint So
October 5th, 2009
3:42 pm
I find that people say exactly what they mean. Then they get Foot In Mouth and have to back track. Who needs another one of these corrupt, lying politicians in office. Values, we need strong morals, values and someone who knows how the economy operates. We need a real leader because we sure as heck dont have many in Washington. Not with any back bone anyway.
The Dogfighter Returns
October 5th, 2009
3:42 pm
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
He could have also said trailer park grandmothers but he didn’t.
Captain Midnight
October 5th, 2009
3:43 pm
Melissas mom, If you remember the first line of EP’s “In the ghetto” It goes ‘As the snow flies..On a cold and grey Chicago morn’, another little baby child is born’. I’m guessing he was singing about the lil’ black children.
Shondra
October 5th, 2009
3:45 pm
DSKI what color were the juries that convicted these falsly incarcerated minorities? Probably mostly minority.
I keep thinking about all the backlash from the O.J. case a few years back or the Michael Jackson child molestation case. Both were acquitted by juries with significant black jury representation.
Are you one of the three people that think O.J. or Michael were innocent of the charges.
Carry on my brother.
Race Card....Again??
October 5th, 2009
3:47 pm
Hey yanks… Ghetto was first used in the holocaust. This does not refer to “black” people by any means. If you dont like the south….LEAVE!!
Delores
October 5th, 2009
3:47 pm
Video
Delores
October 5th, 2009
3:48 pm
Enter your comments here
Noot
October 5th, 2009
3:54 pm
Gwen Pitts, your ignorance is showing. What else do you have to say? All Europeans smell bad? All Jews are cheap? All Muslims are terrorists? In your world, they probably are. Oh wait…you’re the enlightened one among us. Let’s hear more!
Paul
October 5th, 2009
4:03 pm
wow. gwen pitts you are seriously one of the dumbest people on earth. please tell me you never leave the house.
Parker
October 5th, 2009
4:03 pm
Wasn’t in the Republicans who nominated their own ghetto grandmother for V.P. last year?
Captain Midnight
October 5th, 2009
4:06 pm
DSKI,Take the Quiz. You bring Deals daughter home to meet your family. Your father..
A.Doesn’t say anything cause he’s abandoned ya’ll.
B.Doesn’t say anything cause he’s dead.
C.Doesn’t say anything cause he’s in jail.
D.All the above.
Isn’t this fun.
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
4:08 pm
gwen pitts
it IS part of his normal behavior, i would bet he says the ” n ” word at least 3 times a day.
CiCI
October 5th, 2009
4:08 pm
Some of you need to quit it… you and I both know that when someone refers to something as “ghetto”, were referring to someone that is poor, lacks class and is black and when we say “trailer trash”, we’re referring to someone poor, classless, and white…
Now, are you in denial, or are you working overtime in an attempt to take away the right for black people to refer to anything as racism?
I don’t know if Deal is racist but his comment was racist and stereotypical. Why did he only include poor older black women (Ghetto grandmothers)? Is it because they outlive poor elderly black men and the number of poor elderly black men who vote is small and insignificant? And, perhaps he omitted poor elderly whites because they overwhelmingly vote republican anyway.
Oh come on!!!
October 5th, 2009
4:10 pm
“Ghetto” is disparaging code language poor urban black especially in the context used by this buffoon. Denying this or pretending shows your own stupidity or poorly veiled bigotry.
Anyone with Deal’s unfortunate combo of bad judgement and pathetic rhetorical skills shouldn’t even be considered for the office of County Douchebag. He’s even too incompetent for that.
GEORGE AMERICAN
October 5th, 2009
4:12 pm
RIDDLE ME THIS:
WHAT DO YOU CALL A WELFARE GRUBBING GHETTO GRANDMOTHER?
skipper cannon
October 5th, 2009
4:13 pm
phoenix falcon, i would bet that you’ve never had a real job. ignorance and bigotry are hard to hide. just ask yourself.
old1
October 5th, 2009
4:13 pm
Why can’t all Americans start to care about true Americans, the middle class working families of our great country and forget all this Communist Spin about our underclass. The Communists on the far left use the Ghetto Grandmothers and their uneducated, out of work, offspring to give them the tipping point in our elections. Look at November in 2008! Without the Ghetto Grandmothers we would not have a Kenyan usurper in our White House. The left buy the votes of these unschooled ignorant underclass by rewarding them with “FREE” everything. Now they want to purchase their vote with “FREE OBAMACARE”. Wake up America. Our country was built on hard work and intelligence not hand outs and stupidity. Until we start to look at why the poor are forever poor we will continue to slip down that stinking road to socialism or worse Communism. The good life is like happiness, you have the right to the pursuit of it but not the right to have the American Tax Payers provide it. Don’t fall for the Communist spin. Ghetto Grandmothers can get a birth certificate if they are citizens of our great country, that’s more than can be said about the man sleeping in our White House today. Don’t let them spin you with sympathy for our underclass, if they all vanished today they would not be missed. Concentrate on those Americans that make America a better place not those that drag us down. Don’t buy their BS!
Captain Midnight
October 5th, 2009
4:16 pm
Old 1, you racist for that.
Captain Midnight
October 5th, 2009
4:20 pm
Old 1, one more thing.. How Dare you suggest that ablebodied people pay their own way and not rely on the taxpayers to subsidize their laziness. How dare you sir.
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
4:20 pm
Parker
lol, i did not think of that.
CiCI
October 5th, 2009
4:25 pm
Old 1 .. are you sure about this?
“Our country was built on hard work and intelligence not hand outs and stupidity.”
ignorance at it’s finest (you are!)
GayBlackCripple
October 5th, 2009
4:25 pm
You crackers are just sooooooooo crrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaazy!
Thanks for the laughs.
Your son is really cute in his football outfit, can he come out to play?
Oprahs Vajayjay B. Panin
October 5th, 2009
4:26 pm
Who you callin ghetto Willis?
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
4:26 pm
skipper cannon
and you would be wrong again, when is the last time YOU held a ” REAL JOB “? i’m 38 and i have worked since i was 15, how about you? i served 8 years in the Navy, how about you? i have been shot and shot at, while defending YOUR freedom, what have YOU ever done? ever?
CiCI
October 5th, 2009
4:27 pm
Old 1 .. are you sure about this?
“Our country was built on hard work and intelligence not hand outs and stupidity.”
I agree that it was build on hard work. But those who benefited from that hard work definitely accepted hand outs.
ignorance at it’s finest (you are!)
I'Joni
October 5th, 2009
4:28 pm
@ Songbird- I totally agree!
Most people posting their opinions keep talking about race but his comment was rude period. If your constituients have something to say (no matter what it is), as an elected official you should take it seriously. He seemed a bit annoyed at the fact that these “ghetto grandmothers” were raising an issue. Excuse me, isn’t that part of the job? Dealing with the issues of the voting public no matter how petty you think they are? In actuality the only people who have a right to be offended are grandmothers living in the ghetto!
What Rich People are Thinking...
October 5th, 2009
4:32 pm
“Good! GOOD!! This is really good, our plan is coming together nicely. All these stupid poor – upper middle class FOOLS fighting amongst each other while we laugh all the way to the bank!!! We’ve got the African-americans blaming discrimination, White people blaming affirminative action/reverse discrimination, hispanics blaming both of them this is good. DIVIDE AND CONQUER. They keep fighting and we keep stealing!!!”
Gotta Love Deal
October 5th, 2009
4:35 pm
I love it when a politician speaks his mind without thinking! Like Wilson’s “You Lied!!” Deal speaks the truth. Keeping it real. Nothin’ but a ghetto thing! I love it. 36 year old grandmother of 6 with no ID, no Birth Certificate and speaks no English. Let Her Vote back in Mexico or Nigeria or Russia, just not here until she is legal . That is the American Way!!!!! Tough break for Handel, leaking this is going to backfire!! LOVE IT!
skipper cannon
October 5th, 2009
4:36 pm
fine then, phoenix, you’ve held a job before. congratulations! you’re still a judgmental twit with some serious anger issues.
The Dogfighter Returns
October 5th, 2009
4:43 pm
” i served 8 years in the Navy, how about you? i have been shot and shot at, while defending YOUR freedom, what have YOU ever done? ever?”
Dude you were shot at while defending the freedom of corporations to profit and grown men trying to show each other who has the biggest d#ck, not the freedom of any american.
I am sorry the navy never disclosed the full truth to you.
Truth2009
October 5th, 2009
4:44 pm
Im White and this guy is a douchebag. Not because hes prejudice just like every other race is, but because he would not allow a senior citizen in need to get help quickly. If they SPEAK English… that should be good enough.
Wally
October 5th, 2009
4:46 pm
All politicians are scumbags.
Oprahs Vajayjay B. Panin
October 5th, 2009
4:56 pm
Dogfighter Returns – you are wrong about our armed forces, their purpose and what they mean to this country. I will defend your right to speak your mind, but will tell you the only thing that keeps that right in place is our armed forces. So, before you take the “high and mighty” road in an attempt to show how smart and informed you are, you need to step back and consider how that freedom is paid for. Certainly doesn’t appear that’s a check you are willing to cash. typical liberal – let someone else pay for it, while you enjoy it and at the same time complain about it!
DSKI
October 5th, 2009
5:00 pm
DSKI,Take the Quiz. You bring Deals daughter home to meet your family. Your father..
E. wants to meet her mother
lighteredknot
October 5th, 2009
5:01 pm
What most of the people with negative thoughts toward Rep Deal are mad about is having to show an ID at the poll which will prevent them from voting more than once. They resort to the cry of “racist” because they want to hide their crime of voter fraud. I suspect those opposed to Rep Deal that are posting here are members of acorn, and are attacking his vote against their ability to defraud any more money from us taxpayers because Rep Deal voted against acorn getting any more federal funding. Thank goodness we have good people representing us like Rep Deal.
Captain Midnight
October 5th, 2009
5:10 pm
DSKI, I’m sure he does. Certainly want’s nothing to do with your mother at this point I’d guess. You just solidified your own sterotype genius.
The Dogfighter Returns
October 5th, 2009
5:11 pm
Oprahs Vajayjay B. Panin
santa claus and the bible are both fairy tales. If you have to believe you are fighting for the freedom of americans to overcome the fact that you were duped by a recruiter then be my guest.
I can fight for myself I definitely do not need your help.
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
5:12 pm
The Dogfighter Returns
” dude ” i don’t know or care where you get your faux news, but i, like every other service man stationed on or near a war front risk his/her life EVERYDAY for the FREEDOM of the American people, just like they did in WW1, and WW2. Colonel Nathan R. Jessep said it best when he said.
“We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use then as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said “thank you,” and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think.”
phoenix falcon
October 5th, 2009
5:15 pm
The Dogfighter Returns
your a coward, it’s that simple, someone should take you out back, and put an end to your horrible ” life “.