Bill Bennett Responds to Critics over Black Abortion (Sen Byrd mention remarkable)

newsmax.com ^ | Friday, Sept. 30, 2005 12:07 a.m. EDT

[InvisibleChurch]

Friday, Sept. 30, 2005 12:07 a.m. EDT Bill Bennett Responds to Critics over Black Abortion

Former Reagan administration education secretary Bill Bennett blasted his critics Thursday night, including Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, of whom Bennett said: ""I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence."

Bennett is on the hot seat for remarks uttered Wednesday during his radio show, "Morning in America," where he was arguing against some of the more extreme justifications for abortion, calling them "ridiculous and morally reprehensible."

Offering an example, Bennett said:

"I do know that it’s true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.”

By Thursday afternoon, prominent Democrats had seized upon the comment.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said last year that the Supreme Court's lone black member was "an embarrassment to the court," is demanding that Bennett "issue an immediate apology not only to African Americans but to the nation.”

Left wing Democrat Ted Kennedy, whose brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, ordered the illegal wiretapping of Martin Luther King, called Bennett a "racist."

And Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, who suggested last year that most blacks hold menial jobs, called Bennett's comments "hateful" and "inflammatory" - and called on him to apologize.

Responding to his critics, Bennett told the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes":

"I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence . . . . He should make no judgments at all about other people. He shouldn't be in the Senate."

Neither Kennedy nor Dean nor Reid has ever condemned Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, who rose to the rank of Grand Cyclops in the Ku Klux Klan based on his ability to recruit new members.

In an autobiography released earlier this year, Byrd said the Klan was a "fraternal group" made up of "upstanding' people" - a characterization which drew no protest from Reid, Kennedy and Dean.

[uncbob]

I'll not take instruction from Teddy Kennedy. A young woman likely drowned because of his negligence."

Ah But Teddy has shown true remorse by not taking a drink since then

[Dutchgirl]

Bill Bennetts comments are on par and offered in the same spirit as Johnathan Swift's "Modest Proposal."

His error is not racism...it is assuming that the general public recognises biting satire when they hear it. I think he needs to broaden his comments to include the thought that a black child is a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled ...”

[Tribune7]

Maybe 10 years ago he would have been, but not today. He's no racist. The real racists are those who support abortion to reduce the black population -- which was among the reasons that Planned Parenthood was founded.

[OXENinFLA]

Heads up. ANN COULTER will be on Bill's show at the bottom of the hour.

http://www.wjgr.com/default.aspx

[airborne]

The fact that Bennett is anti abortion is conveniently overlooked by the rabid media.

[Maria S]

"June Cleaver" nailed it. If you took Bennett's quote and substituted 'white', you'd have the same thing. Or fill in 'Asian', etc. If you abort EVERY baby of some ethnic group, it's obvious crime will go down. Maybe some ethnic groups contribute more to crime than others...I don't know. It's a statistical thing as far as eliminating crime!

Yeah, I know I'm not saying this very well, but it's such a silly, no-think "accusation" (by liberals, of course), that's it's complete nonsense.

"I do know that it’s true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.”

[PjhCPA]

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Since when?

[TommyDale]

"According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, black women are more than 3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion"

What are the statistics of blacks committing crime versus whites committing crime? If blacks represent 12% of the population, do they only commit 12% of all crime?

[alnick]

Bennett's toast. Next.

Bennett will be fine so long as he stands up to the idiots attacking him, which I think he will.

What he said is true, and there's nothing to apologize for.

[Bahbah]

Thanks, OXEN. Listening now.

[newzjunkey]

I hope Bennett's secure in his show; I enjoy it. Rest assured the "free speech" Left will do all it can to silence him.

[ladtx]

I love it when the left becomes hysterical. Anyone who thinks Bill Bennett is a racist is a fool.

[Bahbah]

His point, it seems, is don't argue from the ends to the means. Caller will not be deterred from believing that this is some deeply held belief of his.

[alnick]

As much as many would like to ignore the Black situation re: crime, poverty, family dysfunctionality and self imposed economic and educational exile, what Bennet alludes to is fact. All the PC posturing and hurling of the 'Racism' epithet will not change it.

Only one thing will change it: Facing it head on and working to change a culture which adores criminality.

A small example of adoring criminality: I had no idea why young men think it's cool to wear pants that are so oversized they fall off. To me it's clownish. I recently learned the reason it's so popular is they're emulating prisoners, who are not allowed to wear belts.

[kevinm13]

The politically correct left have ruined life in America. We can't speak the truth anymore without some sort of outrage. Sterilize those on the dole. That is the solution for poverty. They would be forced to get jobs because they won't be cranking out more babies who will end up in the same place 20+ years from now or in jail. Force them to be accountable or pay for their own. Black, white, green or purple. All the same. Where is the "racism" in that?

The conservative right needs to shout loudly how they are better than the loony left for all especially those that don't understand -- the uneducated and most of the blacks. Libs are far more racist than conservatives yet are much louder at calling anything racist. We need to fight back when the truth is told and get the word "racism" out of the MSM.

[camle]

Wasn't it Margaret Sanger who recommended placing abortion clinics in the cities near black neighborhoods to make ti easy for the black race to abort itself to death? wasn't that part of her stated goal?

don't pro-choice abortionists worship Sanger?

[Mo1]

Thanks for the heads up

[Just mythoughts]

"The fact of differential and blatantly unfair responses by the MSM and the Left do not invalidate the correctness of Bennett's remarks. The Lott matter, where the rational Right ran away and hid from the hypocrites was a disgrace IMO and only reinforced the effectiveness of the Left's hypocrisy and race baiting."


Then call them what they are and do not try and join in their perverted thinking. The MSM is the voice of the Left, and have a looooong record of distortion, there should be NO surprise, this is who they are.

[Chaguito]

Freudian slip that illustrates the problem with GOP.