Posted on 09/30/2005 7:52:43 PM PDT by veronica
Former Drug Czar and Secretary of Education Bill Bennett's comments over skin color, crime and abortion have lots of folks howling, from Nancy Pelosi to Howard Dean to the NAACP to Ted Kennedy to the White House (go figure). What prompted this bipartisan outrage?
Here's the incendiary remark that he made on his popular radio program:
"…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."
Bennett has pointed out, correctly, that his remarks have been taken out of context. Even liberal commentators like Matt Yglesias and Brad DeLong feel the context of the remarks is mitigating and Bennett has no reason to apologize for them.
But let's forget about the context for a minute. Context can be so… so… oh, well, it can take all the fun out of it. So let's just focus on what Bennett said, totally out of context.
DeLong and Yglesias and are sufficiently reality-based enough to know that blacks commit a disproportionate share of violent crimes in the United States. This is not news. It's not even a controversial proposition. Given that fact, it's not a monumentally difficult conceptual leap to surmise that if you aborted every black child in the country from here on out (a hideousness that no one is advocating), the crime rate would drop.
Without getting into the tricky context of Bennett's remarks -- that doing so would be morally reprehensible, etc. -- what more is there to say about it? That it isn't true? No one, as of this writing, has argued that.
Bill Clinton claimed while he was president that he wanted to have a "national conversation on race." Perhaps he was being sincere. But it's plain from recent events that hardly anyone else in this country really, truly wants to have a "conversation" on this topic. If the mindless, knee-jerk reaction to Bennett's remarks -- including from places like the White House -- is any indicator, no one has any interest in an honest discussion of race.
Perhaps it's nothing new, but we live in a time where uncomfortable truths -- even challenging questions -- are to be shouted down and, if possible, driven from the public square. Harvard University's Larry Summers discovered this recently. Now Bill Bennett is on the receiving end of this same idiotarian nonsense. America is the worse for it. Thank goodness some liberals were honest enough to defend him. Let's hope others see fit to do the same.
Well, I guess we'll just have to hold their hands and walk them through rehab. May our patience not falter.
and all of a sudden the White House is quick to respond? This is the White House of Wimps!
I'm almost certain his bosses are standing right behind him. He got "slammed" by the left because the left conveniently left out the money quote, which is his core principled belief that "abortion is wrong" no matter who it's done to.
No .. they question was asked at the WH press conference
The WH didn't just put out a statement
Why should the White House have to defend Bill Bennett?
Yep. Just like the question was asked at the WH press conference after Pat Robertson's remarks, also taken out of context.
I'm almost certain his bosses are standing right behind him
You may be right but I doubt it . What he said is probably true in my opinion , I still think it was dumb way to say it . He should know better as a public figure. Again , I'm speaking only on a professional level.
The trouble is, no matter what a Conservative or Republican say, the media forces them to apologize. Robertson made the mistake of apologizing for remarks that were taken out of context by the media. FOX News played the entire video clip, and the remark wasn't as incendiary as first thought.
Don't fall into that trap that the left has set up where Republicans and Conservatives have to watch what they say, even if it's true. Screw the politically correct hoo-hah.
I bet the question was asked by David Gregory...that arrogant a$$hole reporter from BSNBC
I'm thinking it was either David Gregory or Terry Moran.
You are so right. What has happened to the posters on this site?
Im not talking PC. I think being PC is BS..I'm simply saying he should have more sense . He set himself up in this case. Just a dumb ass thing to say on a professional level.
Say reason why Bush doesnt come out and tell Kennedy "shut up you old bloated drunken bast*ard"It's true and I'm sure Bush would LOVE to say it too but as a professional, you just have to be carefull of HOW you say things that you KNOW will be taken out of context.He's not a rookie in front of a mic.. Simply a bad move on THAT level.I happen to agree with his statement ..The majority of crime is caused by blacks in this country .Im certainly anti abortion and certainly not suggesting what he said be implimented.
But Nancy Pelosi denouncing it on the floor of Congress? What does this have to do with the work of our legislative branch?
The only reason what he said was bad was that the left will lie about his intent and get away with it.
I listened to a local radio show today, and a black woman who called in refused to listen to the explanation of the context of the statement - she could manage only to scream about how Bennett shouldn't be talking about killing black babies, and wondering how the talk show host could defend such a thing. (This woman also said she thought Ray Nagin had done his job in New Orleans.)
That is the sort of damage this despicable, dishonest game they play does, and they love it. Now that woman has one more reason - however false - to hate white people. That's what they want, and they got it.
There are even Freepers and conservatives on other sites that have rocks in their hands, and are poised to throw.
Very disappointing.
An extreme abortion programme such as he (tongue in cheek) postulated would undoubtedly lead to reduced crime levels over 10-20-30 years.
It would also be a moral obscenity, and such an idea is not to be considered by any even marginally moral person for a nanosecond.
My opinion too.
But did Mr. Bennett really have to hand them this juicy morsel to misinterpret?
Of course the pro-life Mr. Bennett was not being serious.
Why would the White House comment at all on this?
They could have said,we have not yet reviewed the remarks,I reserve comment
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