Earl Butz has died

02/02/08

[Borges]

(The Indianapolis Star can't be posted so I'm paraphrasing and proving the link.)

He was Secretary of Agriculture under Nixon and Ford. He had to resign because of a racist 'joke'. He was 98.

P.S. Hope you liked my Obit style. Maybe I should work for the AP.

[Borges]

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080202/LOCAL/80202002

[gusopol3]

I think he was Dave Butz’s uncle. One of Washington Redskins’ hogs.

[kjo]

He was a good man who was smeared by the liberal MSM. They took his political scalp, and then Nixon’s.

May he rest in peace.

[Borges]

Did you ever read the ‘joke’? It’s disgusting and not postable here.

[jmyrlefuller]

It was a leak by John Dean writing in Rolling Stone, looking for an “October surprise” in the ‘76 elections, and it worked.

[HokieMom]

Did you see Darrell Green and Art Monk made it into the Hall of Fame today? Washington Redskins.

[wolfpat]

I did. You’re right.

OTOH, it was supposed to be “off the record”.

[kjo]

I do remember it. It was not said in public, it was a private conversation that was overheard and happily printed in the Washington Post.

Had Butz been a Democrat it never would have seen the light of day.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

They even made a B movie with one segment that had a great send up of the joke, unlike the way it would be handled now with the thin skinned victim mentality of today.

“Loose Shoes” ( 1980 )
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0076582/

[Mr. Jazzy]

Well, wherever Earl is, I hope he has tight “shoes” and a warm place to go to the bathroom.

I heard he liked those things.

[I see my hands]

All of the awful things said about Linda Tripp are true provided they are said in reference to John Dean.

Undo those laces and enjoy sweet repose on the narrow mattress, E.B. Thanks for your service and RIP.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[Borges]

[Cicero]

You can’t have a job with AP unless you bash every Republican you ever write about, even in obituaries.

[rogue yam]

I remember when he got fired. His “joke” was that “the negroes” only wanted three things in life; tight (something), loose shoes, and a warm place to (defecate). I subscribed to Rolling Stone magazine at the time and they printed the quote exactly, breaking the story if I remember correctly. Of course, no other publication would print the very words Butz said and thus they were all at pains to explain to their readers why the Cabinet Secretary had to go. Rolling Stone subsequently printed a handy chart showing Butz’s precise words, and how various newspapers, etc. had reported each of the three elements of the punchline. I recall that one outlet even translated “loose shoes” as “comfortable footware” which at the time I thought was especially fey.

[Michael.SF.]

I did not realize he was still alive.

[gusopol3]

Gibbs I , a great era

[fieldmarshaldj]

[Clara Lou]

I remember that “joke.” Earl had a mouth on him, and he deserved what he got for being stupid (and cruel).

[Borges]

He was the oldest living former Cabinet member. That title now belongs to W. Willard Wirtz who was Sec. of Labor from 1962-1969. He’ll turn 96 in March.