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Did Santorum really say he didn’t want to make “black people’s lives better”? (CBS lies again)
Hotair ^ | 01/03/2012 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on 01/03/2012 6:54:20 AM PST by SeekAndFind

This created an eruption on Twitter and in some of our comment threads yesterday evening, thanks to a CBS News transcript that put words into Rick Santorum’s mouth — or one word in particular. Santorum spoke to a crowd in Iowa yesterday about the fiscal sinkhole of Medicaid, and argued that government shouldn’t redistribute wealth to improve the lives of some at the expense of others. Santorum stumbled momentarily on the word “lives,” though, and that provided this Rorschach moment for CBS, who reported it thusly on their YouTube channel:

While campaigning in Sioux City, Iowa Sunday, GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said if elected he plans to cut regulations and entitlements and he doesn’t want to “make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

Except that’s not what Santorum said at all. What he said was, “I don’t want to make [pause] lives, people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.” This makes sense in the context of what immediately preceded this statement: “It [Medicaid] just keeps expanding. I was Indianola a few months ago, and I was talking with someone who works at the Department of Public Welfare here, and she told me that the state of Iowa is going to get fined if they don’t sign up more people under the Medicaid program. They’re just pushing harder and harder to get more and more of you dependent upon them so that they can get your vote.”

In other words, Santorum’s point didn’t have anything to do at all about race; it had to do with creating a dependency class that includes a lot of Iowans for political purposes. Whether one agrees with this or not, it’s pretty standard fare, and it’s certainly a legitimate concern to raise at a time when ObamaCare will expand the number of people eligible for government subsidies to families who make 60% more than the average household income. Instead of listening carefully to what Santorum actually said, CBS just assumed that Santorum was a racist. Don’t they watch the videos before transcribing them at CBS News?

One person who did listen to what Santorum said was my friend Tommy Christopher, who I assume doesn’t agree with Santorum’s point or much else Santorum has to say. Tommy, however, is both honest and thorough, and says that CBS gave Santorum a bum rap:

A review of a clearer version of the video, however, casts serious doubt on whether Santorum actually said “black people’s lives.”

CBS News has posted a cleaner version of Santorum’s remarks, and it seems as though Santorum did not actually say “black people’s lives,” but rather, that he stumbled in mid-sentence with a verbal tic that sounded like that.

“I don’t want to make…mmbligh…people’s lives better” is what it sounds like to me, although CBS News also transcribes it as “”make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

Given the preceding context, in which he talks about the government trying to get more Iowans enrolled in Medicaid, the former explanation makes much more sense than the latter.

The Santorum campaign has still not returned our request for comment.

Here’s the CBS clip. The viewer can judge, but even as an LGBT-friendly liberal, I’m inclined to give Santorum the benefit of the doubt here[.]

“Lives” sounds pretty clear to me, but either way, Santorum wasn’t talking about “black people.” He was talking about all Americans, as the context of his remarks makes obvious. Shame on CBS for this unsubstantiated allegation, and for still not correcting their record.

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO



TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: blacks; cbs; partisanmediashills; santorum
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THEY’RE NOT DONATING MONTHLY!


** help .. click **

21 posted on 01/03/2012 8:36:38 AM PST by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list)
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To: American Constitutionalist

You must read some of the excerpts from his book, that autobiography-sic which contains some of his pre-CINC feelings. Talk about a MSM total-freaking-coverup!


22 posted on 01/03/2012 8:38:19 AM PST by Sundog (When Hollywood defines reality there is none.)
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To: LMAO

“I’m not sure if any of the GOP candidates realize how deeply invested our news media is in getting President Cloward~Piven reelected.”

####

Well then like Bush, they are either cowardly or willfully ignorant, because the vast majority of Freepers certainly understand this to be the case.


23 posted on 01/03/2012 8:40:09 AM PST by EyeGuy (2012: When the Levee Breaks)
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To: SeekAndFind

He ABSOLUTELY DID NOT SAY the word black. He caught himself mid sentence and wanted to say people’s lives, but instead mumbled, “blives... people’s lives”... PERIOD!!


24 posted on 01/03/2012 8:40:16 AM PST by The Political genius
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To: SeekAndFind

It does sound like he said “black”

However- taking the entire statement as a whole?
He doesn’t want to improve lives by taking from one group to give to another. He wants to help them by encouraging them to help themselves, and work on improving the economic environment that would make that possible.

Nothing to see here.


25 posted on 01/03/2012 8:43:15 AM PST by Scotswife
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To: SeekAndFind

See BS BS (aka CBS NEWS). Ed Morrow is rolling over in his grave if he knew what is going on in HIS newsroom.


26 posted on 01/03/2012 8:47:43 AM PST by ExCTCitizen (If we stay home in November '12, don't blame 0 for tearing up the CONSTITUTION!!)
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To: Scotswife

My two cents: it’s impossible that he said “black people’s lives.” If he had, the audience would have gasped—not clapped.


27 posted on 01/03/2012 10:43:14 AM PST by freespirited
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To: freespirited

why would they have gasped?

Is it wrong to suggest there is a better way to help them?


28 posted on 01/03/2012 10:49:18 AM PST by Scotswife
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To: Scotswife
why would they have gasped?

Politically correct instinct, that's all.

29 posted on 01/03/2012 3:10:58 PM PST by freespirited
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To: LibLieSlayer
They did it to Palin long before they did it to any of these other candidates. We should hang the bastards and bitches of the press.

Cain might be willing to offer support.

Santorum will need all the help he can get.

Santorum speech

30 posted on 01/04/2012 11:52:04 AM PST by alrea
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To: alrea
No one can do it but the candidate... to be the man... you gotta beat the man. Rick can handle it... Perry can too.

LLS

31 posted on 01/04/2012 2:03:54 PM PST by LibLieSlayer (ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS!)
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To: SeekAndFind
He misspoke, tried to say "people's" and "lives' at the same time, it came out "plive" which he then repeated correctly. If he had come in fifth no one would ever have heard of this.
32 posted on 01/04/2012 5:48:19 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: Graybeard58; Qbert; SeekAndFind; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ..
Thanks Graybeard58 and Qbert for the link, and thanks SeekAndFind for the topic!
33 posted on 01/04/2012 6:44:01 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! May 2013 be even Happier!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Of course he didn’t say anything like that. That’s the liberal view, not ours.


34 posted on 07/13/2012 11:25:01 AM PDT by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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