Maybe it's the South Carolina sun softening the skull and affecting the brain. But another pair of political types ended up with feet firmly implanted in their mouths with comments about Jews.
What's funny is that Republican Party chairmen James S. Ulmer Jr., who heads the Orangeburg County GOP, and Edwin O. Merwin Jr., who leads the Bamberg County GOP, meant it as a compliment when they likened Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-SC) fiscal conservatism to the old stereotype of the penny-pinching Jew.
"There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves," they wrote in a letter to the editor of The Orangeburg Times & Democrat Sunday. "By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed."
And of course that's when things got real interesting. The national media is having a high old time. This letter to the editor attracted the attention of CNN, lefty websites (The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos), the real alternative sites (Raw Story). State senator Joel Lourie, a Democrat and one of South Carolina's two Jewish lawmakers, rebuked the two on Monday, calling them "individuals who unapologetically espouse racist and stereotypical attitudes." He asked Karen Floyd, the state GOP chairwoman, to denounce the comments -- which she has done. In addition, Republican Jewish Coalition head Matthew Brooks blasted the pair, saying their comments "have done a tremendous disservice to their party."
DeMint took exception to Ullmer's and Merwin's letter. "The comments were thoughtless and hurtful," DeMint told CNN Tuesday. "The chairmen have apologized as they should have."
In his apology, Ullmer said he "quoted a statement which I have heard many times in my life, truly in admiration for a method of bettering one's lot in life ... I meant absolutely nothing derogatory by the reference to a great and honorable people. I hope that anyone and all who were offended by my comment will accept my humble apology."
The two wrote their letter in response to South Carolina State Rep. Bakari Sellers, who said DeMint was doing a poor job bringing in federal dollars for projects in South Carolina.
I mentioned The Daily Kos, a blog that, well, makes Barack Obama and Bill Ayres look like a bunch of far-right Neanderthals. The Kos writers seem to get their jollies seeing just how incendiary they can get, and here's how that site sees the whole incident:
Obviously, Merwin and Ulmer used the anti-Semitic stereotype to praise DeMint, but that doesn't excuse their words. The depiction of Jews as misers is an offensive stereotype that has been used throughout history to fan the flames of anti-Semitism. If they weren't aware of this, then they are genuinely clueless; if they were aware of it, they are bigots.
Puh-leeeeze! (I don't know why I bothered to run this quote, unless it was just to illustrate how intolerance can run both directions.)
Actually, this incident is kind of refreshing, though in a perverse way. In the past few years -- and especially since the November election -- party lines have been even more clearly drawn than before. Ideology trumps everything else. It's become more and more unusual to see someone criticizing a person in his own party. And, after all the strangeness going on in the South Carolina political scene over the past few months, we could use some low comedy.
Meanwhile, this doesn't do much to rehabilitate the image of South Carolinians as a bunch of backward country boys. And those who "ain't from around here" are looking at this incident -- especially after Gov. Mark Sanford's non-hike of the Appalachian Trail and Joe "You Lie" Wilson's outburst at President Barack Obama -- and undoubtedly wondering if those rumors of inbreeding are true.
You tell me: What is it about my home state of South Carolina? Are there some horribly twisted family trees in SC politics? Is there a sane politician anywhere? Use the comments section for feedback.
What's funny is that Republican Party chairmen James S. Ulmer Jr., who heads the Orangeburg County GOP, and Edwin O. Merwin Jr., who leads the Bamberg County GOP, meant it as a compliment when they likened Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-SC) fiscal conservatism to the old stereotype of the penny-pinching Jew.
"There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves," they wrote in a letter to the editor of The Orangeburg Times & Democrat Sunday. "By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed."
And of course that's when things got real interesting. The national media is having a high old time. This letter to the editor attracted the attention of CNN, lefty websites (The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos), the real alternative sites (Raw Story). State senator Joel Lourie, a Democrat and one of South Carolina's two Jewish lawmakers, rebuked the two on Monday, calling them "individuals who unapologetically espouse racist and stereotypical attitudes." He asked Karen Floyd, the state GOP chairwoman, to denounce the comments -- which she has done. In addition, Republican Jewish Coalition head Matthew Brooks blasted the pair, saying their comments "have done a tremendous disservice to their party."
DeMint took exception to Ullmer's and Merwin's letter. "The comments were thoughtless and hurtful," DeMint told CNN Tuesday. "The chairmen have apologized as they should have."
In his apology, Ullmer said he "quoted a statement which I have heard many times in my life, truly in admiration for a method of bettering one's lot in life ... I meant absolutely nothing derogatory by the reference to a great and honorable people. I hope that anyone and all who were offended by my comment will accept my humble apology."
The two wrote their letter in response to South Carolina State Rep. Bakari Sellers, who said DeMint was doing a poor job bringing in federal dollars for projects in South Carolina.
I mentioned The Daily Kos, a blog that, well, makes Barack Obama and Bill Ayres look like a bunch of far-right Neanderthals. The Kos writers seem to get their jollies seeing just how incendiary they can get, and here's how that site sees the whole incident:
Obviously, Merwin and Ulmer used the anti-Semitic stereotype to praise DeMint, but that doesn't excuse their words. The depiction of Jews as misers is an offensive stereotype that has been used throughout history to fan the flames of anti-Semitism. If they weren't aware of this, then they are genuinely clueless; if they were aware of it, they are bigots.
Puh-leeeeze! (I don't know why I bothered to run this quote, unless it was just to illustrate how intolerance can run both directions.)
Actually, this incident is kind of refreshing, though in a perverse way. In the past few years -- and especially since the November election -- party lines have been even more clearly drawn than before. Ideology trumps everything else. It's become more and more unusual to see someone criticizing a person in his own party. And, after all the strangeness going on in the South Carolina political scene over the past few months, we could use some low comedy.
Meanwhile, this doesn't do much to rehabilitate the image of South Carolinians as a bunch of backward country boys. And those who "ain't from around here" are looking at this incident -- especially after Gov. Mark Sanford's non-hike of the Appalachian Trail and Joe "You Lie" Wilson's outburst at President Barack Obama -- and undoubtedly wondering if those rumors of inbreeding are true.
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You tell me: What is it about my home state of South Carolina? Are there some horribly twisted family trees in SC politics? Is there a sane politician anywhere? Use the comments section for feedback.
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