There’s been plenty of analysis about Monday night’s GOP presidential debate. For me, there was not much new said regarding most of the issues of the day. It was the same old, same old. But, when Fox News moderator Juan Williams kept trying to interject race into the discussion, then the debate got my attention. What followed next was some welcomed straight talk on race and getting a job.
The exchange occurred primarily between Juan Williams and Newt Gingrich. Williams asked Gingrich “whether his previous remarks about food stamps and allowing children to work janitor jobs to instill a work ethic were ‘insulting,’ particularly to African Americans.” Personally, I find the question insulting… particularly to people of all races! Why should African Americans be more insulted than anyone else regarding the benefits of getting a job at an early age? By doing so, teenagers can learn discipline and responsibility — following a schedule, listening to a boss, dressing appropriately, and on and on. Teens can also see that their hard work leads to a paycheck. They work… they get paid. Then, they can make purchases.
If someone is just sitting around collecting food stamps and doing nothing else, then THAT is insulting to me. Do something! So much of our tax dollars are wasted. We have become a society that sits around and expects the government to take care of us. Well, the “government” is my wallet! And it’s the wallet of every other taxpayer in America. That last thing anyone who actually earns their own money wants to see is that money being wasted.
Gingrich was right on! There’s nothing wrong with work. It’s a good thing! I just really don’t know what Williams was trying to get at. If people feel bad about being called lazy, then do something about it!
But Williams wasn’t done with his efforts to try to make people feel bad about race. In a question to Rick Perry, Williams asked, “Now, Governor Perry, are you suggesting on this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, that the federal government has no business scrutinizing the voting laws of states where minorities were once denied the right to vote?”
When I heard that, my eyes bugged out! What difference does it make what day it is? Is Perry supposed to have a different view on MLK Day than on other days? The fact is that requiring an ID in order to vote will greatly reduce voter fraud. That’s the whole idea! The simple question is, “Do we want voter fraud or don’t we?” If we don’t, then let’s do something about it. Requiring an ID is a good step, but Williams tries to make it about race.
And there’s more!
Williams tries the exact same tactic when asking Mitt Romney about immigration. Williams said, “Governor Romney, your father was born in Mexico. You still have family there, yet you have taken the hardest line of anyone on this stage on immigration reform, including opposition to key parts of the DREAM Act, which is supported by 80 percent of Latinos in this country. Are you alienating Latino voters that Republicans will need to win the general election?”
Here’s a quiz for you. What’s the key word in the first two sentences? Give up? It’s the word “yet.” It’s key because Williams is trying to make a point while also asking a question. Romney still has family in Mexico, YET he’s taking a so-called “hard line” on immigration. What does his family have to do with it?
I’m half Hispanic. Does that mean that I think immigration laws should only be enforced half the time? No! (Actually, half enforcement is better than no enforcement, so I may have to change my opinion on that one.)
These questions are so loaded. They are designed to make the candidate apologize, even before he answers the question. It’s really quite pathetic.
We can only move beyond race, when we stop focusing on race as a way to score points or take shots. What happened to hoping for a colorblind society? If anything should have been remembered on Monday’s MLK day, it should have been that.
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