Oops…I Did It Again

Fox News Scrubs ‘Honest Injun’ From Steele Transcript

As you may have heard, two days ago while sitting for an interview with Sean Hannity, RNC Hip-Hop Guru Michael Steele made some unwanted waves when he used the phrase “Honest Injun” to underscore his contention that the GOP doesn’t need to be more moderate.

Wordplay, apparently! Well, the phrase is a racial epithet that Native Americans find offensive, and Representative Dale Kildee (D-Mich.), who co-chairs the Congressional Native American Caucus, has demanded an apology from Steele.

Well, the good news is that Fox News is doing its part to alleviate the controversy. What, exactly, are they doing? I’m glad I posed this question on your behalf! Via Sarabeth at 1115.org, Fox is helping Steele out by altering the transcript of the segment:

HANNITY: But there’s — but there’s a battle, and you know this is going on, because you’re the chairman. I’m sure you deal with this a lot more than I do. There are those that are saying that, for the Republican Party to be successful, they’ve got to, quote, moderate — be more moderate.
STEELE: No, no!

HANNITY: You hear that.

STEELE: That’s what has gotten us into trouble, when we walked away from principle. Our platform is one of the best political documents that’s been written in the last 25 years, honest engine on that.

Exactly! Surely we should ask of our lyin’ ears if Steele didn’t actually say “honest engine.” Except: WTF is an “honest engine”? Well, as luck would have it, some Urban Dictionary user hooked on all the wrong phonics gives “honest engine” the exact same definition as “honest Injun.” Or, maybe, Steele was referring to Sacramento, California’s Honest Engine auto repair company, employing the hip-hop tradition known as the “shout out.”

Or, maybe, Michael Steele literally is a machine into which gas is poured, that produces toxic exhaust.

We’re Hunting Moderates…

Tea Party Leader: ‘We Are Turning Our Guns On’ Moderate Republicans

Dale Robertson doesn’t mince words. The tea party spokesperson and head of Teaparty.org in Houston issued a strong statement this week warning state GOP leaders that if they didn’t support strongly conservative candidates, their jobs were at risk.

“We are turning our guns on anyone who doesn’t support constitutional conservative candidates,” Robertson said. “If they don’t get that, and their party chairmen don’t get that, they are going to be ostracized.”

Jim Greer, Florida’s GOP Chairman, was forced to resign earlier this week under similar pressure from far-right activists following his endorsement of Charlie Crist, a “big-tent” Republican who has been criticized by some conservative factions for being too moderate. Tea Party activists have backed Crist’s opponent, Marco Rubio, in the upcoming Republican open primary.

Crist has notably broken from the Republican party on a few key issues. He’s supported green initiatives such as cap-and-trade legislation, and potential offshore drilling. Perhaps most markedly, Crist was a strong proponent of the stimulus bill, going as far as to hug President Obama while introducing him at a rally in Ft. Meyers.

“I think it’s just all-around frustration with some in our party who have a very pure philosophy of how you should govern,” Greer told the New York Times Magazine. “People want a common-sense approach to governing. And approaching it with purity won’t get anything done.”

Jenny Beth Martin, the national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots, explains the Tea Party’s latest offensive. “People in America are very tired of the irresponsible taxing and spending that has happened in Washington. They want a return to fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets.”

Harold Meyerson: Obama in the Failed Liberal President Group?

Harold Meyerson reviews the liberal Democratic presidencies of the 20th century.  He finds two who succeded (Roosevelt and Johnson) and two who failed (Carter and Clinton).  (Read the editorial here.)  The primary difference between the two categories is that under Roosevelt and Johnson there were influencial movements on the left, whereas this was not true during the Carter and Clinton terms.  In fact, especially under Clinton, there were successful right-leaning movements.

Can a left movement be created that will benefit Obama.  That is not clear and the mechanisms of h0w these movements start and develop is not clear either.

Maybe Obama is correct it is more up to us than we had believed before.  What say you all?

iggydonnelly

Thursday, 1/7/10, Public Square