They should have beat his ass on GP at Howard for having the nerve to utter such bullshyt.
From The HuffingtonPost:
Dave Zirin
Posted: September 2, 2009 12:01 AM
Michael Steele: Meet Amanda Duzak
Tuesday night at Howard University, RNC chair Michael Steele did an impression of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz: he was absolutely heartless. Not everyday do we see the head of a major political party insult a 23 year old whose mother just died of cancer.
But first let's set the scene:
Steele spoke at Howard in front of roughly 150 students as part of his outreach program to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. His effort to connect with young black students got off to a rather cringe-worthy start when right before the billed "student dialogue" two dozen white members of area young Republican groups arrived to sit in the reserved first two rows of the packed room. One wondered, as students grumbled, if Steele hired John Ashcroft to be his event manager.
But the discomfort turned to boredom as Steele's "dialogue" turned quickly into a monologue. The RNC chair went on a long rambling speech about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, while the texting audience strained to stay awake. There was no impassioned argument or defense of the Republican Party and any questions in the "dialogue" had to be submitted in writing while Steele spoke. The only thing that caused even a raised eyebrow was Steele's occasional effort at slang. When a student told Steele she was going into business law he said, "Business law! Mo money!"
But when challenged, Steele exposed himself, and it was awful to see the Tin Man's tin ear. When the RNC chair took a written question on health care, he blasted the public option, saying that "every time the government gets involved in something it doesn't work."
Then came Amanda Duzak, and Steele's evening just got a whole lot worse.
Duzak, a 23 year old Towson University grad, stood up, against the rules and out of turn.
"My mother died of cancer 6 months ago because she could only afford three of her six prescription chemotherapy medications," she projected. "There are 50 million people in this country who could end up like my mom, suffering or dying because they do not have adequate health care. Everyone in this room and everyone in this country should have access to good health care."
The room woke up and other than those glaring from the front, the applause was wall to wall. But it's Steele's response that makes this moment both newsworthy and a terrible comment on his character. After saying that he believed in a mature, honest discussion and not in shouting, Steele said, "People are coming to these town meetings and they're like [he then shakes]." He then looked and gestured right at Ms. Duzak and said, "It makes for great TV. You'll probably make it tonight, enjoy it." He then turned his back to her, as the crowd clapped.
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3 comments:
WTF is wrong with the republican party? Is a requirement to be one to not have a heart or ticket to heaven? He needs his ass kicked badly! My mom has cancer (luckily caught while we had health insurance through her work) but since then we've had to beg different charities to help us cover medical bills for her alone. Never mind diabetic dad or me, full time college student with 2 jobs that has a heart condition & muscle-skeleton disease. God I wouldve thrown a chair at him.
Can't condone calling for violence....that only makes Republican critics appear as pitiful as that sad & crazy Party.
Knee-jerk calls for violence are too simple...too easy.
But we definitely should try to get an understanding of what motivates these folks to behave the way that they do.
A veteran Journalist on the Countdown with KO was flabbergasted tonight at the verbal attacks against disabled people at these Town Hall meetings... folks who were attacked for telling their stories.
I myself have stated repeatedly that I have never seen things so bad....never seen the Country so divided along racial, cultural, political, socio-economic lines. Like I have mentioned before.... something different is going on.... the current behavior of the electorate (mostly wingnuts) is not the same behavior we have seen in the past.
I think racism, and a sort of blind allegiance to cultural and political ideology is at work. I actually wrote a manuscript a few years ago (never published) with the subtitle of "Blind Allegiance"...and I discussed this kind of maniacal behavior.
In fact...there are more and more journalists who are basically asking WTH is going on..... because they have never seen such a polarized Country. It hasn't been this bad since the 60's. And at least back then...folks had more honest debates....more civil debates....and more logical debates than what we are seeing now. What is taking place now is a lot of shouting with very little intellectual discourse.... and few facts. Much of the anger (some manufactured...some not) is fueled by pure propaganda & lies and in some cases it's fueled by hatred.
I have never seen so much hatred, ignorance, and indifference to the suffering of other Americans. For some reason (again...it has a lot to do with race IMO) the Country has become more fractious. Self-centeredness, selfishness...seems to be taking over. I'm not sure if that is a symptom of the economic situation or a sentiment that we would see more of....even without the economic problems. But the idea of watching out for/ or being concerned about your fellow American seems to be dying off. In fact...watching out for your fellow human in a more general and global sense seems to be an idea that is dying off.... at least from the perspective of the U.S. and how citizens here view the rest of the World (although the U.S. is still a very generous Country).
But I think we should try to focus on what makes the Michael Steele's do what they do.... what are the politics that motivate these people. And as for the citizens at these meetings.... let's ask...how and why are they being brainwashed and manipulated to not only sit quietly by and remain indifferent to the suffering of others (that's one stage)....but also how they are manipulated to even go beyond that to the point where they are now actively campaigning against help for those suffering among us....including folks like me....and against even their own best interests (this is what blows my mind).
Couldn't agree more AI. I'd like us to take a more pragmatic approach to these ppl. and dig deep to find out what is at the root of all this hatred. I do believe to a degree it has to do with race. To what degree is uncertain. It could have everything to do w/ whites honestly believing that their hegemony over this country is coming to an end. It could be the recession, loss of US cultural identity w/ the failure of the auto industry and the fall of the US dollar. I don't know. All I know is there is a tangible difference in the discourse in the country. And to be quite frank, it's a little scary.
Getting to the bottom is the only way. Otherwise, we might be living "The Fire Next Time" that may not look like what we have come to believe it would.
PS, did this in a rush so I've messed up didn't have time to correct. I'm at work. Peace ppls.
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