No stranger to mainstream media love in the city that never sleeps, FITS founding editor Sic Willie has once again found himself in the pages of the New York Daily News.
This time, however, his target isn’t GOP flip-floppers in presidential primaries – it’s “homegrown” Republican activists like Rusty DePass and Mike Green, who continue to “represent” the Palmetto State with their mind-numbingly stupid comments.
From reporter Helen Kennedy’s story about DePass in today’s NY Daily News:
Busted by South Carolina political blogger Will Folks on his FIT(S)NEWS blog, DePass told WIS-TV in Columbia, “I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest.”
Then he added, “The comment was hers, not mine,” claiming Michelle Obama made a recent remark about humans descending from apes. The Daily News could find no such comment.
“‘Humor’ like this is nothing new for South Carolina Republicans – even as the party claims to be focusing on ‘outreach’ efforts to minorities,” said Folks, a former gubernatorial spokesman and widely read blogger.
Kennedy also unearthed this choice excerpt from a 2007 oped in which DePass endorsed former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for President.
“Most of us, of course, particularly in South Carolina, never gave a damn about New Yorkers, but somehow the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, made those people Americans again,” Depass wrote.
Awww, how sweet. “Brad Warthen” sweet, in fact.
Meanwhile, like DePass, Green has yanked his questionable comment from both his Facebook and Twitter pages … but with race-based “humor” obviously a prominent part of the SCGOP repertoire, how long before another gaffe hits the big time?
As this scandal was breaking over the weekend, FITS spoke with SCGOP Third Vice Chairman Adam Piper, who was listed as “liking” Green’s joke on Facebook.
“We are a party that supports opportunity for all people,” Piper told FITS, pointing us to the state’s lone black Republican lawmaker, Rep. Tim Scott, and the party’s ranking African-American, Glenn McCall.
In fact, Piper promised to provide FITS with an oped explaining why South Carolina Republicans aren’t racist.
Frankly, we’ll save him some breath – we don’t think SCGOP voters are racist, we just think the party’s activists and consultants (and several elected officials) are.
Of course, the vast majority of SCGOP activists, consultants and elected officials are also big government RINO’s, while most voters just want government to get off their backs and stop wasting so much taxpayer money.
Will S.C. Republicans ever learn? On either front?
By Brenda Blong June 15, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Remember, terms like supremacist, racist and neo-Nazi have simply evolved into racial slurs since WWII that mean whitey.
If they were universal, both Barack and Michele Obama would be called racist because they support racially defined black leaders, all of whom promote discrimination based upon skin color. They belonged to a church whose minister openly praised Louis Farakhan and where white people were called whitey from the podium.
By Richard June 15, 2009 at 4:08 pm
The Daily News described DePass as “a prominent South Carolina Republican”. Before this controversy I had never taken much notice of the guy.
He is a private citizen. He can say what he wants. It’s not like Bill Sandifer and his flyer or Henry McMaster and his whites only club membership.
By Gillon June 15, 2009 at 4:08 pm
So, SCGOP voters are not racist, “the party’s activists and consultants, and several elected officials” are. And SCGOP voters aren’t for big government, “most just want government to get off their backs and stop wasting so much taxpayer money.” It’s this same “vast majority of SCGOP activists, consultants, and elected officials” who are leading them down the road to embarrassment and perdition.
Well, duh, simple question–who appoints and/or elects these SCGOP consultants, activists, and public officials? Must be a pretty ignorant, naive, simple-minded, and callous crowd.
By fitsnews June 15, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Gillon-
Throw a little self-loathing in there.
-FITS
By Ryan June 15, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Why didn’t Rusty DePass just say he wasn’t talking about Michelle Obama? There is more than one Michelle out there.
He should have said he was talking about noted anthropologist Michelle Merrill, professor at Cabrillo College in California, esp. given that she is an expert on primate behavior and evolutionary theory.
http://www.cabrillo.edu/~mmerrill/
By MusicIsOurHigh June 15, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Quite frankly DePass is an ASS. Plain and simple. He is an idiot. He has a right to his opinion but he still is an ASS (a lying one at that)
By Victor June 15, 2009 at 5:41 pm
rusty sounds like a complete dumbass and deserves every bit of this bad pub.
but i agree with richard in that calling him a “prominent South Carolina Republican” is quite a reach.
By Mab June 15, 2009 at 7:05 pm
@ Brenda,
Exactly — and let’s not forget this woman-bashing at Hillary Clinton’s expense by guest reverse bigot, Reverend P.
P can stand for lots of things. None that I am thinking of are good.
http://www.wikio.com/video/254587
By Jeffy June 15, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I refuse to care until my main man at Bin News chimes in!
By CNSYD June 15, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Victor, don’t you know that any time someone from our state makes a dumbass remark the northern press calls them “prominent”? How else can they perpetuate the myth that all white Southerners are ignorant, intolerant, etc.? Why if “prominent” ones say things like this can you imagine what the run of the mill SC redneck says?
By MI June 17, 2009 at 9:59 pm
It’s Nice To Know A Pale Faced, Devil Faced,Caucassoid Germ Like Rusty Is A Giuliani Supporter. We New Yorkers Who Survived The September 11 Attacks Are Grateful To Finally Be Considered Real Americans By Confederate Trash.