“DePassgate” Has Gone Viral
Add the Huffington Post and ABC News to the growing list of national media outlets picking up the story about S.C. Republican activist Rusty DePass and his comparison of U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama to an escaped gorilla at a South Carolina zoo.
Here’s the Huff Po piece, and here’s ABC. And seriously, just look at Arianna … it’s literally made her crazy.
Now … why is this such a big deal?
Seriously, when we published our original report Friday, we figured it would be something bantered about in the S.C. blogosphere … that’s it.
Then local TV picked up on it … then CNN … then Daily Kos … then the NY Daily News and before you knew it, “DePassgate” had “gone viral,” the internet term for a story that takes on a life of its own.
Heck, we even devoted our popular FITS Makes News segment to the whole affair.
So what gave this story legs?
Well, the fact that it was “Michelle,” not “Barack” Obama targeted by DePass’ comment was probably a big part of it.
People are willing to accept a lot more in the way of “line-crossing” if you’re targeting an elected official. Their wife or kids?
Yeah, ask David Letterman how that’s working out for him.
Comments
By bigman on June 16th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Rusty is a good friend of mine and he was making a joke. People need to layoff of him and grow some skin. People are way to PC these days and just need to get a life. If they are mad about this then I am pissed at Sotomayor for her thinking she can make better decisions than me. People, get a life and stop worshipping this clown that is now our president.
By lou on June 16th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Well South Carolina is famous for: the UFO museum in Bowman, the Confederate flag on the state house grounds and this bozo calling the first lady an ape.
Way to go South Carolina.
By Michael on June 16th, 2009 at 8:51 am
The joke was not defensible in any way. I am not a fan of the Obamas at all, but there is no innocent interpretation you can place on that joke.
That said, I have been watching SC politics for about 25 years, and until this story broke I had never heard the name Rusty DePass before. This is a non-story. Mr. DePass is a private citizen. And it angers me how the national media is all too eager to use these comments to broadly paint all SC Republicans as racist. And it was a Facebook comment for God’s-sake.
By DownriverDem on June 16th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Bigman: It was not a joke. He knew exactly what he was saying That is what is wrong with Repubs. They always say they are sorry “if they get caught”. And then they still don’t get it.
The funniest thing is that the Repubs do not get how the internet makes whatever you say out in the open almost immediately.
By CNSYD on June 16th, 2009 at 9:14 am
If the “joke” had been made by some quasi politico in say east nowhere Nebraska, then we would probably never have heard it. But it was made in SC and therefore the need was felt by the national media to reinforce the stereotype of a white Southern male. Sotomayor asked for it by being a public offical. Mrs. Obama is not an elected offical, even though we seem to treat First Ladies as though they are. The unfortunate thing is we have folk in this state who make it easy for outsiders to ridicule us.
By EM on June 16th, 2009 at 9:19 am
It was on Greta last night too. Mentioned Fits News and if I remember correctly, Will Folks.
By Statesman on June 16th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Is there a relationship between having one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation, flying the battle flag, and being the most republican state in the nation? I think so.
By Scene SC on June 16th, 2009 at 9:49 am
The publicity for Letterman is great. Makes the old man edgy again.
By Scott on June 16th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Statesman – The flag was put up by a DEMOCRATIC legislature and a DEMOCRATIC governor and we’ve always had a low graduation rate. Can’t blame that totally on the GOP. That said, the “joke” was tasteless and has no place in political discourse.
By Bo Zo on June 16th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Bigman, If Rusty is your friend- then you know deep down inside he is a racist. Sure it is a joke to him – I am sure he sends around off color jokes to all his buddies on the computer – its a joke to the group of racists – but when exposed to the masses- it is pure and simple racism.
If rusty is your friend, tell him to apologize and quit making fun of black people.
By me on June 16th, 2009 at 10:13 am
well if he had said she wasnt like a ape people would say he didnt believe in evolution. It was funny, get off your PC high horses
By Recovering Lobbyist on June 16th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Bigman: I know Rusty as well. But characterizing any person as an ape is over the line–way over the line. Rusty was wrong, and it should be no surprise that he got smacked for it. Forget PC. Polite people don’t say what he said (or write it for that matter).
By Al Jackson on June 16th, 2009 at 11:20 am
What in the World.
What Rusty meant to say was that the Ape was Rep. Clyburn.
In any way if Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton was to say that, it would not have been taking this way.
We all know which ones are sticking racist.
Just get over it-
By Elmo on June 16th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Of course there is a correlation between being a Republican state and having poorly performing schools. Any voter that votes in Republicans time and time again while our country wages wars, goes deeply in debt, and does nothing to look after the regular citizens is ignorant and brainwashed by a constant barrage of wrong(right)wing propaganda.
The latest propaganda wants to show Obama as being much, much worse than Bush without looking at any of the facts. Obama must be worse than Bush- he descends from apes.
By ace on June 16th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
How in the world can some people be so, illogical, you have people on this site trying to make a illrational, illogical, satiral and blatant, racist comment about the First Lady…and then, say, get over it, that tells some people, that, some people, still are rasict and ignorant to Blacks History since, for some of you lost souls on here that defend such dumb comments, Slavy Masters, Rasist People for the last 200 plus years would compare Apes to Blacks or call them HEY BOY!! BOY was not there names, and also, for some of your illogical thinkers on relating to get over it, I dont recall your ancesters ever been lynched by blacks in History, I dont recall, Your People, ever been violated, assaulted as blacks were done, I dont remember your ancestors been brought over here 30,000 ships of slavew on the Mid Atlanctic Slave Route, I dont remember your ancestorys are you…being, segregated in inferior schools, because blacks had better schools, I dont remember, You or your people, having to have laws to abolish slavery…anyway..I dont even have the time, to try to express to some people on here, the history of slavery, maybe if minorities enslaved you and call you derogatory names and made you ride in the back of the bus and call YOU BOY!!! You will understand, by the way, why dont you do something about illegal crossing the border…BOY!!
By CNSYD on June 16th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
ace, maybe it was not exactly the same but exactly why and how did those early folk get to the colony in Georgia? Or Australia? Surely you have heard of indentured servants. Sort of a fancy name for slaves. How about the Poles in the last century. First taken over by the Russians and then the Germans and then the Russians again. Think they were treated kindly because they had white skin? It does not make what has happened to “Blacks” right but it sure shows that human suffering has been universal.
By Catherine Carr on June 16th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
People who think these kinds of thoughts about other people might just as well consider themselves to be ignoramuses and check out their own ancestry..
By Jane Jones on June 16th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Is Trey Walker the same Edgar Walker listed as making $122,000 in the Attorney General’s office? If so, I want to know why he feels compelled to post messages on a social network about escapees at Riverbanks while dragging down a handsome amount of my hard earned state tax money….forget Coble, the ever knowing politician and Rusty DeFaux Pas. What is Walker’s advisory role in the attorney general’s office that he has time for Facebook?
By nell post on June 16th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I know rusty, too. And I’m sorry I do.
By me on June 17th, 2009 at 9:15 am
ace they should be happy, they would still be living in africa killing each others with spears instead of sucking off welfare over here.
By Dallas on June 17th, 2009 at 9:22 am
And then there is the Texas vice chairman of the Collin County Republican Party who forwarded an email to the party faithful with the comment, “Another terrific idea from the black house and its minions.”
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/wfaa090602_mo_gopemail.42ab6bb2.html
By Rick on June 17th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Yawn….nothing to get excited about. Oh and Ace…you might ask who captured those poor africans and sold them for slaves and if this behavior lasts to this day? Just askin…..
By erica on June 17th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
“What is Walker’s advisory role in the attorney general’s office that he has time for Facebook?”
tu shay.. hey wasting our tax dollars prancing around a soical network while our children suffer in delapidated, substandard schools that now no longer have enough teachers beacuse out govenor is too stupid to take the money and save our state… (yes a mouthful!) I sxwear SC politics sare run by a bunch of trust fund having 3 legged monkeys! They care nothin that we are 3rd in the nation for unemployment, that big industry doent want to come here..mainly b/c of the politics, taxes are rising on everything(..uh,$5 cigs!!!), the kids are gettig dumber, and ppl are losing thier homes right and left! .. its crazy what these ppl ahve time to do. Clerely fixing our states TRAGIC problems ren’t top of the list…i’m freakin movin!!
By erica on June 17th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
yeah i went to school in SC.. so dont mind the typos!!!! lol
By erica on June 17th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
uh..and “Me”
Do some research before you start that old TIRED argument that black folk are “sucking off welfare”. We only make up 12% of the population, so how can we be the only ppl on using up welfare? Matter of fact, go tell your fat auntie to wash the lice out her hair, use her ABC voucher to put all those dirty barefoot children in daycare, stop dippin snuff, get of her lazy behind, LEAVE the TRAILER PARK, give up the food stamps,
and get a job!! Cuz your “alikes” are the true leaches of the welfare system..not blk ppl!
By James on June 17th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Rick, how in the world does it matter that Africans, as well as Americans and Europeans, were involved in the slave trade? Millions of people were enslaved, and millions of Americans today are descended from those who were enslaved.
Unless, of course, you subscribe to a racist vision of the world, in which the descendants of those slaves are black, so it matters whether or not some of the perpetrators were black, too? I’m sure you don’t mean anything like this, but then I’m baffled as to what you do mean.