Bob Beckel is doing his political punditry thing on television and insulting the entire Southern region of the nation.
Bob Beckel
I had the television on a while ago and was just half listening to it when I heard Bob Beckel being interviewed regarding what Barack Obama needs to do to win over the South. The interviewer was saying that the Obama camp has decided that they really need to win over Southerners in order for him to be able to win the Presidency.
According to the interviewer, there had been a discussion in Obama’s camp about how to get past ‘the color of his skin’ in the South. A Southern democrat has told them that it wasn’t the color of his skin but his tin ear that was the problem. Bob Beckel immediately responded that it absolutely was the color of his skin that was the problem Obama would have in the South.
Then, the man started talking about the South and why it was useless for Obama to even campaign here. He said he’s been ‘down there’ and knew ‘those people’ and there’s really nothing Obama can do. ‘If you can’t shoot it, eat it, drink it or (expletive deleted) it, they just aren’t interested in it’, he said.
That got my attention. He actually said that!!!
He consistently referred to the South as ‘Appalachia’ … and not in a good way. I was wanting to scream to the television - THE SOUTH ISN’T APPALACHIA AND WHAT’S WRONG WITH APPALACHIA ANYWAY!!!!!
He said, ‘You know they eat catfish down there? That stuffs awful. I tried it and its nasty.’ He went on and on about the catfish. He went on and on about ‘those people’ and ‘Appalachia’ and how there wasn’t any way Barack Obama was going to be able to relate to Southern people. He said a few Black people in the South might vote for Obama, but that was it.
He said for some reason George H.W. Bush was able to relate to Southerners. He said he could ‘go down there’ and talk about hunting and fishing and every body liked him. But he didn’t think Southerners would be able to get past Obama’s skin color even if he can talk hunting and fishing.
ARRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was really wanting to throw something through the television.
His grand finale was that it was a waste of time and money for Obama to even let the wheels of his plane touch down in the Deep South. He said he might, MIGHT, have a chance in states like Florida and Virginia, but he might as well just realize he’s going to lose Kentucky, Tennessee and the Deep South.
I thought that he certainly will if that’s the attitude of his campaign people.
I am frequently dumbfounded at the level of prejudice that comes out of the Democratic leadership’s mouths. I could give multiple examples of statements I’ve heard from people like Howard Dean, Chris Matthews and Bob Beckel that are just almost unbelievable - but no one seems to bat an eye at it.
Of course, no one worries about insulting Southerners. You don’t have to be politically correct about the South. Its one of the last sub-groups of people that its okay to make horrible statements about and there are no political consequences.
Plus, its increasingly obvious that liberals don’t associate with people who don’t think like them, so they don’t have any counter points to their preconceived notions about what the South and/or Middle Americans think, feel and believe.
Barack Obama has already written off states like West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Now apparently, he’s writing off the entire South. What does that leave him? What states does he think he’s going to win?
I still think there’s a good chance that Hillary Clinton is going to nab the nomination right out from under Obama’s nose (its high enough in the air to not even notice the Clintons coming). Should he actually be nominated, I’m fairly sure there’s an excellent chance he won’t win a single state in the Union.
Remember, Bob Beckel ran the most devastating Democratic Presidential run ever. He managed Walter Mondale’s 1984 presidential bid. Mondale lost every State in the Union except his home state of Minnesota - and even there he only won by 4,000 votes. If he keeps it up, he might do the same thing for Obama.
Electoral College 1984 - Map
It turns out that I wasn’t the only one who was insulted by Beckel’s bigoted diatribe.
August 20th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Beckel’s contempt for the South and Southerners is nothing new. The elitism exhibited by many politicians, Hollywood types, national & international media figures, many CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies is so commonplace that it is no surprise that Beckel’s comments were made with such ease in public. Whereas it is politically incorrect to be prejudicial against others based upon sex, sexual orientation, skin color and other factors, it is still acceptable to be prejudicial against those in various geographic locales. If you recall the comments made by many about “fly over states.” Beckel, as well as many other elitists, feel that the majority of Southerners are nothing but inbred, ignorant commoners with no sense of sophistication allowing them to exist on the same plateau as the Beckels, Obamas, etc. Besides, Beckel has always been one to subscribe to the “useful idiot” way of most politicians. In other words, when the person or group is useful to Beckel and his cause, he will utilize words of praise but as soon as the person or group has lost their usefulness, under the bus they go. This is done so often in politics it has become second nature to politicians. And those politicians begin to project actually believing that everyone is doing the same thing (which actually isn’t true). So when the average American citizen who has decency and a sense of moral purpose reacts negatively to comments like the ones Beckel made, those politicians truly are unable to comprehend it and eventually dismiss it out of hand as the reaction of the “uninformed masses” or in the case of Beckel: Apalachia.
On a somewhat related note: I have a little theory that there are thousands upon thousands of people more qualified to hold political office and would be better suited for Congressional and Presidential offices but they are also smart enough not to put themselves in a position where they have to put up with all the corruptions, backstabbing and political games that go along with the job. So, I theorize that the truly smartest people in America don’t run for political office because they know as it exists today would force them to abandon their morals, their ethics and eventually turn them into the type of reprehensible individuals currently running this country with only a 9% approval rating.
Of course, this is just my personal theory. Merely anecdotal. Nothing more.
But then again, in Beckel’s mind, I’m just a ignorant hick from “Apalachia” who he doesn’t need nor want.
Fine. I’m going to enjoy some farm-raised catfish. Beckel can keep his overpriced fish eggs.
August 20th, 2008 at 1:44 am
Yeah, yeah, I know…
Appalachia in relation to the geographic region is spelled with two p’s. I was slyly making a point within a point by intentionally spelling it with one “p” (as in Apalachia, Tennessee for instance).
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:44 am
OK. Now I’m really mad. There are many,many more bigots in the north and midwest than the South ever had. The South can have it’s hissy and get over itself…the north just can’t let go of stirring crap up even in an empty pot.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:09 am
I couldn’t stand it..so cross posted it and hope the track back thingy works …sigh..me and track backs…..
August 23rd, 2008 at 8:22 am
[...] Beth at Blue Star Chronicles is fuming about a rant Democrat strategist Bob Beckel had about the South: According to the interviewer, there had been a discussion in Obama’s camp about how to get past ‘the color of his skin’ in the South. A Southern democrat has told them that it wasn’t the color of his skin but his tin ear that was the problem. Bob Beckel immediately responded that it absolutely was the color of his skin that was the problem Obama would have in the South. [...]
August 27th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Mr.Beckel is just a blow-hard windbag sitting on TV shows imparting his wisdom about politics and drawing a fat paycheck.Didn’t he manage Mondale’s campaign?
13 Electoral votes…..WOW!!!!!
January 9th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
[...] - bookmarked by 4 members originally found by greenbirrd on 2008-12-09 Bob Beckel: Democrats Should Dump the South http://military.rightpundits.com/2008/08/19/bob-beckel-democrats-should-dump-the-south/ - [...]