Oklahoma State and Republican Majority Leader Dennis Johnson took to the floor this week to share his experience as a small business man and discussed how some people will try to “Jew down the price” of goods. In the background, legislators are seen laughing but there are clearly some who object because Johnson then adds “I apologize to the Jews. They are good small businessmen as well.”
The casual use of this slur suggests that it is a common expression for Johnson. This follows a Kansas politician casually discussed “ni***r-rigging” in a videotape. After Johnson discussed people trying to “Jew down” prices and then apologizes, he tells members to just move on. I am not sure that that will be quite so easy for most people to just move on with the co-majority leader using such a term.
In his campaign for reelection, Johnson proclaims that “as a successful husband, father, businessman, civic leader and church leader, Dennis has brought and will continue to bring integrity and common sense to the House of Representatives.” Common sense seems to be a work in progress for Johnson.
Given his apology, what else do you think should be done? Is the apology enough or should there be a formal censure or even expulsion resolution in such cases?
I am sure this article has touched all the internet viewers, its really really pleasant piece of
writing on building up new web site.
Formal censure? Sure. It was out of line and “on the clock”.
Expulsion? No. That’s up to the voters and you can bet this will be a prime sound bite used come the next election cycle.
Howard Stern & Robin have addressed this before:
In that part of the world right after you Jew em down, ya gyp em and then give me the n end of the stick and then itchBay about States Rights if someone decides to liynch him and the feds intervene. Went in dumb, come out dumb too, hustlin round Atlanta in our Alligator shoes, keepin the n s down. We’re Rednecks, RedNecks, We dont know our arse from a hole in the ground… etc.
He’s just a member of the GOB party. Good Ole Boys.
Same as his neighbors, same as his father, same as the culture.
Give me that ole time sameness,Give me that ole time sameness. if it was good enough for our fathers it’s good enough for me.
Turley forgot to mention the idiot Peter Hansen of New Hampshire who called women “vaginas”, as if they were body parts for male pleasure and not human beings. And we’re supposed to believe the republiclowns aren’t waging war on women?
A drunken man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts, and the teabaggers are drunk on power, and acting like belligerent drunks because of it. They’re dumb enough to assume they *are* the majority, assume that they can get away with saying stupid things.
What about the folks who put him in office? Surely, voters cannot have been entirely unaware of his predisposition to think and express himself in this way.
All of the comments we have been treated to recently have been spoken casually and unselfconsciously because they have always been regarded as acceptable within the culture in which they were spoken. What this really speaks to is the narrow homogeneity of the Republican Party. That is why the party leadership fails to understand that an outreach effort to minorities requires something more than tailoring a message differently. They have not grasped the central truth, that it is the Republican worldview that does not to appeal to many beyond their base. And that worldview has become increasingly xenophobic, theocratic, militaristic and authoritarian through the influence of the religious right and the corporate funded Tea Party. Reince Priebus doesn’t get it, and I don’t know that he’s even capable of figuring out the real problem.
Saddest thing to me, it doesn’t shock me anymore when these guys say and do the things they do. More proof Jindal was right in calling GOP “the stupid party”. But it is more then stupidity when the repubs do not repudiate the racist among them. The
put the white back in the white house” and lynchings of the empty chair and watermelons should have started the conversation among the GOP about how this is inappropriate but instead when you ignore it then why would anyone else in the party think twice about ethnic slurs and worse.
“Shitkicker” – Harvey Korman in Blazing Saddles
The lowest uncommon denominator.
We need better quality legislators at all levels. Unfortunately, it’s the power structure of those already in who decide who we get to vote for and they aren’t interested in bringing in quality that is better than their own.
Saw a woman with a t-shirt:
THERE
THEIR
THEY’RE
Didn’t need two guesses. She was an English teacher.
Pretty cool how you could discern his misuse of the pronoun “their” for “they’re” in that quotation. That Republican is all kinds of wrong — he doesn’t even know how to spell!
So in the past month we’ve had republicans in congress talk about “wet backs” in agriculture, “n*r-rigging” building architecture, and “jewing down” the price of goods in accounting. This must be part of their minority outreach initiative. Next month we’ll have racial slur compound nouns for professions stating with the letter b. j Lin “chin*ing up” basketball, “sand-n*gs” bastardizing banking, or “bow benders” being bad bellboys. These new repubs make Trent Lott and strom Thurmond seem PC. (Sorry if double post, the original was waiting moderation for hour+)
Integrity……Politicians……Where?
I think he was Gyped. However, I think he should be sent to sensitivity training, that will get his mind right.
This guy should be looking for work in the private sector. He truly doesn’t belong in his current job.
Once again, whoever is the President of the RNC, he must be screaming or pulling out the rest of his hair after hearing these comments. I find it ‘interesting’ that people/voters still vote for people like Mr. Johnson even after similar or worst comments.
Stupid and unthinking, but the latter comment may the dominant motivation.
Lots of people use words/expressions from habit – without thinking. (As an aside, I still sometimes call a refrigerator an “icebox”, obviously an erroneous expression, but a habit that I acquired from my father.)
Doesn’t excuse Mr. Johnson’s boorishness, but now he has been smacked down (and will continue to pay a price for his stupidity), he will probably not repeat that particular offense.
The fact that he (apparently) has used that expression many times before without consequence is as much a commentary on his environment as on the man (middle America is not as self aware as our betters on the coasts).
If this is the greatest crime that Mr. Johnson commits in his life (it is probably the single action with the greatest negative consequences), then he is probably not a bad man.
As an Australian, I come to this blog-site to cure my otherwise likely depression with our political leaders.
Man, you guys have it bad at the moment …..