TPMDC Shirley Sherrod: July 2010
Shirley Sherrod
Sherrod Critic: She Used 'Lynching' To Gin Up Democratic Voters
Former USDA official Shirley Sherrod
On Monday, former Reagan administration official Jeffrey Lord astonished the left and the right by penning an article in the conservative American Spectator attacking former-USDA official Shirley Sherrod for using the term "lynching" to describe the murder of one of her relative years ago. The problem, according to Lord, was that the victim, Bobby Hall was beaten to death by a blackjack, rather than being hanged by the neck. "It's...possible that she knew the truth and chose to embellish it, changing a brutal and fatal beating to a lynching."
Critics, even at his own magazine, pounced, noting that a lynching is an extrajudicial murder by a mob, whether or not the weapon of choice is a rope.
Last night, in an interview with TPMDC, Lord defended himself and extended his critique of Sherrod, and the entire Democratic party, which he claims is the true repository of racism in the United States.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (179) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Democrats, Jeffrey Lord, Racism, Shirley Sherrod
pigford
Hoyer 'Very Disappointed' That USDA Race Settlement Stripped From War Bill
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said today that he is "very disappointed" that senators struck settlement funds for African-American farmers who faced discrimination from a supplemental spending bill his chamber passed earlier this year.
The funds, known at the Pigford II settlement, are intended to compensate farmers for long-standing racial discrimination they faced from USDA that, in many cases, resulted in the loss of their farms. The settlement achieved a level of publicity last week after some conservatives attempted to use the firing of Shirley Sherrod to claim that the settlement procedures had led to fraud.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (6) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Shirley Sherrod, Steny Hoyer, pigford
Roundup
TPMDC Saturday Roundup
Obama: GOP Proposals 'The Same Policies That Led Us Into This Recession'
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama promoted his economic program and the recently-signed Wall Street reform bill. In a sign of increased political content as the country approaches the 2010 midterm elections, he also attacked "the Republican leader in the House of Representatives," without directly naming Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), for promoting the repeal of health care reform and opposition to other Democratic policies as the Republican platform.
"These are not new ideas. They are the same policies that led us into this recession," said Obama. "They will not create jobs, they will kill them. They will not reduce our deficit, they will add $1 trillion to our deficit. They will take us backward at a time when we need to keep America moving forward."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (3) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Betty Sutton, Budget, Charlie Rangel, Deficit, Health Care, Mike Pence, Roundup, Shirley Sherrod, Taxes
Roundup
TPMDC Morning Roundup
Obama: Vilsack 'Jumped The Gun' On Sherrod
In an interview with ABC News, President Obama said that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack "jumped the gun" in the firing of Shirley Sherrod. "He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles," said Obama. He also added: "I've told my team and I told my agencies that we have to make sure that we're focusing on doing the right thing instead of what looks to be politically necessary at that very moment. We have to take our time and think these issues through."
Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 11 a.m. ET, and meet at 11:30 a.m. ET with senior advisers. He does not have any public events scheduled for today.
Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Jack Lew, Joe Biden, Nuclear nonproliferation, OMB, Pentagon budget, Roundup, Russia, Shirley Sherrod, Tom Vilsack, Trade
Progressive Community
Ed Schultz Slams White House As Afraid Of Fox News (VIDEO)
MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz.
Las Vegas -- MSNBC's Ed Schultz tonight slammed President Obama's White House for its handling of the Shirley Sherrod debacle, suggesting that Obama and his team are afraid of Fox News and don't use progressive media enough.
Speaking to a roaring opening night crowd at Netroots Nation at the Rio casino here, Schultz cursed through a spirited critique of Obama. Schultz pointed to the camera and said he was glad the speech was being recorded and wanted the White House to hear his message. Schultz also leveled insults at conservative Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln (AR), Ben Nelson (NE) and Mary Landrieu (LA), along with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who the netroots helped boot from the party in 2006. Schultz said he didn't care if Democratic Senators boycott his show because he doesn't need them for ratings. He also said that MSNBC "did a hell of a job fighting for health care."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (248) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: 2010 elections, Barack Obama, Ed Schultz, MSNBC, Netroots Nation, Progressive Community, Shirley Sherrod
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