Sometimes the apology is as bad as the act. Arkansas Republican Senate candidate Kim Hendren explains his reference to Senator Chuck Schumer as “that Jew.”
Hendren told me, “At the meeting I was attempting to explain that unlike Sen. Schumer, I believe in traditional values, like we used to see on ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’ I made the mistake of referring to Sen. Schumer as ‘that Jew’ and I should not have put it that way as this took away from what I was trying to say.”
As usual, the Republicans downplay it as a “plain talking” virtue rather than an underlying antisemitism.
Addendum: Senator Chuck “that Jew” Schumer has accepted the apology.
21 comments
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May 14, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Opie
Of course there are no Jews in Mayberry. My dad ran them all out of town!
May 14, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Dan Squier
My guess is that there were no African American community organizers either. But hey, the modern GOP is a big tent party, amirite?
May 14, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Skippy
Remember the GOP talking point that Obama “can’t speak without a teleprompter” (as if Bush and all other recent presidents didn’t use them!)
Well, I have yet to hear a gaffe from Obama that comes anywhere CLOSE to what this antisemitic a-hole coughed up.
Looks like another Republican true-believer sucking up to his base (and/or speaking his real opinions in what he thought was a safe venue – not sure which is worse) without remembering that we live in the Information Age.
In other words, another “Macacca Moment” from the clueless right-wingers.
May 14, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Not A Native
Oh, but there were. Your provinciality is evident not knowing of Jewish people who speak with a heavy Southern drawl.
http://www.forewordmagazine.com/reviews/viewreviews.aspx?reviewID=1268
May 14, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Carson Park Ranger
Hey, ease up on Opie and Andy, two very decent people.
May 14, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Eric Kirk
Yeah, it was Barney Fife who ran them out.
May 14, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Eric Kirk
Well, I was just trying to make an excuse of Mr. Hendren.
May 14, 2009 at 7:49 pm
suzy blah blah
The main writers of the show, Harvey Bullock and Everett Greenbaum, were Jewish.
May 14, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Carson Park Ranger
Goddammit Suzy BB, you are amazing!
It was one of my all-time favorite shows. I get weepy just thinking about it.
May 14, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Eric Kirk
Thank you Suzy! I’d checked up on the actors, but none of them are Jewish. I’m going to email that to Hendren.
May 15, 2009 at 6:18 am
Carol
I recently found out that my great grandfather was Jewish.
May 15, 2009 at 7:31 am
olmanriver
Gotta agree, wonderful show. The Only tv shows my grandparents would have on were The Price is Right, Lawrence Welk, and the Andy Griffith Show. Everything else was considered ‘smut’.
Good ol’ small town values!
May 15, 2009 at 8:48 am
milt
Emailing him a simple, gesundheit!, should suffice.
May 15, 2009 at 9:07 am
Lefty
I always find stories about people learning later in life that their Parents, Grandparents etc. were Jews. Was it a family secret? Did the Jewish person keep it from the family themselves? Many times that is the fact because the Jewish person didn’t want future generations to suffer the prejudice that they had to deal with.
I have read that many Jewish men came to America alone and married out of their faith. One reason being there were no Jewish women here to marry. There are many fascinating stories that deal with this. Perhaps someday you will write about this on your blog, or this one, Carol.
May 16, 2009 at 8:22 am
Carol
Hi Lefty, I will write more about it on our blog. Thanks. Yes, it was a big family secret and the information is just coming out now since the old relatives that wanted to keep it a secret have died.
May 16, 2009 at 11:40 am
olmanriver
My grandfather was Jewish, and rather than continue attending the synagogue in a nearby town he converted to his wife’s Presbyterian faith.
He died in 1910 so no one ever asked him why.
The prejudice in that part of Indiana must not have been so bad at that time, he was highly regarded for making his hometown famous for their American Beauty rose.
May 16, 2009 at 11:45 am
Lefty
Hi Carol, I look forward to it.
May 16, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Eric Kirk
It’s funny you should say that Olman. On West Wing the two Jewish characters Toby and Joshua were having an argument. Toby is from NY and Joshua from Connecticut. Toby says, “in New York City we have a word for Connecticut Jews: Presbyterian.”
May 16, 2009 at 8:59 pm
olmanriver
cute
May 16, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Carol
Funny you should mention Connecticut Jews, Eric. My recently discovered Jewish great-grandfather was from Connectiticut. In Connecticut, vital statistics are managed by the individual cities and towns, rather than by the state.
Apparently, my great grandmother was born in New Hampshire and married a fellow named Straight from Connecticut. She had twin boys and we are still unable to find their birth records. Straight was “heavy of hand” and the couple divorced. My great-grandmother moved to Brooklyn, NY with the baby boys, one being my grandfather. When the twins were three she married Halsey Simonson of New Jersey, and then she had another set of twin boys. My grandfather carried the name Simonson and neither he or his brother ever knew that Halsey was not their natural father. It was kept as a family secret until recently. (I don’t think my Uncle Neil even knows yet, that he is not really a Simonson, but a Straight.)
If anyone knows anything about researching genealogy in Connecticut, please let me know! Thanks!
May 17, 2009 at 1:00 pm
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