I’m not sure how many people ever actually hear the exact words he says, it’s either interpreted / summarized in reporting, or it’s written off as just Trump being Trump. If he were the one who said it the “it’s just a joke” defense would be working. But it doesn’t seem to be.
In a way it could be like a reverse seeing the man behind the curtain. Maybe some of the folks who are indifferent to the culture wars but yearn for the economy of 2019 finally saw who they’re associating with and it was enough. Sure, they’ve heard comments about Trump supporters being racist, but always downplayed it, or assumed it was the “liberal media bias”
Again, I’m doubtful it will matter. But at the same time I don’t think Scott would have been so quick to disavow that “joke” if Trump had said it. So if it’s not the message itself, there must be something about the messenger or the timing that worries them.
I think it will matter. I remember a Comptroller race in New York in which the Republican incumbent was set to cruise for reelection until he made a remark that singled out bodegas in a negative light, prompting his heavy defeat. It's one thing for Trump and his people to say disgusting things about people coming across the border, but attacking Puerto Ricans, who are all American citizens, is going to hurt.
No, this was a state-wide race. It's hard to find stuff about it online, but the incumbent Republican was an Italian-American man who had won the job by pushing a homophobic line and then lost it by showing disrespect toward Latinos.
Hispanic leaders slammed Attorney General Dennis Vacco yesterday following a report he used the words “bodega” and “bandido” while talking about crime and the death penalty.
Answering a question from the Jewish Week newspaper about the death penalty as a deterrent to crime, Vacco is quoted as saying: “We don’t do surveys of criminals. You don’t stand outside a bodega and ask the bandido if he would have killed somebody if there was no death penalty.”
Vacco! Yes, I dimly remember him. That makes sense; I was trying to figure out why a Comptroller candidate would be talking about bodegas. Not impossible of course. In any case, what an imbecile. Nice find on your part!
I’m not sure how many people ever actually hear the exact words he says, it’s either interpreted / summarized in reporting, or it’s written off as just Trump being Trump. If he were the one who said it the “it’s just a joke” defense would be working. But it doesn’t seem to be.
In a way it could be like a reverse seeing the man behind the curtain. Maybe some of the folks who are indifferent to the culture wars but yearn for the economy of 2019 finally saw who they’re associating with and it was enough. Sure, they’ve heard comments about Trump supporters being racist, but always downplayed it, or assumed it was the “liberal media bias”
Again, I’m doubtful it will matter. But at the same time I don’t think Scott would have been so quick to disavow that “joke” if Trump had said it. So if it’s not the message itself, there must be something about the messenger or the timing that worries them.
I think it will matter. I remember a Comptroller race in New York in which the Republican incumbent was set to cruise for reelection until he made a remark that singled out bodegas in a negative light, prompting his heavy defeat. It's one thing for Trump and his people to say disgusting things about people coming across the border, but attacking Puerto Ricans, who are all American citizens, is going to hurt.
I think you might be thinking of a different race. As near as I can tell NYC hasn't had a Republican comptroller since the 40's.
No, this was a state-wide race. It's hard to find stuff about it online, but the incumbent Republican was an Italian-American man who had won the job by pushing a homophobic line and then lost it by showing disrespect toward Latinos.
If you remember what race this was, please post about it. Very interesting, and quite plausible.
I'll probably remember his name later.
I did some research. It was actually an Attorney General race. His name was Dennis Vacco. Here's the Wikipedia article about him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Vacco And here's a Daily News story about the comment that sunk his reelection campaign: https://www.nydailynews.com/1998/10/29/vacco-comment-fuels-hispanics-ire/
And here's the first paragraph of the story:
Hispanic leaders slammed Attorney General Dennis Vacco yesterday following a report he used the words “bodega” and “bandido” while talking about crime and the death penalty.
Answering a question from the Jewish Week newspaper about the death penalty as a deterrent to crime, Vacco is quoted as saying: “We don’t do surveys of criminals. You don’t stand outside a bodega and ask the bandido if he would have killed somebody if there was no death penalty.”
Vacco! Yes, I dimly remember him. That makes sense; I was trying to figure out why a Comptroller candidate would be talking about bodegas. Not impossible of course. In any case, what an imbecile. Nice find on your part!