Newt Gingrich's Racism Card

Before I critique Newt for his ineptitudes let me repeat a line from David Cross, which is most apropos for this situation.


"I am not a Republican. Why would you think I was a republican? I am not a member of the party of inclusion. A long list of wonderful, tolerant, inclusive, people. That's what Bush had to say. They were the party of inclusion and nobody called him on his shit. Remember when all that shit was going down with Trent Lott and Rick Santorum and Orin Hatch all at once and not spread out over a matter of weeks like it usually is. Nooo, Republicans got some awesome racists, great racists, great sexists, ah, homophobs, A number 1. Absolute A number 1. Crazy, crazy homophobic crazy people. And look, listen, listen. I am not saying that all Republicans are racist sexist homophobs, just the people they choose to elect into office to represent them are. That's all."

Newt was making a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women. But to me it sounds more like supporters of the KKK who are worried that their white culture is becoming tainted and diluted by the coloreds. That their 'pure' blood is becoming defiled by the evil-doers. Those non-white poor minority groups who are the downfall of American society.

Newt's own words:

The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.

Yet, this hate speak is nothing for Newt.

In 1995, for example, he said bilingualism poses "long-term dangers to the fabric of our nation" and that "allowing bilingualism to continue to grow is very dangerous."

First off, most other countries in the world have forms of bilingual education and so should the U.S., confining yourself to one language in a global world is the most limiting and debilitating thing a person could do. Since Newt is so pro-capital and pro-laissez faire economics he should know that it is in the workers best interests to know more than one language.

Furthermore, he clearly has no conception of how capitalism works and that the ghetto is a result not only of the class structure but racism. Racism which is clearly evident in the rhetoric he uses, "that non-English is the language of the ghetto." His understanding that bilingual students are not learning English if flat-out not true. I have spent time in bilingual classrooms and they are trying to learn English, but there are not enough structural supports systems in place. One of the reasons is that schools are underfunded, a direct result of policies advocated by Newt's Republican party. My girlfriend taught English Language Learners who were in high school and she had recent immigrants in her classroom from six different countries: Russia, Laos, Mexico, Liberia, Guatemala and Niger.

Now, with only one student aid coming in once a week for a couple hours to help her try and teach them English please explain to me how she is supposed to give each of these students enough one-on-one time to master the English language, as Newt wants them too. It simply cannot be done with the current lack of resources provided to the faculty. Each student has a different native language and so comes to this country with different skills levels of English and different problems related to learning English. Also, due to government defunding of education there are no after-school programs that can provide intensive English education that would assist these students in learning English. Add on the fact that the parents of these students probably do not speak English themselves or are not fluent speakers it leaves the student dependent on the school or friends to help her learn the language.

Newt's inability to conceptualize that a class structure exists leads him to perpetuate the myth that English is your ticket to prosperity, which is simply not true. The fact that he focuses on the ghetto clearly shows his racist attitudes. He fails to address the rampant poverty in rural white America. Which cannot be blamed on the lack of English speaking abilities, as these individuals are predominantly white Americans, born and raised. Even if these immigrants/'ghetto' youth speak English they still have the stigma of being labeled as 'ghetto' kids and being non-white. He fails to realize that just because the students learn English does not protect them from racial profiling or racist attitudes by both prospective employers, the police or worried whites. The individuals will still be culturally influenced by the neighborhoods they grew up in, one which scares Newt and his Klan, although it should not.

Moreover, the ghetto's were created by whites, with white flight to the suburbs in the 1950s-1970s the cities fell into disrepair at at the same time that blacks where just beginning to win their civil rights. Therefore, they were left behind to fend for themselves as all public services left those areas - police, fire, education, health care - and all prospective employers closed down shop and moved to the suburbs as well. Thus creating the ghetto. I am sick and tired of Newt and individuals like him failing to own up to his Racist attitudes and placing all the blame on non-whites for situations that are structurally forced on them by whites. Especially when inner city residents are not given the adequate structural support to lift them out of the situation that they were born into. The quality of education and other social services they receive is far below that of white suburbia, so they are structurally disenfranchised compared to whites from the start.

I do not see him advocating to fix 'Honky' English or 'Appalachia' English. No, Newt is trying to whip up a fan base of hatred against non-whites so whites have someone to blame for their problems rather than looking at the real culprits for their declining economic status: corporations and capital. This routine of blame the immigrant, blame the non-white is nothing new for America. We have done it throughout time: from Mexicans and Africans, to Middle Easterners, to the Irish and Polish to the Indians. The Race card is a major factor in keeping the working classes from forming solidarity across class lines and will remain so as long as people remain unaware of their social-historical existence.

On top of this, I do not see him advocating for either himself or his Klan to volunteer their time and help these 'ghetto' dwellers to learn English. Nope, he just wants to keep this country pure and clean. Next thing you know he will setting up segregated non-white only towns where non-whites are forced to live in inhuman poverty conditions - oh wait, that is the ghetto. So Newt's plan is to rally support by blaming America's downfall on the 'ghetto' while at the same time cutting all funding towards transforming the ghetto into a beacon of light. This underfunding ensures that the ghetto will never improve which as a result creates an 'other' that he can continually use to bolster his own political ambitions.