Critics say GOP candidates are using racial code

Other political observers, however, say the candidates' statements are deliberate - and effective - attempts to excite conservative white voters who form the base of the GOP's early-voting electorate in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, whose first-in-the-South primary is Jan. 21.

"Race-baiting is nothing new," said Karen Kedrowski, chairwoman of Winthrop University's political science department. "'Poverty' and 'welfare' and 'crime,' since the 1970s, have been code for 'black.'"

It was 1976 when Ronald Reagan described a Chicago mother who received public assistance as a "welfare queen."

South Carolina long has produced practitioners of racial politics. Today, however, the GOP no longer is all-white. S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley is of Indian ancestry, and a popular black Republican, U.S. Rep. Tim Scott, represents the coast in Congress.

But racially coded politics still are practiced here. In 2010, for example, then-Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer compared giving the poor public assistance to "feeding stray animals."

Bauer, running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, was defended staunchly as simply saying what was true, even if politically incorrect. Others, however, thought Bauer was trying to draw the attention and support of white Republicans.

During the past week, the GOP's nomination fight has featured:

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania telling an audience in Iowa that he "doesn't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money."

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich calling Obama the "food-stamp president" and saying he would tell black Americans to demand a paycheck, not food assistance.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney saying Obama wants to turn the United States into a European-style "welfare state." Romney said the president's willingness to take from one group of people and give to another group is part of the reason for the nation's economic woes.

Santorum's remarks, made before he almost won the Iowa caucuses, drew immediate attention. Several days later, Santorum said he did not say "black" people. He said he was tongue-tied and said "blah" people.

Gingrich and Romney have offered no qualifications for their comments.

And they don't need to, said Glenn McCall, the chairman of the York County Republican Party.

"Gingrich is right," said McCall, who is black. "The president is the food-stamp president. There are now more people on food stamps than ever before.

"These are facts, and these are subjects that need to be discussed."

'We need jobs'

Food-stamp usage has increased each year of the Obama presidency and, with 44.7 million recipients in 2011, is at an all-time high, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the nation's Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, the former food-stamp program.

About 35 percent of those who get SNAP assistance are white, according to a 2010 study using USDA figures. Black Americans accounted for 22 percent of those receiving SNAP assistance; the balance went to Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans and people who did not specify a race.

SNAP usage began to climb dramatically as the U.S. economy went into freefall before Obama became president.

In 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law legislation that slightly increased the amount some families could receive through the program. Eligibility requirements have not been eased during Obama's administration.

But Republicans argue that Obama's policies have made the nation's economy worse, and thus are responsible for the increase in food aid.

"Black people are not the problem," McCall said. "We need jobs, and we need the president to be focused on jobs."

Democrats respond that Republicans in Congress have stymied Obama's jobs-program plans, contending that his proposals are too expensive at a time of escalating budget deficits.

Lonnie Randolph, president of the S.C. conference of the NAACP, said he expects more of what Romney, Gingrich and Santorum have dished out in the weeks to come.

"They made subtle statements, but the intensity of the bigotry increases as they come to South Carolina," he said. "Why not assist those who are having challenges in life? And these same (candidates) will tell you about their religion and how much they love the Lord. It goes to show you the hypocrisy."

Dick Harpootlian, chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party, said it's more than hypocritical.

"It's disgusting," said Harpootlian, who argues the candidates have a simple goal in mind. "What they've got to do is remind their base that (Obama) is black."

Harpootlian said the comments fit into a basic, if ugly, page of the political playbook - find a group to blame for your problems and blame them.

"If you were running a race in Afghanistan, you'd be blaming everything on the Western white devil," he said.

Winthrop's Kedrowski said using racially coded language offers short-term gain. But it also carries a long-term risk of backfiring during the fall general election, she added.

"These messages do resonate with the Republican establishment," Kedrowski said. "(But) they'll make really wonderful (Democratic) attack ads in the general election."

Source: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/01/07/3644280/critics-say-gop-candidates-are.html

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