Lou Dobbs Almost Calls Condi A "Cotton Picker"

Lou Dobbs visited Wolf Blitzer in the "Situation Room" on Friday and railed against Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice for saying that race is still an issue in America because it was an American "birth defect."

Dobbs dismissed Rice's very notion, claiming race is no longer an issue in a society as diverse as modern day America. "The reality is, this is the most socially, ethnically, religiously, racially diverse society on the face of the earth," Dobbs said. "Now, Wolf, we don't make enough of that in the national media. We listen to some idiot say you can't talk about race."

Then Dobbs tripped over his words, as he declared, "Not a single one of these cotton...[stammering]...these just ridiculous politicians should be the moderator on the issue of race."

Watch:

Comments

[realpolitic]

11:36 PM on 04/02/2008

Ted Turner was on television last night saying that if he still owned CNN he would reign in Dobbs. He said something along the lines of "all this hating of Mexicans" is unfortunate.

[tea in the harbor]

12:31 PM on 04/02/2008

A lot of Dobb's comments can be construed as racist, I think it's more likely just plain old ignorance. Lou routinely calls people "stupid", or rails about how they don't measure up to his self perceived brilliance, as opposed to making an argument on it's merits. He spends the majority of every show on his personal pet peeve, immigration, and hasn't said anything new on the subject for years, blabbers about how HE is responsible for every independent vote in the country, I've been an independent since Carter, so this really bothers me! Then he wraps up with a few emails complementing his program or himself, maybe one poorly composed criticism, and a blatant plug for his "New" book. (How long can you apply the term "New", anyway, he's been hawking this thing daily for years!) He is probably the best example of what is wrong with the MSM in every category, if he wasn't up against Chris Matthews, he wouldn't have a program at all!

[mix2007]

10:16 AM on 04/02/2008

Lou Dobbs came two syllables from losing his job.

You DO NOT call the first black Sec. of State "cotton picking"!

What a nasty jerk.

[booksnmore4you]

12:39 AM on 04/02/2008

An innocent gaffe that serves only to show how racial-based discourse is ingrained.

[echeola]

11:25 PM on 04/01/2008

That's funny, I grew up in rural wisconsin and I'd heard cotton picking used as a derogatory remark, but never against a black person. I can see where it comes from now though. I wonder if it was a slip or a carefully construed to draw out the reaction he was railing against.

[acidfree]

03:28 AM on 04/02/2008

I too grew up in Wisconsin and heard "cotton pickin' moment" as an expletive substitute.
That people are calling it racist because cotton picking was once an African American duty is a stretch, but then I am Caucasian...and in a few minutes I will be called a racist...

[GwenElle]

12:06 PM on 04/02/2008

Acidfree, you might not be a racist, but you sure sound like one.

By what stretch of imagined history can it be remotely considered that picking cotton was an African American *duty*? To the extent that the work of picking cotton was a choice, people did it to meet their material needs and those of their family.

And let's not forget that era in our history when blacks had no choice in the matter at all. You know the period I'm talking about.; starts with an s and ends with a y. And less your mind go there, this particular reminder is not about guilt. Just a plea to read and retain enough of a contextual knowledge of this country's history to be mindful of what we say, to whom we say it and in what venue. That is how respectful dialog is conducted.

To anyone who is even remotely familiar with the history of this country, picking cotton is predominantly associated with African Americans. To somehow suggest that the term does not have racial, if not racist, overtones is at best disingenuous.

Furthermore, as far as any of us know, rather than the term cotton picking, Mr Dobbs may have had in mind the term cotton picker, a far more perjorative usage. I am willing to give him he benefit of the doubt, but I have grown extremely weary of his peculiar brand of high mindedness.

By the way, what may I ask are the *duties* of caucasians?

[Ash79]

11:24 PM on 04/01/2008

Minor gaff. Pretty irrelevant. I watch Fox News for five minutes and I feel like I need a shower.

[dmthurman]

10:54 PM on 04/01/2008

Political Entertainment, it has nothing to do with anything substantive, just like most of this type of stuff on TV. .

[preatorius]

10:39 PM on 04/01/2008

Want to have some fun? Please send a bag of cotton balls to CNN:
Lou dobbs

c/o CNN NY

1 Chase Manhattan Plaza

New York

NY 10005

[booksnmore4you]

12:47 AM on 04/02/2008

ROFL.

[PubeSurfer]

03:02 AM on 04/02/2008

For even more fun, send it wrapped in one of your diapers.

[TN]

10:29 PM on 04/01/2008

On Lou Dobbs tonight, he was discussing border security with the guy filling in for Wolf, John somebody, (a republican), says the democrats say they will re-examine the border fence. Then lou goes off calling them names, bad ones. Hello Lou, your informed public watched the debates when the candidates discussed some of the fencing would split colleges, parks and just didn't make common sense. They talked about using other types of high technology in those areas along with manpower, (jobs) Either Lou isn't aware of this or he wanted his viewing public to think the dems are against border security. Lou, you looked like an idiot. What is your real plan lou, try to convince your audience to be independants and then trash the dem candidates so they ultimately vote what you are, a republican. nice....

[NursePatric]

09:49 PM on 04/01/2008

He did exactly the right thing. He considered the context. Given that he had to confront using the term in a context where it might have offended he may consider trying to remove it from his lexicon. What does it even mean, "wait one cotton picking moment" ??? Maybe I'll google it. I mean we know who picked most of the cotton ... so chances are it's problematic ...

[edsel]

09:08 PM on 04/01/2008

i agree with you

[sangsue]

08:12 PM on 04/01/2008

I'm usually the first person who will notice something is racist but I really think that wasn't the case with Dobbs. I didn't connect "cotton picking" with racism, I heard the term in various Looney Tunes cartoons. And in the Flintstones. I actually thought it was a way to avoid cursing. Maybe because I was brought up in NY?

I know people who use the term "Jew someone down" when talking about haggling prices. I never heard it until I moved down to the DC area and as a Jewish person, it was very offensive to me but I had to accept that the person didn't even think anything Anti-Semitic about it.

I think the above examples are cases where the expression is used so commonly that people don't know the racist or offensive origins.

But, Al D'Amato learned the hard way. When he was the Republican Candidate for NY Senator in 1999, D'Amato called Schumer a "putz." He thought it meant jerk.

"Putz" is Yiddish for penis. So is "schmuck."

[TN]

11:39 PM on 04/01/2008

funny

[LightningJoe]

07:41 PM on 04/01/2008

Half a point to Dobbs for remembering, ALMOST in time, that cotton-picking is a slave-era and southern white trash epithet.

I guess he MUST be right, that race is no longer a factor, in our society (snerk- sorry, had to stop laughing out loud).

-----
stop watching tv. just stop, and let it die.

[preatorius]

10:40 PM on 04/01/2008

Want to have some fun? Please send a bag of cotton balls to CNN:
Lou dobbs

c/o CNN NY

1 Chase Manhattan Plaza

New York

NY 10005

[PubeSurfer]

03:15 AM on 04/02/2008

Wrong knee-jerk, Joe. What he realized almost in time was that a few idle stooges might jump on the meaningless term and try to make a race thing of it. Oddly, the racism industry professionals -- Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Barack Obama' spiritual guide, etc., were too bored with it to bother. They'd be all over this like white on cotton if there were anything to it.

[OlskoolDem]

09:40 AM on 04/02/2008

No, He realised at the last moment that he was about to say a bad thing about W.'s lady friend and Sec. of State & all of the bad stuff attached to that from a GOP standpoint.

[repent1]

07:37 PM on 04/01/2008

I don't know if Lou Dobbs is a raciest, after all he has been married to a Mexican American for over 25 yrs. and his children are bi-racial. However, if Lou believes there are no race problems in the United States, he is Crazy.

[preatorius]

10:41 PM on 04/01/2008

maybe he only hate cotton pickers
Want to have some fun? Please send a bag of cotton balls to CNN:
Lou dobbs

c/o CNN NY

1 Chase Manhattan Plaza

New York

NY 10005

[mhoiles]

09:17 AM on 04/02/2008

Maybe you can make some better use of your time and lobby for better wages for the Mexicans who are now "cotton picking" cotten pickers.

[GodisHateSpeech]

06:51 AM on 04/02/2008

Is the wife Spanish or Native American?
Spanish=White
Indiano=Native American
The Ruling Class in Mexico is mostly unblended white/Spanish
Discrimanation against N.Americans in Mexico is systemic and at the root of illegal imigration.
The troubles in southern mexico are also race based.

[jebamoni]

07:21 PM on 04/01/2008

THIS CANTANKEROUS DOBBS IS ONE DAY GOING TO WEAR A CONE SHAPED HAT AND A CLOACK AND GOING TO BURN CROSS. CNN SHOULD GET RID OFF THIS GUY.

[Didi47]

07:40 PM on 04/01/2008

Oh get real jebamoni:

If you Obama supporters are a sign of times to come, America will be better off under the Republicans. Good grief... with your "never ending attacks on anything anyone says, that can be twisted into anything ugly you can think of" people are going to have to become MUTE to please you guys.

Get off your silly ass horse and come back down to earth - where real people live.

[GodisHateSpeech]

06:59 AM on 04/02/2008

At least we won’t triple the debt, crash the banks, bankrupt the middle class, displace innocent civilians and dishonor this great country with condescending comments from the caviler trained chimp.

[SharonB]

08:08 PM on 04/01/2008

Why do people who post the most incoherent and illiterate posts use all caps?