GOP Congressman refers to latinos as "Wetbacks"... draws criticism.

[DMX7]

John Boehner chastises Alaska Republican for 'wetbacks' slur

:lol NO RACIST!


House speaker John Boehner has admonished a senior Republican colleague over the use of a racial slur to describe Hispanic immigrants.

Boehner joined other Republicans in demanding a full apology of Alaska representative Don Young, who drew widespread condemnation for calling Hispanics "wetbacks" in a radio interview.

Young, who has represented Alaska's at-large district in the House since 1973, said he meant "no disrespect" by the comment.

Boehner described Young's remarks as "offensive and beneath the dignity of the office he holds". He added: "I don't care why he said it; there's no excuse and it warrants an immediate apology."

The Democrat minority leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi, also called for a full apology over the "deeply offensive" remarks.

The phrase "wetback" is regarded as an offensive slur. It was originally used to describe Mexican immigrants who entered the US by crossing the Rio Grande.

Young, speaking on KRBD radio, was discussing how the mechanisation of farming practices had led to fewer jobs. He said: "My father had a ranch – we used to have 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes. It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It's all done by machine."

In a statement released on Thursday, Young said he had used the term innocently, and meant no harm by it.

Young, 79, said the phrase was one he "commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central California". But he accepted that the term was "not used in the same way nowadays and I meant no disrespect".

But in a tweet, Pelosi dismissed Young's apparent defence that the term has become more offensive with time.

"Congressman Young should fully apologise for deeply offensive comments that were not appropriate in his youth or now," she said.

Young's comments come at a sensitive time for the Republicans, with many in the party looking to soften its line on immigration following November's election loss.

A record number of Hispanics voted, making up 10% of the overall electorate, according to the Pew Research Center. Of those, 71% favoured Barack Obama over Republican rival Mitt Romney.

American Crossroads – the conservative Super Pac backed by former George W Bush adviser Karl Rove – recently launched a fighting fund to counter "undisciplined" primary candidates from the fringe of the party.

It comes after a brace of high-profile Senate seat defeats in November where Republican faced a backlash over comments on rape and abortion.

Meanwhile, a Michigan member of the Republican National Committee (RNC) was under increasing pressure on Friday to resign over an anti-gay diatribe posted on Facebook.

Dave Agema, who served as a state congressman from 2007 until late last year, put up an excerpt of an article titled Everyone Should Know These Statistics On Homosexuals.

Among other homophobic slurs, the article describes homosexuality as a "filthy lifestyle", adding that gay and lesbian people have an agenda of turning people against Christianity.

It also claims that many gay people admit to being paedophiles.

A group of 21 Michigan Republicans have since called the paper "deplorable". Agema also appeared to receive a rebuke from RNC chairman Reince Priebus.

Priebus said that although the party's position on gay marriage – an issue that this week went before the supreme court – is clear, "all human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."

Despite increasing pressure over the article posted on his Facebook page, Agema told the Associated Press that he will "absolutely not" resign from the RNC.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/29/alaska-republican-don-young-wetbacks-slur

[Latarian Milton]

they're all hyprocrites. boehner talks just as much trash & slur about the minor races in his own life as well, he just watches his words well when he makes a public statement. a democrat would grab every straw and use it as a weapon to attack the republicans any chance he gets, same applies to republicans.

[baseline bum]

So his father employed illegals? LOL typical GOP.

[Wild Cobra]

Times have changed. 60 years ago, the term was common, and a way to describe someone else rather than being a slur.

Hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

[baseline bum]

LOL Wild Cobra's Republican ass always in here to defend his party.

[Wild Cobra]

Simply the truth. Times have changed, and old habits change hard.

[boutons_deux]

Simply the truth. Times have changed, and old habits change hard.

most of US society has progressed. Racist, white-supremacist right-wingers "conserve" and promote the ugliness of the past

[Wild Cobra]

Did you guys see how old this guy is? Racist or not, people talked that way even when I was young. It was just accepted.

[boutons_deux]

Did you guys see how old this guy is? Racist or not, people talked that way even when I was young. It was just accepted.

most of US society has progressed. Racist, white-supremacist right-wingers "conserve" and promote the ugliness of the past

[Wild Cobra]

LOL...

Whatever.

How many old people do you know? Have they all changed their speaking style to keep up with the times?

[Wild Cobra]

The two of you are closed minded idiots.

What if the reason he gave is the truth? I agree, it sounds bad, and maybe he is a racist. But to base your assessment and not give the benefit of doubt...

Bad form...

[baseline bum]

LOL Mr Shoot Mexicans at the Border isn't pissed about his family hiring illegals.

[Drachen]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TXGAKgBswjI/UVXXldG4JXI/AAAAAAAAcTw/y1rSqY-fCog/w497-h373/photo.jpg
seems somewhat topical

[DarrinS]

No defending that shit

[DMC]

They aren't wetbacks, they are river n!ggers

[MannyIsGod]

No defending that shit

:lmao

I guess there is racism around we should be concerned about. At east your stupidity has bounds smaller than WC. However, I await your next "race card" post.

[Wild Cobra]

:lmao

I guess there is racism around we should be concerned about. At east your stupidity has bounds smaller than WC. However, I await your next "race card" post.
Stupidity huh...

You define it as giving someone the benefit of doubt? I did say: "I agree, it sounds bad, and maybe he is a racist."

I'm just not going to jump to such a conclusion based on one stupid statement. I'm sure he knows better as a public speaker, and this is probably a first time slip. Still, such language used to be so common, that non-racist people used it too.

Step outside that small box you live in Manny. Stop jumping to unwarranted conclusions.

[redzero]

:rollin Wild Cobra's posts are almost always full of hilarity; the only time they are not is when he tries to be funny.

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

:rollin Wild Cobra's posts are almost always full of hilarity; the only time they are not is when he tries to be funny.


:lmao now that you mention it, the only Wild Cobra posts I don't laugh at are the ones in blue text that make some ultra-generic attempt at humor.

[Spurminator]

Did you guys see how old this guy is? Racist or not, people talked that way even when I was young. It was just accepted.

Yeah, we shouldn't expect our elected officials to be "with the times" and all that nonsense... It's not like they're in charge of legislation that affects us today.

[ElNono]

:rollin Wild Cobra's posts are almost always full of hilarity; the only time they are not is when he tries to be funny.

:lol

[DarrinS]

:lmao

I guess there is racism around we should be concerned about. At east your stupidity has bounds smaller than WC. However, I await your next "race card" post.


Meh, there is real racism out there (the OP is good example). Mostly, there is crying wolf.

pinche mojado

[CosmicCowboy]

In 1965 wetback was a term used commonly by whites and hispanics. It was illegal immigrant specific and not anti-hispanic in general.

[CosmicCowboy]

In the 50's the INS used "wetback" as an official term.

[Wild Cobra]

In the 50's the INS used "wetback" as an official term.
And we need to consider how old this guy is.

He was a young man back then.

Hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

[DarrinS]

In the 50's the INS used "wetback" as an official term.

Really?

[CosmicCowboy]

Really?

Yep. The INS even initiated a program called "Operation Wetback" to catch and deport illegals.

[CosmicCowboy]

Even into the 60's major newspapers like the New York Times were still using the phrase.

[ChumpDumper]

Well, there was Operation Wetback to round up and deport illegals in 1954.

[ChumpDumper]

None of this excuses what the congressman said.

[Blake]

lol Alaska

[CosmicCowboy]

None of this excuses what the congressman said.

Only in that he is a congressman and should be smart enough to know that political correctness is the order of the day. God forbid we should disparage illegal aliens.

[rjv]

leave the old cracker alone. in about half a century his seat will probably be filled by the son of wetback anyway.

[CosmicCowboy]

leave the old cracker alone. in about half a century his seat will probably be filled by the son of wetback anyway.

They have wetbacks in Alaska? Doesn't it get too cold there?...:lol

[Wild Cobra]

They have wetbacks in Alaska? Doesn't it get too cold there?...:lol
They probably call them icebacks.

[rjv]

They have wetbacks in Alaska? Doesn't it get too cold there?...:lol


even more reason to go there. trailer trash isn't going to work out there for peanuts. someone has to do it.

[ChumpDumper]

Only in that he is a congressman and should be smart enough to know that political correctness is the order of the day. God forbid we should disparage illegal aliens.And conservatives wonder why they can't win the Hispanic vote....

[CosmicCowboy]

And conservatives wonder why they can't win the Hispanic vote....

And conservatives wonder why people like Chumpy can't see the difference between Mexican-Americans and illegal immigrants.

[Blake]

They have wetbacks in Alaska? Doesn't it get too cold there?...:lol

I didn't read article so I'm wondering where Daddy's ranch was where the illegals worked.

[CosmicCowboy]

California produce grower

[ChumpDumper]

And conservatives wonder why people like Chumpy can't see the difference between Mexican-Americans and illegal immigrants.This is why you guys couldn't defeat one of the most vulnerable incumbents in US history.

[CosmicCowboy]

This is why you guys couldn't defeat one of the most vulnerable incumbents in US history.

I am on record in here saying that there needs to be a path to citizenship for illegals currently here, but you are showing the usual liberal condescension in equating legal mexican-american hispanics with illegals just because they are all "brown".

[CosmicCowboy]

And it wasn't just the hispanic vote. As Lyndon Johnson said in the 60's “I’ll have those ******s voting Democratic for the next 200 years.”

[ChumpDumper]

I am on record in here saying that there needs to be a path to citizenship for illegals currently here, but you are showing the usual liberal condescension in equating legal mexican-american hispanics with illegals just because they are all "brown".No, I'm simply recognizing that Hispanics don't really give a shit about your rationalizing the use of a term that is offensive to them.

Republicans lost in no small part due to old white men whining about things like this.

[CosmicCowboy]

No, I'm simply recognizing that Hispanics don't really give a shit about your rationalizing the use of a term that is offensive to them.

I'm not rationalizing the use. I pointed out the FACT that it was a common mainstream term at least into the 60's.

[ElNono]

I am on record in here saying that there needs to be a path to citizenship for illegals currently here, but you are showing the usual liberal condescension in equating legal mexican-american hispanics with illegals just because they are all "brown".

I'll argue that what you're missing is that a good chunk of those illegals are closely related to the mexican-americans, and that's not necessary a liberal construction. Some of those mexican-americans were illegals themselves at some point or somewhere down the family chain. Hurling racial epithets like that oftentimes goes beyond just the illegals right now. Then again, the GOP thinks a Cuban-American somehow legitimizes their position with hispanics, which again shows the complete disconnect, IMO.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm not rationalizing the use. I pointed out the FACT that it was a common mainstream term at least into the 60's.Then you tried to mitigate any use of it today because it was used for illegals -- that's it's OK to use on Mexicans that are illegals.

Hispanics disagree. Rather strongly, it seems.

[CosmicCowboy]

The guy is 80. He accidentally used a term that was common and accepted the first half of his life and became politically incorrect in the second half. It was dumb, but hardly worthy of your fake partisan outrage.

[ChumpDumper]

The guy is 80. He accidentally used a term that was common and accepted the first half of his life and became politically incorrect in the second half. It was dumb, but hardly worthy of your fake partisan outrage.No outrage here. I'm merely pointing out that the kind of excuse making you continue to engage in here is why the Republicans are looking for ways to give their party an extreme makeover.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Maybe in the segragated bathrooms that CC and WC were hanging out in 50 years ago it was okay but they were at oldest children back then so how the fuck do they know?

Further, while hanging out in Augusta it may have been cool to refer to kikes, niggas, wetbacks, and any other term of derision, it was probably not the case at Grambling or similar institutions.

My grandparents and their brothers and cousins etc all talked like that but I never thought that anyone other than other white people thought it was cool even back then. I just figured there wasn't shit that team brown could do about it.

[Wild Cobra]

Maybe in the segragated bathrooms that CC and WC were hanging out in 50 years ago...

Once again, the Fuzzy Troll makes unfounded assumptions.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Once again, the Fuzzy Troll makes unfounded assumptions.

Once again, the use of absurdity to make a point is completely lost on the local idiot.

[boutons_deux]

WC claming this asshole is excused as dinosaur, but old, white dinosaur, retrograde politics and policies is what ails the Repugs

[DMX7]

The guy is 80. He accidentally used a term that was common and accepted the first half of his life and became politically incorrect in the second half. It was dumb, but hardly worthy of your fake partisan outrage.

Not that I agree your premise, but you're saying he had 40 years to evolve and he still hasn't. That's pretty inexcusable for a sitting U.S. Congressman -- especially in an especially racially sensitive time.

[Blake]

The guy is 80. He accidentally used a term that was common and accepted the first half of his life and became politically incorrect in the second half. It was dumb, but hardly worthy of your fake partisan outrage.

It was accepted for condescending white people to use the term.

Let me know when a National Association of Wetbacks gets started.

[Drachen]

:rollin Wild Cobra's posts are almost always full of hilarity; the only time they are not is when he tries to be funny.


They probably call them icebacks.

Proof

[InRareForm]

What a dumb fuck

[DMX7]

:rollin Wild Cobra's posts are almost always full of hilarity; the only time they are not is when he tries to be funny.

lol, that's spot on.

[boutons_deux]

apparently "wetback" used among Hispanics is of mixed opinion, sorta like n!gg@ is among AAs, who don't like it much when a bubba calls them n!gg@s anymore than they do when TX Aryans drag an AA around tied to their pickup truck until his eyeballs pop out.

[exstatic]

.