House speaker fails to rein in GOP's sexist, racist attacks on Harris
Some Republicans just couldn’t help themselves. Within hours of President Joe Biden ending his reelection campaign on Sunday and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, the personal attacks against her began. Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett was particularly offensive in an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju on Monday. Harris got the vice president position, Burchett said, because Biden promised “to hire a Black female,” saying that “when you go down that route, you take mediocrity.” Then he went on to call her a “DEI hire” referring to pro-diversity workplace initiatives. Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah, who is incidentally one of just four Black House Republicans, told Punchbowl News that Harris is “the greatest example of DEI,” adding, “For those who believe in DEI, this is exactly what DEI is like. Kamala Harris.” On Sunday, Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin told a reporter that Democrats “have to stick with her because of her ethnic background.” Punchbowl News asked Grotham about that comment, and he tried to walk it back, saying, “I don’t think people view her as Black” and that people “just view her as someone who did nothing on the border.” A little too late, House Speaker Mike Johnson and leadership decided they needed to stop these attacks. In a Tuesday press conference, National Republican Committee Chair Richard Hudson warned them to stick to policy and not make themselves the news. He told Punchbowl that calling attention to Harris’s race and gender is “certainly not something I’m going to say. … I’m going to remain focused on the policies.” But these comments already are the story. Johnson was called on it Tuesday, when Raju asked him whether it's appropriate for Republicans to call Harris a "DEI hire.” He responded to it lamely, saying, "This election ... is going to be about policies, not personalities. This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris, and her ethnicity or her gender have nothing to do with this." Yes, he actually said that on the heels of last week’s Republican National Convention, where the policy talk was basically limited to the “Mass Deportation Now” signs, while the rest of the convention was devoted to the deification of Donald Trump. GOP leaders might try to make good on their supposed policy focus by having a floor vote this week on a resolution from the odious New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, condemning Harris for her “role as Joe Biden’s ‘Border czar’ leading to the most catastrophic open border crisis in history,” as Stefanik put it. Because that’s about as deep as a Republican can get when it comes to policy. Meanwhile, Johnson is going to have a hard time reining in the filth from his members when their dear leader Trump is readying a dog-whistle campaign against Harris. And where Trump is concerned, a dog whistle is a bullhorn. Let's show them how ready the nation is for Kamala Harris. Donate now to put her in the White House!
JoriPress
Some Republicans just couldn’t help themselves. Within hours of President Joe Biden ending his reelection campaign on Sunday and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, the personal attacks against her began.
Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett was particularly offensive in an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju on Monday. Harris got the vice president position, Burchett said, because Biden promised “to hire a Black female,” saying that “when you go down that route, you take mediocrity.” Then he went on to call her a “DEI hire” referring to pro-diversity workplace initiatives.
Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah, who is incidentally one of just four Black House Republicans, told Punchbowl News that Harris is “the greatest example of DEI,” adding, “For those who believe in DEI, this is exactly what DEI is like. Kamala Harris.”
On Sunday, Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin told a reporter that Democrats “have to stick with her because of her ethnic background.” Punchbowl News asked Grotham about that comment, and he tried to walk it back, saying, “I don’t think people view her as Black” and that people “just view her as someone who did nothing on the border.”
A little too late, House Speaker Mike Johnson and leadership decided they needed to stop these attacks. In a Tuesday press conference, National Republican Committee Chair Richard Hudson warned them to stick to policy and not make themselves the news. He told Punchbowl that calling attention to Harris’s race and gender is “certainly not something I’m going to say. … I’m going to remain focused on the policies.”
But these comments already are the story. Johnson was called on it Tuesday, when Raju asked him whether it's appropriate for Republicans to call Harris a "DEI hire.” He responded to it lamely, saying, "This election ... is going to be about policies, not personalities. This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris, and her ethnicity or her gender have nothing to do with this."
Yes, he actually said that on the heels of last week’s Republican National Convention, where the policy talk was basically limited to the “Mass Deportation Now” signs, while the rest of the convention was devoted to the deification of Donald Trump.
GOP leaders might try to make good on their supposed policy focus by having a floor vote this week on a resolution from the odious New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, condemning Harris for her “role as Joe Biden’s ‘Border czar’ leading to the most catastrophic open border crisis in history,” as Stefanik put it. Because that’s about as deep as a Republican can get when it comes to policy.
Meanwhile, Johnson is going to have a hard time reining in the filth from his members when their dear leader Trump is readying a dog-whistle campaign against Harris. And where Trump is concerned, a dog whistle is a bullhorn.
Let's show them how ready the nation is for Kamala Harris. Donate now to put her in the White House!
