Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) on Obama: "I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need

[Pirate Smile]

to be on the button. He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/188918.php


Davis remark called 'racist'
In speech, he referred to Obama as 'boy'

BY PATRICK CROWLEY | [e-mail]

ERLANGER - The racially charged overtones of the Democratic presidential primary has ensnarled Congressman Geoff Davis after a comment he made about Barack Obama during a Saturday night speech.

During his talk at Saturday's Fourth District Lincoln/Reagan Day Dinner in Boone County, Davis, a Hebron Republican seeking re-election, made the following comment when questioning the national security credentials and experience of Obama, an African-American from Illinois:

"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

Davis is taking criticism because referring to an African-American as a "boy" is considered by many as racist and pejorative.

-snip-
"He simply misspoke," said Jeremy Hughes, Davis' campaign spokesman.

-snip-
Campbell County Democratic Party Chairman Ken Mullikin said he could "not believe" Davis would make such a comment.
"When you get somebody in an emotionally charged situation they speak what is on their mind," Mullikin said. "That comment clearly shows what Geoff Davis really believes about African-Americans."


http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080414/NEWS0103/304150022


This "misspoke" thing is contagious.

"The speech was well-received by those who heard it," Hughes said. - What a shock considering it was a Republican Dinner.

[BklynChick]

1. boy ?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[roguevalley]

46. unless he is 90-100 years old, that remark is racism. its about as cool

as Bush rubbing black men on their heads. I saw bigots do that in the good old days of Jim Crow. It is racism.

[yardwork]

2. I hope that this backfires bigtime on that bigot Republican.

People have had it with this kind of thing.

[hogwyld]

3. Boy???? WTF????

Get his ass back to the KKKlan.

[countingbluecars]

4. Yikes! n/t

[ourbluenation]

5. Someone's got it covered already, PirateS.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5499299

[Pirate Smile]

17. Whoops - sorry about that.

[Egnever]

6. wow did he call him a macaca too?

[thoughtcrime1984]

7. What a stupid piece of shit

He must be representative of many stupid pieces of shit.

[Hepburn]

8. Fuck..whadda surprise...a stupid Repuke bigot!

:eyes:

[Faygo Kid]

9. Wow. Is this the 21st century, or Reconstruction??

Let alone the total lunacy of Rep. Davis' sentence structure.

I trust Keith O. will see and note this.

[Alter Ego]

10. This shit is expected from their side--and if they try to use it

in the GE it will backfire spectacularly on them.

[Pirate Smile]

44. This scares the crap out of the McCain camp. They don't want it overtly.

[niyad]

11. boy? well, this is a KY repuke, after all. do we expect better?

I guess it is okay to have a drunken, aggressive, ignorant, incompetent frat boy's finger on the button?

[Divernan]

61. Geoff Davis screws servicemen & women to favor financial predators

www.frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/gov2/2006/09/ney-plea-trouble-for-davis


"Question #1: Who does Geoff Davis care about more?

A. America's fighting men and women

B. His wealthy campaign contributors




All right, time's up. The correct answer is B:

Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky., is fighting a proposal to cap high interest rates for short-term payday loans to military service members at 36 percent, drawing protests from consumer watchdogs and military groups.

..."It would be interesting to know why Congressman Davis is working against the protection of servicemen that no less than the Department of Defense wants from Congress," said Jean Ann Fox, consumer-protection director for the Consumer Federation of America.

An aide to Davis yesterday said the congressman has consulted CNG Financial of Mason, Ohio, one of his top campaign donors and owner of national payday lender Check 'n Go.

..."We oppose the 36-percent rate cap because it would essentially end our business with the military," said CFSA spokesman Steve Schlein.

We see this time and time again from the Republicans. They simply don't care about regular working people. But if you're a wealthy donor to their campaign, they'll bend over backwards to accomodate you."

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

12. What a nice change of pace....REPUBLICAN race-baiting, like the good old days.

[Blue_Roses]

13. ewwwwwwwwwwwww...

What a goober:eyes:

[Binka]

26. UGLY UGLY UGLY

YUCK.

[goldcanyonaz]

14. At least he didn't call him a fucking whore.

[Cant trust em]

19. Are you serious?

So it's OK that a republican is racist against Obama, but if a democrat is sexist against Clinton it's terrible? You've really gone around the bend here.

[goldcanyonaz]

27. They're both disgusting remarks. It's the hypocrisy around here that amazes me.

Clinton is called every name in the book, but sexism doesn't exist. We all know racism exists, and agree that it does, but have someone raise sexism around here and they're laughed off the board..

[Cant trust em]

31. OK, as long as you're saying that they both have merit

I would have been really concerned if you blew that comment off.

Like I've said on other posts, a little sexism appears to be tolerated, but a little racism will get you TS'd.

[goldcanyonaz]

34. No, and I will write this fucker and give him a piece of my mind.

I just wish we could all be on the same team and be outraged together instead of selective outrage because of who we support.

[Cant trust em]

36. I can't wait for the end of this primary season

then DU can all be one big happy family again.

Cheers.

:toast:

[goldcanyonaz]

42. Same back to you friend.

:toast:

[SammyWinstonJack]

55. Sexism is apparently okay when used against Hillary. Mind boggling, isn't it?

[goldcanyonaz]

56. Yes, it's just awful to have one of our own called such names.

What makes it worse is that those in our own party use those words daily around here to describe her.

Makes me very angry.

[Pirate Smile]

22. Do you think that helps Hillary?

[goldcanyonaz]

29. Do you think the celebration around here calling Clinton a 'fucking whore' helps Obama?

How many here cheered at those words? It's the hypocrisy that outrages me.

[Pirate Smile]

32. I didn't celebrate it. Two wrongs don't make a right but, by all means, continue as you were.

[me b zola]

49. The goober who made the "boy" remark is an elected official

:mad:

[LaurenG]

15. I lived over there for a while, in Florence

lets just say the area is decidedly different from the Ohio side of the river.

[Cant trust em]

16. Misspeak = something I didn't mean to say, but I really did want to say

[BlooInBloo]

18. Nah - it = something I didn't mean for you to overhear.

[BattyDem]

20. Boy?!? Oh boy.

:eyes: :grr: :puke:

[phantom power]

21. Dog-whistling away...

[cali]

23. I hope it fucks the racist pig

not that it will.

[thoughtcrime1984]

24. We'll see if McCain is as concerned about this bigotry as he is

about the word "bitter". I doubt it. I hope the GOP pisses off every single AA, minority, and non-bigoted white voter out there. That'll cook their goose, and many House and Senate seats will switch to Democratic. Racist fuckers. Davis, I have a feeling you're going down.

[last_texas_dem]

25. Davis is only 3 years older than Obama

If he were a really old guy I might have chalked the comment up to senility, or just the tendency some very old men have of seeing people of younger generations (even if those in the "younger" generations are in their sixties!) as "kids." But I don't think there's any way to explain away this comment...

[petersjo02]

43. Three years younger...

and a thousand times uglier. My eyes! My eyes!

[hfojvt]

I looked up his age too

born in 1958 according to Wiki. I would find it more understandable if he was in his sixties. Being Obama's age myself I sometimes think of people in their twenties as 'kids'.

[nichomachus]

28. I'm willing to bet

that Obama would not sit on his ass reading about a goat for half an hour while the country was under attack -- and then run like a rabbit in the other direction.

[CakeGrrl]

30. The slime comes out of the woodwork, as anticipated. n/t

[southern_belle]

33. BOY???

WTF??? :rant:

[undeterred]

35. That asshole does not need to be in Congress.

[ronnykmarshall]

37. What a fucking whore!

[truebrit71]

38. "Boy"? Seriously, wtf is wrong with people...someone needs to kick this cracker's ass...

:grr:

[ronnykmarshall]

39. Ignorant white fuck!

[ingac70]

40. He's a redneck white trash scumbag...

so such remarks are not surprising.

[Pisces]

41. Hillary has been playing this subconscious racist card from the beginning by calling herself a girl,

thereby implying Obama is a boy. Letting racists take their cue.

[Pirate Smile]

53. Oh, don't go there. This is all on that jackass.

Leave her out of it.

[golddigger]

63. Wow, your pathetic.

[AspenRose]

45. "Macaca," Part Deux.

:eyes:

[uponit7771]

47. If not racist then it's very incensitive and stupid

[redstate_democrat]

48. I want to see the media's reaction to this. This man called a

middle aged black man a "boy". Yet, Obama's words are being parced to CREATE some sort of inflammatory statement. That's rich.

[acrosstheuniverse]

52. Yeah I bet you we hear just a tiny blip of this

The media will then go back to their bullshit about Obama telling people that poor folks in PENN are bitter. Neither Mccain nor Hillary will bother making a statement about this that the press could cover. And the world turns.

[JBoy]

50. Here's what goes through Repubs minds when they fantasize and obsess about that red button:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhzvCyhkg8c

(Any Ren & Stimpy fans will like this)

[Renaissance Man]

51. Wow!

The true "dyed-in-the-wool" racists are really coming out of the woodworks now, eh! A 46-year old man is a boy?

First, Ferraro suggests that he has some kind of advantage because he's black (how non-sensical and stupid is that) and now we don't need to have that "boy's" finger near the red button. I'll call my Dad and tell him that it's the curtains on this "racial understanding" bit (in both parties).

[VotesForWomen]

54. in all seriousness, the word 'boy' is used about men of any race; yes there is a history of it

being used wrt black men, but that doesn't mean that any usage of it is necessarily racist. maybe it is, maybe it isn't. further evidence would be needed.

[hayu_lol]

57. I think it was Stephan King who said in one of his books...

(about Sarah Laughs)that in Maine, young men are known as boys until they reach the age of 70 when they are called 'young man.'

Gotta be careful when dealing with regional matters and terms.

[Pirate Smile]

60. I think girl is used in that way but I really don't hear boy used in the same way - guy is used, not

boy.

I really disagree about how common "boy" is used when referencing a man. Sometimes "boys" meaning "the guys" is used as in "boys night out" or "do you want to stay with the boys" but RARELY do I hear "boy" (singular) used to describe one adult man. I think it has a VERY strong racist connotation.

[last_texas_dem]

65. I think the fact that Davis is relatively the same age as Obama

(three years older), though, indicates that he wasn't using it as an innocent expression. Even if (and I doubt it) there wasn't a racial message intended, it was likely meant to indicate that Obama is naive, inexperienced, stupid, etc.

[Capn Sunshine]

66. In this day and age, that's ridiculous. Shows total tone-deafness

.

[Divernan]

58. This is the guy who defeated Nick Clooney - lots of dirt/info on Davis from Wikipedia

Looks like he washed out of West Point - his bio says he "attended" West Point.

2002 and 2004 elections
In 2002 elections, Davis had challenged Ken Lucas, the Democratic incumbent but was narrowly defeated.

Two years later, however, Lucas declined to run, honoring a promise to serve only three terms. In the 2004 race for the open seat, Davis defeated Democrat Nick Clooney. The race had been rated as highly competitive by outside observers.


Service in Congress
Davis has a solidly conservative voting record; according to his congressional website, he has positioned himself as pro-life and in favor of industrial deregulation.

In November, 2005, Davis made headlines for his response to Pennsylvania representative John Murtha's call for withdrawal from Iraq, saying, "Ayman Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, as well as Abu Musab Zarqawi, have made it quite clear in their internal propaganda that they cannot win unless they can drive the Americans out. And they know that they can't do that there, so they've brought the battlefield to the halls of Congress. And, frankly, the liberal leadership have put politics ahead of sound, fiscal and national security policy. And what they have done is cooperated with our enemies and are emboldening our enemies." Davis faced harsh criticism for his remarks, including, for example, from the Democratic Veterans of Northern Kentucky, and sparked a drive led by national Democratic Party leaders to get Lucas to run against him in 2006.<1><2><3>


2006 election
On January 30, 2006, Lucas announced he would indeed challenge Davis later that year. The announcement instantly turned the race into one of the hottest in the campaign cycle, even though the 4th is considered the most Republican district in Kentucky. Despite a substantial Democratic advantage in voter registration, the influence of the heavily Republican Cincinnati suburbs kept the district in Republican hands from 1967 until Lucas won the seat in 1998. In August Congressional Quarterly rated this race as "Lean Republican." In late July the Washington Post also rated the race as a toss-up.<4> A SurveyUSA poll released on July 25, 2006 showed Lucas leading 50% to 41%.<5> However, the most recent independent SurveyUSA poll shows Davis up by two percentage points (46% Davis - 44% Lucas).<6> Davis has a decisive lead in fundraising.<7>

The Cook Political Report, an independent non-partisan newsletter, rated the race for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District as a "Republican Toss-Up", meaning either party has a good chance of winning.<8>

Election-night (uncertified) count, gave Davis a lead of 7-points and over 73,000 votes more than Lucas.<9>


2008 election
Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky, 2008
Davis has formally filed to run for re-election in 2008. He will be challenged in the Republican Primary by Gerald Edward Puckett, who was indicted in early 2008 on charges of improperly using charitable gaming money. Democrat Michael Kelley, a doctor from LaGrange, will run in the Democratic primary.<10>


Contributors
The Davis campaign has received contributions from the Americans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (ARMPAC), which was led by former Texas Congressman Tom DeLay. As of June 30, 2006, according to the Federal Election Commission, of the 2.4 million dollars contributed to the Davis campaign for the current 2006 electoral cycle, $10,000 was contributed by ARMPAC.<11> Tom DeLay is the subject of indictments sought by Ronnie Earle, the district attorney for Travis County, Texas, alleging violations of Texas campaign-finance law. Judge Pat Priest has dismissed one indictment against DeLay, the second has not yet come to trial.<12> The charges against DeLay are considered by some to be politically motivated.<13><14> Democrats have indicated that they consider the ARMPAC contributions to be a campaign issue.<15> Davis has not, as of June 2007, been accused of any misconduct.

Davis has received donations from Republican Duke Cunningham, who pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. Davis has not chosen to give back the money from Cunningham, while many other recipients have.<16><17> Davis received a donation from Congressman Bob Ney, who pleaded guilty for bribery and his involvement with convicted felon Jack Abramoff.<18>

[damntexdem]

59. Yeah, he misspoke: by saying what he really thought rather than what was PC to say.

The Dem chairman got that one right.

[Straight Shooter]

62. Good gawd. What an idiot. The word "fella" ain't in his vocabulary?

"... that fella's finger does not need to be on the button."

Makes all the difference in the world.

[crankychatter]

64. Now the Southern Gentry spell Jeff, "Geoff"

still the same shit, no matter how they spell it