MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry Makes Crack About the 'Last Black Republican Left in the Party'

By Brad Wilmouth | February 19, 2012 | 05:55

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On the debut of the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC on Saturday, after starting the show with a discussion of why she believes it is a good thing for the Republican Party to be a strong party - for the sake of having a competitive, multi-party system to give voters choices - the show soon predictably moved toward talk of alleged racism in the Republican Party. (Video clips below)

At one point, she showed video footage of liberal Republican presidential candidate Nelson Rockefeller from the 1964 Republican National Convention condemning "extremists" in the party. After a clip of a black audience member applauding the speech, Harris-Perry cracked:

I love the last black Republican left in the party just clapping, "Yes, please repudiate them," right?

A bit later in the show, guest Dorian Warren - an assistant professor at Columbia University - charged that the Republican Party's strategy is to be a "white Southern party," with Harris-Perry, apparently agreeing, then adding, "And apparently an all-male party."

After she complained about the recent talk of social issues like birth control as being irrelevant to the creation of jobs, Warren jumped back in to claim that "the vast majority of women disagree with the Republican party's position on reproductive rights and reproductive justice."

Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Saturday, February 18, Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC:

MELISSA HARRIS-PERRY: I want to play Republican presidential candidate Nelson Rockefeller at the 1964 Republican National Convention giving a speech that was very unpopular because he was actually attacking the far right wing of his party, and we'll see the response here.

NELSON ROCKEFELLER: These extremists feed on fear, hate and terror. They encourage disunity. These are people who have nothing in common with Americanism. The Republican Party must repudiate these people.

HARRIS-PERRY: I love the last black Republican left in the party just clapping, "Yes, please repudiate them," right?

...

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR DORIAN WARREN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: But here's the second thing. This is what I don't understand. The Republican strategy is basically to be a white party, and a white Southern party. And the time is, the clock is ticking on that demographic in this country.

HARRIS-PERRY: And apparently an all-male party. I mean, what I kept feeling this week is, I hear you, when I first heard the discourse of the Tea Party, you know, as much as I wasn't in agreement with it, I kind of like populist movements that are asking for jobs and asking and worrying about, you know, about the effects of big government.

But the shift now has moved more toward the so-called moral, ethical, racially problematic and now this contraception language? You know, jobs are simply not located in my uterus. Like, wherever they are, wherever they might be, you know, created, that's just not where they are. So why is so much policy language around that?

WARREN: The vast majority of women disagree with the Republican Party's position on reproductive rights and reproductive justice. Three out of four women disagree with the Republican Party. And, again it's a short-term strategy, the Republican Party has decided to go all in for 2012 on getting as many old and white male voters as they can; 2016, 2020, this country looks very, very different. And I'm not sure what the strategy is, medium and long-term, to actually be a viable party, a competitive party.

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This is the next mediamatters target!

Submitted by kiwikit on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 6:39am.

Such became clear on the Friday O'Reilly show when an old Clinton mouthpiece
ranted on and on about if mediamatters loses its tax status then so should Brent's
organization! They two are in no way comparable: Newsbusters publicizes with video what has already been on the air, while mediamatters decides with the
DNC and WhiteHouse what they want to be on air and then make it happen with their MSN minions. One is history reporting while the other is active propagandizing before the fact. O'Reilly didn't seem to understand the difference and he, as usual, did nothing to argue with Lanny but merely said that any discussion about newsbusters is for another discussion. I hope you're ready for this fight!

Wait a minute?

Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 11:07am.

Are you saying that O'Reilly knew nothing about a subject and kept blathering anyway? Isn't that every show?

President Obama is a Muslim (from his own lips), Kenyan (read it from his publicist) a homosexual (read it on a news magazine cover) and a Socialist (I'm alive and can see it for myself)

This is the next mediamatters target!

Submitted by kiwikit on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 6:40am.

Who is the last black?

Submitted by TheHistorian on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 7:06am.

The way I see it, the left may be truly frightened that they are losing their hold on the black voter. We see more and more black people like Michael Steele, Herman Cain, Ken Blackwell, Starr Parker, Allen West, Frances Rice, Jennifer Carroll, Tim Scott, and many others who walk in the real footsteps behind Martin Luther King, Jr.

For those who aren't paying attention, this is Black History Month. Their poster shows all of the well-known black leaders on it. What I found interesting is that from 1867 to 1898 there are no "landmark" black happenings. They go right from the end of the Civil War into Plessy vs Ferguson's separate but equal. They don't note the 30+ men and women that were black and served in Congress until 1891. They choose to ignore Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, and Dr's Walter E Williams and Thomas Soule. They don't even mention that the Battle of Bunker Hill had a number of blacks fighting for our new nation. It is like all blacks were slaves until the Democrat party let them join.

The giants of black history are not Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, nor this weak-kneed liberal above making smart cracks. They are the men and women who have served this country admirably, not tried to coerce its people into black guilt.

“Liberals tend to put the onus of your success on society and conservatives on you and your family.”
Dennis Prager

Maybe Harris-Perry needs a probationary period . . .

Submitted by Galvanic on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 2:28pm.

. . . to give her time to get the facts right. After all, her show just premiered. ;-)

It appears that the Left's counter to black Republicans is to either (a) demonize them or, if that doesn't work,(b) ignore them.

If Harris-Perry points to "the last black Republican" in a clip from the '64 national convention, then all black Republicans since then are apparently ghosts or ghouls. To use the Stalinesque metaphor, they've been airbrushed out of the photography.

Another example of so-called Truth top Power.

Pretty girl

Submitted by syvyn11 on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 7:24am.

Too bad that ugly cuts clear to the bone.

It's hilarious that the Tea

Submitted by motherbelt on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 8:07am.

It's hilarious that the Tea Party, who want government to stay within the bounds of the Constitution, are considered "extremists" while those who agitate for a Marxist redistribution of wealth and increasing control of government over our lives are considered "human rights activists."

The extremists call us

Submitted by Samshile on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 10:33pm.

the six labels: 1. Stupid. 2. Strange 3. Extremist 4. Greedy 5. Racist 6. Mean/cold
Pathetic. although were in good company; Radical Republicans pushed thorugh the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments

Samshile

Debut her show by playing the

Submitted by Pinetree3 on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 8:33am.

Debut her show by playing the race card. Shocker!

⇒ I'm not falling for it

Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 9:44am.

I no longer think it's necessary going through the Litany of Republican Saints as a knee-jerk reaction to to the latest Democrat Troglophyte.

Ms. Harry-Perry boldly steps out there predicting the end of white people.

And the time is, the clock is ticking on that demographic in this country.

I'm shocked! Shocked that the climb up the ladder for an African American on the liberal side is "All race baiting, all the time"

We're getting close to the election, right? To use Ms. Harry-Perry's figure of speech, the clock is ticking on her presence at MSNBC. She's the heir apparent to Mr. Resist We Much.

"Reproductive Justice"???

Submitted by WhoIsJohnGalt on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 9:53am.

What in the hell is that???

wijg...

Submitted by mom_rox on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 10:11am.

That's exactly what caught my attention as well. Another grievance from the perpetually offended and victimized.

hmmm, I wonder if PETA will now start demanding "Reproductive Justice" for all animals so they can (in the voice of Rev. JJ) 'recreate instead of procreate'.

side comment: I finally read Atlas Shrugged last year - a bit over the top and heavy handed in some places, but I loved it. I have Part 1 in my netflix queue

The movie will disappoint

Submitted by WhoIsJohnGalt on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 7:05pm.

No way around it with a novel as great as that.

She knows her placement

Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 10:49am.

Melissa Harris Perry:

Her wiki bio has her pigeonholed as "television host and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics. (Dog Whistle MSNBC translation: 'because you're black'"

OK, that should perfectly suit her for commentary on "reproductive justice", except her escape into life was not (according to her bio) from the confines of the most dangerous place in the world for a black baby, but from a more benign source.

"The most dangerous place for an African American to be is in the womb of their African American mother - Reverend Clenard H. Childress

It was Harris-Perry's father who was black, and 'Dean of Afro-American Affairs' (who'd a' thunk it?) at UVA.

So maybe Harris-Perry did not respond to the "reproductive justice" reference because she certainly enjoyed a statistical edge in her struggle to survive the abortionist that children of black mothers do not.

What's that? That's not what "reproductive justice" is all about? Well, knock me over with a feather?

Reproductive Justice

Submitted by Fenwick on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 4:09pm.

I have absolutely no idea what Reproductive Justice is either, but I'm sure it must be part of Obama's WTF plan (you know, Winning The Future). Of course, other types of Justice can't be far behlind...

Let me start a list:

Nutritional Justice
Sexual Justice
Transportational Justice
Pharmaceutical Justice

(I don't know what any of these mean either, but they sure to sound important, don't they?)

I was wondering the same

Submitted by CM on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 7:55pm.

I was wondering the same thing.

“Families will get a long overdue tax break, and millions of poor will be dropped from the tax rolls altogether." -President Reagan, November 15, 1986

Nice to see Ms. Harris-Perry is so well informed...

Submitted by Sasquatch on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 11:00am.

HARRIS-PERRY: "And apparently an all-male party."

Apparently she hasn't heard of Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachmann.

In the bizarro liberal world

Submitted by celator on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 8:22pm.

In the bizarro liberal world of Harris-Perry, conservative women don't exist. There cannot be such a person. It's impossible because of, oh, I dunno, "reproductive justice"? Or something.

"This is not your mother's Democratic Party"--Andrew Breitbart, CPAC, February 2012

We now have.......?

Submitted by Herbster on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 11:41am.

We now have "Reproductive Justice" to go along with "Jobs with Justice," "Economic Justice," etc.?

I surmise that "Reproductive Justice" means eliminating the (Unjust) child growing in the womb?

idiot

Submitted by driguana on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 11:50am.

Oh goody, another MSNBC racist idiot....do these people actually listen to what they are saying????

This woman is a race pimp

Submitted by fivestring_assassin on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 11:57am.

that profits off the division of the races

Having a "show" just provides her a way to spew her racist viewpoints

MSNBC is a disgrace

A Recession is when your neighbor is out of a job. A Depression is when YOU are out of a job.. A recovery is when OBAMA is out of a job Hat tip to Ronald Reagan

Their Day Will Come

Submitted by HardRightTurn on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 12:04pm.

When the balloon goes up, only the fitest will survive.

To more fully comprehend the Left, one must read “Leftism As Psychopathy” by John Ray, M.A., Ph.D. Caution, it might scare you a little bit.
http://jonjayray.tripod.com/psycho.html

So...........

Submitted by GregE on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 12:19pm.

.......is Melissa telling us that nearly all black people prefer a larger government that controls more of people's lives, takes money and redistributes it as they see fit, and trounces on the Constitution?

If that is the case, then what happens when such a group (black, white, red, or any other description) is a national majority and allows government to completely take over? I think Ms. Harris would prefer not to know, because it would not be very pretty for anyone.

Look to any nation in the world where the majorities favor unobstructed government and that is what you unknowingly opine for, Ms Harris.

⇒ Greg

Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 12:33pm.

Can you say "Rwanda"?

The Tutsis were the more civilized puppets of the European conquerors, while the Hutus were the workers.

Once critical mass was reached, the Hutus did their dammdest, with sensational success, to kill off the Tutsis.

The death of the self-sufficient work ethic can produce nothing less in an increasingly pampered and entitled America.

We ain't seen real "Occupy" yet.

Yep

Submitted by GregE on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 12:52pm.

Rwanda and places such as that are what I was thinking.

Those who opine for a larger, more powerful, more controlling government, are able to do so simply because they think that there is a line over which that government would never cross. Those with larger, sinister aspirations absolutely love that mindset. The mind is the focus. Win the mind to one's way of thinking, and if that way of thinking is sinister, the march is on and the march is actually encouraged by those who will eventually be overtaken by it. But once they realize it, it's too late. They allowed it and now they can't stop it.

Its the exact reason why anytime government does something that is beyond its authority, so many people look at it and say "well yea, but its not a big deal." Single occurrences rarely look to be a big deal unless one can understand a bigger picture and understand that there is a sum of multiple single occurrences.

It's the boiling of a frog scenario...........don't drop him in boiling water, he'll jump out. Instead, put him in warm water, and he gets comfortable. Now start heating the water slowly, as he gets very comfortable with the environment and falls asleep, never to awaken again.

History repeats itself. When

Submitted by MrSnuggles on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 1:19pm.

History repeats itself. When was the last time "workers" rose up without spilling massive amounts of blood?

The hyphenated half-wit is

Submitted by LizardLips on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 12:22pm.

The hyphenated half-wit is keenly aware of failed progressive policies of the past but won't get off the plantation lest she be deemed 'white'. Talk about your clingers.

Her intent

Submitted by Bodini on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 12:31pm.

Her intent was to portray black Republicans as a joke! The reality is that if she wants to see a racist joke, she simply has to look in the mirror.

Bodini

MSNBC

Submitted by mmilesll on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 1:56pm.

This cable channel has so many "rocket scientist" as host and hostess that will be able to build the ship to go to Venus-or where ever. The sooner the better. The newest hyphenated idiot is starting out true to form. I'm sure her program will be watched by more than just family, maybe get an audience in the tens.

Debut show that still nobody watched

Submitted by djwolf12 on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 2:57pm.

I'm sure this latest installment of Liberal lies and Marxist propaganda is sure to be a ratings bonanza for this Network....(sarcasm).

"Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets". - Robert DeNiro, Taxi Driver (1976).

Jesse Jackson

Submitted by Jerry Mack on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 3:07pm.

Is Melissa one of Jesse Jackson's offspring?

⇒ No, she's not

Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 3:14pm.

Jesse Jackson is known for his attempts to browbeat (successfully) his mistress into having an abortion. Word is, he only failed to get his wish once.

Did I mention he's also a preacher?

So she is a professor at Tulane University.

Submitted by djwolf12 on Sun, 02/19/2012 - 4:15pm.

Someone PLEASE sneak into her lecture and secretly record it. I am absolutely dying to know what this Marxist scumbag Harris-Perry "teaches". Her kind of scumbaggery makes me ashamed to be from New Orleans.

"Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets". - Robert DeNiro, Taxi Driver (1976).

No wonder college graduates are dumber

Submitted by ohio granny on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 9:21am.

She is only one of several college professors I have heard lately that just plain out lie and twist the truth to make the republican party out to be the racist party. No wonder too many college graduates have no idea of which party has ALWAYS been the party of racists. All of these racist liars need to be outed and then fired. They have no business teaching anyone anything.

Another example of stupidity being terminal (and this from a so-called smart democrat college professor).