[Woolie Wool]

Source: MSNBC

Cain: Perry camp sign 'just plain insensitive'
Hunting camp once leased by Perry's family and frequented by the Texas governor was reportedly called 'Niggerhead'

NBC News and msnbc.com
updated 10/2/2011 12:44:10 PM ET

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain criticized the name of a hunting camp once leased by Gov. Rick Perry's family as "just plain insensitive" in an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

The name of the camp — "Niggerhead" — was first reported by the Washington Post on Saturday. The paper said the name was painted on a rock at the entrance of the property.

Perry reportedly began hosting fellow lawmakers, friends and supporters at the secluded ranch early in his career. The offensive phrase has been painted over, but the Post's sources and the Perry campaign differ on when that was done.

The Post reports that the name can still be seen through the paint.

"My reaction is, that's just very insensitive," Cain told Fox. "[There] isn't a more vile, negative word than the N-word, and for him to leave it there as long as he did, before I hear that they finally painted over it, is just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country."

Ray Sullivan, Perry's communication's director, pushed back against the Post report on Sunday.

Sullivan said the governor's father, Ray, painted over the name in the early 1980s. That conflicts with the accounts of seven sources who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity. They claim the offensive name was visible during the 1980s and 1990s, when Perry launched his political career, with one source saying the word could be seen as late as 2008.

Sullivan, in a response to NBC News' Carrie Dann, disputed the accuracy of those accounts.

"The rock was obscured in 1983 or 1984 and remained so," he said. "Named interviewees in the story corroborate that. The story has no named sources seeing the name on the rock in later 80s and 90s claim and those unnamed sources contradict one another."

Sullivan said Perry's last visit to the property was in December 2006, and that he stopped leasing it in 2007. The Perry campaign says the story's suggestion that Perry brought guests to the property when the offensive language was visible is also false.

When asked about the name on the rock last week, Perry reportedly told the Post it is "offensive name that has no place in the modern world."

The Post reported that the phrase was still "faintly visible" beneath a coat of white paint as recently as this past summer.

Bye-bye Rick Perry, nice knowin' ya, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. Not that Herman Cain's any better, with his asinine tax proposal that would be the ruination of every household with an income under six figures.

[karajorma]

Well maybe he can get the votes back by talking about invading Mexico again.

[JCDNWarrior]

Rick Perry was a dead horse since the start, though he was at first advertised as a front-runner, even before actually entering. I'm glad the issues around his governorship were exposed. However, all of these Republican's track records have to be checked throughoutly. Would be nice to have the disingenious types dropping out so there's a better chance to vote for someone decent.

[Nuke]

meh, i get the feeling im gonna end up voting independent this election.

[karajorma]

meh, i get the feeling im gonna end up voting independent this election.

Good. Get some more people to do the same.

I reserve a special kind of hatred for people who vote for candidates they don't like and don't trust to do a good job running the country.

[Mefustae]

Right, because all those Republican voters supporting Parry will be so offended by 'Niggerhead'.

[BloodEagle]

To be fair.... 

Note: probably not quite safe for work.

[perihelion]

Right, because all those Republican voters supporting Parry will be so offended by 'Niggerhead'.

While this is probably true of the extreme right, it will be heavily frowned on by more moderate Republicans and right-leaning independents.  I'm not sure if this is enough to knock Perry out of the running, but I'm breathing a little easier now.

[666maslo666]

So, why is this a problem? It is just a geographical name from the past, not his fault really. I do think the guy is a moron, tough, but this is irrelevant, IMHO.

[The E]

It's a problem because TV says it's one. DON'T YOU TRUST YOUR TV, CITIZEN?

[Turambar]

there are plenty of legitimate reasons to not vote for perry, such as his positions on things like evolution.

[Mongoose]

there are plenty of legitimate reasons to not vote for perry, such as his positions on things like evolution.

Exactly.  This particular story seems to have been blown way out of proportion.

[Woolie Wool]

So, why is this a problem? It is just a geographical name from the past, not his fault really. I do think the guy is a moron, tough, but this is irrelevant, IMHO.

I'm not sure if you're from the US, but the word "nigger" is so offensive in the US that the only thing I could compare it to in offensiveness is walking around in Tel Aviv wearing a Mein Kampf T-shirt.

[G0atmaster]

No, not quite so bad as that. But bad, yes.


Still, saying a man's political career is over because some rock on some land he leased had the term painted on it is going waaaaay overboard.

Here's what I liken the idea that this means Perry is racist to:  I used to live on 10 acres.  There were shotgun shells all over the place, because the previous owners used to do skeet shooting off their back porch.  Yet, because we haven't picked up all the old shells off of the property,  you assume that we have a full arsenal of all sorts of shotguns and military-grade weapons, and could even be training up a small terrorist militia in our spare time.


Now does that really make a whole lot of sense?  Is that grounds for doing anything to mar my name or reputation?

[mjn.mixael]

Rick Parry.. with an A!   

[Dragon]

Now does that really make a whole lot of sense?  Is that grounds for doing anything to mar my name or reputation?

If you were a politician, it would be. Trust me, they're usually making much less important things look like an attempt to overthrow the democracy. If you tried running in any election and had any chance of winning, your opponents would immediately accuse you of illegal possession of ammunition and weapons, training criminals, terrorists, shooting at endangered birds and being too lazy to clear these shells.  It's screwed up like that (at least in Poland, I don't know about other countries). Political opponents always throw all kinds of weird accusations on each other before elections.

[pecenipicek]

Now does that really make a whole lot of sense?  Is that grounds for doing anything to mar my name or reputation?

If you were a politician, it would be. Trust me, they're usually making much less important things look like an attempt to overthrow the democracy. If you tried running in any election and had any chance of winning, your opponents would immediately accuse you of illegal possession of ammunition and weapons, training criminals, terrorists, shooting at endangered birds and being too lazy to clear these shells.  It's screwed up like that (at least in Poland, I don't know about other countries). Political opponents always throw all kinds of weird accusations on each other before elections.

and thats different from the rest of the world how?


granted, here in croatiam they're more tempted to spit out flase promises and suchlikes.

[Bobboau]

granted, here in croatiam they're more tempted to spit out flase promises and suchlikes.

no, they are not any more tempted.

[Bob-san]

I do hope some of those so-called reporters find a dictionary and lookup what a lease is. It certainly isn't ownership of the land. The fact that their leasing started decades before.........

Anyways, **** the media. There's no story here (unless they tell us that there's a story here).

[Bobboau]

It's just like when Trent Lot wished Strom Thermon a happy birthday and got booted out of the senate for being racist, or when Howard Dean got kicked out of the 2004 election because he dared to give an enthusiastic 'yeah!' during the end of a political rally.