Joe Walsh told John Heilemann on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House that he was not a racist although he acknowledged that he had said racist things.
“Yeah, and I wouldn’t call myself a racist but I would say, John, I’ve said racist things on Twitter. There’s no doubt about it. And an apology is not enough.”
It makes you wonder where Walsh thinks the line is on racism. Can you yell racist things at minorities without being a racist — as long as you don’t lay a hand on them? Maybe you can push people around, but as long as there’s no blood, you’re golden?
The rule seems straightforward to me. If you call someone an idiot, you are unpleasant. If you call someone a (insert racial slur) idiot, you are a racist — and still nasty.
Walsh continued with his ‘explanation’.
“I think that we all, if we’re honest—white, black and brown—we’ve all got a little bit of racism in us. I’m out there every day, I have been for the last 6 or 7 years, saying things that I believe. I’ve always been very interested in the issue of race. There’s no doubt that there are times where I’ve pushed the envelope and when I’ve said things that could certainly be interpreted as racist.”
So he has gone from denying he’s a racist to accusing everybody of being a racist. I’m on Twitter. I can’t speak to what secrets people keep — or what the contents of their character might be. But most people on Twitter do not tweet racist thoughts. Nor do they tweet things that “could certainly be interpreted as racist”.
A fart is a fart. It isn’t some other smell that could be interpreted as a fart.
Walsh added, that while he did repeatedly say that Obama was a Muslim, he never engaged in the birther conspiracy. Except that he did.
But Walsh puts the liberal in an interesting place — along the lines of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Should Democrats support Walsh? He’s not going to win, but Trump’s reelection chances are on a knife-edge and a spicy primary season could make a difference in a close mid-Western state.
Preet Bahara summed up the dilemma.
I’m very confused morally and intellectually right now. It’s a moral imperative that Trump must go. But am I now supposed to root for
The answer is simple. If you use poison to kill rats, you aren’t voting for poison.
Democrats historically have been too civilized. This is not the time to be civilized. America’s standing in the world; its economy; its judicial system, its criminal justice, and intelligence community are under assault.
I am not a psychiatrist nor a gerontologist. I cannot diagnose Trump’s personality and character defects. Nor can I say if he is clinically insane or demented. But he is not well. He cannot stop lying. Everybody is his friend — until they’re his enemy. He is obsessed with Obama. He doesn’t read. He is petulant. His vocabulary is small and shrinking.
He won’t take responsibility. He demands loyalty without giving any. He can’t keep staff. And everybody at the White House thinks he’s nuts.
In short, he has to go. And if Joe Walsh can help that cause in any way then as Winston Churchill said:
"If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons."
(Note: The title of this diary was changed from “Walsh Is a Racist Who Says He Isn't a Racist. Liberals Support Him Anyway.” As the meaning of ‘support ‘ was open to interpretation.)