Anderson Cooper Sees Substance to "Plantation" Remark

From “360” with Anderson Cooper on Tuesday, January 17, 2006:

COOPER: But — but that is — but Hillary Clinton was speaking — I mean, particularly about — about the plantation remark, does it seem inappropriate to you? I mean, I know that…

JESSE JACKSON: Well…

COOPER:obviously, there’s substance there, but — but — but why — why use that term?…

JACKSON: I’m concerned about expanding poor people and…

JOE WATKINS: Well, clearly, it is. This is political talk, because I don’t think Senator Clinton has a lot of substance to really argue with.

I mean, for people who want to talk about poverty and the war against poverty, look at a president who has helped build an economy where you have less than 5 percent unemployment. That’s the best number that we have had in decades. That’s something to be very, very proud of.

And Dr. King would be happy to see a lower rate of unemployment.

COOPER: Reverend Jackson…

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: But it’s twice that rate — but it’s twice that rate for blacks, which is the point.

You look at the number, the high level of black unemployment, the level, the fewer number of black judges appointed. There clearly is insensitivity to the matter of civil rights and social justice.

I just think that this language that we’re off on tonight is taking attention away from the need to address what is really hurting. Fifty million Americans have no health insurance. That’s the King agenda.

It would have been nice if Anderson Cooper would have stopped Jesse and corrected him with some recent figures but that might add a little too much “substance” to the conversation.

Figures show thatblack unemployment today is lower than it was at the same time during President Bill Clinton’s second term as president:

December 1997:

3.9 = whites.
9.9 = blacks.
7.5 = latinos.

December 2005:
4.3 = whites.
9.3 = blacks.
6.0 = latinos.
Those are unemployment rates.

And, there’s more:

* Nearly Half Of All African-Americans Now Own Their Own Home. The minority home ownership rate rose a record 51.6 percent during the first quarter of 2005, as 15.7 ethnic minorities claimed ownership of the roof over their heads, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

* Reading and math scores for African-American nine-year-olds reached their highest levels in the history of the test, with reading scores up 14 points and math scores up 13 points in the past five years.

* African-American Business Ownership Is At An All Time High.

* US Poverty levels were also lower in 2004 (12.7%) than in 1996 (13.7%) when Bill Clinton was president.

Those figures don’t add much substance to Jesse or Hillary’s (worst administration) arguments.

Funny, this wasn’t the first time Hillary used the plantation analogy.

Michelle Malkin has more on the MLK Day of Demagoguery, HERE.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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