Bloggers Overreact to Ancient Comment by Cop Backing Giuliani
Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 6:18 pm
- 2 Comments
Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek has been tapped by the presidential campaign of Rudy Giuliani for law enforcement outreach in Minnesota. Progressive bloggers have heaped harsh criticism on Giuliani and Stanek for racially charged statements that Stanek made almost 20 years ago. Minnesota voters have forgiven him, as have prominent members of Minneapolis’ African American community. But can out-of-state progressive bloggers?
This week’s blogosphere says no. “The person that Guiliani has tapped as a key leader for his campaign in Minnesota is a fan of the N word,” wrote Michael Crawford at Bloggernista. “Rudy Giuliani has apparently decided to keep on hiring racists like Richard Stanek who has a history of racially charged remarks,” wrote one blogger. DailyKos diarist Richard Cranium wrote, “[A]dmitted racist Richard Stanek was appointed as the Giuliani campaign’s law enforcement outreach coordinator in Minnesota.” The title of an Alternet.org blog read, “Giuliani Hires Racist Campaign Chair.”
The criticisms of Stanek stem from statements he made in a 1992 deposition regarding a 1989 incident where Stanek’s vehicle was struck by a motorist who ran a red light. Stanek was a Minneapolis police officer at the time. During that incident, he was accused of using the word “nigger” and in the deposition he admitted that he had used the word more than once.
Stanek, appointed by Gov. Pawlenty in 2004 as safety commissioner, stepped down when controversy involving his racially charged statements surrounded his appointment.
Stanek then spent a considerable effort to mend the hurt that some said was caused by the remarks in that deposition.
During the 2006 election for Hennepin County Sheriff, Republican candidate Stanek garnered the support of many traditionally DFL voters. Insight News, one of Minneapolis’ largest African American newspapers endorsed him. “We believe in redemption,” publisher Al McFarlane said. “We believe that people change. We believe that people can grow and we appreciate and we applaud people who are willing to say I was wrong and I stand before you asking for forgiveness. Rich Stanek is a model for white people. He really is.”
As a police officer, Stanek met repeatedly with members of the African American community to make amends for the hurtful comments of a decade ago. Al Flowers, a prominent communty activist said, “I believe he was sincere in his apology.” And Stanek was backed by African-American Leadership Summit and Black Church Coalition in his campaign.
He also won by a large margin in the largest and most diverse county in Minnesota with 65 percent of the vote.
While many disagree with his policies, his politics and who he chooses to support for president, he is not an “admitted racist.” There isn’t evidence that he is a “racist,” or that he is a “fan of the N-word.” These assertions by bloggers all rely on a deposition from 1992 for an incident in 1989, and leave out the considerable work Stanek has done to make amends and build bridges.
He made an honest apology and backed it up with action. Does that count for anything anymore in the blogosphere?
Photo via Stanek for Sheriff.
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Comment posted October 26, 2007 @ 9:15 am
Only in the local one. In the 1989 incident, as I understand it, Stanek was t-boned by a black driver. I’m not saying that it’s okay, under such circumstances, for Stanek to have called the guy a “nigger” — it isn’t okay to throw racial epithets at people, as pretty much all us hebes will tell you — but it’s not exactly uncommon for people who have just been injured to lash out with hurtful words, and when they’ve been hurt or perped on by somebody of a different race or ethnicity, it’s just this side of invariable that that sort of stuff leaks out.
It’s not okay; it’s just human.
I opposed Stanek for election — I voted for his opponent simply because he wasn’t Stanek. Since then, in three incidents that I’m aware of, he’s gone out of his way to do an excellent job involving public service, and I don’t know of a misstep that he’s made. His department’s handling of the I35W disaster was, as far as I can tell, excellent. He’s gone out of his way — without sacrificing any principles — to reach out to various communities, including my own self-defense community.
But, to much of the moonbat left, that isn’t good enough to refrain from crude personal attacks.
Comment posted October 26, 2007 @ 4:15 am
Only in the local one. In the 1989 incident, as I understand it, Stanek was t-boned by a black driver. I'm not saying that it's okay, under such circumstances, for Stanek to have called the guy a “nigger” — it isn't okay to throw racial epithets at people, as pretty much all us hebes will tell you — but it's not exactly uncommon for people who have just been injured to lash out with hurtful words, and when they've been hurt or perped on by somebody of a different race or ethnicity, it's just this side of invariable that that sort of stuff leaks out.
It's not okay; it's just human.
I opposed Stanek for election — I voted for his opponent simply because he wasn't Stanek. Since then, in three incidents that I'm aware of, he's gone out of his way to do an excellent job involving public service, and I don't know of a misstep that he's made. His department's handling of the I35W disaster was, as far as I can tell, excellent. He's gone out of his way — without sacrificing any principles — to reach out to various communities, including my own self-defense community.
But, to much of the moonbat left, that isn't good enough to refrain from crude personal attacks.
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