COMMENTARY | First Rick Santorum told us that he didn't want to "make 'blah' people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money," asserting that he did, indeed say "blah," and not "black." And now, at least as I heard it, Santorum has apparently described President Barack Obama as a "Government 'n-- [pause] ah'" on a recent campaign stop. (Please note that phrasing is taken directly from my hearing of the video; it does not reflect my choice of language. Ever).
To be fair, listen and judge for yourself:
Now, when I read the headline claiming that is what Santorum called the leader of the free world, I thought, No, there's no way it's close, someone is having fun with video. Granted, after vowing not to give money to "blah" people (down with the bland!) nearly anything's possible, but surely Santorum, competitor for the top GOP spot, has caught on by now. Seriously, do I have to say it again?
We can hear you.
You were speaking in Janesville, Wis., a town with a population of about 62,000, one you may have thought was safely far enough away from Chicago and Milwaukee to provide you a warm, receptive audience. But apparently there are people in Janesville who find what you almost said and what it appears you meant to say abhorrent enough to cue up the clip and spread it on YouTube. Here's the thing, Rick, and Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney, too, if you're around:
Everywhere you go, everywhere, from the smallest corners of the country to the largest metropolis, there will be at least one person who doesn't buy into your "hate your fellow man to get ahead" nonsense. There will be at least one person who stands for rationality, science and reason; one person who stands for embracing our modern era; one person who stands for equality and justice.
And that person will have a digital camera.
In this case, it was local station JATV, so the person I described, the one who would want to make sure everyone knows every hidden word you think you've said, didn't even have to be in Janesville. That person only needed the Internet and social media and here I am writing about it along with countless others.
I've listened to that snippet of video dozens of times now, and I can't imagine what else you could have meant to say, and the more I watch it, the more deliberate it looks. A code for your comrades, your brothers-in-hatred-arms, something clear enough for them to catch but mushy enough to deny to those of us who find your take on the president appalling.
From "blah" people to "governmental" etceteras, Rick Santorum, the people who share your opinion know how you feel about your fellow Americans with more melanin.
But so do the rest of us.
As apparent mumbled racism piles up, it will be harder to deny what we suspect: you know what you said and you meant to say it. You just didn't mean for us to hear.
