{"id":1183,"date":"2009-05-15T11:23:32","date_gmt":"2009-05-15T16:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/?p=1183"},"modified":"2020-11-29T12:14:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-29T18:14:22","slug":"dixublican","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2009\/05\/dixublican\/","title":{"rendered":"Dixublican"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stereotypes are tough. Arkansas can move right along, minding its own business with no Huckabee or Clinton (either of them) feeding the 24-hour international news cycle in at least 168 hours, when a politico from my northwestern part of the state, prominent only here, opens his yap.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Kim Hendren, Republican of Gravette, a little town in Benton County, itself home of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, was talking<\/a> to a GOP group in Little Rock, when he — and he confirmed it in his apology — referred<\/a> to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., as “that Jew.”<\/p>\n

In no time flat, it’s on Salon and many other World Wide Web sites. Never mind that The Natural State not only is usually more enlightened<\/a> than that but is home to a number of Jewish congregations. Regardless, Arkansas is sluiced with the old<\/em> Arkansas stereotype, thanks to Hendren. [The new<\/em> Arkansas stereotype stars both Clintons and Huckabee, and it goes like this: Go ahead and presume we’re hicks because then you’ll be floored when we win.]<\/p>\n

Bygones come and go. Hendren apologizes. Schumer accepts it. (After asking, surely, who?) But the explanations Hendren gave show he doesn’t get it.<\/p>\n

He says:<\/p>\n

I was attempting to explain that unlike Senator Schumer I believe in traditional values like we used to see on ‘The Andy Griffith Show.'”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which has what to do with being Jewish?<\/p>\n

The Associated Press quotes him as having said:<\/p>\n

I shouldn’t have gotten into this Jewish business because it distracts from the issue.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What issue, again?<\/p>\n

It’s not so simple as predicting Hendren just lost whatever chance he had in his candidacy to run in 2010 for the Senate seat held by two-term incumbent Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat. What his public statement — off the cuff, granted — says about state and even national politics is key.<\/p>\n

It might be another sign the Republican Party is imploding. And I know some Arkansas Jewish conservatives<\/a> so I don’t mean “that<\/em>.” Hendren’s gaffe — the latest, following headlines made since the November elections by nationally prominent GOP leaders — points to the possibility that the GOP might turn into the Democratic Party of the 1950s, home to enlightened intellectuals Adlai Stevenson and J. William Fulbright of, yes, Arkansas but also opportunistic bigots like Strom Thurmond and Orval Faubus of, yes, Arkansas.<\/p>\n

There, another bristle brush I’m painting a lot of people with, Dixublican. Though when it’s me and a bucket, they’re drips and spills.<\/p>\n

With Republicans like Hendren taking the limelight, their return to significant power dims, but something dreadful might happen: This half of the American two-party system might spur a potent mean streak that will hobble matters domestic and foreign. George Wallace grabbed a lot of headlines in his day, surprising for a mere Democratic governor then interminably a former governor. Is debilitating obnoxiousness what to expect from the Grand Old Party as it regroups? Oops, a stereotype.<\/p>\n

Hendren spoke spontaneously, and Lord help you or me should a microphone be planted as we walk into a glass door or fume at the TV. Still, he and several family members<\/a> have been longtime fixtures in this part of the country, and … or is that spritzing with the same airbrush?<\/p>\n

Oh, how stereotypical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stereotypes are tough. Arkansas can move right along, minding its own business with no Huckabee or Clinton (either of them) feeding the 24-hour international news cycle in at least 168 hours, when a politico from my northwestern part of the state, prominent only here, opens his yap. State Sen. Kim Hendren, Republican of Gravette, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-spin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":372,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2007\/11\/teddy-the-greatest-kennedy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1183,"position":0},"title":"Teddy, the Greatest Kennedy","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 14, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2007 Ben S. Pollock When I clicked on C-SPAN2 midday Tuesday I did not know Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., was giving a speech important enough to make the national news. He was criticizing George II's veto of a big domestic spending bill. Big Ted, Old Ted, swatting at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American Culture"","block_context":{"text":"American Culture","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/american-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":262,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2007\/01\/cast-bread-upon-the-voters\/","url_meta":{"origin":1183,"position":1},"title":"Cast bread upon the voters","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"January 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"It's not fair to blow up a quotation of a state legislator, even adding context to show that he or she probably did mean it the way it sounded. 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Keillor of course was on promoting A Prairie Home Companion, but early on they discussed the just-ended 2004 election, where the progressive Keillor nailed John Kerry's defeat\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":416,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2008\/03\/what-honesty-comes-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":1183,"position":3},"title":"What Honesty Comes To","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2008 Ben S. Pollock In the last couple of weeks, American politics took a big turn -- all of it, from national to state to local. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., gave a speech to explain how he has devoted his life to acting on inclusive feelings of love\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Body, Home, Street"","block_context":{"text":"Body, Home, Street","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/body-home-street\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":655,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2008\/08\/palin-comparison\/","url_meta":{"origin":1183,"position":4},"title":"Palin Comparison","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"August 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Sen. John McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate. Details are a click away, but here's quick thoughts from the hour since the announcement. McCain just evened the Brick odds of winning. Once the primaries indicated the top candidates, I never saw him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":426,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2008\/06\/hang-on-hilly\/","url_meta":{"origin":1183,"position":5},"title":"Hang On, Hilly","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"June 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Be like Huck, Sen. Clinton: Hang in until the delegate count passes the point of no returns, when the opponent has that crystal majority of pledged delegate votes. Oh, that's coming up soon, isn't it. Republican campaign underdog and former Arkansas Gov. 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