Michigan Representative Bettie Scott Apologizes for Calling Asian Candidate 'Ching Chong' (But is it Enough?)

 

 

I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but all Republicans are racist.

Oh, wait — I forgot what site I was writing for; I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but you’re racist (please see here and here).

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Given that, something perplexing happened recently: a Democrat said something that was labeled as racist.

Yes — a Democrat.

Welcome to The Twilight Zone.

Brace yourself: not just a Democrat, but a woman.

Double brace: not just a Democratic woman, but a black one.

Against an Asian female Democrat.

Surely this provided quite the quandary for the Left. In a world of identity politics, which side do they choose? Who’s at the top of the chart?

Michigan’s own Bettie Cook Scott ran against Taiwanese Stephanie Chang on August 7th, in the race for primary dominance. Both Scott and Chang were state representatives vying for the same state senate position.

During the election, Scott called Chang “ching-chang” and “the ching-chong” to voters outside polling precincts. Reportedly, she also told one of her nemesis’s campaign volunteers (an “immigrant,” according to the Detroit Metro Times, which I’m going to take a leap of faith and interpret as “illegal immigrant”) that she wanted her “out of [her] country” because she “[didn’t] belong here.”

In addition, Scott told black voters they should be “supporting their own people.”

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Are you comprehending anything I’m writing here? Or are you still too stunned to learn that a Democrat said something insulting related to ethnicity?

Clear your mind and catch up.

On Thursday, Scott released an apology:

“Those are not the kinds of comments that should be made nor are they the kind of comments I would normally make. … I humbly apologize to Rep. Chang and to her husband, Mr. Gray, and to the broader Asian American community.”

Here’s a spice: Mr. Gray is black.

Gray claims to have addressed Scott in person during voting:

“I…asked her not to speak about my wife in that manner. At that time she said to the voter that ‘these immigrants from China are coming over and taking our community from us.’ Further, she said it ‘disgusts her seeing black people holding signs for these Asians and not supporting their own people.'”

Chang won.

Nevertheless, Scott has evaded substantial calls for her to resign.

Would the same have occurred, had she been a white Republican?

To be clear, I’m not suggesting a white Republican should have gotten away with similar behavior. In my view, the voters should decide, always. If behavior draws them near, let it be so; if antics push them away, let the pull of the lever dictate their fate.

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As relayed by the Detroit Free Press, a coalition of community groups — 19, to be exact — called on Scott to apologize Tuesday:

“No elected official or candidate for office, regardless of political affiliation, should use stereotypical imagery or language. The use of these stereotypes is counter to the progress our country has made over past decades to encourage respect for all communities.”

 

What do you make of the controversy? Sound off in the Comments section below.

In case you missed the relevant RedState links in this article, please find them here and here.

For something totally different, check out my write-ups of Jay Sekulow and potential Don Jr. violations, Kentucky’s Alison Grimes mocking Rand Paul’s beating, and Hillary Clinton doing kung fu.

Find all my RedState work here.

And as always, follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

 

 

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