Sunday, September 20, 2009

Blunt responds to monkey joke controversy

In an interview on Dana Loesch's show on 97.1, St. Louis, Seventh District Congressman Roy Blunt responded to criticism of the monkey joke he told during a speech at the Voters Value Summit.

"I think it's an insult to me to suggest there's anything racist about (that anecdote)."

Blunt blamed the Fired Up Missouri blog, noting its connection with the Carnahan family. Blunt's general election opponent next year if he wins the Republican primary, will be Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

"They'll say anything on that blog," Blunt said. To claim his monkey joke was racist, he added, was not only an insult to him, but an insult to the president.

Blunt says he has used that joke for years and first heard it from a Presbyterian minister. It not only is a joke, he added, but it is an important statement about life.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Randy - where was your outrage and concern when people called President Bush a chimp or monkey?

EliYokley said...

President Bush wasn't a black man, so the negative connotation wasn't associated with the word applied to him.

Be realistic, Anonymous.

J.Benson said...

Oh boy. I get that he may have "missed" the connotations, the inferences of his joke. I understand, but God in Heaven! I cringed. Racially charged or not, it's a perfect example of the level of discourse. Those who do not believe as we do are the "monkeys". I'm still cringing. It would be just as easy to turn that around on anyone who disagreed. It's not an argument. It's an insult. No ifs, ands or buts.

Anonymous said...

Blunt does what most bullies do: When caught he says, "I was only joking."

He knows EXACTLY what he is doing.

Blunt needs to retire permanently from "public service." He's an embarassment.

bigsteveno said...

Just the fact that he views British colonials building a golf course in India as a benevolent activity is indicative of how little he understands about culture and history. His comment to the effect that 'there wasn't anything else to do there but play golf' is appalling on many levels. Note that there are no Indians in his amusing anecdote, even though they were the ones who would have had to do the actual work to build the golf course. This smug performance makes Blount's 'values' clear -- if you're not white you don't really exist.