Pat Buchanan “White Folks Built This Country”

Pat Buchanan is a long-time opponent of affirmative action, but tonight on the Rachel Maddow show, Buchanan let loose some of his most regressive ideas about saving white males from the scourge of women and people of color that victimize them. You can watch Rachel Maddow’s interview of Pat Buchanan here.

Thanks FireDogLake and Media Matters for the video.

Here’s an excerpt from Pat Buchanan’s Human Events column, in which she notes he is actively urging Republicans to use the Sotomayor nomination as race bait to appeal to white, working class voters that Maddow quoted during her show on July 15th:

“These are the folks whose jobs have been outsourced to China and Asia, who pay the price of affirmative action when their sons and daughters are pushed aside to make room for the Sonia Sotomayors. These are the folks who want the borders secured and the illegals sent back.”

Buchanan’s last line about securing borders and sending illegals “back” certainly implies that Sotomayor, like all Hispanics, is only an inch away from being an illegal alien because of her ethnicity.

Maddow suggested several times during the segment that Buchanan was “dating himself” by advocating what is basically Nixon’s 1968 Southern Strategy all over again. “Dating himself” was Maddow’s polite way of noting that Buchanan’s views are at best ignorant, and at worst, racist.

What struck me most about Buchanan’s appearance on Maddow this evening is his continued insistance on the idea that white men, and only white men, built this country and are responsible for all historic constributions–effectively erasing the contributions of white women and non-white men and women who for the better part of American history couldn’t even vote, let alone have access to the kind of education and professional advantages that white men enjoyed in this country for so long.

When asked why he thought that 110 out of 108 Supreme Court justices where white, Buchanan launched into a tirade about how this country was built by “white folks,” and when Buchanan says “white folks” he means “white males” as he repeated over and over during the segment. What Pat Buchanan sees when he looks at America are non-white men and women (not to mention white women) usurping the authority of the white men who “built this country.

Yikes.

Maddow concluded the segment by telling Buchanan:

“For you to priviledge race and to say that what we really need to tap politically is white people’s racist grievances, well you’re playing with fire.”

Indeed. It’s time for Buchanan to stop speaking in public. He’s part of a fast disappearing America and I for one can’t wait to see him gone.

I won’t even begin to address Buchanan’s sexist arguments against Sotomayor. I’ll save that for another day.

Sign the petition to ask MSNBC to fire Pat Buchanan!

Update:

And if that weren’t enough, Buchanan was on Hardball with Chris Matthews saying that Hispanics aren’t eligible for affirmative action because there were never enslaved. From Media Matters:

Photo courtesy of Charleston City Paper

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Past Member .

6:00PM PST on Nov 23, 2010

No comment. Thanks for the link to the article and clip.

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Talathiel T.

12:42PM PDT on Oct 11, 2010

This is the same pat buchanan who during his presidential campaign threw out the idea of 'putting' all Af-Ams into 5 states, right? it's the typical 'you didnt have it so bad' argument he always presents when it comes to the suffering and atrocities experienced by non-white people, particularly in America. Nothing new here and nothing new from him. The man (and his sister) are known for profoud myopia, heartless and deeply distorted perspectives on such matters.

Paul V.

12:34PM PDT on May 5, 2010

Pat is right so then white men just need to shut the f%$$ up bcs white rich men have everything already. So let color people do what they need to do to make money and be happy too. Why are you guys the only one allowed to make real money. Look what you did to our economy and we are all paying for it.All our children will pay for it. No one is god, stop trying to be. Its falling apart because you allowed it mr. Pat.Your people Pat did all this!!!!!! Stop blaming color people for your problems non of us COLOR PEOPLE MADE MONEY ON THIS ECONOMIC BAIL OUT!!!!!!! LOOK AROUND, WHO'S GOT THE MONEY?? WE DON'T...ALSO IT'S WHAT WE CALL BLAME RUSH LIMBAUGH IT'S ALL HIS FAULT=(BRL)STUPID REPUBLICAN

CINDY O.

6:54PM PST on Nov 10, 2009

The only one that should feel bitter, it is the Native Americans. I work with all Cultures, noone is ever better than myself. Live and Let Live.

Locan S.

12:11AM PDT on Aug 25, 2009

So... what did he say that wasn't true?

Shanna D.

11:12AM PDT on Aug 14, 2009

I wholeheartedly agree with Pat Buchanan. More white women should also be backing him instead of pooling with minority/affirmative action women. He mentioned a white female in his rant so to say that he is only for the white man is rediculous. Women are making it that way.

Frank G.

9:10AM PDT on Aug 5, 2009

Marcia, my "under 2%" figure for Northern states is accurate. Here is a source, the Historical Census Browser of the University of Virginia Library:

http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/
histcensus/php/start.php?year=V1820

This gives census data for the year 1820, around the time this nation was being built. From the Ethnicity/Race/Place of Birth table, click "total free colored persons"; from the Slave Population table, click "total slaves". Then click Submit Query. On the next page, click "total population" from the Add or Remove Topics table, and Submit Query again. This gives a table showing the Black population at the time for each state against their total population. The Black populations of the five biggest Northern states were:

New York 39,367/1,372,812 = 2.87%
Pennsylvania 30,413/1,549,458 = 1.96%
Ohio 4,723/581,434 = 0.81%
Massachusetts 6,740/523,287 = 1.29%
Maine 929/298,335 = 0.31%

By 1860, the percentage of Blacks in the Nothern states was considerably smaller.

As for the balance of your message, I don't know who you're arguing with; I stand by what I said. On the exploitation of poor White workers, I couldn't agree with you more. White indentured servants in the colonies were essentially slaves.

Marcia E.

6:22AM PDT on Aug 5, 2009

Frank Gerrry you're making me crazy. Are you saying that paupers, and serfs were FREE?!!!! The conditions in Europe were HORRENDOUS for the poor. and when they came here? They wrote back home stay where you are it is WORSE!!! You know it's impossible to accomplish this but I really believe some folks need about one years worth of slavery and discrimination because they are SADLY deceived.

The penalties for poverty, loss of limbs for stealing imprisonment until payment which no one could pay. Holding your hand through a fence hoping someone would put food in it.
Filthy dungeons and no clean water.

Figures say in the early colonies slave numbers out multiplied the colonists so your 2% figure is ludicrous. Whites lived in fear that one day the slaves would revolt and over throw them that is why they kept "middling" class people to watch over them with guns (overseers) The white population didn't overtake the Slaves until after the Civil War.

6:12AM PDT on Aug 5, 2009

So Natives DID engage in geoncidal actions, but Whites did NOT DELIBERATELY exterminate Natives. And you want to know why we have race problems. You keep trying to tell us we don't know what we know, see what we see, experience what we experience, and you keep trying to deny your actions, which only makes you an accomplice after the fact.

From the first pilgrim to invade a Natives home under the guise that I'll come back later to pay for what I took, to the President who enforced Manifest Destiny and broke every treaty created, there committed was GENOCIDE.

2:13PM PDT on Aug 4, 2009

Rebecca, in the Northern states the percentage of Blacks/slaves was under 2%, so they obviously weren't doing the lion's share of the work for most Whites there. Wealthy Whites always had the option to employ poor Whites or buy White indentured servants. Very few of the pioneers in the heartland were Black, either. You also overlook the fact that White-European civilization, similar to ours, developed just fine in Europe with hardly any Black slaves. Whites are very hard, creative workers and did not need the non-White labor to build America, though it helped.

Let me make it clear that I do not defend the greed and brutality of the slave-traders and the slave-abusers. I have no love for them.