NAACP: Hatch Must Face The Consequences Of His Actions…Well Maybe
- Thursday, April 2, 2009, 3:59
- Iowa, Top Story
- 700 views
- 26 comments
The racial incident that Democrat leaders in the House and Senate thought they had swept under the rug last week has now erupted into a raging fire.
Last week, State Senator Jack Hatch told Rep. Abdul-Samad, member of the House Human Resources committee, that Democratic statehouse leaders were treating them like, “[N words], like master and slaves.” Knowing that the incident would create chaos and another round of bad news coverage for Hatch and Iowa Democrats, legislative leaders were able to prevent the Register from reporting on the story until Saturday, a day when very few people read the paper.
While their tactics initially worked as they had planned, the story is now on the front burner. On Monday, Sen. Hatch apologized to his colleagues in the Senate and sent the following email to all legislators and staff.
Dear colleagues and legislative staff,
I am writing to apologize for a comment I made last week. As legislators, our comments reflect on everyone, and last Wednesday I made an inappropriate reference. It was wrong and inexcusable. We are to reflect Iowa values, and Iowans are a tolerant group. Our values embrace diversity and legislators need to reflect our highest standards. Last Wednesday, I failed that standard and for that, I am sorry. It will never happen again.
If you want to discuss this with me, please seek me out.
Jack
Apparently, Rep. Abdul-Samad and Rep. Wayne Ford took Sen. Hatch up on his offer for further discussion. The two Representatives and other African-American leaders met privately with Senator Hatch on Monday night to discuss the incident further.
Sen. Hatch apologized to the group that night, but Linda Carter-Lewis, president of the Des Moines chapter of the NAACP said, “Words, once spoken, cannot be retracted or erased. Senator Hatch will suffer the consequences for his actions.” Thus far, besides some public embarrassment, Senator Hatch has not had to deal with any real consequences for his self-described despicable remarks.
There are a lot of people who are still upset with Hatch’s comments. Our post on the subject has generated over nearly 2000 unique page views, containing over forty comments. According to his legislative assistant, Sen. Hatch has received over 2800 emails about the subject, and the longest serving African-American in the legislature, Rep. Wayne Ford, isn’t sure if his relationship with Hatch will ever be the same.
So why hasn’t there been ANY official sanction from the House or Senate condemning Hatch’s comments?
The reactions by Rep. Abdul-Samad, and Rep. Wayne Ford are justified, and since the occurrence took place in the House chamber, the House should offer a non-binding resolution condemning Sen. Hatch’s behavior. The House cannot censure a non-member, but at least it would send a clear message to all Iowans that such language will not be tolerated. Even if the House does pass a resolution, the Senate should also take official action against Hatch by censuring him.
It seems as if those in the legislature think this is just an internal issue that needs to be dealt with behind closed doors. They need to realize that, by not officially condemning Hatch’s comment, they are sending a terrible message to all Iowans that says what happens in Des Moines, stays in Des Moines.
Sen. Hatch apologizing to his collogues and meeting with a few select African-American leaders was the appropriate thing to do. But as Linda Carter-Lewis said, Hatch must deal with the consequences of his actions. Censuring Sen. Hatch sends the message that Iowans will not tolerate racist behavior. Just letting him apologize to a few select people sends the opposite message, especially to our youth.
About the Author
Craig Robinson has written 501 stories on this site.
Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.
26 Comments on “NAACP: Hatch Must Face The Consequences Of His Actions…Well Maybe”
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chirp chirp chirp. are those crickets I hear? where is our republican leadership on this? Geez, he should have to resign. Why aren’t we pushing for that?
chirp chirp chirp.
Where is the courage to discuss race? Where is the courage Jack? Where is the courage republicans? Where is our collective courage to discuss race with Jack? Our silence may signal our approval. Our silence may signal our acceptance that this is no big thang. It is a big thing though. It’s a terrible, awful, horrible, demeaning, nasty thing to do. Jack’s apology just made him look even more racist. The only thing he forgot to say was “some of my best friends are black.” Our silence is damning. We should be supporting Wayne Ford and Ako. They are right. Linda Carter Lewis is right. They are correct and we should be showing our support for their outrage and hurt over this outragous and hurtful event. It’s a big deal. Be not afraid. chirp chirp chirp
I wonder if Jack apologized to all of his low-income tenants?
Jack Hatch is a disgusting pig. He needs to go.
Attorney General Holder is right……..we should be supporting Ford and Samad. When Republicans don’t say anything about something that is so obviously wrong we look like we are content to look the other way. Have some guts, boys. Say what is right. Jack Hatch has no place in the senate.
sen hatch gets a standing ovation by his white democrat colleagues. its sick. he needs to go.
ed failure is too busy calling people nazi’s this week for republicans to criticize over the top and inappropriate behavior. are there no statesmen in either party?
wait, do i see felon matt mccoy in that picture with hatch and biden? wow. winners all around.
so, what are you saying there Molly? Because Ed used words that accurately describe the situation – “Pat Murphy acted like a jack booted nazi” – you feel that Jack Hatch should get a pass? Or, are you saying that Jack Hatch used words that accurately describe the situation?
what i am saying is that jack hatch is an ego maniac loser that never should have said what he said. and i am saying that ed failure is an ego maniac loser that never should have said what he said either. call a spade a spade. when people in public life say and do outlandinsh things i really could care less what party they are in. jack hatch is an embarassment and should be ashamed of what he did. ed failure is an ego maniacal, hot tempered idiot that should be ashamed of his behavior as well.
“Iowans need their legislators to come together in civil debate,” Kiernan said. “Instead, Republicans offered only intimidation and hate; some even resorted to throwing objects at fellow citizens and even calling the Speaker of the House a Nazi. Their actions were disrespectful to the legislative process and the Iowans they claim to represent.”
So, why hasn’t the Iowa Democrat Party called on Jack Hatch to resign?
Jack Hatch is an elected Senator. Ed Failor is a lobbyist. Not the same code of conduct. And, actually, Ed represented me and my thoughts exactly. I thank him and salute him for his leadership. Pat Murphy acted like a jack booted nazi when he threw a specific group of people out of the people’s house for expressing their free speech on a subject of life or death importance to so many people who have lost or fear losing their incomes. Your opinion is very insensitive to the offense taken by the public over the grossest display of voter suppression I’ve seen in Iowa. My civil rights were violated. I think I’m going to sue Pat Murphy for that. Where is Al Sharpton when I need him.
Let’s do that. Let’s call a spade a spade. Are you calling on the ultimate spade caller Jack Hatch to resign? How do you feel about Pat Murphy’s outlandish and outrageous behavior toward the good citizens of Iowa? Pat initiated the whole entire thing all by himself because of his hot temper. So, where does his idiot, ego-maniacal behavior land in your continuum of moral outrage?
“Public furor over a tax proposal could become a “defining moment” in Iowa politics, officials and observers said Wednesday.
Some said the fight over income tax policy could erode Iowans’ allegiances to Democrats.” So, is Pat Murphy the failure or is Ed Failor the failure. Me thinks Pat will not be the speaker next session. I smell a 98 county landslide for the candidate who defends the taxpayor and not the tax taker. R’s – this means you need to defend the taxpayor too. You’ve not been doing a great job the last couple of years with that and your vote to accept oby’s crack cocaine disguised as “stimulus” was very bone headed. We are paying attention to who is and who isn’t watching our for the taxpayer. Just having an R behind your name isn’t going to cut it at election time.
yes. i think jack hatch should resign over the word he used and his behavior. and here you go i also think ed failure should too. and yes i think pat murphy is stupid. i am willing to call a spade a spade. are you?
looks like molly just embarassed you slobbering right wing wacko itr repubo hahahahahahahahahahahaha
I think you are misuing the word embarrassed. Do you know what that means??
learn to spell before you criticize. sucker.
where do I find the anti-bullying police? You sure told me. Good cumback.
clean it up. no need to sink to the level of jack hatch or ed failure.
time for jack hatch to leave the senate.
Has the IOWA CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION said anything about this?
Didn’t those partisan hacks threaten to investigate Congressman King when he mentioned Obama’s middle name before the election?
I don’t know if anyone knew this or not, but Peggy will fight you if you dare speak poorly of Master King.
If you put a wilted flower near Steve King’s face, IT BLOOMS!!!
peggy is right that the iowa civil right commission should weigh on on sen hatch
I only have one Master, my friend.
Master P? He is good.