Phil Donahue injects race into 2002 vote authorizing force against Iraq

Phil Donahue

I'm going to have to keep listening to Smiley and West on NPR. The program, which airs each Sunday at noon where I live, presents a treasure trove of information--and misinformation--from the left. It's hosted by two über-liberals, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West. Because they're promoting their new book--today's show turned the tables--progressive Phil Donahue hosted them. The video version of this interview will air on the New York PBS affiliate tomorrow, and perhaps elsewhere.

The Iraq War came up--and in regards to the 2002 vote that authorized President Bush to utilize force against the Saddam Hussein regime, Donahue told Smiley and West, "You know what, I'm going to tell you something I bet you don't know--every person of color in the House voted 'No' [on that bill] except for Jefferson, Congressman [William] Jefferson from Louisiana. He's the guy with the money in his freezer--remember that?"

As part of their investigation of the New Orleans Democrat, FBI agents discovered $90,000 inside a freezer at his Washington home. Jefferson was convicted of 11 corruption charges in 2009.

"Talk to me about that--I mean what did they know that George Bush didn't know--and all of those white people in Congress didn't know," Donahue asked.

But the onetime daytime talk show host is wrong. J.C. Watts, a black Republican from Oklahoma, also voted 'Yes' on the Iraq War authorization. Hey Phil: not all GOPers are white.

The pertinent portion of this Smiley and West show starts at 20:20 in the podcast.

It's shameful--but not surprising--that Donahue, with Smiley and West tagging along, plays this unfortunate race game.

UPDATE 11:15pm CDT: A tipster just informed me that Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) Albert Wynn (D-MD), and Sanford Bishop (D-GA) also voted "Yes" on the resolution. Only Bishop is still a member of Congress.

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Technorati tags: Democrats politics crime corruption military news Iraq armed forces phil donahue cornel west tavis smiley