Attention, Juan Williams – don’t presume that you speak for Eddie Slaughter when you accuse Newt Gingrich of dog whistle racism for his statements on food stamps and America’s work ethic. Readers of BigGovernment will remember Eddie Slaughter as the South Georgia farmer was gone on record talking about Pigford fraud and how his Congressman, representative Sanford Bishop tried to cover up that fraud. Mr. Slaughter had personal and political dealings with Newt Gingrich years ago that run very counter to the narrative that Juan Williams was trying to push during the recent presidential debate on Fox, as revealed in an interview I did with Mr. Slaughter this morning.
Mr. Slaughter originally told me about his positive dealings with Gingrich about a year ago, when he both spoke at a press conference at CPAC about the Pigford settlement. Before Pigford became a vast fraud scheme benefiting attorneys and the political class, it began as a legitimate effort by a small group of black farmers to fight discrimination at the hands of the federal government. The issue for the farmers was that the statute of limitations was very short and because the civil rights office of the USDA had been shut down, there had been no real way to report any discrimination for close to 15 years. In order for the bona fide black farmers like Mr. Slaughter to file suit, they would need an extension of the statute limitations.
The black farmers approachedNewt Gingrich to get support. Now, according to the Juan Williams school of thought, Speaker Gingrich was Republican and therefore a presumed racist. Mr. Slaughter told a very different story however. When asked directly about in my interview he said, “I feel that he was more sincere than most in Washington DC.” And “I think he was more fair than most people running for office, from what know about him personally.”
How does Mr. Slaughter view Gingrich’s views about food stamps versus employment? It’s a view that I think is actually held by many African-Americans, however not many that the mainstream media shows you. In fact, forget the African-American distinction; I believe that Mr. Slaughters views here are the ones held by many Americans. He said;
I don’t want to be reduced to where I’m dependent on food stamps or dependent on the government to take care of me. I like to be out there working for myself. This is supposed to be a country that if you work hard then you will receive the reward of your labor. But to sit around and wait for somebody give me something, I don’t like that idea. I think when you start giving people something without having them work for it, they lay there and look for you to give them everything so they don’t have to go to work.
And when asked about how he views Juan Williams perception of race in the country, Mr. Slaughter was typically honest.
When you’re talking about Juan Williams; most blacks always want to claim that anyone disagrees with them is racist, you know? Sometimes people can have a legitimate disagreement, “This is the way I see the issue and this is the way you see it.” How come they always find racism in Republicans, when I see more racism in most Democrats?”
Eddie Slaughter is a great embodiment of the American motto of E Pluribus Unum As Well as the values of hard work and optimistic faith in the future. Is my personal hope is we continue to pursue the Pigford story in the coming year, we are able to offer Mr. Slaughter and the other bona fide black farmers some vindication for their brave exposure of one of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated on the American people by its federal government.
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