Fla. Congressman: Sarah Palin Comment ‘Not Smart’
Days after telling a group of Jewish Democratic leaders that “Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks,” Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings is apologizing for his not so smart comments about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin during last week’s National Jewish Democratic Council’s Washington conference.
“I regret the comments I made last Tuesday that were not smart and certainly not relevant to hunters or sportsmen,” Hastings said in a statement.
Of course, Hastings, who is African American, isn’t completely apologetic. As inarticulate as he might have been, “The point I made, and will continue to make, is that the policies and priorities of a McCain-Palin administration would be anathema to most African Americans and Jews,” he said. “I regret that I was not clearer and apologize to Governor Palin, my host where I was speaking, and those who my comments may have offended.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
