You can fool some of the people all of the time.
You can fool all of the people some of the time.
You can't fool all of the people all of the time.
Stephen Bittel isn't fooling the majority of black folks right now.
Mind you, there might be one or two who will try to rush to his defense, although right now I doubt it.
For the most part, though, he showed his hand this past Saturday at Leadership Blue.
After state legislators were angry because of a mixup in the program leading up to former Vice President Joe Biden's speech, Bittel laid the blame squarely at the feet of the black legislators, calling them children.
All of the legislators, black and white, were angry about the mixup, but it was only the black ones that incurred Bittel's wrath.
Gee, I wonder why.
According to the Miami Herald:
After the dinner, Sen. Lauren Book of Plantation, who is white, asked Bittel about the snub -- prompting Bittel’s outburst blaming African-American legislators for complaining, even though Cruz, who is Hispanic, and others were also angry.
“He said, ‘They’re like children, these black lawmakers. They just don’t get it,’ ”Braynon said, relaying what Book told him. “ ‘I raised more money in this amount of time than they ever could.’”
Read the stories written by the folks who were there -- in The Miami Herald or and in Politico.com.
Wow!
Really? Give folks time and they eventually let you know how they feel.
Bittel, because Sen. Lauren Book shared his words with Sen. Oscar Braynon, did apologize.
How many of you actually believe he means that apology?
I sure as hell do not.
The only thing he is sorry about is that he got caught.
It is abundantly clear that he has no respect for the black legislators, and that is why he singled them out.
He has no respect for the FDP black treasurer, and that is why he was trying to figure out a way to get around having her sign off on financial documents.
The only black people he tolerates are those he can control.
Rep. Shevrin Jones says black legislators need to be brought to the table. He says that they are only used at election time.
Hmmm....
Does that sound familiar?
Where have we heard that before?
Could it have possibly been in a Sunshine State News column written by none other than yours truly?
You see, what I write here is being said to me by black people all over this state.
It's being said to me by black elected Democrats.
It is nothing new.
The only people you will see trying to dispute it are white democrats.
They want black Democrats to be quiet and toe their party line.
All the while their racism will rear its head, just like Stephen Bittel's did at Leadership Blue.
What are they going to do now, call the entire black elected delegation Republican plants?
Good luck with that!
Leslie Wimes, a Sunshine State News columnist, is founder and president of Women on the Move and the Democratic African American Women Caucus, www.daawc.com. Follow Leslie on Twitter: @womenonthemove1
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