Ghastly: Watch White Journalist Interrogate Ted Cruz On His Racial Authenticity
Robert Gehl
May 11, 2015
Imagine the cries of racism if Fox’s Megyn Kelly decided to grill President Obama on just how Black he really is.
Asking the President if he “lists himself” as black, what his favorite Kenyan food was and all sorts of bizarre questions to test his “blackness:” What would be the response?
Because that’s precisely what Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin did to Ted Cruz. Because Ted Cruz is a Republican, Halperin wanted to “out” him as not really Cuban – not really Hispanic and not really a minority.
Challenging the racial identity of Cruz, Halperin even told Cruz to “welcome your colleague Sen. Sanders to the race, and I’d like you to do it, if you would, en español.”
Who the hell does Halperin think he is?
“What’s your favorite Cuban food?” “What’s your favorite Cuban music?” Speak Spanish, Sen. Cruz. Comeon! Prove to me you’re Hispanic enough! Seriously?
At the San Jose Mercury News, the journalist Ruben Navarette, who knows Cruz well, was horrified:
I’ve known Ted for more than a decade and I could tell he was uncomfortable. But he played along, listing various kinds of Cuban food and saying that his musical taste veers more toward country.
I kept waiting for Halperin to ask Cruz to play the conga drums like Desi Arnaz while dancing salsa and sipping cafe con leche — all to prove the Republican is really Cuban.
Just when I thought I’d seen the worst, it got even more offensive. Earlier that day, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, had entered the presidential race. So, Halperin said: “I want to give you the opportunity to directly welcome your colleague Sen. Sanders to the race, and I’d like you to do it, if you would, en español.”
What nerve, treating a U.S. senator like a trained seal! Who does this guy think he is, trying to evaluate how well a Hispanic speaks Spanish? And what does that have to do with being authentic anyway?
You know who, by their own admission, don’t speak español well? Housing Secretary Julian Castro and his twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, both friends of mine. You could bet Halperin would never put those questions to the Castros because, as Democrats, they’re assumed to be closer to the masses than Cruz is.
http://downtrend.com/robertgehl/ghastly-watch-white-journalist-interrogate-ted-cruz-on-his-racial-authenticity
