The entirety of his reponse in a Duluth News Tribune interview can be seen here, but here are the pertinent parts. (emphasis mine)
Duluth News Tribune: Do you think crime is getting worse in Duluth?Charlie Bell: Yes.
Duluth News Tribune: Why so?
Charlie Bell: I think people have moved into Duluth that don’t belong here. I think we see people walking the streets that don’t fit the identities, that don’t fit what we normally have, don’t fit the citizens that have lived here for years and years. They do stand out.
Duluth News Tribune: What type of people do you mean? Homeless people?
Charlie Bell: No, let me answer the question again.
Duluth News Tribune: The question was: Do you think crime is getting worse in Duluth?
Charlie Bell: I think people have moved here from other places in this country. From Detroit, in Mississippi…
Here is a quick FYI to Bell and whoever is doing his media, when you say “Let me answer the question again.” it usually means that you back away from whatever stupid thing you said in the first place. Duluth has had 4 years of bonehead leadership in Herb Bergson, and it doesn’t need anymore from Bell, who thinly veiled racist rant aside, has a habit of saying bonehead things.
The good news is, one of the most exciting young politicians in the state Donny Ness is running against Bell. Donny has been a Duluth City Council member since 1999, and he has the leadership and experience to help Duluth through it’s financial problems, and to make Duluth grow in the 21st century. Visit his campaign through their website here, and donate to his campaign here.
Don is fantastic. I can’t help but think that his mayoral run is helping to set him up as Oberstar’s natural successor whenever JLO decides it’s time to let someone else have a go at the MN-8 seat (probably right after the redistricting that was talked about earlier)
Herb was not a bonehead.
Bell is.
Maybe he forgets that Blacks have been there since at least 1920 when the last public lynching in Minnesota was held in Duluth.
Wow — he dug that hole quickly and never recovered.
can anyone deny that most crime is committed by blacks? certainly most murders…. and the other truth is that alot of blacks move here from Chicago..Detroit.. or gary In…so, what did bell say that was so wrong?
What Bell did was jump to an immediate conclusion that those people who “don’t fit the identities” must be responsible for the increase in crime.
And even if (we don’t know this) he has some statistical data proving that the jump in crime is caused by in-migration from a certain class or race, I have to say his tact and phraseology is severely lacking in this day and age.
what difference does it make what day and age it is? why do we need to be more sensitive now?..lets call a spade a spade.. after all a spade is still a spade..even in this day and age… PC will be the end of our society
The problem with that john is that most of your high profile successful blacks black come from those areas too. Profiling blacks will find yourself with the likes of current police chiefs, judges, a gaggle of black attorneys and even some former lawmakers. Not to mention the thousands who just work ordinary jobs minding their business on a daily basis.
Even if you have a two dozen murders all by black people from out of town that didn’t grow up there, you still have a couple of thousand in Duluth who haven’t and didn’t murder anyone that have rights.
Judging by the way people look is no way to decide if they ‘belong’ or not. Its a good way to get Duluth in trouble and a lot of unwanted media attention.
I feel like Bell when it comes to our politics. We had good Minnesotans running things very well here until the 1980’s when all of these transplants from Chicago, New York and the Dakotas started running for office. Now they’ve broken our tradition of supporting education and health care and brought their east coast flavor of ant-taxation to Minnesota. We were doing fine before they got here.
What does this mean?:
“why do we need to be more sensitive now?..
lets call a spade a spade..
after all a spade is still a spade..”
“can anyone deny that most crime is committed by blacks? certainly most murders….”
ACtually, in 2005, a higher percentage of murders were white-on-white than black-on-black. when it’s a stranger involved, the difference is even greater. overall, are there more black defendants than non-black defendants in the u.s.? yes, by 4% (from 1976-2005, 47.8% of murder defendants were non-black, 52.2% were black). what’s misleading about these numbers is that they encompass such a wide range that it eliminates the effect that modern day (well, 2005) there were actually more white defendants than any other race in murder trials. white’s also had a higher conviction rate in 2005.
so, john, i guess you’re right. over the past 30 years, black murder defendants have outnumbered non-black defendants at a rate of 1.09:1. astonishing.
and yes, DJZ, herb bergson was, is, and shall always be a bonehead in the eyes of a suprising number of duluthians.
What this means is that there are still extraordinarily ignorant and hateful people out there. john represents GOP’ers everywhere. He is the personification of today’s republican party. Good job, john.
Nice how Richard counters bigotry with bigotry.
Dammit, can’t slip anything past old KH. But aren’t all republicans racist fascists? Aren’t all Irish drunks? Aren’t all Arabs terrorists? Aren’t all Mexicans illegal aliens? Are all gays out to destroy marriage? Aren’t all liberals communists? C’mon you guys made up the playbook, now you want to change the rules and be reasonable. I think john and MAnn Coulter need to get together and be like the poster children for your party. Get Michell Bachmann to stand between them and you’ll have the perfect embodiment of modern Republicanism. Raygun would be so proud. Oh yeah, forgot one, aren’t all Scots sheep shaggers? That one might be true.
Richard,
So does that mean you don’t think all Republicans are ignorant and hateful or that you do think that all Liberals are communists? Your attempt to mask bigotry with satire are a bit weak. What Bell said was bigoted and moronic and the fact he didn’t realize it is scary and embarrassing for anybody that supports him. He should be condemned for it and hopefully never gets elected to public office again.
The fact you use phrases like “you guys” shows you have the same problem treating people as individuals and instead fall back into generalizations and bigotry. If somebody disagrees with you or calls you on your bigotry they must be Bush supporters, fascists or worse. The fact your methods are no better than the worst Republicans doesn’t bother you a bit. You and Bell and Coulter are cut from the same cloth.
I really don’t mind all the name calling and labeling but accuracy is sorta important. Are more republicans for or against voters rights versus Democrats? Are more republicans for or against gay marriage versus Democrats? The republicans have been the party of the wealthy elite for a number of years now and have actively been working against the lifting up of the poor and minorities so if that makes me a bigot, okay. Free marketeers are the worst in the party because their views worse so dreadfully for everyone except the wealthy elite.
Richard,
The fact you have different opinions from me or Republicans or see that many Republicans have bigoted views is not what makes you a bigot. You are a bigot because you think in the same way that Bell does. Bell figured that since a disproportionate amount of crime is committed by people of a certain group that all people of that group are bad. You do the same thing and attempt to disguise it in satire. You are intellectually lazy which causes you to define people by broad groups rather than deal with them as individuals. Your black and white world view is every bit as wrong as that of the Bush administration you hate so much. Claiming to have altruistic motives won’t save you from being that any more than it did for them.
You go, KH!!!
Richard - shame on you.
Suppose I do not endorse gay marriage. Is it because I’m bigoted against gays? Suppose I’m not for expanding our welfare program. Do I have a cold heart against the poor?
Liberals often make the mistake that Conservatives take their positions because we want to promote or crush certain groups. To most of us, however, it is all about the role of Government. Because many Liberals seem to have the world view that problems are to be identified, monitored, and solved exclusively by government, they assume we think the same way and that the absence of a certain Government action by us is an affront to a group of people.
Not the case. We just want to keep the government that is by the people and for the people just that, not the largest monopoly in the world.
Dan,
Your argument breaks down in the gay marriage debate. You seem to be saying that you oppose gay marriage because you think government should play a limited role in the lives of it’s citizens. It only seems logical to ask, then, do you oppose the government sanctioning marriage between “one man and one woman”? Isn’t that the federal government reaching in to your life a little too much?
It reminds me of a West Wing moment where a gay republican congressman talks about how he’s planning on introducing a bill to ban marriage. If we aren’t going to allow it for him, we (the government) should get out of the business all together. Maybe Sean can find the clip and post it.
Also, my other two posts are apparently awaiting moderation, so I’ll just repost them:
First, in response to John’s “can anyone deny that most crime is committed by blacks? certainly most murders…” comment. Actually, in 2005 (the most recent year I could find the data for in my 30 seconds of searching) white-on-white murders outnumbered black-on-black murders. Now, maybe I misread your statement. Is it true that from 1976 until 2005, a majority of the murder defendants were black? Yes, it is. In that time period blacks made up 52.2% of murder defendants, so a black-defendant to non-black-defendant ratio of 1.09:1. However, that’s over a 30 year period. Recently it has evened off and white convictions for murder have actually outnumbered convictions of blacks for murder. So, in response to your question if there is anyone that can deny that most murders are committed by blacks, yes, there is. The U.S. Department of Justice.
Second, in response to DJZ: yes, Herb Bergson was, is, and ever shall be a bonehead in the eyes of many Duluthians.
I’m sorry KH, you’re right. I just assumed the republican party was the party of rich old white guys. My mistake. You’re present slate of presidential candidates would indicate that I’m wrong. The percentage of minorities that vote for the republican party would indicate that I’m wrong. Yes, I may be intellectually lazy but at least I’m honest. Look at you’re party and look who you’re party is really trying represent.
I think the problem is which Republican party you are talking about. There is certainly not much redeeming value in any of the Republicans running for president - it seems to be a contest to see who can be the biggest neanderthal. There was once a Republican party of people like Dave Durenburger and Arne Carlson and Jim Ramstad, who were not haters and not unsympathetic to the poor, but just had different views on the role of government. That party seems to have been replaced by the current incaration, which is a shame. But it also explains why people like Kerosene Hat are hanging out at Democratic blogs - the Republican party has left them behind and they are trying to find something they can work with on the other side.
Richard,
You keep making the same mistake. That is the one where everyone who disagrees with you must share the exact same characteristics. That is the core of your bigotry. I agree that the candidates from the Republican party are almost universally awful and there are none from either party I am very happy with. I am not a Republican, never have been and never will be. I don’t feel the need to justify my beliefs by joining any party since simply belonging to a group doesn’t give a person’s views validity. No matter how much you want to shove me into a group so you can paint me with their sins instead of my own I will refuse to go. I know it complicates things a bit but it is truly honest, not the false honesty you claim.
There was once a Republican party of people like Dave Durenburger and Arne Carlson and Jim Ramstad, who were not haters and not unsympathetic to the poor, but just had different views on the role of government.
Yes conservatives liked to call these individuals “RINO’S”
Dave, Arne and Jim have voted with democRats more than republicans, which is why the left thinks their just great.
I wish the republican party would stop endorsing these idiots and get back to basic conservatism.
I rest my case.
So, are we in agreement that Bell seems to be practicing some codified racism? He’s letting people’s inner-bigot guide them.
yes,, Real Rethuglicans like Raygun and Bush the Elder. Fiscal conservative, non interventionists.
all liberals ARE communist.. i would say the ratio of black murderers to white muderers in big cities is far greater than 1.9 to 1..while bell is wrong to assume all blacks are trouble makers.. i am not wrong to say that a higher percentage of blacks commit crimes than do whites..as a percentage of their respective race bush 41 certainly was an interventionist..ever hear of Panama?.. Or Desert Storm..or Somalia 1991? Reagan ditto the disaster called lebanon…Reagan raised spending on welfare he was noty fiscally prudent… Bush 41 raised taxes..enough to put us in recession in 1992 Bush 43 lowered taxes…got us out of a Clinton recession
Bell’s repugnant comments will win him some votes.
The city of Duluth, once a proud,progressive union town with a healthy middle class, is now teeming with megachurches and (I am not making this up) people who act like Reaganites, otherwise known as racists. The citizens are whipped up into an anti-union frenzy by the retiree health care costs.
Duluth is circling the drain when people like Bell, Fedora, and Hall get elected with their selfish anti-tax, anti union, anti living wage rhetoric.
john,
1.09:1, not 1.9:1. And I’m dismissing the second half of your post as mere incoherent rambling. Thank you, try again.
For those who are interested, soon to be ex-Duluth mayor Herb Bergeson has some pretty harsh words for candidate Bell.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/
(Site registration required)
either way my point is relevant..blacks commit more crimes than whites per capita..only a liar will deny that fact..are you familiar with facts Chrissy?
LOLOLS!!
Great stuff, righties. Keep it up, you’re a lot of winning hearts and minds.
You represent your party’s base very very well. Thank you.
blacks commit more crimes than whites per capita…
I don’t know - I just surfed through the Anoka County Jail website and it looks like of those currently incarcerated at least 75% are white…go check it out yourself.
http://ww2.anokacounty.us/v3_jail/search.aspx
do you know what per capita means Cassie?.. obviously not… look in the hennepin counnty jail tell us what you see 75% whites in a county that is probably 90% white…makes my point Nitro..whatev dude.. i am not part of the Republican base..I will vote for Ron Paul
TheOtherChris said: “Your argument breaks down in the gay marriage debate. You seem to be saying that you oppose gay marriage because you think government should play a limited role in the lives of it’s citizens”
You are missing my point. That post wasn’t to argue any type of position on gay marriage (after all, I was “supposing” and guess I used a poor example), it was to make that point that we GOP’ers aren’t “out to get” certain groups like the conspiracy theorist libs think. For the record, I don’t give a crap who gets married to whom. It is a waste of time for me to worry about that.
I also want to point out that “john” doesn’t represent my views, just as John Kerry and Joe Lieberman have different views while being part of the same party.
test
Of course john represents your views. The repug’s party is the party of fear mongering, racism, fascism, and the Military/Industrial complex. john’s is just being honest about it.
DantheMan-
No, lowercase might not represent your views personally. But he is a perfect example of what Republicans will pretend they don’t see if it gets them elected. Simple, emotional appeals to fear. People who criticize the President’s strategy are traitors. Anyone who says gay people should get married wants pedophiles to attack your children. Democrats addressing the issues of Black people means they want to coddle crackheads. You all will say that you disagree without personally - while failing to condemn it as a strategy.
The great moral difference between mugging someone yourself and just receiving stolen property.
(with it, not without)
Richard squealed: “The republicans have been the party of the wealthy elite for a number of years now and have actively been working against the lifting up of the poor and minorities so if that makes me a bigot, okay.”
Tsk tsk Richard. You’re out of the loop in a big way baby.
Pandering to the “wealthy elite” is not just the stuff of leftist delusions of class warfare anymore….
Take a tip from Angry Al Franken; the beautiful people require real pandering, not just lip service.
Hyperlink malfunction above. Here’s Al showing us how a pro kisses ass for a few bucks:
http://bp0.blogger.com/_zhwTt-9jSlU/Ryp4nkMih4I/AAAAAAAAAFg/c0ysPsIQmQU/s1600-h/Franken and Belzberg.jpg
little tom bleated, “Pandering to the “wealthy elite” is not just the stuff of leftist delusions of class warfare anymore….”
delusions of class warfare? The wealthy elite have been waging class warfare since before McKinley. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that tom isn’t wealthy, but he has delusions of maybe, somehow, if everything works out just right, he might maybe be something like a big shot. Good luck with that.
Ann Coulter, Karl Rove, and the late Strom Thurmond: part of the Republican party.
Jim Ramstad, John Warner, George Will: also part of the Republican party.
There is ALOT of political range in the names listed above. PLEASE don’t group us all as the same ideology. That makes you as bad as the methodology you are admonishing.
DantheMan — Who has the most influence in the Republican Party right now? Does the Ripon Society really have any weight to throw around?
The Republican Party has gone from the “Big Tent” to the “Wide Stance.”
I must’ve missed George Will’s condemnation of Karl Rove’s tactics in 2004. The repug’s have their footsoldiers like Mann Coulter to do their outrageous dirty work and cluck and puff about how disgraceful it is but do nothing. If you vote for repug candidates you are voting for the politics of racism and class division. You can turn a blind eye to it saying, “My candidate would never support that.” But Ramsted did and Warner does and Will still pimps for the same captains that launched an illegal war and are responsible for the deaths of over 2 million people.
DantheMan-
Part of my problem is that a number of the people you mentioned, some of whom I respect tremendously, will stand quieter when the other group rants. Say what you like about the Democratic party, we’ll condemn our own when they transgress a lot quicker. The radical left has said some truly shocking stuff, and mainstream Democrats will condemn, and I think we pay a price. Our maniacs are a less reliable voting blocs because of that, and we’ve sometimes paid the price for our mainstream’s unwillingness to pander to the lunatic fringe(Look at Nader in Florida in ‘00 for a prime example). Wheras the Republicans will evade, stand mute.
Mind you, I’ve envyed that discipline, and what it allows the GOP to do. But there’s discipline and shady dealings, and there only so much I can take. And from the list you gave me, whats the common thread between Hagel, John Warner, and Ramsted? Seems like there was only so much they could take, too.
John S -
Thank you for elevating this debate from generalities to acute observations. You are exactly right — while the Republican party embodies people who would score anywhere from say, 45 to 100 on National Journal’s vote rankings (W is about a 95, John Kerry a 5 — so higher is conservative), I think the general representation of Republicans is pretty scattered throughout that range. However, there is no doubt that since Rove and Cheney entered the scene, the 85-100 folks have been pulling the strings and getting leadership positions.
So it goes with political eras. During the Clinton years, moderate Dems were the face of that party. Then came their retreat to pure liberalism in the early 2000’s, which didn’t serve them well, and I bet that their next few faces are going to be closer to middle. Smart move.
Except here’s my biggest problem, the middle keeps moving to the right. Senator Clinton is the most moderate of the current pack of Presidential candidates and she will more then likely be our next president. She is largely pro corporate, pro military, and pro status quo. Now, make no mistake, as unhappy as I might be about the above, if she gets the nomination, I will cast my vote for her because she represents a huge improvement over what we have be governed by for the last seven years and any potential GOP candidate. I am working very hard for Kucinich and will caucus for Kucinich as vigorously as possible but at the end of the day, I will vote for the Democratic party’s nominee. Progressive thought requires more evolution then revolution.
Kucinich is to me what Bush is to you.
Except I sincerely doubt Kucinich would not launch an illegal war resulting in the deaths of 2 million people. Kucinich offers us the prospect for revolution, ergo, he will not win nomination. Look into his plans and you’ll find practical and workable solutions but they are so far the normal “scratch my back ,,,” day to day operation of politics and business they cannot be implemented in this day and age. Support for those ideas will only drive the date of usage ahead. Don’t listen to the drivel coming from the Chris’s and KH’s about “Dennis the menace”. Go to his web site and engage his ideas with a serious debate. I think you’ll find many appealing new approach’s.
I cannot agree with most of Kucinich’s stances. I’ve researched him. His view of Government’s desired role in this country is as far away as one could get from mine.
But I commend you for choosing a candidate and backing him. That is more than I can say at this point, but I rarely choose a candidate this early in the game.
2 million dead in iraq??.. where did you get those unreal numbers..it is more like Dennis the Fruitcake
What is most horrifying is the bizarre posting on a blog up north where they seem to support Charlie’s racist views and inaccuracy about the area having easy welfare bennies. It’s the same system as all over the state.
I do not think they understand how social services is regulated, I don’t think they have a clue.
But this sure gets em going to get rid of folks who don’t look like them.
NASTY and shameful
http://www.duluthcitizensblog.com
Many of us in Duluth who were apalled by Charlie “Ding Dong” Bell’s comments are even more disturbed by the bigoted blogging. I’m beginning to think that we’ve gotten exactly nowhere in this country by trying to have a dialogue about stereotyping, and how holding every member of a particular race accountable for the actions of a few, is just plain wrong. There’s a continual amount of rhetoric in this community about welfare and how people are being “recruited” from Chicago and Detroit in order to keep social service workers employed. It’s really gotten bad, the urban legends are absolutely ridiculous. Just this week someone told me that he KNOWS that there were advertisements on the radio in Chicago telling people to come here for our great welfare benefits. Someone also said that Oprah stated on her show that Duluth is a great place to go for easy bennies. I’m so tired of asking these jokers to prove it or shut up. Unfortunately Charlie is merely mimicing what I’ve been hearing around town for years and years. And I’m afraid it will embolden the bigots if Ding Dong gets elected.
Amen Kelly. Amen. Your post, and the previous one about the “Citizens blog” could not be more right on. Prove it or shut up.