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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Talk Show Host Bill Cunningham gives Cincinnati another “Black Eye”
Posted by Media Release
Bill Cunningham gives Cincinnati another “Black Eye” with his reckless and irresponsible comments. Bill Cunningham repeatedly referred to Senator Barack Obama as Barack “Hussein” Obama at a rally for John McCain.
Bill Cunningham is a local Cincinnati talk show host. He is known for his daily over-the-top comments and racist statements.
“Bill Cunningham’s un-American and racist comments about Senator Barack Obama are a snap-shot of what African-Americans deal with in Hamilton County everyday,” said Christopher Smitherman, president of the Cincinnati NAACP.
Bill Cunningham’s comments about Senator Obama were at best disrespectful and at worst racist. Bill Cunningham has stated that he stands behind his comments, which is not surprising.
Senator John McCain should do a better job in his selection of personalities that introduce him in the future.
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26 Feb 2008 at 07:21 pm | #
For those that don’t know already, “Hussein” is in fact Barack’s middle name.
I don’t doubt that Bill Cunningham would use the repetition of his middle name to make the audience create an association between Barack & the former Iraqi leader.
1. Get over it. It’s his middle name. Might as well get it out & in the open.
2. Bill Cunningham obviously thinks we are soooo small minded, that we will go running from a candidate just because there is a name in common with a bad guy.
3. Press release is obviously meant to try & illicit sympathy for Barack (vs. Clinton) during the run up to the Ohio elections. Don’t bite. Review the candidate’s positions & make your own decision not based on their emotional manipulation.
26 Feb 2008 at 07:32 pm | #
cunningham always refers to bill clinton as “william jefferson clinton” often refers to ronald reagan as “ronald wilson reagan”. Why are we surprised that he calls obama by his middle name as well?
much ado about nothing.
26 Feb 2008 at 08:31 pm | #
Apparently McCain felt there as much ado about something. He didn’t chose to just ignore it, he quickly distanced himself from from that idiot Cunningham.
26 Feb 2008 at 09:20 pm | #
I find it hard to believe that the McCain campaign didn’t have any idea what to expect from Cunningham.
26 Feb 2008 at 09:22 pm | #
Much ado about nothing?
First, Smitherman and his supporters should be down at City Hall asap protesting Mark Mallory’s call of support to the Cunningham Show, basically, exonerating and condoning Cunningham’s daily berating of the balck, poor and women! And do a press release before hand so I can come too.
Cunningham is Cincinnati’s secret shame. And it is a shame that Rob Portman, the DeWines, Deters, etc. have all been seen clapping and smiling and laughing about during this disgusting rant in the land of freedom across the historical Ohio river.
27 Feb 2008 at 06:04 am | #
Cunningham’s name is no secret.
Since Hussein is his middle name why not use the opportunity to discuss his heritage to foster positive dialogue?
First time I’ve heard Mayor Mark call Cunningham- too bad it had to be to conduct damage/spin control.
I’d be more concerned about Smitherman promoting NAACP membership AND his for-profit business in literally the same breath yesterday as he closed his show on The Buzz. Just asking for trouble, but also reiterates his presidency (I love the people who still address him as “Councilman Smitherman") is about him and giving him a platform to promote himself.
“Dear Membership & Community,
I’m a new father!
President Smitherman”
mmm, hmmm. Don’t chug the kool-aid too fast kids.
27 Feb 2008 at 09:19 am | #
I’m curious as to how Willie’s comments were un-American and racist. Honestly, I’ve heard what he said and other terms come to mind; tasteless or mean-spirited or political, but racist? Really? He bashed media outlets as well, basically calling them pawns of the Clintons. Was that un-American and/or racist? I honestly don’t understand.
27 Feb 2008 at 09:43 am | #
Maybe the McCain campaign did know about Cunningham and punked him. That’s okay too. Either way he comes out the asshole. Abused and scorned by those he whores for. Isn’t that how the whore/pimp relationship works? He got humiliated by his pimp.
27 Feb 2008 at 09:49 am | #
You are 1000% right Urbanists II is Dead! And Dean of Cincinnati ought to be more careful who he promotes and let take control on his website as he’s been allowing “councilman” Smitherman to do (yeah that is funny kool-aid drinkers who still call him “councilman” and what’s even funnier is he NEVER corrects them) EGOMANIAC AT HIS BEST!!!
Smitherman will send out his 10,000 press release on nonsense and to rant about Cunningham but the question becomes (since he loves to question everybody else) is “WILL SMITHERMAN HAVE THE GUTS AND THE NUTS TO CALL BILL CUNNINGHAM ON HIS TALK SHOW TODAY AND TELL CUNNINGHAM WHAT HE ONLY TELLS BLACK PEOPLE AND IN HIS SELF-SERVING PRESS RELEASES?”
I doubt it but I’ll be listening just the same.
27 Feb 2008 at 10:27 am | #
What’s the difference between Cunningham and Smitherman?
One’s a self serving, self promoting, loudmouth who say’s whatever he thinks will stick, in the promotion of a racially divisive agenda; and the other is a........., oh wait, never mind. Six of one, half a dozen of another. The pot calling the kettle .....,full of soot, ect…
27 Feb 2008 at 10:48 am | #
I honestly don’t see what the big deal is. If Cunningham wants to refer to Obama by his full name who cares? It’s not any worse than Hillary putting out photos of Obama in “muslim” garb, in fact it’s less of a problem because the photos need an explanation whereas his middle name is just his middle name.
27 Feb 2008 at 11:41 am | #
I think McCain did the right thing slamming Cunningham and i respect his decision to do so. Of course, he also said he’s never met the man, which i hear is not true...Cunningham himself says they’ve met...so, i’m not sure who to believe there.
I really would be shocked if McCain’s people didn’t know that something like this was possible...It’s not like this is out of character for Cunningham. And if they were taken entirely by surprise, well then McCain needs to shake up his staff a little bit.
27 Feb 2008 at 12:55 pm | #
Let me be perfectfully clear: BILL CUNNINGHAM IS A STONE COLD RACIST! Not only did it show through his comments about Senator Obama, it shows everyday on his radio show. God don’t like ugly...his mother just died and the day after her obituary runs, he continues on his racist stump. Senator McCain did the right thing by denouncing Cunningham’s comments but Senator McCain should have denounced Cunningham’s comments from the stage and not wait 45 mintues after his speech! Nevertheless, when the Presidential nominee of your party (the Republican Party), Bill Cunningham, denounces you, that tells the community that you are no good. And to think that Cunningham’s wife is a 1st Appelate Court Judge, Penelope, is repulsive because I’ll bet your bottom dollar she agrees with his racist statements about Senator Obama. Bill Cunningham is a terrible human being and I’m glad the nation is finally learning about this racist.
The comments on this blog who are supporting Bill Cunningham’s statements also tells me that Cincinnati continues to be one of the most racist cities in this country. Just about every anchor and pundit in this country (with the exception of ultra-conservative Fox) is denouncing Cunningham’s comments. THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE OF BILL’S PARTY, THE REPUBICAN PARTY, DENOUNCED CUNNINGHAM’S COMMENTS. But somehow, there are racists among us in this city who post on this blog and give Cunningham a pass on his comments. It’s amazing how the Klan is still alive in this city...they don’t wear sheets anymore, they wear black robes, sit in judgeships, prosecute and police our communities and blog for hours supporting racists statements. And Bill Cunningham is one of the grand wizards!
27 Feb 2008 at 01:49 pm | #
McCain can’t be expected to remember every person he shakes hands with nor know each person’s resume. I give McCain great credit for refusing to tolerate the rants of Cunningham.
As to just using his middle name - watch the tapes - it was far more than that. Then, like was done on Hannity and Combs, Combs brought up Cunningham’s record of calling Barack Hussein Osama Muslim , etc. and did a great job exposing the “context” of the Cunningham mantra of racism and hate.
Again - I want the new media and the GOP to ask all those big shot attendees who were there to pledge to never appear on the Cunningham show again
27 Feb 2008 at 03:28 pm | #
Willie is slick, sly and knows all the tricks. The “Hussein middle name” is a twofer. 1. The obvious inference to Saddam 2. Three name names are often reserved for infamous killers (John Wayne Gacy, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth,etc.)
27 Feb 2008 at 05:08 pm | #
I went out to hear what Cunningham and McCain said and I don’t see where McCain slammed Cunningham. McCain was told what Cunningham said and McCain responded to the hearsay. Gee, it sounds like most of the comments that we see on blogs.
McCain could have been better off if he were to have seen a tape of the actual words, but under the circumstances, he did a good job. It is unfortunate that there are so many people that either find it difficult to understand reality or have an agenda that looks for any excuse to criticize others. It is too bad that we don’t live in a perfect world. If we did live in a perfect world we would have to rid our society of those critics who are quick to judge others.
Did anyone hear any boos among the Republican audience to whom Cunningham spoke? Perhaps, Cunningham knew his audience. I would be more concerned about the silence of the audience than the words of either McCain or Cunningham or the press.
27 Feb 2008 at 05:35 pm | #
Photos of George Bush in various native outfits.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/11/post_242.html
28 Feb 2008 at 01:39 pm | #
How dare you call me a Klan member and a racist just because I do not find fault with calling someone by their full name. I listened to the Hannity and Combs interview and found no racist comments. Cunningham did say that he thought about six months ago that Barak Hussein Obama’s confirmed name included Muhhamed, and he said he was mistaken and retracted that statement. So I say again, who cares if he used Obama’s full name? If a black man calls me (I am white) by my full name should I call him a racist? Or are you more concerned with Cunningham’s comments concerning Obama’s funding records and his association with the “Chicago political machine”? He has evidence to back these claims up, so if you’re getting upset by the truth there is nothing I can say to that. If you choose to criticize Cunningham because he dares to attack a politician with facts then I pity you. We cannot put Obama up on a pedestal and refuse to challenge his actions on the basis of his race. That would be like attacking the Jews for criticizing Hitler for his actions on the basis that he is white. It cannot be allowed to happen. If you truly are against racism then you should allow every political candidate to be under the same scrutiny.
Also if you are going to make personal attacks on your fellow bloggers at least have the decency to identify yourself. Do not think that anonymity gives you license to make false accusations.
28 Feb 2008 at 02:48 pm | #
Speaking about racist, how about that Smitherman fellow!
The guy campaigns for city council with a promise to bring the races together. To the white community he appeared to be a professional black businessman who may have a good career in politics (a black YUPPIE).
Then from day one in office Smitherman berated Chief Stricher and the entire Cincinnati Police Department.
Then he and the other black councilmembers run the television show C O P S out of town, because according to Smitherman “I don’t want the entire nation seeing Cincinnati blacks hog-tied by the police.”
BILL CUNNINGHAM did nothing wrong. He used the full name of a presidential candidate.
If black people are offended by this, that is their problem. Get over it.
28 Feb 2008 at 04:06 pm | #
It’s amazing how the Klan is still alive in this city...they don’t wear sheets anymore, they wear black robes, sit in judgeships, prosecute and police our communities and blog for hours supporting racists statements.
If the shoe fits, then wear it!
29 Feb 2008 at 09:45 am | #
Again you fail to back up your argument with legitimate facts. Exactly what are these racist comments I am purportedly backing?
And while I do not agree that any current leaders of Cincinnati are racist, and they are certainly not klan members, the people who were klan members 60 years ago were in fact leaders in local government, which was the only reason the klan was able to exert any power. So what you are suggesting would not be a change in the klan but merely a reinstatement of power. Something that has not and will not ever happen. The klan is a ghost of days gone by. Current klan members have no more relevance to today’s society than civil war re-enactors. So please back your comments up with proof or let the klan and its racists believes fade in the annals of history where it belongs. If you truly hate racism then you should know better than to go around accusing rational, unbiased people of being racist and instead look at comments made by the likes of enator Bob Kerrey, a Democrat from Nebraska, Bill Shaheen, another Democrat in New Hampshire, and of course Bob Johnson, president of BET, who compared Obama’s past drug use to the Clintons’ service to African-Americans. There is where you should take a good hard look.
01 Sep 2008 at 12:18 am | #
It appears that the modern racists are of the hyphenated type. Barrack Hussein Obama isn’t a bad person because he’s black or has a funny name, he’s a bad person because he’s a marxist.
01 Sep 2008 at 06:29 pm | #
JAllen, Obama is not a marxist. If you believe he is, you probably believe he is a muslim and other nonsense as well.
03 Sep 2008 at 03:49 pm | #
He certainly IS a marxist, as is today’s democrat party. His mother was a marxist, big time, she taught him “well.” B. Hussein Obama is a Saul Alinsky acolyte, as is Hillary Klinton. Obama sits, or sat, on the board of the Chicago marxist organization Alinsky founded, and he has associated himself with several marxists over the years. Hillary’s College Thesis was all about extolling Alinsky’s marxism. Alinsky advocated the overthrow of the U.S. government, violently if necessary. Hillary wrote that she thought the U.S. system could be overthrown by incrementalism rather than a violent revolution. The American communist party (CPUSA) has endorsed the democrats the last three election cycles beginning in 2004. CPUSA has endorsed Barrack Hussein Obama in this election. Obama’s speeches and writings echo today’s tenets of the democrat party, which mirror the tenets of marxism. To wit: anti-capitalism, anti-business, anti-corporation, anti-Americanism, socialism, redistribution of wealth through confiscatory tax policy, class warfare/race baiting, etc. Whenever you hear a politician advocating the confiscation of business or corporation profits (this is the amount over and above expenditures and taxes) and redistributing them amonst the “people”, you are listening to a marxist. Whenever you hear a politician advocating confiscating more from the “rich”, because they’re not paying their fair share, notwithstanding that the top 5% of wage earners in this country are paying 60% of the nation’s taxburden, you’re listening to a marxist. The modern democrat party worships at the altar of the United Nations, which is a corrupt anti-American organization who’s overall philosophy is marxist. Not unlike the ideology of much of today’s academia and the media. Many people have learned what history they know of this country by reading Howard Zenn’s ‘A People’s History of the United States’, Zenn is an avowed marxist. The U.S. Constitution is the benchmark, the calibrating point. The Constitution, by it’s content and underpinnings (as defined and explained by the Federalist Papers (written by Jay, Madison and Hamilton), as well as the writings, speeches and pamphlets of other Founders), outlaws the very concept of marxism. The Constitution oulaws (on the federal level) ‘Specific Welfare’ as well as entitlements. The left complains about the money being spent on National Defense, but that expenditure is Constitutional where entitlement spending is not. If you know and love the Constitution, which includes all the properly ratified amendments, then you can’t possibly vote the democrcat ticket. You can’t possibly vote the Barrack Hussein Obama ticket. As you will note, from what I have written above, even the Republican Party is ‘left’ of the Constitution, but they’re not out in marxville like the democrats. And in fairness to the Republicans, they are forced to the left by a pragmatic understanding that they are dealing with a Constitutionally illiterate electorate.
03 Sep 2008 at 08:43 pm | #
Please provide some evidence of this. Most major corporations don’t pay their taxes. The truth is that the wealthiest Americans enrich themselves at government expense and stick the average Jane’s and Joe’s with the bill. They get a free lunch and we pay the bill.
It is quite clear Obama is a corporate candidate from A to Z. Biden and the Democratic Party have major ties to corporations.
The Republican Party has shredded our constitution with the Patriot Act and unconstitutional wars again and again.
05 Sep 2008 at 06:31 pm | #
Well, it’s hard to know if you are well propagandized or the propagandist. But you would have to be Rip Van Winkle not to be aware of the fact that the “rich” are paying the major taxburden in this country. You do your own research, it’s part of good citizenship. But I should tell you that while this fact has been kept a secret for many decades, it’s finally started to see the light of day (much like Hillary’s College Thesis), it’s been (very) sporadically reported in recent times in the so-called mainstream media. I think the last time I saw it was on the TV program 20-20.
In regard to the republican party shredding the Constitution...now it’s hard to tell if you’re a leftist or a rightist (Libertarian)(anarchist), they also hate corporations and business. Believe me, the democ-rats want so bad to impeach President Bush, you can bet if there was anything at all they could use to do it they would jump at the chance. The surveillance programs Echelon and Carnivore were in place long before George Bush came on the scene, as well as the Rendition Program. If you want to see what communists were doing and how they were working within the democ-rat party back in the 30’s and 40’s, pick up a copy of ‘The Venona Secrets’, by Romerstein and Breindal. Venona was the secret surveillance program then and was declassified in 1995.
Here’s some things to consider, things you may also be unaware of:
Business is the engine that drives our economy.
Excess taxation and regulation is like pouring sugar in the gas tank.
Corporations don’t pay taxes, people pay taxes. Corporate taxes are passed on to consumers through higher prices for goods and services. Where the prices can’t be raised jobs are cut. Or they take their assets offshore or to other countries.
98.5% of all the guns in the country are never used in a crime in any given year.
Law abiding citizens use firearms to drive off a criminal attack 2.5 million times a year.
The 40 states that have enacted ‘Right to Carry’ laws have dramatically reduced their crime rates, some by as much as 30%. This is also reflected in the reduction of the national crime rate.
The Supreme Court ruled some years ago that a felon doesn’t have to register their firearm, it’s a violation of their 5th amendment rights. Lawful citizens would have to register them under such a law.
The places in the country where guns are the most prevalent, crime is the lowest.
The above determined in Criminology Studies by Professor’s John Lott and Gary Kleck.
The number one so-called ‘greenhouse gas’, accounting for 99% of all “Global Warming” is water/water vapor.
The SUN accounts for all warming, the less particles (pollution) in the atmosphere, the easier the penetration of the suns rays, the more water vapor created.
Before there was a concerted effort to clean up the air (atmosphere) in the second half of the 20th century, and due to the earth’s temperature cooling half a degree, the alarmists were crying “Global Cooling.”
Just a few things to consider.