As I’ve said before, whenever Democrats find themselves on the ropes as a result of political calamities of their own making, it never fails that the mainstream media and so-called “fact checkers” will hit the Code Red button in their rush to rescue them from themselves before the damage becomes insurmountable.
That exact scenario has played out to a “t” over the past week or so in the aftermath of controversial comments Vice President Kamala Harris made at a DNC women’s leadership forum that was held last Friday, two days after Hurricane Ian slammed into southwestern Florida and beyond.
In the context of a discussion about Hurricane Ian relief aid and addressing “the climate crisis in the states” and how the Biden administration was handling that, Harris made the following remarks:
“It is our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions, and impacted by issues that are not of their own making,” the vice president told [movie star Priyanka Chopra Jonas]. “And so we have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity, understanding not everyone starts out at the same place.””And if we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities and do that work,” she continued.
For those who missed it, watch:
Her comments and the video went viral as conservatives correctly pointed out that Harris was basically saying that relief aid should be distributed based on race.
Not surprisingly, The Usual Suspects in the media and in Fact Check World sprung into action, with the Associated Press, FactCheck.org, Reuters, and Politifact all surging to Harris’ defense:
As did CBS News:
Reuters reporter Nandita Bose, who boasted about being the only “WH pool print reporter in the room” at the DNC event, alleged that Harris’ comments were “being deliberately distorted,” and posted an entire thread putting them in context, as if that changed anything.
In a nutshell, the claims were rated “false” or “misleading” or “out of context” by the above fact-checkers because Harris’ critics were attaching her comments directly the Hurricane Ian relief aid efforts. But whether she meant Hurricane Ian aid or, more broadly, equity in aid distribution for future natural disasters, the underlying point was still the same: race-based distribution of aid:
Politifact’s “fact check” in particular included a false statement initially made by Politfact themselves regarding FEMA and equity relief efforts, according to the below screengrab:
Politifact has since updated their fact check to point out that there is nothing on the FEMA website regarding Hurricane Ian aid “specific to race or equity,” (emphasis mine) while noting “FEMA’s website does address the agency’s efforts to improve equity in services”:
There is nothing on a FEMA webpage for Hurricane Ian victims or the federal Disaster Assistance Improvement Program specific to race or equity, just information about how Floridians affected by the storm can get help. Elsewhere, FEMA’s website does address the agency’s efforts to improve equity in services “so all people, including those from vulnerable and underserved communities, can get help when they need it.”
These people are nothing if not predictable.
To draw your own conclusions, watch the video below which contains Harris’ full remarks. The conversation in question starts within the first couple of minutes:
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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