Sharpton and Gingrich supporter debate race-baiting

>> rick tyler is with the pronewt gingrich winning our super pac, he was n aide to the former speaker. when mr. gingrich talked tonight about the president as an entertainer in chief, someone who ought to stop singing and dealing with the problems of the country, i hear racially coded language there. i hear mr. gingrich trying to appeal to southern white conservatives who may be responding to essentially racially biassed coded language about the president that's designed to call on the african-american achievement in this country. am i wrong to see it in this country?

>> it's bologna.

>> if you want to talk about race, the republican party was started by abraham lincoln . six of the nine planks in the 1856 platform were civil rights platform. if you go back to the democratic platform, it's a racist platform. we can go down this road.

>> what about tonight. can you talk about what happened to the parties after the civil war , and for reconstruction and through this past century. when mr. gingrich -- i will go to the naacp and tell them to be dissatisfied with paychecks. this president is an entertainer in chief. there's a pattern here of very obviously racially coded language. that has nothing to do with the parties in the civil war .

>> i don't understand this. the president sings, the president -- newt gingrich makes a little thing, and all of a sudden it's a racist thing. more people are on food stamps today because of barack obama . they fail in the schools, you can ask al sharpton , the democrats have failed in the public schools with the african- americans , they abort their babies, they've done nothing to lift them out of poverty. i hear all the time the democrats have these great intentions, but their policies fail. maybe we have good intentions too, but our policies haven't been tried. maybe we should try our policies that put people back to work and not give them a handout. live in public housing , and shut up and vote for the democrat.

>> that's not what --

>> that's not race baiting .

>> that's not what newt gingrich said. he brought race up in this campaign. he didn't say --

>> tell me when he did, al.

>> i'm getting ready to tell you, he said, and i'm quoting here, that he would go to the naacp and tell black people to stop being satisfied with food stamps , he didn't say people on food stamps , he said black people . don't be satisfied, they should demand jobs. black people in communities, youngsters don't have role models . this is not what he said when he went on the tour that president obama asked him to go on. he's brought race in the campaign by name. you cannot then turn around and act like i'm bringing up racism. wait and minute, i'm going to let you finish, but i want to finish this part. he brought up race, now you have to answer. if he didn't want to deal with race, why did he bring up race. it is a patent untruth that president obama has more people on food stamps -- more people went on food stamps under george w. bush than president obama . would you call him a food stamp president.

>> we're not running against george w. bush .

>> if more people went on 2350ds stamps under --

>> al --

>> that is factually incorrect.

>> 98% of african- americans vote democrat, okay? what have they gotten for it, poor schools, poor neighborhoods, crime ridden neighborhoods, a destruction of the family, and the democrats want to abort their babies. that's their position, i'm not going to defend that.

>> people vote democrat -- black people vote democrat because the civil rights act , voting rights act and many of the members of congress --

>> which many of the republicans --

>> were the abe lincoln party and the party of little rock , we voted republican like anybody else in america, sir. we vote our interests. republican or not. why would we vote for people that call our parents criminals in a says that you can't even admit you're wrong on the facts of food stamps , we're not sadists or mass kits.

>> i haven't said the republican party has done a good job of reaching out to african- americans . i think newt gingrich is trying to reach out to african- americans , there's an upset. there are better schools, there's a way to prosperity, a way to earn a paycheck. there's a way to get ahead in life, and it doesn't mean depending on the democratic party for handoutsp he's brought it in to appeal to african- americans that they might vote for a different way, that republicans may have good intentions, just like democrats do, but your policies fail, and our policies work.

>> what is his promise? i mean, reprimanding them saying they don't have role models in their community is a policy, saying the only things they see is crime is a policy.

>> well, let me tell you a story --

>> saying they rely on food stamps when there's a policy. what is this policy.

>> let me tell you a story --

>> no, you tell me what this policy is.

>> how about role models , we just showed this movie red tails across the state in jacksonville, you know who showed up? military families, you know what color they were? they were african-american, you know who they brought? their kids, finally hollywood made a movie with patriotic african-american role models . they don't have any.

>> they have doctors, lawyers.

>> sure they do, but hollywood doesn't show that. you know what they get on msnbc is race baiting . you don't think they listen to that.

>> i know that he is demagoguing, he knows better than that, he knows that parents are trying to get their children an education, he went and met with them. then he flips the script and all of a sudden --

>> exactly.

>> -- and acts like they don't exist. we've been in the military and many things for many years. "red tails" is telling a story about 70 years ago.

>> al, you're arguing with yourself, i'm agreeing with you.

>> no, you're not. you're trying to rationalize something that is irrational. mr. gingrich has not laid out a policy, he's tried to use us as a backboard to score what he perceives as far right wing voters, and is really unfair, is beneath what he was trying to do before.

>> i don't see it that way.

>> rick, can i just ask you --

>> i don't see it that way. i think newt gingrich is actually trying to make a genuine appeal. i've worked on african-american outreach as a republican, latino outreach as a republican for ten years, so has newt gingrich , i don't think he's changed any of his views about that or is trying to appeal to some segment, if you can't win across the board on american values that includes african- americans , hispanics, asian, whatever, we're all americans , we share a common culture, and it involves hard work, playing by the rules and an even playing field to get ahead. that's all we're asking for.

>> in terms of bringing this back to where we started, this is the reason i asked the question in the first place and why i think it's worth talking about. you have worked on fringe american outreach. i think that nobody has set that outreach back further than newt gingrich has a national leader getting a lot of national attention this year, looking at african-american role models in this country. the first african-american in this country calling him the entertainer in chief and food stamp president. there's been nothing racially divisive than what newt gingrich has done. i think i you know how damaging it is, i'd like you to say something not about msnbc but about what newt gingrich has done.

>> i hear a lot of race baiting . i'm going to defend it. newt is not trying to appeal to the lower angels of our nature. he's said over and over again he's trying to get all americans ahead. latinos, african- americans , all kinds, it just offends me when someone says -- i know newt gingrich , and he's worked very hard to attract all kinds of people from latinos in particular, african- americans , al, you know he's worked with you on education.

>> which is why i know what he's saying now is not what he said then. you just don't like my answer. and i do agree with rachel, i think he is really brought race into this, i do not agree with you, that he's appealing --

>> i think you all have brought race into this.

>> certainly not no angels, it's devilish to say you're appealing to people by calling them food stamp people and calling their parents criminals and they have no role models .

>> what is wrong --

>> let me --

>> what republican -- you criticize democratic anti-poverty programs, it's true the war on poverty was not terribly successful. you say that republican anti-poverty programs have worked. please name me the republican anti-poverty policy that has lifted people out of poverty and tell me how many people were lifted out of poverty by republican policy.

>> because there hasn't been a program, we have not had a new deal, a great society -- those have always been embraced -- we have to embrace all of these programs, they never work. why not just try freedom and free enterprise , everybody in america, we have a common culture.

>> you had another four under reagan, bush senior and eight under bush junior .

>> remember, al --

>> i didn't --

>> people prospered in those years, including --

>> african- americans -- african- americans were doubly unemployed under every one of them. show us the program that you had that you claim worked.

>> lower taxes, more freedom, less government, and free enterprise . that's the program.

>> rick tyler from --

>> that's worth --

>> rick tyler from the pro gingrich winning our super pac. i feel like we have gene aone all of our rounds tonight. thank you, it was fun.