S.C. GOP chair won’t ask leaders to resign after penny-pinching ‘Jew’ comments

By Kathleen Miller
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 -- 12:49 pm
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cover Karen Floyd web S.C. GOP chair wont ask leaders to resign after penny pinching Jew comments

The head of South Carolina's Republican Party will not ask two county GOP leaders to resign after authoring a newspaper editorial that praises Sen. Jim DeMint for being like a "Jew" who is "watching our nation's pennies."

The letter appeared in Sunday's edition of the South Carolina newspaper The Times and Democrat, and was authored by James S. Ulmer Jr., who chairs the Orangeburg County GOP, and Edwin O. Merwin Jr., who chairs the Bamberg County GOP.

"There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves," they wrote. "By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed."

Both Ulmer and Merwin have issued statements of apology.

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According to South Carolina newspaper The State, Ulmer said in an e-mail he was repeating something he'd "... heard many times in my life, truly in admiration for a method of bettering one's lot in life. I admit that perception is indeed reality to many and that I could have certainly worded that sentence much better. I sincerely apologize for this great error.

He added that he "meant absolutely nothing derogatory by the reference to a great and honorable people."

Merwin's statement said he wished "to deeply apologize for any material included in that letter that would be considered anti-Semitic in any way.”  He said he has "always abhorred in the past, and shall continue to do so in the future, anti-Semitism in any form what so ever."

One of South Carolina's two Jewish lawmakers called on state GOP Chairwoman Karen Floyd to denounce the comments and remove both men from their positions.

The Associated Press and the South Carolina newspaper The State reported Tuesday that Floyd had denounced the comments made by Ulmer and Merwin in their letter but would not ask them to step down over the incident.

"It was an offensive and inappropriate comment that Jim and Edwin have rightly apologized for. These kinds of stereotypes are absolutely unacceptable” Floyd said in a statement Tuesday morning. “It goes without saying that some people will continue trying to exploit this mistake for political gain, but as far as we're concerned, their apology ends the matter."

As Raw Story reported Monday, Merwin and Ulmer's original letter was intended to be a rebuttal to South Carolina State Rep. Bakari Sellers, the vice chair of the state's Democratic party.

Sellers had suggested in an opinion piece published Sept. 30 that DeMint has been doing a poor job bringing in federal dollars for projects in South Carolina.

"Sen. DeMint cedes his funding allotments to other states by not requesting projects on behalf of South Carolinians," Sellers opined. "Like Sen. DeMint, Sen. Graham regularly supports measures to restrict earmarks. However, he works vigorously to secure funding for South Carolina because he understands the present reality: If we don't get it, it goes to other states."

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Story comments are below...
  • thepoliticalcat
    The Rethuglican Party. Shooting itself in the foot one toe at a time.
  • hippie1367
    You mean like trying to exploit Bill Clinton's Blowjob after 10 plus years?
  • Noperiod
    Nothing but compliments. He pinches pennies like a jew, he dances like a black, works like a Mexican, and is as smart as an Asian. Nothing but compliments, what's to be offended about?

    (Oh, and they whine like Republicans.)
  • imwc
    conservatism means never having to say you`re sorry...because you`d be lying...
  • Name
    There won't be any South Carolina resignations by Republicans. You can act with impunity there if you have an "R" after your name. Seriously, they could run Adolf Hitler as a Republican and he would win handily in that state. Dead? Doesn't matter. Out and out fascist monster? Who cares. He's a Republican.
  • jimthebeam
    “It goes without saying that some people will continue trying to exploit this mistake for political gain, but as far as we're concerned, their apology ends the matter."

    Mistake? When one lacks empathy *and* commonsense...yea this was a mistake in not remembering to keep their inner bigot in the closet. But it's difficult for them as they really can not see how these types of sayings can be offensive, because, as one said I.."heard many times in my life, truly in admiration for a method of bettering one's lot in life. I admit that perception is indeed reality to many and that I could have certainly worded that sentence much better. I sincerely apologize for this great error."

    See, it's really a complement. It's only a perception problem...word it differently and it's all good. Sheesh, these people make me sick...oops I said "these people" sorry, I mean those right wing republican thugs make me sick.
  • harry johnson
    We do need to get rid of people doing bad things. That includes de mint and both of these bozos. Pretty much any republiCON is doing bad things, whether it is fraud, thievery, war mongering, bribe taking, draft dodging or pedophilia pretty much any republiCON has done some or all of these things and a lot of other bad things.

    Speaking of which has glennie beck responded to the bad accusations against him? The police report is on the net.
  • DownriverDem
    Of course not. Republican Christians have their own rules. They certainly do not follow the Prince of Peace.
  • RevolutionDynamo
    This is a waste of time and should be a non-story. Let's concentrate on getting rid of people who are actaully doing bad things, as opposed to these two bozos. They may not have been thinking very hard when they wrote the Op-Ed piece, but they didn't actually say he was like a 'penny-pinching Jew' or anything that could be considered really offensive.

    When you put your energy into chasing down crap, you lose time that should be used to fix real problems.
  • kayttt2000
    What did Trent Lott say that made the Republican Party ask him to step down?
  • asiliveandbreathe
    non issue
  • Hooker
    Ulmer and Merwin would like to re-state their comments. To what? "It's good to pinch pennies like those hooked-nosed kikes." Or how about "Jesus killing Shylocks?" You know, they could just repeat what they say to each other in private.
  • the GOP, the gift that keeps on giving.
  • osage
    Bigots, homophobes and faux religious hypocrites comprise more than HALF of today's GOP. Other than the rich anti-social radical conservatives, the gullible uninformed and the lunatic fringe nutjobs, there is nothing but the silent acquiescence of once decent and proud Republicans too ashamed to associate themselves with the rantings of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity and the endemic racism of the good ole boy Southern secessionists. There is a moral and ethical and religious sickness pervading Republican politics in today's South that makes Americans living in Western, Eastern and Northern states wonder what century the politics of the South represents. Is Jefferson Davis still their president?
  • B_Godot
    The quote comes from Ben Franklin and never referenced Jews. Republicans - they're great for comic relief even if it takes both hands for them to find their ass, they can put their foot in their mouths without even lifting it off the ground.
  • Lets Pretend to be Offended
    If you are not a Jew and you say the word "Jew" you are immediately branded as an anti-semite. The reason this story is so blown out of proportion is just that. This is just more "don't say Jew" propaganda. Jews own 90% of the media. This is an outrage to Jews everywhere, but the rest of the world could care less.
  • douchebag!
    if a repuke had to resign every time they did something stupid, there wouldn't be any left...
  • Name
    "90% of the media is owned by Jews"???????? You have some proof of this? I think you are the one who needs to check your own bias. Meantime, I do agree that this is a non-story. Oh, and I do happen to be Jewish.
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