Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz. referred to Black people as “colored people” Thursday in floor debate over his proposed amendment to an annual defense policy bill, prompting a stern rebuke from the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“My amendment has nothing to do with whether or not colored people or Black people or anybody can serve,” said Crane, who is in his first term. “It has nothing to do with any of that stuff.”
Lawmakers were debating a series of GOP-backed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House aims to pass by the end of the week.
Crane said his amendment would prohibit the Defense Department from considering race, gender, religion, political affiliations or “any other ideological concepts” as the sole basis for recruitment training, education, promotion or retention decisions.
“The military was never intended to be, you know, inclusive. Its strength is not its diversity. Its strength is its standards,” said Crane, 43, a combat veteran.
“I’m going to tell you guys this right now you can: You can keep playing around these games with diversity, equity and inclusion. But there are some real threats out there. And if we keep messing around and we keep lowering our standards, it’s not going to be good,” he said.
Immediately after Crane finished his remarks, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, asked that the derogatory phrase he used be stricken from the record.
“I find it offensive and very inappropriate,” said Beatty, who was the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in the previous Congress. “I am asking for unanimous consent to take down the words of referring to me or any of my colleagues as colored people.”
Crane interjected with a request to amend his comments to “people of color.” Beatty insisted, however, that the words be stricken from the record. They were removed by unanimous consent.
Asked for comment about his choice of words, Crane said he “misspoke.”
“In a heated floor debate on my amendment that would prohibit discrimination on the color of one’s skin in the Armed Forces, I misspoke,” Crane said in a statement. “Every one of us is made in the image of God and created equal.”
Seems like all of these people agree in the warmongering
No no, make the standards of the military even higher. I want you guys to continue to miss your recruitment goals.
The chuds are telling their kids to stay out of the military. This is a sea change. They were always easy to fool and recruiters were able to lure them in with easily debunked lies. Then they find themselves in Germany at the motor pool hosing out bloodsoaked APCs. Or at a base in Alabama getting sexually harassed just trying to walk down to the PX. But if the word is getting out about just how shit the US military is, this could be a real change. Making the military incompetent so it can’t fight more wars isn’t the way I thought it would go, but I’ll take it.
This honestly seems like a waste of time anyway. Don’t think anyone is getting a promotion for the sole reason of being of a certain race in the first place, this guy is crying about made up things in his head. How about instead promoting a bill that makes imperialism illegal how about that
If it’s the standards that make the military “good” maybe we should scrap the Selective Service Act.
I hate these fucking dipshits.
