BET Wire: Politicians Weigh In on Walter Scott Shooting
Lawmakers and other political types are outraged.
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In Case You Missed It - Lawmakers and other political types are outraged over the fatal police shooting of Walter Scott; Dick Cheney is still trash talking President Obama; Sen. Ted Cruz is raking in the big campaign bucks; the first lady thinks the notion of her daughters being considered influential is hilarious; and more. — Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick)
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It Was an Execution - “It’s horrible to see an execution take place in the street like that," said former neurosurgeon and potential 2016 candidate Ben Carson in an interview with BuzzFeed. “I think it’s so obvious that [Slager] was wrong that this provides an excellent opportunity for law enforcement personnel across the country to really come out and condemn this. And if they do that tells us a lot. And if they don’t that tells us a lot.” (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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Treading Lightly - “First, I would like to say it’s just a terrible tragedy, and I hope justice does occur,” said Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in a CNN interview. “But I do think that sometimes — the way we report news — we tend to report the news of crime, and so we see a lot of crime, and we think it’s representative of the whole. And I think when you look at police across our country, 98, 99 percent of them of them are doing their job on a day-to-day basis and aren’t doing things like this.” The presidential candidate has co-sponsored legislation calling for statistics on white police officers wrongly killing African-Americans. (Photo: CNN)
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Keep It Real and Your Cell Phones Charged - “I've advised young people, keep your cell phones tuned up, keep the battery charged and don't hesitate to turn them on when you see things happening that's unbecoming or you think may cross the line," South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn said on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports. "I think that we are going to have to do more of this, because I think that's what it's going to take for police officers to really think twice before pulling their weapons." (Photo: MSNBC)
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An Argument for Body Cameras - “The video is awfully hard to watch," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily briefing on April 9. “It’s an example of how body cameras provided to police officers could have a positive impact in building trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve." (Photo: Yuri Gripas/Landov/Reuters)
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Too Familiar - "Praying for #WalterScott's family. Heartbreaking & too familiar. We can do better - rebuild trust, reform justice system, respect all lives," tweeted Hillary Clinton, who is expected to announce her 2016 presidential bid any day now. (Photo: Hillary Clinton via Twitter)
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Carson Says: Hip Hop Is Bad for Blacks - In an interview with radio station WBLS, Carson condemned the hip hop community for "dismissing" anything having to do with Jesus Christ. “We need to reestablish faith in our communities and the values and principles that got us through slavery, that got us through Jim Crow, and segregation, and all kinds of horrible things that were heaped upon us," he said. "Why were we able to get through those? Because of our faith, because of our family, because of our values, and as we allow the hip hop community to destroy those things for us, and as we grasp onto what's politically correct and not what is correct, we continue to deteriorate." Clearly he's never heard Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" or "God Give Me a Sign" by DMX. (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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Bad for Your Health - The president on April 7 visited the Howard University School of Medicine to discuss the impact of climate change on public health and what his administration is doing to reduce its harmful effects on communities. “We all need to do our part,” he said. “We’ve got a lot more work to do if we’re going to deal with this problem in an effective way and make sure that our families and our kids are safe.” (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)
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Bad President? - Former vice president Dick Cheney has never had a good word to say about President Obama. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, he said the president is "the worst president we've ever had," when it comes to foreign policy. “I vacillate between the various theories I’ve heard, but you know, if you had somebody as president who wanted to take America down, who wanted to fundamentally weaken our position in the world and reduce our capacity to influence events, turn our back on our allies and encourage our adversaries, it would look exactly like what Barack Obama’s doing,” he said. (Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters/Landov)
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The Millionaires' Club - Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign is raking in the big bucks. Four super PACs supporting his candidacy has reportedly raked in a whopping $31 million in one week. "Our goal is to guarantee Sen. Cruz can compete against any candidate," said Austin-based accountant and attorney Dathan Voelter in a release. (Photo: Nicki Kohl, Telegraph Herald/AP Photo)
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Nuttin' But Love for You Barry - “I just want to say to you, you might not know, but you are very loved in this country,” Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller told President Obama during his visit there, adding that she loves him, too. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/Landov)