Jena 6 not a talking point
by WonkoKevin
An appeals court overturned the Jena 6 convictions yesterday… While Jesse Jackson tried to call out Senator Obama for not paying more attention to it, the Jena 6 case has not become one of the talking points for the presidential candidates. Wonkosphere’s buzz page uses natural language processing technology to pick out the most “representative” posts of the last several days based on whose post is “closest” on average to all other posts that day (based on its content), and Jena 6 has not shown up save for the Jackson-Obama exchange. Pam’s House Blend has an excellent analysis of the coverage (or lack thereof) of Jena 6 in the liberal blogosphere. Let’s see what the candidates have had to say about it.
Here’s what I found from a Google search using each of the candidates’ names and “Jena 6″.
Clinton: …the controversy surrounding the Jena 6 court case is a “teachable moment for America…People need to understand that we cannot let this kind of inequality and injustice happen anywhere in America.”
DNC, via Howard Dean: “The recent ruling by the appeals court is a positive step towards ensuring that all those involved in the Jena 6 case receive equal justice and fair treatment under the law. Racial discrimination and intolerance have no place in America, particularly not in our judicial system. The decision of the appeals court should not be the last word in this case. A thorough investigation of every aspect of this case is needed to determine if these students received what every American is entitled to: equal treatment under the law, without regard to race. As a country we must continue to work to remedy disparities in our justice system and work to ensure that all Americans are treated equally under the law.”
Dodd: “The events in Jena, Louisiana are a sobering reminder that while segregation was outlawed long ago, de facto segregation in many parts of this country is still very real. No reasonable person would call what these young men have received ‘equal justice.’ ”
Edwards: the Jena 6 case is “so wrong that the right words are hard to find…As someone who grew up in the segregated South, I feel a special responsibility to speak out on racial intolerance,” Edwards said. “To measure our progress in the fight against racism, today our nation looks to Jena, Louisiana. Americans of all races are traveling to Jena because they believe that how we respond to the racial tensions in Jena says everything about who we are as a nation.”
Obama: “Outrage over an injustice like the Jena 6 isn’t a matter of black and white.” And more, “”When nooses are being hung in high schools in the 21st century, it’s a tragedy,” Obama said in a statement. “It shows that we still have a lot of work to do as a nation to heal our racial tensions. This isn’t just Jena’s problem; it’s America’s problem.”
Thompson: “I don’t know anything about it.”
