Fox News seems to have a handful of pundits who best represent the network's moral turpitude. Who could be better at expounding matters of police conduct than convicted criminal and ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik? In Fox News-ville, white, male, Republican criminals come for the redemption and stay for the payday. Why not? Kerik has a lot in common with fellow 'experts' Oliver North and G. Gordon Liddy.
Fox News Network must decry the views of the radical, left-wing NYC Mayor, Bill DeBlasio, who sympathizes with victims of racially-driven police brutality. The latest crusade of the network is to lambaste anyone who claims racism still exists.
In case you forgot, Kerik was a corrupt official whose “egotism and hubris” led him to commit crimes that would upgrade his lifestyle. Kerik’s guilty plea in a November 2009 plea deal including admissions that he lied to the White House, filed false tax returns and lied about $255,000 in work done by a mob-linked contractor. He was ordered to pay restitution of $187,931 to the Internal Revenue Service. The ex-con disagrees with Mayor DeBlaio's assertion that,
"there's been a history of centuries of racism that undergird this reality. We can transcend that. We believe in New York City, retraining our police force is going to make a huge difference. "
With a slow and pensive tone, Kerik says,
"I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about."
He claims Rudy Giuliani did more for African-Americans than any other mayor in history. By making much of the city, especially the tourist destinations, far too pricey for anyone who is not a millionaire, he "cleaned up" the city and drastically lowered the crime rate. Homicides and violent crime rates dropped dramatically, but Fox News never says how he accomplished that. He sold out to corporations who commandeered efforts to clean up the city, which ended the possibility of average people living downtown. Giuliani and his corporations used gentrification to lower crime. Republicans aren't fond of poor people and Giuliani was no exception.
Facts don't matter, optics and statistics are the only concern of far too many in the MSM. Fox News seems to share this perspective with NBC's Chuck Todd who pays very close attention to figures without looking at the big picture. They know only the stats on policing and don't care about the reality of the systemic racism that plagues law enforcement. More simply put, Kerik has not been a victim of police brutality, so he denies its existence.
Host and guest, MacCallum and Kerik, both assert that the Eric Garner murder had NOTHING to do with race, because nobody has a shred of evidence that confirms that idea. Esaw Garner, Eric's widow, says this is a matter not about race, but about unjust harassment by the N.Y.P.D.
This isn't about black or white, this is something else.
Indeed it is, Bernie. It's about police brutality, where the most egregious cases involve a black man encountering a police officer and ending up dead. Kerik actually claims that black children and white children are treated with equal fairness by the cops.
"I know plenty of white parents who talk to their kids about how to deal with cops. You don't try to take their guns, you don't resist arrest (even if you're not committing a crime) ...you do what you're told. it's not a black or white issue, it's a respect issue."
Mr. Ex Con fails to mention that far too often, law enforcement shows no respect for African-American lives. Every police department needs to be retrained because of racism, the Mayor asserts. But the former inmate claims this notion is unequivocally false.
Police are going to be afraid to do their job!
MacCallum proclaims. Kerik agrees and looking forward, he feels that the police need to know that the mayor has their back. If they want to be racist and brutal towards black people, that is something the city needs to support.
Bernard touts the idea that the most substantial reduction in crime came under Giuliani, but that's because he merely rid the city of poor residents. Let's face it, the Fox News audience wouldn't perceive the gentrification of New York as a negative. Optics are all that matters on a channel that condones the morally bankrupt, and their viewers can only judge a book by its cover. Fox News paints a pretty picture of the white people who vilify anyone on the side of the African-American community. I'll give them one thing, they are always consistent; consistently on the wrong side of history.
