Tim Ryan, the Ohio Democrat who just lost a bid to unseat Nancy Pelosi as House Democrat leader, used an ethnic slur during an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.
Ryan compared and contrasted those who voted for himself, and those who voted for the California Democrat using a wine analogy.
Choosing Pelosi, he said, is like preferring “some kind of fancy Napa Valley red wine” as opposed to choosing him, which is like drinking “dago red wine.”
Take a look …
Wikipedia defines the term ‘dago’ as “an ethnic slur referring to Italians, Spaniards, or Portuguese,” while the Urban Dictionary defines it alternately as both an ethnic and racial slur.
Via NTK Network:
Appearing on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) used a highly offensive term. Trying to communicate the difficulties Democrats are having in getting their message out, Rep. Ryan said:
“So you can still maintain a level of pragmatism even though you may drink, you know, not Dago Red wine in Youngstown but some kind of fancy Napa Valley wine. You can still understand what’s going on in those people’s lives.”
After a quick chuckle, Matthews admonished the congressman saying, “I wouldn’t use the phrase Dago Red too often.”
In 2013, a food catering truck was banned from Saratoga Race Course for having an official business name, ‘The Wandering Dago.’
A top aide to Democrat governor Andrew Cuomo issued a complaint about the name, saying it was “both offensive and insensitive.”
Now go ahead and imagine how the media would be responding had a member of Donald Trump’s transition team used the same slur.
It’d be on a 24/7 news cycle. Instead, this may be the only place you read about Ryan’s statements today.
Comment: Are you offended by Tim Ryan’s use of an ethnic slur? Would a Trump team member be ignored in the same manner had they said such a thing? Share your thoughts below.
