While Fox News bends over backwards to distance itself from racism and extremism exposed by the Charleston shooting, this seemed a good time to remind folks that just a few years ago, Fox hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt made a rather blatant pitch to keep Westchester County, New York segregated.
In 2011, I wrote about Hannity and Earhardt's jaw-dropping efforts on behalf of segregation.
In a discussion where Fox made "county rights" sound a lot like the racial dog whistle "states' rights," Hannity said about a plan to build affordable housing in Westchester's whitest neighborhoods, “It is a case of big government overreach… Now, it’s (Westchester County's) right about local governance as the Obama administration officials fight to impose their vision of so-called diversity.” Just in case anyone in Fox's lily white audience was inclined to support the plan.
What neither Hannity nor Earhardt mentioned is that the housing arose from a 2009 consent decree, which, as reported by Salon.com, settled "a lawsuit that accused the county of lying to the federal government about fair housing in its applications for federal funds."
As I wrote at the time, the original consent decree was signed by a prior, Democratic, county executive. The current Republican replacement was described in the article by one of the litigants as “more openly and brazenly noncompliant."
But in her supposedly objective report on the subject, Earhardt whitewashed the segregation and fear mongered that the Obama administration is "too black."
EARHARDT: For HUD, the county is too white… Administration officials assume segregation is to blame for Westchester’s racial composition. But county officials see other factors at work… The Obama administration itself is not shy about its belief that the feds know best when it comes to building local communities… Perhaps most troubling are the administration’s prescription for Westchester’s so-called problem. ...Worse still, these officials are vowing to take their plan for Westchester County national.
Hannity conducted a very sympathetic interview with said Republican county executive. Hannity even promoted the county exec's website opposing the measure. Later, Hannity asked, “What are they trying to do here?” and “Is this the equivalent of affirmative action?"
Watch it below, from the September 7, 2011 Hannity show and remember it any time Hannity pretends he's pro civil rights.
Hannocchio self segregates himself and his family from those scary minorities. It’s not his fault. He was raised that way. Ellis Island should have denied his grandparents entrance to New York. They could of spared this nation of this cafeteria Catholic.
I guess they’re starting an attempt now, but too little, too late.
