Bennie Thompson appreciation thread

[Ohio Joe]

I was impressed right from the start last night... And the more I think about it, the more impressed I am with what he put together for the country. He was masterful.

Bravo Bennie

[malaise]

1. K & R

[OLDMDDEM]

2. I agree

[kentuck]

3. He has done an excellent job.

In my opinion.

[BlueGreenLady]

4. Yes.

Thompson's narration interspersed with the video presentation was powerful.

[Haggard Celine]

5. Yes, I was very pleased with his chairmanship.

He's the perfect man for that job. I also would like to thank Speaker Pelosi for putting him in position. To both of them!

[GoCubsGo]

6. And, he's easy on the ears.

I love his drawl. It's folksy, but wise.

[hamsterjill]

9. I got in trouble last night for calling him "folksy"!!! LOL

I stated a differing opinion using that word to describe my opinion. I had to laugh at the responses. Some posters take things way too seriously!!!

[XanaDUer2]

11. Wow

Yeah, what a put down

[hamsterjill]

13. Yep.

It was implied that I was a racist because I said I didn’t like this man’s delivery because it was folksy and slow.

It felt like StarfishSaver had risen from the dead!!! LOL

[XanaDUer2]

14. Bwahahaha!

Yeah. This place sometimes

[MerryHolidays]

17. Senator Sam Ervin was as folksy as you could get during the Senate Watergate Hearings in 1973

He was also a Harvard Law graduate.

He won a huge following of admirers for his work on Watergate and his down-to-earth style. There is absolutely nothing racist about being folksy. If it is genuine, it really can help to communicate to a much wider range of people.

By contrast, that buffoon Senator J. Kennedy from Louisiana is a complete fake. He is extremely well-educated, but his mannerisms are all faked.

I think that's what Rep. Thompson (and Sen. Ervin) are/were: down-to-earth people who can communicate with anyone. That's what's needed.

[housecat]

29. Racist? Get real. The folksy comment was positive and in no way offensive

[brush]

54. Calling a Black man slow, when ya think about it, does sound...

kinda racist. I mean he's a long-time rep. and chairman of a super important committee and obviously qualified, and you called him slow. That translates to many as calling him dumb. What were you thinking?

Speaker Pelosi certainly doesn't agree as she appointed him chairman.

[electric_blue68]

65. Which is why it nattered a bit at me AND I don't know hj well enough...

to have a full let alone half an idea of who she is.

Ive only been here 2 yrs barely 4 days, and have interacted wirh just so many people, so many times depending on my interests, and concerns depending on their posts, etc. 🙂

But certain more typical words besides the most blatent ones do have additional negative meanings depending on how, and whom they are used, and sometimes used unknowningly.

[brush]

71. I hope it was used unknowingly. Makes you wonder.

[electric_blue68]

73. Hopefully so. I'm often trying to learn ever more nuances in various ways.

[electric_blue68]

66. I liked StarfishSaver

[question everything]

69. Did not realize that he is gone (from these pages, that is)

[electric_blue68]

15. Um, I believe you said...

"slow, and folksy"

Bc when I listened to some later I thought -
'oh, he doesn't talk really slow' and this is coming from a fast talking NYC'r like myself.

[hamsterjill]

20. Yes I did.

His delivery was slow in my opinion and I think Liz Cheney completely outshined him.

It IS okay if I have an opinion, right? Or do I have to agree with everything on DU to keep from being accused of something I’m not?

I didn’t think Thompson did a very good job. And I’m fine with people feeling differently. So why can’t MY opinion be respected as well?

[housecat]

25. Absolutely you are entitled to your opinion. How else could be have an intelligent debate?

[electric_blue68]

27. Yes...

You can have your opinion.

But when explaining to others what people disagreed
on esp something so short - you don't leave out the other descriptive word.

That's all.

[hamsterjill]

31. Because it was of no consequence.

I was replying to a message that mentioned the word “folksy”. There was no mention of the word “slow” in the post to which I replied. SMH…

It’s amazing to me that some DU posters look so hard to find sinister intent. This kind of stuff is divisive - another opinion that I happen to have.

[Ohio Joe]

37. "This kind of stuff is divisive"

Shitting on a beloved DU Rep is fine but calling one out for doing so is divisive... An interesting opinion.

[brush]

75. Oh my. You went there.

[Cha]

62. TY Exactly.. and it's "alright to have

an opinion".. and the same goes for those who disagree with it.

💙💛

[jcgoldie]

32. You used stereotypical language in your shallow critique of the man

Which giving you the benefit of the doubt I assumed was a mistake that you hadn't fully thought through. When it was brought to your attention, however, by multiple people here you got defensive rather than choosing your words more carefully. Now you continue to parade that nonsense around here like you are proud of it. So maybe it wasn't a mistake after all please continue to show who you are if that is not something you care about.

[hamsterjill]

35. It wasn't a mistake.

The language is not stereotypical.

Who exactly do you think I am? Can you please be specific?

I don’t have to confirm to YOUR idea of what is or is not okay to post here. Nor do I need to be corrected by you. Did my post break any rules? If so, alert.

If not, then put me on ignore since my use of language obviously offends you so much. I am yet again offended by your insinuation.

[jcgoldie]

38. Everyones entitled to their opinion

How they choose to express it matters. If you choose not to be sensitive to racial stereotypes thats your choice also. Criticizing a black man from Rural Mississippi who is chairing a congressional committee for being too “folksy and slow” has meaning in a racist society. You are right I don’t know anything about you all I know is the words you choose to express yourself.

[brush]

76. If you don't know that calling a Black man slow...

is stereotypical and racist you might try some sensitivity training.

[hamsterjill]

84. I did not call a Black man slow.

I commented that I didn’t like a man’s delivery with no comment or thought in my mind as to the color of his skin. Am I not allowed to think anyone who is a different color than me is bad at their job? Should I be too afraid to voice ANY opinion about someone who is Black just because I am not?

I felt his delivery was folksy and slow, meaning that he took too long to make his point. If I wasn’t clear, then being unclear is my mistake, but I wasn’t aware that my every single word and keystroke was going to be scrutinized by a group on here who obviously enjoys making race an issue. Race is not an issue to me and you can either believe that or not. I am not here to have my posts “approved”. If I have violated a rule, then as I suggested up post, alert on me.

For the record, I think Anderson Cooper is a brilliant reporter but I cannot stand to watch him because he constantly says “you know” all the time, which to me makes his delivery very unprofessional. So I guess in your way of thinking, that makes me anti-gay, right?

This is the end of my discussion on this issue. Like it, lump it, or whatever. I am tired of being attacked for the way I phrased something. You think I’m a racist, so you obviously should want nothing more to do with me. End of story.

Now either alert on my post, put me on ignore or reply. I don’t give a fuck what you choose to do. I will not be reading anything more in this thread anyway.

[brush]

85. Not buying it. Anyone on this site should know better.

[llashram]

34. what kind

of delivery would you have been satisfied with by Rep. Thompson vis a vie Senator Cheney? Who was supposed to outshine whom? This hearing was not a competition. Maybe there is something else going on with your non-acceptance of REP. Thompson's delivery? Just calling him Thompson was off-putting to me. By that, I mean you have a lot more respect for Sen. Cheney it seems.

But I could be wrong...

[hamsterjill]

36. I called her Liz Cheney.

Exactly what are you saying? What else is going on with my non-acceptance of Bennie Thompson?

Is it okay with you if I call him that? I just didn’t like his delivery last night. My opinion.

[llashram]

39. okay

and that is just it, your opinion. I'm aware of that. In your post, it was just "Thompson" not the first name. That to me is a lack of respect for his title as a United States Representative Thompson. My opinion. And it won't change.

[calimary]

46. Just a small note - it's Rep. Cheney.

She’s not a Senator. She’s in the House of Reps.

[llashram]

94. okay

my in a hurried mistake...and always confusion with Sen. and Reps since day 1.

[moonscape]

41. I didn't find him slow so much as perhaps

not as good with the teleprompter?

[brush]

74. Ahhh...you might consider that as chairman he...

was gracious enough to share the spotlight with Liz Cheney and allow her to delved first and deeply into the juicy facts about the trump cabal. He easily could've done that all himself as it was all right there before them both on the prompters.

IMO he knew it would be more effective coming from a republican and therefore less likely to be labeled nothing but a Democratic Party witch hunt against trump.

They worked together well, which was the point in establishing the facts. It wasn't to try to outshine one another. It's pretty obvious his ego doesn't need that.

[Montauk6]

95. Well, speaking of slow...

Now Judge Luttig...(bless his heart). I was totally getting Bob & Ray vibes off his testimony

[housecat]

22. I heard that folksy quality too, and it was charming

[hamsterjill]

33. A lot of people happen to like it.

I just didn’t like the man’s delivery in this context. That’s just me and I’m fine with the idea that most others here feel differently.

But that doesn’t change my opinion and that should be okay, too. Thanks for your reply.

[GoCubsGo]

23. I missed that.

Maybe I'll be spared, since I'm talking about his drawl, and not him. Yeah. Getting on your case over that is a bit much. Especially since a lot of people are more apt to listen when it's coming from "someone who sounds more like me."

[brush]

77. IMO the folksy drawl is not the issue, calling a Black man...

slow is. To many that's the same as calling him dumb. It's a stereotype and borderline racist.

Not something one expects to see on a progressive, Dem site like DU.

[housecat]

21. Agreed

[Disaffected]

57. He did a fine job but

I kinda wish he wouldn't say "axed" instead of "asked" (at least that's how it sounded to me).

Is such terminology all that common in the US?

[electric_blue68]

67. Yes, a fair amount of African Americans pronounce it that way. 👍

[Retrograde]

78. A number of White southerners as well

especially in older generations - it may be a regional or dialect thing. Some linguists claim that the "axe" pronunciation goes back centuries, maybe back to the 1300s or 1400s.

[electric_blue68]

79. Interesting. Almost all the people I know who use have been African American ....

I don't know many white Southerners.
(and my friend in Texas we've never talked on the phone.
Old fashioned letters, eventually the internet. 👍 )

[Elessar Zappa]

68. It's part of African-American vernacular.

[happy feet]

87. Linguistics from African languages

Not vernacular as much as physical linguistics. I heard it explained as resulting from accents of speaking English from African languages of the slaves...has waned over time. When I was a child I naturally pronounced it axed. My parents corrected me EVERY time and I learned to deliberately use my mouth in a way that used the k instead of x.


Much like immigrants pronunciation of certain English words that wane over time.

[EndlessWire]

64. Oh, yes!

I just loved his voice. I felt a little embarrassed, focusing on his voice, but darned! I loved listening to him. Can't help myself.

[brush]

7. Yes, and it was obvious, to me at least, that he shared a big part...

of the spotlight with Liz Cheney by allowing her to get into the initial and real juicy parts of the trump insurrection conspiracy, while still maintaining the overall lead role.

[wnylib]

51. Good move to let Rep Cheney

deliver so much of the opening. She is a conservative Republican. Imagine how the things that she said would be received coming from a Dem. There would be so much complaining about Dem partisanship against Trump that the message of her opening would have been lost.

A wise decision by Chairman Thompson.

[brush]

52. And she did a great job. That was riveting TV.

[wnylib]

56. Yes, she did well.

[RKP5637]

8. K&R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[50 Shades Of Blue]

10. K & R! His opening statement shown like a beacon for the ages.

[electric_blue68]

12. Kudos, Chairman Thompson!

[Novara]

16. He's not showy and he's not full of anger

He's calm and serious and just what is needed. His quiet demeanor allows people to focus on the facts rather than him.

Compare him to that idiot Gym Jordan - nothing he says has any substance and no one remembers it because it's buried under his self-righteous hysteria.

We needed someone calm, collected, and serious fo this because it really is the biggest political crime in our history.

But I get the impression that you wouldn't want to cross him. The quiet types often have steel in their spines.

[Lars39]

18. Totally agree!

[okaawhatever]

19. 👏👏👏👏. nt

[lamp_shade]

24. It's obvious why Nancy Pelosi chose him to head the commission.

[ohmeohmy]

26. Thank you for this thread!

I was so impressed and grateful for Chairman Thompson. And his history lesson on Lincoln was powerful as well.

[H2O Man]

28. Recommended.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

30. He was awesome

[MuseRider]

40. I liked his delivery.

He was calm, very well prepared, as you would expect, but his quiet firmness was impressive. I get tired of the yelling and pretend outrage and that was nowhere last night. I am pretty sure he quietly delivered the agreement that Pence deserved hanging in a manner that could not be ignored..

I have always liked him a lot.

[electric_blue68]

70. "Quiet firmness" is a great description.

[RobertDevereaux]

42. Thank you, Bennie.

Go for the jugular.

[gademocrat7]

43. K&R!

Thank you, Congressman Bennie Thompson for shining a bright light on the treasonous bastards.

[crickets]

44. Thank you, Rep Bennie Thompson!

I agree with others who have said his calm demeanor was what we needed, not stridence or high volume. The calm did not hide the firm resolve he and Cheney both showed last night. The balance between their presentations was so well done. Kudos to the Commission on an excellent start to the hearings.

[housecat]

60. Nicely put

[pazzyanne]

45. K&R

and "Thank you", Bennie Thompson.

[calimary]

47. Yes indeed!

[CaptainTruth]

48. Yes!!!

[magicksmom]

49. Talks Softly but Carries a Big Stick!

His humble, calm delivery made me feel confident that we are in good hands. Thank you Representative Thompson 🙏🌷

[Karadeniz]

50. We loved Bennie! I was glad to have a Southern accent in the lead. Perhaps some Southerners

might be more disposed to listen to the facts. Don't anyone burst my bubble!!!!

[Upthevibe]

53. He was pitch perfect.....

Wow....

[FakeNoose]

55. I think he's doing a great job

Thank you Bennie Thompson!

[BComplex]

58. Bennie's name will definitely be one that school children/teens will forever learn in American

History class from now on! He's been awesome!

[RANDYWILDMAN]

59. Thanks Mr Thompson

Look forward to more great work next week

[housecat]

61. Absolutely.

[DET]

63. The Chairman Did a Great Job

Cheney seems to be getting most of the kudos (deservedly so), but I thought Thompson did a great job. No hysterics like the other side, just a calm recitation of the facts. I could finally calm down when I realized that Thompson and Cheney were fully up to the task.

[spanone]

72. Bennie was great!!!

[Sucha NastyWoman]

80. He did his job perfectly.

Hugs to Bennie

[Rhiannon12866]

81. Kudos for Chairman Bennie Thompson!

[niyad]

82. KNR

[wendyb-NC]

83. He's doing an excellent job

He and the other members are patriots.

[BumRushDaShow]

86. K&R and as a note - Liz Cheney is the VICE CHAIR of the J6 Committee

which is why the two shared the spotlight (as a FYI in response to this thread's posts mentioning her).

As of next year, Thompson will have been in Congress for 30 years, so he is a seasoned vet and sadly, with the state that has the highest black population of any other (38%) he is not only the only (D) Rep, but the only black one as well.

[bucolic_frolic]

88. He was very good

He's obviously not Madison Avenue casting, but his delivery was prompt and words well-chosen. He's a down home Congressman, obviously a learned man.

I saw only professional courtesy between him and Liz Cheney. Was she using her hair on her right as a shield from the Democratic side of the committee?

[tavernier]

90. And yet there are people who thought him unintelligent

because he mispronounced “asked” as “axed.” I was having dinner in a pub style restaurant last night with long table shared seating and I overheard that conversation from the group sitting close by. Obviously they had immediately glossed over any of the rest of his remarks because of this.

[bucolic_frolic]

91. I'd call that a colloquialism

regional, or cultural. It doesn't mean someone is dumb. It means they're small-townish, or of a local culture. Trump said "good people" all the time, and it meant kind of an "insider" to nj/ny but was accepted by the rest of the country as no big deal.

[tavernier]

92. I have since looked it up and it appears that it's perfectly acceptable

in fact having started out as “aks” but over the years being used both ways. Sadly this is never explained in English class.

[Mozeltov Cocktail]

89. I was not familiar with Congressman Thompson...

About a full minute into his intro when he described his background and resume, I was so happy. I, like everyone else, was apprehensive about this hearing. I felt that Congressman Thompson was a perfect balance to Congresswoman Chaney. It goes without saying that they both did an awesome, amazing job.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

93. Representative Bennie Thompson deserves our heartfelt thanks.

Link to tweet