Peach Pundit Pete is angry at the blacks again!!!

Regular readers of Peach Pundit contributor Pete Randall’s blogging understand that black people (particularly those in politics and the media) are constantly conniving to stick it to Georgia’s poor, beleaguered white majority.

You may recall last summer when Pete got really angry at Congressman David Scott when someone spray-painted a swastika on the sign outside Scott’s office. How dare Rep. Scott, a black Democrat (double yuck!) horde all the swastikas for himself?! Share them with the white folk, Dave.

Today, in a post titled “Bigotry 2010 style: white women need not apply for 4th CD debate,” Angry Pete is angry at the black people at The Newsmakers Journal for “excluding” white, Republican she-candidate Liz Carter from tonight’s fourth congressional district candidates debate.

Angry Pete accuses The Newsmakers Journal of inviting Carter to the join the debate, then disinviting her because she’s white. I’m not sure how that works. Was Liz Carter black when they allegedly invited her? Did she develop vitiligo or something?

Anyhoo, you’ll never guess Angry Pete’s source for this shocking revelation:

“I’m told that The Newsmakers Journal editor allegedly at first invited Carter to tonight’s debate and discussion but later rescinded the offer based solely, not on the content of her character, but the color of her skin. This debate, evidently, is for black candidates only.”

Don’t get me wrong. I love “I’m told.” “I’m told” is one of the most reliable and entertaining anonymous sources in Georgia journalism. Ex. “I’m told Pete Randall urinates in the water fountain at his office.” That “I’m told” guy is better than Deep Throat (the Watergate leaker, not the movie).

Sadly, like with many news stories, there’s more to this one than what “I’m told” told Angry Pete. Had Angry Pete bothered, um, TELEPHONING The Newsmakers Journal, he might have gotten something like this:

“That’s ridiculous.”

That’s what Newsmakers Journal publisher and debate producer Jim Welcome blurted out when I asked him if Carter was disinvited because she’s white.

Just to be double-extra-superclear, I asked Welcome again - was skin color in anyway a consideration when putting together tonight’s debate?

“Absolutely not,” Welcome says. Tonight’s debate includes the candidates The Newsmakers Journal knew about when they began putting the debate together, Welcome says.

“Carter was never invited. She wasn’t on our radar when we assembled the panel for this debate. I didn’t know who she was until the second week of May.”

He added Newsmakers is planning a second debate for the rest of the candidates and that Carter will be invited. He also said that if Carter’s in the audience at tonight’s debate that she’ll be acknowledged on the stage as a candidate.

Incidentally, Newsmakers Journal endorsed Mary Norwood for Mayor of Atlanta. I neglected to ask Welcome, but I’m told he’s aware Mary Norwood is a white woman.

UPDATE 2: Liz Carter tells Creative Loafing she was invited to participate in the forum debate by Keva Whitsett, an office administrator at The Newsmakers Journal. Carter says the invitation was made over the phone. The Newsmakers Journal’s publisher denies this (see above).

Carter also says editor Maynard Eaton told her this morning that tonight’s debate is blacks-only, a claim Eaton’s publisher also explicitly denies (see above). Carter played me a partial recording of a call she says is between her and a man she says is Eaton (I haven’t been able to reach Eaton to confirm he spoke to Carter.)

Regardless, nowhere on the recording Carter played to me can the male voice be heard stating or implying anything about the racial make-up of tonight’s debate. Carter insists Eaton made the claim, but that tape static from cell phone interference obscures the portion of the call where she alleges Eaton makes the blacks-only claim.

The man on the recording is, however, clearly heard challenging Carter’s claim that she was ever invited to participate.

I called Newsmakers Journal again, but haven’t heard back.

A different issue, but still important - Carter and Jason Pye over at Peach Pundit both correctly take issue with the fact that Newsmakers Journal would host a debate with both Democrats and Republicans, but exclude a leading Republican. I agree completely. But “what a silly line-up for a debate” is a very different accusation than “they excluded a white person because they said it’s blacks-only.”

UPDATE: While I was writing this, Newsmakers sent out a press release about this fake kerfuffle. See below.