“There’s gonna be a Democrat mayor,” Michael Berry said. “So you get as mad as you want. Because you’re going to decide whether it is Sheila Jackson Lee or John Whitmire.”

Racist Local Shock Jock Michael Berry

Racist local shock jock Michael Berry instructed listeners to his show to vote for Senator John Whitmire for Mayor earlier this month.

Said Berry:

“Blacks vote for Sheila. Whites vote for Whitmire. Both Democrats. He is considered what is a conservative Democrat. And I know some of you ‘(unintelligible) Democrat’… there’s gonna be a Democrat mayor. Just get comfortable with that. Always has been. There’s gonna be a Democrat mayor. So you get as mad as you want. Because you’re going to decide whether it is Sheila Jackson Lee or John Whitmire.

John Whitmire has been the dean of the senate for a very long time, and he’s the criminal justice guy. Not saying he’s perfect. He’s gonna say a lot of things you don’t like. He’s a labor guy. He’s gonna talk about the gays… But he can win. He’s the only one who can win. But I know the Democrats got mad at him a few years ago when they were demanding that there be more air conditioning in the state prison system because the inmates had filed a lawsuit that they needed to be cooled off. And he said if you want air conditioning don’t commit crime. That’s the best you’re going to get out of a Democrat.” 

Berry has a long history of racist commentary. 

Michael Berry’s History of Racism

Michael Berry is a racist who wouldn’t be allowed on the air in most media environments. His long history of racism includes:

• Making a racist prank call to a Black-owned business in March of this year
• Calling the Black teenagers at the infamous McKinner pool party “jungle animals” 
• Saying “Black people don’t believe that Black live matter” 
• Claiming the election of President Obama encouraged the “poorest, most violent segment of the population to attack police” 
• Bringing a blackface comedian on air several times (the comedian made several Islamophobic and antisemitic jokes during one appearance, and took shots at food stamps in another appearance that further caked on anti-Black racism in its scripting)
• Making misogynist and racist comments about the situation surrounding Clippers owner Donald Sterling
• Hoping someone would blow up the “ground zero mosque” (he apologized the next day, and the ground zero mosque was neither a mosque nor at ground zero)
• Running an Islamophobic segment playing on violent and racist stereotypes
• Running a parody reenactment of Michael Brown’s shooting

There are plenty more incidents. Too many to name.

Berry has a long history of cracking gay jokes. He once hit a parked car in a gay bar parking lot and drove off, which was the only lead tying him back to the bar. He later said he went there because there was “cold beer.”

John Whitmire’s MAGA Problem

Michael Berry is only the most recent rightwing supporter of John Whitmire, and another among the growing signs of Whitmire’s openness to placating rightwing extremists. As Berry pointed out, Whitmire chairs the criminal justice committee. What Berry did not mention is that he is the only Democrat to maintain that position (32% of the committees were chaired by Democrats when Dan Patrick entered office). Lt. Governor Patrick knows he can trust John Whitmire to chair that committee because, as Berry validates, John Whitmire will peddle rightwing criminal justice positions, and lie about the facts on Houston’s streets.

When extremists encourage their armies of supporters to back someone, it tells you something about how supportive that person will be to their position. In this case, we are learning that Houston area racists will stomach Whitmire because he’ll do what they want on some key issues, and that’s good enough for them.

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