Rudy Giuliani (Splash News)
SAY WHAT? Vice President Joe Biden (left) yesterday took heat from Republicans, including Rudy Giuliani (right). (
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WASHINGTON — Republicans yesterday blasted Vice President Joe Biden over his “they’re going to put y’all back in chains” crack, accusing him of race-baiting and demanding he apologize.
“That was an absolutely blatant appeal to racism,” former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Now that’s disgusting, and someone in the Democratic Party should be able to stand up and say Joe Biden’s going too far.
“This guy is like one gaffe after another, and he’s a — he’s a joke on late-night television.”
Rick Santorum, who competed against Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nod, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Biden’s words were “horrendous” and that “he should apologize.”
He’s “play[ing] the race card,” Santorum added.
Even the liberal-leaning editorial page of the Boston Globe called for Biden to apologize, in a piece published over the weekend.
Democrats have scrambled for damage control, because the gaffe has dominated the campaign since Tuesday, when Biden addressed a Virginia crowd that included many African-Americans.
“There isn’t a racist bone in Joe Biden’s body, and to suggest that is over the edge,” Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said on “Face the Nation.”
President Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, said Biden was merely responding to comments made by top Republicans, such as House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) and GOP vice-presidential pick Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.).
“People like Speaker Boehner, even Paul Ryan, talk all the time about unshackling the private sector, unshackling the financial industry,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“The vice president was playing off of that word.”
Meanwhile, on Oct. 15, Romney will release his 2011 tax return, campaign adviser Ed Gillespie said on “Fox News Sunday.”