Belling: "When you think of Hillary Clinton," the word "bitches" comes to mind

Summary: Milwaukee radio host Mark Belling declared, "What's the process that determines which potholes get patched the fastest [in Milwaukee]? I'll tell you what it is. No, they don't go and judge it on severity. ... It's who -- can I use this word? When you think of [Sen.] Hillary Clinton what do you think -- what word comes to mind? Yes, can I use that word here? All right, it's who bitches the most."

On the September 11 broadcast of The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show, radio host Mark Belling declared, "What's the process that determines which potholes get patched the fastest [in Milwaukee]? I'll tell you what it is. No, they don't go and judge it on severity. ... It's who -- can I use this word? When you think of [Sen.] Hillary Clinton what do you think -- what word comes to mind? Yes, can I use that word here? All right, it's who bitches the most." Belling also asserted that "[o]ne of the reasons for the dysfunction in the inner city of Milwaukee is that black voters themselves do not hold their own officials accountable. Everybody else does." Later, he stated, "Instead of continually screaming racism and blaming all the white people in the community, look inward and take a look at the lazy, useless people that you are electing to represent you." He went on to say: "In most areas of the white community, when we have a do-nothing, useless public official, we know enough to vote them out, not defend them from the attacks of everyone else."

Belling was discussing recent media reports that the larger the minority population in a Milwaukee neighborhood, the longer it takes city crews to fix potholes there. According to an August 30 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "The ultimate decision of where to dispatch crews lies in the hands of district managers Ronald Golec and Daryl Sobczak," both appointed officials. The Journal Sentinel also reported: "Although pothole data shows locations in some aldermanic districts were addressed more slowly this year, it's hard to say what role civic leaders played in those differences. Some complaints from aldermen were recorded without names. The city data listed direct calls from [Alderman Tony] Zielinski and District 7 Ald. Willie Wade. Records show both aldermen called the city at least three times over four months. Zielinski's requests on the south side were handled in a few days, while Wade's requests in the north took up to 45 days."

Belling's show is carried on News/Talk 1130 WISN-AM in Milwaukee, owned by Clear Channel Communications. Talkers magazine includes Belling in its "Heavy Hundred" list, which it describes as a list of the "100 most important radio talk show hosts in America."

From September 11 broadcast of WISN's The Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show:

BELLING: One of the reasons for the dysfunction in the inner city of Milwaukee is that black voters themselves do not hold their own officials accountable. Everybody else does. If you live where Paul lives in Cedarburg and you've got problems in your neighborhood, you're going to call your alderman and -- oh, you have town board probably, you're in the town right? Town board -- you're going to hold your town res -- board representative accountable. And if he or she doesn't take care of things, you're going to throw them out, you're going to be on that person. Works that way everywhere.

[...]

BELLING: Obviously, they can't get to every pothole every day. That's why it takes -- the average -- it's seven days for the average pothole but 11 for the pothole in the inner city. Some potholes get patched quicker than others. What's the process that determines which potholes get patched the fastest? I'll tell you what it is. No, they don't go and judge it on severity. That implies that you've got city crews who go look at a pothole and then somebody on a walkie-talkie says this one's deeper than the one over there. No, the pothole they go to, they patch. It's who -- can I use this word? When you think of Hillary Clinton, what do you think -- what word comes to mind? Yes, can I use that word here? All right, it's who bitches the most. And who are the people that do the bleeping on potholes? The aldermen. Let's suppose you live on a street in the city of Milwaukee that's got three bad potholes. Who do you call? You call your alderman. And what does the alderman do? The alderman calls the department of public works and says, "I gotta -- you get these fixed."

[...]

BELLING: Instead of continually screaming racism and blaming all the white people in the community, look inward and take a look at the lazy, useless people that you are electing to represent you. Crooks, like [former Milwaukee Alderman] Junior [Michael] McGee, lazy people like [Wisconsin state Rep.] Leon Young, or scammers like [Milwaukee Board of Schools member] Charlene Hardin. In most areas of the white community, when we have a do-nothing, useless public official, we know enough to vote them out, not defend them from the attacks of everyone else.

—J.K.F.