There was an interesting column by Clarence Page in today's Chicago Tribune about Hillary Clinton's widely reported comment that the House of Representatives "has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about."

Interestingly, Page traces the phrase to 1966 in a speech written by political consultant Don Rose for then-Alderman Timuel Black's crusade against the Democratic machine in Chicago. According to Emory University's Theology Professor Robert Franklin, it is "shorthand for an immoral concentration of resources, exclusion and the arrogance of a company's unchecked power."

There are 2,000,000 sites for this phrase on Google now, with more to come, I am sure, though it's not in Onelook at this point in time. Perhaps it will be a 2006 word of the year! I assume it is only used in the U.S.? Had any of you heard of it before the Hillary's speech?

I, for one, have never heard the phrase; before or after Mrs Clinton's comment.

quote:

2,000,000 ghits ... According to Emory University's Theology Professor Robert Franklin, it is "shorthand for an immoral concentration of resources, exclusion and the arrogance of a company's unchecked power

I get far far fewer google hits, and of them well over 99% are for Hilary's remark. So I wouldn't say that the phrase had any recognized, preexisting meaning.

Edit: retract the comment. I'd searched for "run like a plantation", Sen. Clinton's phrase, and had ignored Kalleh's natural variant.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: shufitz,

Shu, I put "plantation politics" into Google, and got 1,960,000 sites. Sorry about the 40,000 that I embellished!

So, the US House is a banana republic?

Good point, Asa. I surely think so!