Originally Posted by 12thMan
No biggie as far as this won't have a big impact on Reid's chances of winning or losing his seat in Nevada. He's already down in the polls and I don't think this comment will sink him any further. But I guess that remains to be seen. He certainly didn't do himself any favors that's for sure. Further, this is hardly Harry Reid's first bone headed comment. He has foot in mouth disease about as much as Joe Biden does, but for some reason Reid's comments tend to fly under the radar.
But let's cut to the chase with this. Do I think Reid is a racist, I don't know for sure but I'm inclined to say no. Reason being is his legislative record has been towards social justice, which primarily benefits minorities and people of color, and the fact that he has no track record, that I'm aware of, that suggest otherwise. I think Harry Reid is just culturally disconnected. That's my take on it. And I don't think he's disconnected on the issue of race alone.
Is there a double standard, I'm not so sure on that one either. When I think of the recent Republican history, names like Strom Thurman, Senator Jim Demint, Maj. Leader Trent Lott, AG John Ashcroft, Gov. Haley Barbour, and Sen. George Allen have either delved into playing racial politics or displayed racially insensitive behavior. More recently Chip Saltsman, who was running for RNC Chair, was circulating the Barack the Magic Negro tape. That was, what, seven months ago? It's through that lens which most people, indeed minorities, tend to view the GOP when it comes to race. It's not entirely justified, as we know that Republicans aren't racists, but many in the GOP until this day still refuse to denounce the confederate flag. So the seemingly double standard has it's roots in recent history.
As far President Obama and Rahm jumping all over some comment made by either side, I disagree. The president has gone out of his way to avoid controversial statements like this from both sides, and I can assure you they have more important issues to worry about than who's tossing around the word negro. If that were they case, they would have pounced on Joe Biden, and a few others, during the campaign when Biden called Obama clean and articulate, but they didn't. The last thing the president and the White House want to get bogged down with is the issue of race.
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