As Usual, Sen. Reid’s Racist Words Go Unpunished

By Julie Smith on January 16, 2010, 11:43 am

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D)-NV spent the weekend trying to defend apparent racist remarks he made about Barack Obama during the 2008 Presidential campaign. According to a recently released book entitled “Game Change,”  Mr. Reid questioned then Senator Obama’s “blackness” by saying he was “light-skinned” and had “no Negro dialect” unless he wanted one. Mr. Reid has apologized to the president who has accepted it without question. Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill are calling for Sen. Reid to relinquish his position as Senate Majority Leader in the wake of the controversy.

A Double Standard

The biggest Republican criticism against Reid and his fellow Democrats is based on events surrounding Sen. Trent Lott (R)-MS in December 2002. Mr. Lott, speaking at a birthday party for Sen. Strom Thurmond, voiced his support for the South Carolina Republican’s presidential run in 1948 saying the country “wouldn’t have had all these problems over the years” had he won the race. Democrats, including Harry Reid, pounced on Trent Lott for supporting the segregationist Thurmond, eventually forcing his resignation as Senate Majority Leader just two weeks later. In the case of Reid’s comments, Republicans believe what’s good enough for Lott should also apply to Reid. Democrats disagree.

Sharpton Gives Reid Pass, Attacks Clinton

The Rev. Al Sharpton got in on the act Monday by blasting former President Bill Clinton for remarks he also made during the 2008 campaign, remarks carried in the same book as Reid’s. Clinton was attempting to convince Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy to support his wife in the campaign when he said about Obama, “A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee.” The remarks apparently upset Mr. Kennedy and Sharpton as well, who also took Clinton to task after he was critical of Obama’s primary win in South Carolina.

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