Dirty Harry

As I sat scooping the litter box, the universe opened herself up to me, and all was revealed.

In 2008, majority leader Harry Reid made an “unfortunate remark” about then-candidate Barack Obama. Apparently, Reid suggested that Obama could be a successful candidate, despite his African-American heritage, because he was “light-skinned” and did not have a “Negro dialect.”

Obama himself has said that Reid has apologized for the remark and the case is closed. Of course, this doesn’t make much of a difference since Reid already has the Republican party on his scent due to the health care reform agenda. Many moons ago, one Republican majority leader (Trent Lott) lost his post after he went to the 100th birthday party of Senator Strom Thurmond, and opened his mouth about how Sen. Thurmond would have made a great president. Thurmond had run a campaign based on ideals of segregation and small government.

Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate in 2008, has stated that he considers it a “double standard” that the Democrats should let Reid off so easily, after the way Lott was treated.

I haven’t seen anyone dispute what Reid said has being false, though. Offensive? Sure. Inaccurate? Hardly.

I don’t see the double standard. Reid essentially noted that Obama could win the election because he’s not “black Black” and he doesn’t “talk like diz, yo.” It’s a nice fallacy to think that race had no hand in that election, but it certainly did. Of course it did.

Lott, on the other hand, said that we wouldn’t have the problems we have today, had Thurmond – who vehemently opposed giving African-Americans the right to vote – won his presidential bid in 1948. Although, Lott may have been referring to the fact that Thurmond was a firm believer in small government. At any rate, I doubt anyone was particularly surprised to see this coming from a Republican politician.

It’s apples and oranges, but okay. Sure. I’ll submit that I am generally unimpressed with Reid, if that helps. Sure, remove him from his post as majority leader, if it’s that important, and if there’s really nothing more important to talk about on Capitol Hill. Like health care, maybe, or perhaps, you know, jobs. I am so far past the point of caring about what some politician quipped in an unofficial context behind closed doors some years ago. Ya feel me?

It’s good to see that the Republicans are keeping themselves busy, though, while the evil Democrats conduct their secret Socialist health care reform meetings. We wouldn’t want to lose focus off the stuff that really matters, right?

Tagged as: Democrats, health care reform, politics, Republicans