Harry Reid: Good that Obama is “light skinned… with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
Read about it here. And while you’re at it, go here and donate to Danny Tarkanian’s campaign for the Nevada U.S. Senate seat. Oh, by the way, here’s Tark’s response to the comments made by Reid:
“A few weeks ago, Harry Reid compared his health care opponents to slavery defenders. Now he’s talking about our President’s ‘light skin’ and ‘negro dialect.’ He disgraces himself almost monthly with some disparaging remark about his constituents, political opponents, or now the President.”
“I notice he’s apologized already for these remarks, but we’re still waiting for his apology to the majority of Nevadans who oppose his health care plan.
“Harry Reid isn’t just America’s most vulnerable Senator – as he demonstrates daily, he’s also its most embarrassing.”
Update: Harry Reid has issued an apology, that includes this gem: “I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans, for my improper comments.” Apparently, Senator Reid believes it would have been perfectly fine for him to have communicated the same sentiment if his choice of words had not been so impoverished. The impropriety of his comment, then, according to Senator Reid, rests solely on his limited vocabulary rather than what he intended to convey to his listener. Thus, the question that should be posed to the senator is this: How would you have better communicated to your fellows the electoral advantages of Senator Obama’s pale-hued derma and adroit eloquence?
Where’s the “outrage” from Rev. Jackson? Where’s ol’ Sharpton too?…you mean he’s not marched over to DC to demand Reid step-down? They certainly “mobilized” quickly enough for Cowboy Imus and demanded his firing…if against a talk-radio host, why not against Dingy Reid…a sitting US Senator?
Ah the hypocrisy of the statist left. It is unfailing and unrelenting.
Well I guess there is nothing left to discuss; mmm-mmm-mmm Barack Hussein Obama says “the book is closed” on the matter.
I’m just guessing, but I think the difference between this and the Imus situation is that it is more legitimate to comment on a presidential candidate’s manner of speaking than it is to comment on (female) college athletes’ looks.
I have no idea why Reid chose to use the word “Negro,” or if that’s how he normally refers to black people, but otherwise, isn’t this a classic example of Michael Kinsley’s line about a gaffe being when a politician accidentally tells the truth?
It surely IS true that Obama would have had a much harder time getting elected if he spoke stereotypical Ebonics, just as a white candidate who sounded like he’d come straight from a trailer park (Clinton jokes aside) would lose votes on that account. The skin color thing is a little more debatable, but I suspect there’s a strong empirical case to be made about the relative success of light and dark skinned black people.
I accepted Harry’s apology without question because I’ve known him for years, I’ve seen the passionate leadership he’s shown on issues of social justice and I know what’s in his heart. As far as I am concerned, the book is closed.
Plus he is not a Republican.
While I may underestimate al Qaeda, I will never underestimate Bill and Hillary Clinton. Heck, I even keep an eye open for Chelsey and Socks the Cat.
Jay-
Most linguists use the term “African-American Vernacular English” in place of “ebonics” nowadays. Just an FYI.
To the larger point, I am curious to see the larger context of the quote, but it is indeed troubling, especially the use of the term “negro”. Jay is right, that there may be accuracy in this statement, with regards to how Obama’s looks and diction may have played a role in his presidency (something true of all candidates). Whether it mattered more or in a different way because Obama is of mixed-race is something that can be examined, but hopefully more thoughtfully than Reid appears to have considered it.
Danny Tarkanian? Can an entire state be put on probation?
[...] Beckwith has the story here, with a link to [...]