Oh boy, here we go with a racial slurs again.
According to a story on thehill.com:
Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term “uppity” to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.
Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.
“Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they’re a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they’re uppity,” Westmoreland said.
Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.”
Other Democrats have charged that the Republican campaign to paint the Illinois senator as an “elitist” is racially charged, and accused them of using code words for “uppity” without using the word itself.
Now I am absolutely sure that the media is gonna go absolutely crazy over this one. But one has to realize something here, this man is from Georgia, and this sort of language and lingo is quite common in that part of the country when it comes to the discussion of blacks. However, it does not justify it at all.
A problem with this sort of a thing is that it plays into the narrative by the Democrats that the Republican Party is the party of racism. When in fact the very opposite is the truth. History does show that the white supremacist movement was very prevalent amongst the Democrats, and not the Republicans.
I am hoping that Westmoreland does offer an apology right away, because this sort of rhetoric is not needed nor desired in a election season such as this.
Furthermore, making statements such as this, only gives the race hustlers ammunition to lay claim to racial bias during this election period.
Update: Okay guys, wrong word. I blew it. Sue me. 🙄 😉 😛 😀
Others: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Washington Monthly, First Draft, Balloon Juice, Washington Post, Think Progress, The Edge of the American West, Pam’s House Blend and The Debate Link