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Monday, Jan. 11, 2010 | 8:51 a.m.
Fox News Sunday
Sun Archives
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gestures while speaking on health care reform during a news conference, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sun Coverage
WASHINGTON -- Republicans opened a new line of attack against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today, questioning why fellow Democratic senators who criticized racially insensitive remarks by a former Republican Senate leader are not similarly calling for Reid to step down.
On the third day since Reid's remarks about President Barack Obama being "light-skinned" and not speaking "with a Negro dialect," Republicans show no sign of relenting on what they see as a damaging campaign issue for the Nevadan and his party.
Republicans are putting the heat on Reid's fellow Democratic senators, including southerners facing their own difficult re-elections, in November.
They noted that when former Republican Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi was forced to resign in 2002 after saying the nation may have been better off had segregationist candidiate Strom Thurmond won the presidency in 1948, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana said a Democratic leader would face similar scrutiny.
Now, Landrieu’s silence on Reid "is deafening,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson Marchand.
“It’s difficult to view Senator Landrieu’s silence as anything other than a clear double standard – especially in light of her own statements in 2002 that a Democratic leader ‘would not be allowed to keep their position’ if they made such a racially-charged statement.”
The campaign committee targeted several other Democratic senators in similar missives this morning.
Reid has so far received an outpouring of support from Obama, civil rights leaders and leading African-Americans in Nevada and Washington.
Reid's fellow Democratic senators, too, have rallied to his side.
Many supporters point to Reid's long record as a champion of civil rights issues, saying they know his heart is in the right place if his word choice was not.
Scholars have said the comparison to Lott falls short as the Republican leader had previously said similar comments about the segregationist candidate.
Reid has no plans to drop his leadership position or re-election campaign.
Oh, for Pete's sake! I notice the Republicans are ignoring Michael Steele's "honest injun'" remark.
All one needs to do is look at the context of Reid's remark in the book and realize that Reid was supporting Obama, albeit with an extremely poor choice of words. Look at Reid's record to determine if he is a racist. One can compare that to Lott's along with his previous remarks. One needs to look at someone's actions as well as words. The GOP seriously needs to shut up about this because they are looking like a bunch of dopes.
i agree, the demo's would be up in arms if it was any other republican, but this is not something that anyone should step down over.
Anyone who says there isn't a double standard, is a liar. Whether this comment is racist or not, if a Republican would have said it he or she would have been bludgeoned by the media and Democrats to no end.
Harry just lost all of Hillary's supporters in Nevada!
http://www.GiveMaryTheBoot.om
Democrats thy name is hypocrisy.
The GOP is like a Fat Lady in a Malt shoppe , grasping for straws !
The Democratic Party is so damn hypocritical. This party has turned out to be so damn crooked, hypocritical, and arrogant. The people of Nevada are going to take care of this loser on November 2, 2010, however it will not be ever forgotten that the Democratic Party is made up of a bunch of hypocrites!
Ha. What about the double standard of impeaching Clinton and letting sexual predator John Ensign go off as another hypocritcal Palin style "do as I say, not as I do" republican?
John Ensign lied to his family and his state. Why would anyone trust John Ensign?
Time for Harry "Check Out My Lawn Jockey" Reid to just go away.
VOTE THIRD PARTY and independent candidates
www.apparatusLV.com
Let's face it, President Obama is no Nubian, darkest civilization that has ever been on this earth and a real pain to the government of Egypt when the Kush gold was being mined and shipped to the Egyptian government.
President Obama is light skinned with ears that will fly him over the rainbow on a windy Nevada Day.
Forget about what Harry Reid has SAID look more closely to what he has DONE ! He has sold out our state, turned a blind eye to our 13 percent unemployment in favor of the hated health care bill that NO ONE WANTS!! He also stood by and did nothing to force Obama to recant his damaging remarks keeping convention business out of the state. Bye Bye Harry!!!
He's done!
Democrats need to man up and do the right thing. Force harry to resign.
"It's difficult to view Senator Landrieu's silence as anything other than a clear double standard -- especially in light of her own statements in 2002 that a Democratic leader 'would not be allowed to keep their position' if they made such a racially-charged statement."
A Republican yells "YOU LIE!" out loud to the President in Congress in a televised national event. He still has his seat.
Another Republican actively markets that the President is Hitler. She still has her seat.
A US Senator uses a name "Negro" that is still being used in the Constitutionally mandated 2010 US Census and he needs to step down?
TALK ABOUT A DOUBLE STANDARD!
Shame on the media for flogging this sad tale like it's a personal hand job.
Like I said, Liberals are Hypocrites!
This was all planned, Reid is going for the racist good old boy Mormon vote and talk radio vote.
Why doesn't Rush Limpbaugh apologize for telling a black caller to "take the bone out of his nose?"
The four hate talk radio stations in town should be closed, until Limpbaugh says he is sorry.
The actual words used are not important. It is the concept expressed by those words that is so offensive.
As for the actual word used, as someone noted previously the United Negro College Fund has not seen a need to change their name, or to reference a term some find worse, neither has the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
No, the concept expressed by Reid's remark can not be condoned no matter how it is said.
Someone needs to inform mred that Rush Limbaugh does not hold an elected office. The last time I heard his audience has a choice of turning him off or changing the channel...
get rid of the grand dragon of uncle toms, to-wit-
michael steele. he is a utter embarrassment to blacks, whites, hispanics, native americans, asians, democrats, republicans, and independents.
but, maybe he should stay where he is; he is the gift of ignorance, gaffes, and ridiculous statements that keeps on giving and giving and giving.
the term negro is black in spanish
Grow up, all of you. Get a real problem.
renomouse, thank you for that.
Reid is A-OK.
So what if he would have had a problem with Obama if he was darker or spoke with negro dialect. We can overlook that.
He is A-OK because he came out released a letter in support of Nevada's Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage and voted for DOMA and has not push for DOMA overturn or for Obama to rescind Don't Ask Don't Tell. Both the light skin Obama and Reid are against gay marriage anyway and believe that each state should determine its laws on the matter.
He is a swell guy that Reid dude.
Although Harry Reid's comments about Barack Obama being "light skinned" and not using a "negro dialect" are insensitive at best and stupid at worst, they are muchado about nothing.
The comparison of those comments to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's comments that the nation would have been better served if segregationist Strom Thurmond had been elected President is way off the mark. Strom Thurmond was against equal rights for all Americans, as evidenced by a legistlative record where he repeatedly voted against equal rights for minorities. He wanted to maintain the status quo of racial separation. Not only did former Senator Thurmond have a voting track record against racial equality, but he ran for President of the U.S.A largely on a segregationist platform. Trent Lott's apparent nostalgia for a racist presidency that never came to be shows not just his insensitivity, but his comments also, not discretely, imply that the country would be better off if whites and only whites enjoyed full protection under the law. Lott's comments imply that as a result of the Civil Rights Act America's greatness was diminished and that America was held back.
Now compare that to Senate Majority leader Reid's comments about Obama's skin tone and dialect, and make an appraisal of Mr. Reid's legistlative record in support of civil rights, and it's pretty clear that the GOP's claims of hypocrisy and their call for Mr. Reid to be removed from office are a mischaracterization of facts and sheer political posturing. Senator Reid's comments were insensitive, but they are neither explicitly nor implicitly racist.
The GOP, in my opinion, is making a political calculation that by attacking Senator Reid the already vulnerable incumbent will be further weakened, thus increasing their party's chances of gaining a senate seat. I don't believe that the GOP cares about racial sensitivity, because as a party it hasn't had a track record that shows support for anything resembling equal rights since the days of Lincoln. The true hypocrisy is the charade that the GOP is playing out, not the lack of criticism from Democrats towards the majority leader.