Texas Republicans Prove You Can Race-Bait Even When the Candidate Is White
We've come a long way since the days of Dred Scott, Jim Crow and George Wallace. It used to be that when a black person stuck his nose out (say by running for public office) angry reactionaries would shout him down with race-baiting rhetoric and direct mail campaigns.
Whereas today they do it to white people as well…
A mailer paid for by Empower Texas… slams Democrat Joel Redmond [of Pasadena, TX] for having "aligned himself with liberal Democrat party politicians."
"Birds of a feather flock together," the mailer reads, with pictures of black birds overhead. And then, photos of area minority Democrats: Sen. Mario Gallegos, Rep. Garnet Coleman, Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee. Oh, and also Barack Obama (who, last I checked, wasn't a Houston Democrat, so that contradicts any argument they were just using Houston Dems..)
But Houston Democrats (except Obama) also include Nick Lampson (whose district INCLUDES Pasadena), John Whitmire, Ellen Cohen, Scott Hochberg, and Kevin Bailey.
All white Democrats. None of whom are on the mailer. Coincidence?
The mailer, which you can download here, declares that Redmond is "opposed to marriage," "against the war on terrorism," and for "the radical homosexual agenda."
It also declares that Redmond is a member of the "Democrat Party," the political version of a schoolyard taunt that's typically beneath all but Fox News commentators.
But most importantly it links Redmond (who is white) to a cadre of minority politicians, all of whom live outside his district.
And on the topic of people who live outside the district, we might as well include the financier of the mailer, Bob Perry. Yes, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Bob Perry.
RSS
Pasadena literally stinks. It smells like there is a perpetual fart in the air. Those of you who have driven through know I am tell the truth. The reason is that there are so many chemical plants there. Wow, the water must stink to bath in. I'm from Houston and an independent voter. I hate what the GOP has done to the Republican party. It's turned to "an everyman for himself no matter what the cost" party. It has no morals, though it prides itself on such things. It has no ethics, just ask Tom DeLay. I have no idea why anyone would ever vote for such hateful and greedy people who have been plundering out tax to serve themselves and their corporate masters. The only reason I can see is purely…GREED on the part of both black and white republicans, RACISM on the part of the white folks, and finally, spineless treason on to their own people on the part of black republicans. There I said it. Have fun.
Normally, I take a trip back to East Texas at least once every two or three years. It never takes long to remember why I left. After reading this story and hearing about the cutter from College Station, I'm glad I decided to avoid the area this close to the election.
One trip was shortly after the James Byrd murder. The racial tension was like nothing I had ever witnessed before. Even my own family members were dropping the N-word every other sentence.
On another trip not long after that, I arrived in my mother's hometown just in time to see demonstrators holding up pictures of aborted fetuses and signs stating "God hates fags."
I still get pissed just thinking about it. So, tell me again about the greatness of small-town America. Tell me how they're the "real Americans". Talk to me about their values and ethics. Just don't be suprised when I tell you that you're completely full of shit.
As a Texan, I can tell you that the Pasadena area is know for such quaint little ol' opinions. They are just pandering to their base.
I make it a point to avoid Pasadena whenever I can.