So I wanted to talk a little bit about Harry Reid. Yesterday, we learned that while the President was running for office, he said Barack Obama was "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." This is according to a book titled Game Change, written by Mark Halperin (Time) and John Heilemann (New York magazine).

The comments, while insensitive, (and for some - offensive) were forgiven by the man that Senator Reid was talking about, Barack Obama. As he put it, the 'book is closed'. That didn't stop a lot of heads from exploding, especially a certain leader of the RNC, who called for the resignation of Reid. I have news for Mr. Steele and others calling for his resignation by comparing this incident to Trent Lott. One thing is incredibly racially insensitive, the other embraces racism. There is a big difference between the two. Strom Thurmond ran on a segrationist platform and on the campaign plan remarked "all the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, our schools, our churches." [source]

When Steele and others call for Reids resignation, they are either blind to history, ignorant or even worse. It seems that they are using race and discussion thereof to further divide this nation. Personally, I think it is the latter. We saw it on the campaign trail during the initial Reverend Wright debacle and also when Hillary Clinton said herself '[..]he may have problems with getting the vote of Hard working White people.' (See the bonus link below for reference to how this attempted division was used.) Once again, I contend that these things were racially insensitive. Not a good thing, mind you, but a far cry from what Trent Lott said.

Then there is the hypcrisy of Mr. Steel himself, who earlier this week, suffering from another flairup of foot in mouth, stated: Many consider that word to be as offensive as the "N" word. Once again, it's racially insensitive. It doesn't stop there with Steele. Earlier this year, he was taped saying this:
It's important to note that the question was about the inclusion about DIVERSITY in the GOP. Why is it that re-enforcing a stereotype seems to be alright for him, but saying something stupid (As Harry Reid did) and he calls for a resignation? I think that is a double standard.

Why didn't Mr. Steele call for the resignation of this woman?


My point is that there are serious issues to be discussed regarding what Harry Reid said. They could be productive discussions about race matters in this country. Instead, Republicans are using it as a way to exploit race and divide this nation. It's shameful, and damned near close to what Strom Thurmond wanted: a divided nation.

Racism isn't black and white, and neither are all the stupid things people sometimes say about race.

and
Raine

Bonus Link regarding the co-Author of the book. In particular, #6.