frankenlies.com
#2b: Here, Al. Have an Oreo.
If Franken wanted to cite true examples of racism in the 2002 Maryland election (rather than a bogus flier), he should have looked across to his friends the Democrats. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend had to fire a top political strategist after he announced he would plan to portray Republican Robert Ehrlich as a "Nazi" to black voters. (Lest there be any question about the context in which the remark was made, here is what the man told the Washington Post: "Bob Ehrlich is a Nazi."1) The strategist had also made issue of the fact that Ehrlich chose a black man named Michael Steele as his running mate for lieutenant governor. He said Ehrlich probably picked Steele only because he "felt sorry for him because he needs money to pay his mortgage."2 And when Steele appeared at the gubernatorial debate a month before the election, Democrats passed out Oreo cookies to mock the black Republican candidate.3,4 (An "Oreo" is a terribly derogatory term to describe a black man who is perceived as "black on the outside, but white on the inside.") After the debate, Democratic officials tried to deny this had happened, but one of the cookies had actually rolled to Steele’s feet during the debate. "Maybe it was just someone having their snack, but it was there," said Steele.5
Now, Mr. Franken, which side was racist in this election?
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Notes:
1 Lori Montgomery and Craig Whitlock, “Townsend Fires New Strategist for ‘Nazi’ Remark,” Washington Post, September 21, 2002.
2 Ibid.
3 David Nikin, Sarah Koenig, and Howard Libit, “Crowd’s Antics Quite Debatable,” Baltimore Sun, October 1, 2002.
4 Here is an eyewitness report of the Oreo incident. (Amy Ridenour, "Michael Steele Oreo Incident Eyewitness Report," November 23, 2005.)
5 Phillip Caston, “Steele Makes History as First Black Lt. Governor,” Capital News Service, November 22, 2002.