Reid’s History Shows Little Tolerance for Racial Remarks
By Daniel Foster
The suggestion by Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) that then-candidate Barack Obama was especially viable as a “light-skinned” African American who could switch on a “Negro dialect” at will stands in stark relief of Reid’s own history of admonishing adversaries for what he perceived as racially insensitive remarks.
When his comments were first reported in the book Game Change by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, Reid moved quickly to head off criticism, calling the president and other black leaders over the weekend to personally apologize. Mr. Obama readily accepted, saying of Reid that “I know what’s in his heart.” On Sunday Rep. Barbara Lee (D., Calif.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, joined suit and dismissed calls for Reid’s resignation, saying the senator’s voting record provided “a stark contrast to actions of Republicans to block legislation that would benefit poor and minority communities.”
But by Reid’s own standards his comments would seem to rise to the level of racism. In 2006, with the Senate poised to vote on making English the national language, Reid blasted the Republican-sponsored measure as “racist.” [h/t to Patterico]
