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A string of racist emails featuring slurs against Barack Obama have been circulating among the Republican Party, it was revealed today.
The most recent of these include portraits of the first 43 American presidents followed by a picture of cartoon eyeballs set against an entirely dark background.
The offensive email was sent by Sherri Goforth, who works as a legislative assistant for the Republican leadership in the Tennessee state senate.
Ms Goforth, who has been allowed to keep her job following the discovery, said she regretted sending it to the wrong email list.
“I inadvertently hit the wrong button,” she said. “I'm very sick about it and it's one of those things I can't change or take back.”
Earlier this month Diann Jones, a vice-chairman of the Collin Count Republican Party in Texas, apologised for an email that denounced plans fro a tax on guns as “another terrific idea from the black house and its minions”.
In February, Dean Grose, the mayor of Los Alamitos in California, sent an email to a black businesswoman, depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons.
He later defended himself saying he was not aware of the stereotype that the African-American diet consisted of watermelon and fried chicken.
And just after Mr Obama's inauguration Carol Carter, a member of Florida's state Republican committee, referring to those that drowned in Hurricane Katrina, wrote to colleagues saying “I'm confused.
How can 2,000,000 blacks get into Washington DC in one day in sub zero temps when 200,000 couldn't get out of New Orleans in 85 degree temps with four days notice?”
Although Ms Carter was forced to resign, the local Republican executive defended her saying she doesn't have a racist bone in her body'.
Michael Steele, the party's first black National Committee chairman admitted winning ethnic minority votes was going to be difficult as too many officials “don't give a damn”.
To them, he said, “outreach means let's throw a cocktail party, find some black folks and Hispanics and women, wrap our arms around them - See, look at us'. And then we go back to the same old, same old.”
Reader views (3)
That said... there's NO excuse for ANYone slagging the man down because of his race. If they can't think of anything else to say about the man and his politics then they aren't taking the matter seriously in the first place. They definitely aren't paying attention.
The man's socialism is going to take the USA down the same road that socialism has taken Great Britain, only it's going to be in one giant step. The impact of stuff that Brits would merely blink at will stagger Americans who think they can have all the 'wouldn't it be nice' stuff the socialists promise at the drop of a hat, without losing anything that they actually already have.
Racism is a non-argument. It is the refuge of the weak in mind who need excuses for their own failures. If they can't oppose him for his actual faults, they need to go and hide their heads in shame for putting their knee jerk perceptions and intellect, minimal though they apparently are, open to public scrutiny and ridicule.
- Rogan, Irving
so slurs against George Bush were ok, kindest that I saw was that his parents were married but not to each other.
- William, Haywards Heath UK
Why is it only ever assumed that racists are in the so-called right wing parties (meaning centre-right)? Never met a socialist racist? You must have an awful lot of bruises, walking around with your eyes closed as you do!
- Rogan, Irving
