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July 20, 2006
Wait... Does Strickland Really Hate Black People?
That seems to be the message the Blackwell campaign is trying to spread. Ok, obviously hate is the wrong word, but it does remind me of some other political figure...
Anyways, check out what the Blackwell Campaign started distributing on the East Side of Cleveland this week:
Source: Ken Blackwell for Governor campaign
Yeah...
Here's what the Plain Dealer had to say about it:
Black voters should be afraid of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland, who is white.
That’s the implied message of a glossy new piece of campaign literature being distributed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell, who is black.
It features an image of a black man, dressed in a T-shirt and baggy sweatpants, who looks as if he’d just seen a ghost, mouth agape and hands up. The image is also distorted, which makes the man’s head as big as his torso. The headline reads: “Strickland for Governor? NO WAY!”
Residents in Cleveland’s East Side suburbs, which is home to more blacks than Cleveland’s West Side suburbs, received the flyer.
The flyer also cites numerous Strickland votes that Blackwell believes make him “wrong on education, wrong on religious freedom, wrong on crime, wrong on marriage rights and wrong on small business.”
Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo took umbrage with the assertion that the campaign literature has any racial overtones.
“We didn’t make Ted Strickland white and or Ken Blackwell black,” he said.
He said the flyer is simply “humorous and informative.”
LoParo said Blackwell’s campaign volunteers are distributing it across the state. Asked why the flyer is showing up in only East Side neighborhoods, LoParo said, “that’s where our volunteers are right now.”
Strickland’s campaign would not comment on the flyer's image. But spokesman Isaac Baker disputed the literature's spin on Strickland's voting record.
It notes, for instance, that Strickland voted against a 1998 amendment that, according to the flyer, “stated that no individual shall be excluded from any program or activity authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965, or any provision of this act on the basis of race or religion.”
Baker said the amendment, which failed, would have eliminated affirmative action programs used by universities during the admissions process.
“It’s just another example of Blackwell’s dishonesty,” Baker said. “Ted supports affirmative action programs."
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While noone chose what race the candidates would be, someone did make a decision about those flyers. What do you think about Blackwell's decision to bring race into this ..well.. gubernatorial race? Can it backfire? Is it an area Blackwell could win over? Also, seeing how the Ohio Republican Party keeps charging that Ted Strickland is a bleeding heart liberal, would he really be against civil rights and minority rights?
Anyways discuss amongst yourselves, I'm just getting antsy to see where this race is going to go.
Posted by ear14 at July 20, 2006 08:25 AM
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Comments
I think saying that any candidate is a racist is a lie 99% of the time. Unless you're in congress and you were in the KKK, I think the candidate is safe.
Posted by: Chad at July 21, 2006 06:35 AM
Well to an extent true enough, but haven't you heard the Avenue Q song "Everyone's a little bit racist"?
Anyways, the issue here isn't about an individual being racist, but it is about playing up racial issues, similar to playing up religious issues.
How the candidates attack each other shows how they think people will vote or decide. Therefore, I'm just interested that Blackwell is playing up the race issue since it could backfire, seeing that traditionally minorities tend to favor Democrats.
However, as the race goes on I'm sure both sides will try and court every kind of vote they can get.
Posted by: Elis at July 21, 2006 09:02 AM
Of course if you want to get technical about it, Blackwell is the only candidate running for governor who has spoken to a conference of anti-semites and kkk members.
Posted by: Andrew at August 1, 2006 01:45 PM