If you missed Michael Shear's article Tuesday in the Washington Post, you really need to read it. This has got to be one of the worst slams of the Kilgore campaign I've ever seen, all but accusing it of out-and-out racism. Here's the story, according to Shear:
Last week, the Republican candidate for governor announced a "steering committee" of about 90 African Americans he said showed that his campaign was reaching out to the minority community. Earlier, he had been running radio ads in urban areas asking blacks to give him a chance.The Richmond Free Press, the city's leading black newspaper, then did an article.
So far, so good, right?
But the article, titled "Kilgore Unveils Team" is not full of praise for Kilgore. In fact, in the third graph, it concludes that "most of the members of what the former attorney general called his African-American leadership team seem to be dyed-in-the-wool Republicans who are as loyal to their party as Yellow Dog Democrats and have little track record of success in garnering black support for the GOP."
Yikes.
But that's not the worst. The same paper carried two letters to the editor that took Kilgore to task. One, titled "Kilgore Hostile to Equality" chides him for his policies regarding affirmative action, housing and employment discrimination. It also questions Kilgore's appearance at an NAACP function.
"While Mr. Kilgore may smile and offer up praise before various organizations dedicated to equality, he should be reminded that actions speak louder than words," the letter said.
Another letter echoed the first, saying that "it's one thing to show up and posture at a reception, but another thing entirely to actually do something positive."
"Yikes" is right -- this is extremely revealing, in a highly negative way that is, about Kilgore's whole attitude towards African Americans. Not to mention Kilgore's attitude regarding issues of concern to the African American community. In other words, if you're a Virginia African American, Jerry Kilgore is bad, bad news.
By the way, how did Kilgore's spokesman, Tim Murtaugh, respond to the criticism leveled by Richmond's leading African American newspaper? Not graciously, that's for sure:
These are card-carrying Democrats. It's not surprising that they react violently when a Republican shows success in reaching out to the African American community.
OK, now, let me get this straight. The Kilgore campaign is saying that any African Americans who don't agree with Kilgore are "violent?" Was this a Freudian slip, a wild overstatement, or did I hear this right? Did Tim Murtaugh just use some classic, racist code language I haven't heard in years, in response to some perfectly civil letters to the editor in an African American newspaper? Or, could the Kilgore campaign's response actually be calculated? Could this be the Jerry Kilgore/Scott Howell version of Richard Nixon's infamous, racist "southern strategy," which Republican Chairman Ken Mehlman just "apologized" for this very day? I sure hope not.
Meanwhile, whatever Ken Mehlman was doing today, the NAACP members listening to him in the audience were distinctly NOT impressed, giving the Republican Party leader a "tepid response, including a few groans and hoots." Likewise, it appears that Virginia African Americans have given the Kilgore campaign's supposed "reaching out" the same exact sarcastic, angry "groans and hoots." I can just imagine what their reaction will be when they hear what Tim Murtaugh had to say. Wow.