Mitt Romney, Talk Radio, "Tar Baby" Remark

MITT TO BE TIED

With Latest Campaign Controversy, Some Smell A Rat





If you thought this year's political silly season might not kick off until at least September, you've obviously been away from today's news.

After a political correctness- run- amok flap smacked Republican Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney upside the head Monday, Boston- area talk show hosts and callers were fit to be tied. Many found the controversy to be simply absurd.

At issue: Romney used the phrase "tar baby", which depending on its usage, can apparently have racist overtones.

Though it also received a significant amount of national coverage, including a Drudge Report link, this was a major story in Boston.

From the Boston Herald's Laurel J Sweet:

Prominent black Bay Staters are outraged by Gov. Mitt Romney’s use of the words “tar baby” to describe the Big Dig as he stumped for presidential points in Iowa.

“Tar baby is a totally inappropriate phrase in the 21st century. If Calvin Coolidge didn’t use it, why the hell should Mitt Romney?” railed Larry Jones, a black Republican and civil rights activist.

Tar baby can refer to a sticky mess, but it also has been recognized as an epithet to humiliate black people. President Bush’s spokesman Tony Snow learned that in May when his expression, “I don’t want to hug the tar baby of trying to comment on the program,” raised the hackles of political correctness.

Romney, who made the remark while addressing a couple hundred Republicans at a picnic in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, offered an apology yesterday through the Herald and his spokesman, Eric Fernstrom.

“The governor was describing a sticky situation,” Fernstrom explained. “He was unaware that some people find the term objectionable and he’s sorry if anyone’s offended.”

When asked about the potential political millstone that is the Big Dig, Romney told Iowans, “The best thing for me to do politically is stay away from the Big Dig - just get as far away from that tar baby as I possibly can.”

David Deyoe, Iowa’s Story County Republican chairman, said he heard some “chuckles” in the audience, but believes Romney “was basically just trying to make it clear to everyone it (the Big Dig) was something he wanted to get away from. Clearly, that’s what he meant.”

Tar Baby was also a character in the Uncle Remus Tales - a doll made of tar that traps Brer Rabbit when he beats it for not speaking to him.

“His reference to Uncle Remus at least shows he’s well-read,” Jones quipped of Romney.

But to some, this was no laughing matter.

“He (Romney) obviously has lived a sheltered life,” said Leonard Alkins, president of the Boston NAACP. “He’s completely disconnected with reality in terms of racial sensitivity. He just does not get it.”

Maurice Lewis, a former Boston television reporter who is black, said of Romney’s choice of words, “I just think it’s reflective of how he sees people who don’t look like him. Words like tar baby and pickaninny are deeply rooted in the segregation of America. They don’t have an ever-changing, ever-expanding meaning.”

Perhaps we do need to be educated on this topic. Could Mr Jones or Mr Lewis please explain why it isn't okay for Tony Snow or Romney to utter this phrase, but a song by Sade called "Tar Baby" is acceptable?


From Sade's "Tar Baby" (Promise / 1986)

Granma came to see

Some- thing she could not believe

How could her girl be

So naive

Tar baby, tar baby told
The secret she conceived

That big old smile of yours
Could turn the wind into a song
How could I have doubted
Honey it's with me you belong

Tar baby, tar baby
I love you so

Like a brand new blade
You cut into my life
Cut through two decades
Like a hot coal on ice

Tar baby, my tar baby
It maybe was meant to be
When I look at you
I can't believe my eyes

So why do some conservative media watchers smell a rat? First, the timing is suspicious, given Romney's recent improved standing at home in Massachusetts. That's a result of his leadership on the Big Dig mess, following a recent tunnel collapse that has shaken public confidence in the nearly $15 billion project.

In addition, it's been clear for some time that the strategy to deflate Mitt's potential presidential campaign is wait for just such a gaffe in order to pounce on the governor.

After all, that's exactly what brought down his father's (George W Romney) aspirations in 1968.

From Wikipedia:

He led the Constitutional Convention that revised Michigan's Constitution from 1961 to 1962 and followed this up with a successful 1962 campaign for Governor of Michigan. Romney was a strong supporter of civil rights and was generally considered a moderate Republican, perhaps a bit to the right of Nelson Rockefeller, but well to the left of Barry Goldwater or Ronald Reagan.

After toying with the idea of running for President in 1964, Romney decided to run in the 1968 election. However, in September 1967, he committed a gaffe during an interview with Detroit broadcaster Lou Gordon when he stated that he had gotten the "greatest brainwashing" after meeting with generals discussing the Vietnam War in 1965. The comment would severely damage his campaign.

Romney finished with 50 votes on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention (44 of MIchigan's 48 plus 6 of heavily Mormon Utah's 8), finishing fifth behind Richard Nixon of California (692 out of 1,333), Nelson Rockefeller of New York (277), Ronald Reagan of California (182) and James Rhodes of Ohio (55).

Will this controversy succeed in taking down Mitt's political aspirations? Not if a Boston Herald online poll is any indication:

Could Romney's 'tar baby' statement hurt his presidential aspirations?

32% -- Yes, it was a bad mistake
51% -- No, it's been blown out of proportion
17% -- It will be forgotten by the primaries

Welcome National Review Online readers! Thanks to Kathryn Lopez for the link today. Welcome also to Shot In The Dark and Memeorandum fans!

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