Ken Mehlman’s GOP: Use of Disparaging Racist Stereotype Is Not Racist

Brian Zick

Tim Russert interviewed Ken Mehlman about the Republican National Committee's anti-Harold Ford TV ad running in Tennessee, and asked point blank if Mehlman would pull the ad given the outrage voiced over its stereotypically racist component (uppity negro chasing white women for sex). Mehlman said he "disagreed" with the racist characterization, and furthermore claimed that he - the charirman of the RNC - had no authority to withdraw the ad authorized and paid for by the RNC. Crooks and Liars has the video.

The text is from the poem “QUADRENNIAL” by Golden, reprinted with permission. It was first published in the Poetry Project. Inside front cover photo by Golden.
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