Monday’s political round-up

July 31, 2006

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* With just over a week before the Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut, some major newspaper endorsements ran. The state’s two largest newspapers, the Hartford Courant and Connecticut Post both ran editorials backing Sen. [tag]Joe Lieberman[/tag], as did the Washington Post, but the New York Times endorsed challenger [tag]Ned Lamont[/tag], concluding that Lieberman had become an “enabler” for Republican policies.

* In Virginia, Sen. [tag]George Allen[/tag] (R) continues to lead former Navy Secretary [tag]James Webb[/tag] (D) by double digits. In a Mason-Dixon poll released yesterday, Allen is ahead, 48% to 32%.

* The latest Rasmussen poll in Tennessee shows Rep. [tag]Harold Ford[/tag] (D) still trailing his GOP rivals, but by significantly different margins. The poll shows former Chattanooga Mayor [tag]Bob Corker[/tag] (R) leading Ford 49% to 37%, former Rep. Van Hilleary (R) is ahead 44% to 40%, and former Rep. Ed Bryant (R) is up 44% to 41%. Republicans will pick their candidate this week, and recent polls show Corker with a big lead.

* The New York Daily News today profiled [tag]John Spencer[/tag]’s (R) Senate campaign against Sen. Hillary Clinton, and quoted one former aide saying the campaign is “a total mess,” with poor fundraising and three top staff members quietly departing, including Spencer’s campaign manager, spokesman, and top consultant.

* And in 2008 news, Massachusetts Gov. [tag]Mitt Romney[/tag] (R) was campaigning in Iowa over the weekend, and responded to the recent controversy over structural problems with the Big Dig highway project. Romney told an audience, “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.” Romney’s office later apologized. “The governor was describing a sticky situation,” said Eric Fehrnstrom, the governor’s spokesman. “He was unaware that some people find the term objectionable, and he’s sorry if anyone was offended.”

July 31, 2006 at 12:14 pm

“The best thing for me to do politically is stay away from the Big Dig….”
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R)

Isn’t it nice to know that Republicans “still” run away from their responsibilities? This clown jumped into the Big Dig mess with the classic “I’m-in-charge-here” mantra—and now that it’s blowing up in his face, he runs away to Iowa.

Romney is a tail tucking, cowardly yellow dog….

Didn’t Tony Snow just get in trouble for a similar “tar baby” reference? Romney “didn’t know” it’s offensive? What world are these people living in? Yeah, I know the Rebulicant parallel universe.

The Tar Baby is such a good metaphor. It’s a shame it is racially tainted. Maybe we can switch to the Vietnam Baby or the Iraq Baby instead. What would be a good metaphor for a sticky situation that just gets worse the more you fight it?

“Tar pit”. There’s nothing wrong with tar pits as a metaphor for getting enmired in a sticky mess – that’s exactly what they do to you. That’s clearly what he meant. But what frame of mind causes the Freudian slip of “tar baby” when you meant “tar pit”?

Steve — Great call.

Wells-

“Tar Baby” is the correct (albeit perhaps objectionably offensive) term. From Wikipedia:

“A tar baby is a form of a character from African folklore where ‘gum, wax, or other sticky material is used to trap a person.’

“As an American colloquialism, a tar baby is a ‘sticky situation from which it is difficult to extract one’s self’.

“In Southern black speech in the 19th century, the word “baby” referred to both a baby and a child’s “doll.” Thus, the expression “tar baby” meant a tar doll or tar mannequin. For an example of such a character in popular American culture see Br’er Rabbit.

“Recently some groups have started to claim that the term may also carry a negative connotation, alleging that it has been used as a derogatory term for dark skinned people (such as African Americans in the United States or Maoris in New Zealand). [1] Another claim is that it can refer to an especially dark skinned black person.”

What a mess indeed. Mitt’s remarks are already featured on Wikipedia!

That VA Senate poll is really, really bad news for Allen. Besides the usual principle that an incumbent should never be below 50 percent in any poll, 20 percent are undecided.

Larry Sabato thinks that with undecideds factored in, Webb is easily over 40 percent–meaning he’s actually 8-10 points behind. To say the least, this is very bad news for a guy who’s been in elective office in Virginia for most of the time since 1991.

It’s time those who are offended by the correct usage of the term “tar baby” get over it. It’s up to them to understand when it’s used in a non-racial way to get on with life.

Steve – Though the article doesn’t explain the comment you quoted, Romney wasn’t running away from the problem. He recently took control of the Big Dig from whoever had it(transit authority?) and transferred it to the governor’s office. He was saying that it would be a smart thing not to take control(since any problems get attached to him), but he had to do it because of all the problems. I can see where the confusion comes from and I only comment so that attacks on Repubicans are truthful.

For an example of such a character in popular American culture see Br’er Rabbit

That’s where I heard the term. If the term is now considered racially insulting, is it unacceptable to read the Br’er Rabbit or the other African American folktales? If so, what a loss. Those folktales are a valuable part of our cultural heritage. So sad.

Thanks eadie. I stand corrected. (Though personally, I’d still go with tar pits if I wanted a colorful metaphor.)

You can pry “tar baby” from my cold, dead lips.

It is a great story and a useful metaphor. I have NEVER heard of it being a racist term prior to Mitt Romney’s use of the phrase (Somehow, I missed the Tony Snow hubbub).

I don’t deny that it may have been used as such in the past. But it certainly isn’t today.

When are these African-American “leaders” going to stop trying to score these pyrrhic victories? Sure, they get to feel powerful for 15 minutes as Snow or Romney back down. But, in the end, they advance the Republican agenda by reinforcing the view that accusations of racism never more than P.C. whining. Intelligent people reject the logic that you should be condemned as “insensitive” for using an allegedly racist term despite your abject ignorance of any racist connotations.

This might be a touchy question but I really would like to know. Having lived in both majority Caucasian and Majority African American cities, I have only heard the term “Tar Baby” used racially by African Americans putting down other African Americans for having darker skin. Has this ever been a popular derogatory term used by Caucasians? I’ve never heard it from a Caucasian and from talking to Caucasian people, they tend to have not heard of it.

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