The GOP would have more credibility …

posted at 3:50 pm on June 16, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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… if its staffers would quit sending out e-mails like this:

Newscoma posted details of a racist email sent from Sherri Goforth, legislative aid for Sen. Diane Black (R-Gallatin). The email depicts the Presidents of the United States with President Barack Obama as a pair of eyes in a black background.

I spoke with Sherri Goforth minutes ago to confirm she sent this email. She confirmed she had sent it and also said she had received a letter of reprimand from her superiors but said she will stay on the job.

When I asked her if she understood the controversial nature of the photo, Goforth would only say she felt very bad about accidentally sending it to the wrong list. When I gave her a second chance to address the controversial nature of the email, she again repeated that she only felt bad about sending it to the wrong list of people.

… and if the staffers in question would quit offering excuses like this:

“I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button,” Goforth told NIT. “I’m very sick about it, and it’s one of those things I can’t change or take back.”

You can see the image at the link; I’ll skip reproducing it here. It’s well described by Nashville Is Talking, and it’s undeniably racist in nature. Given that, I’m at a loss as to why the Tennessee GOP kept Goforth in her position. Part of her job, whether explicitly stated or not, isnot to embarrass the Republican Party.  Goforth just got an epic fail on that key mission.  Keeping her, especially after the apology not for sending the picture at all but just for sending it to the wrong people, gives the distinct impression that the GOP considers this a minor issue and not a major blow to our credibility with black voters.

Tommy Christopher calls this the worst apology of the week.  So far, it might be the worst apology of the year.

Conservatives just spent the last week roasting David Letterman for his crude and misogynistic remarks about Sarah Palin’s daughters.  We need to demand the same level of responsibility from our own side, especially from within the Republican Party.

Update: AC Kleinheider says Ms. Goforth isn’t really a player in the game.  I understand what he’s saying, but I think he underestimates how this can damage the party.  If secretaries at the Tennessee Democratic Party were passing along racist or misogynistic e-mails, Republicans would rightly rip the Dems for it.

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