UPDATED: GOP ad so racist, the Republican wants it nixed [VIDEO]

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 8:00 AM on October 25, 2006.

The ad to the right, attacking black Democrat Harold Ford Jr., is only racist if your only definition of racism is calling someone a bad word. There are codes, used for decades in political speeches in the South and other regions, and apologized for by RNC chairman Ken Mehlman in a speech to the NAACP last year. Last year.

The pathetic ad has been denounced not only by the NAACP, but also by former Republican senator William Cohen ("overt racist appeal"), Vanderbilt Prof John Greene (says it makes Willie Horton look tame), and, not least, Ford's Republican challenger, Bob Corker.

Asked about the ad, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman claimed that he had no power of the ad that his money purchased because it was an "independent expenditure."

Josh Marshall, who summarized the ad as 'Harold Ford is an uppity negro who does the wild thing with white women,' writes:

"The ad is run by the RNC. Ken Mehlman is chairman of the RNC. He doesn't have the authority to take the ad down? What's he talking about? What exactly does it mean when the blurb at the end says 'The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertisement. Paid for by the Republican National Committee.'"

Update: Ken Mehlman called it "a fair ad... I just think those criticisms of it are wrong." I mean, if a preeminent cultural critic like Ken Mehlman thinks the NAACP is "wrong" who are we to interfere? (TPM)

Tagged as: racism, 2006, gop, campaign ad, election06

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.