GOP Rep. Uses Term 'Tar Baby' In Memo About Obama, Election

In a 20-page memo on GOP electoral woes, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) repeatedly misspells Barack Obama's name - it's one R, congressman, not two -- and then manages to use the racially charged term "tar baby" in a paragraph about Obama and immigration.

"Remember," Davis writes, "Hispanic voters are a swing group in this election and future elections. John McCain, being from a border state, may be out of sync with many Republicans but he has standing among Hispanics. Barrack Obama has not made the sale to Hispanic voters. Thus, this issue is a tar baby for anyone who touches it, with land mines everywhere."

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[brend]

Good for him my exact thoughts.

[merle7]

AND THE GOP WAS NOT GOING TO MAKE THIS A BOUT RACE LOL

THE REPUBLICANS ARE LIARS AND HYPOCRITES,WHO CLAM TO BE RELIGIOUS !!!!!

[merle7]

POOR WHITE TRASH HOW OFFENSIVE ARE THOSE TERMS????

[merle7]

1. tar baby 332 up, 211 down

Tar baby is a synonym for nigger, except that it is only used in bigoted manners, whereas nigger can be a sign of respect, if the speaker is also African American.

[FreeSpeech200854]

I'm African American...and I can't stand to hear it from ANYBODY!!

[BrickSykes]

Good for you, man!

Brick

[edsel]

I'm going to go out on a limb here I'll say about 75% of repiglicans are racist any way so why would it be a surprise that a repig. represantative woul use a term like that.

[luziannagirl]

Angelus2007 made an insightful comment, which taken along with the high number of posters claiming to be black, who've been called "tar baby" or heard the term used as a racial slur, have changed my mind about defending the legitimacy of its use in both everyday and polite language.

She/he likens the use of "tar baby" to the use of the diminutive term "sweetie", when uttered by strangers or those in higher positions, to a grown woman. As a grown woman who detests being called "sweetie" under those circumstances, I understand and agree. I've also heard males not used to being routinely dismissed because of their gender , who say they have difficulty seeing the problem with being called "sweetie" by strangers. They just think it's sweet.

It can be really subtle, though, and seems to vary by region. In some areas of the country, diminutive terms of endearment do not seem to be used in a dismissive fashion at all. Here, the French "cher" is very common among friends, family, and strangers, and not considered at all offensive or dismissive. That I know of, at least. Maybe if my French was any better, I might take offense!

So,although I still suspect there are those out there who've elevated being offended into high art and who are doing more political and perhaps social damage than good in that arena, it's no more "tar baby" for me.

[frumke]

I'm on both sides of this argument. I think Davis thought about his comment and meant his comment exactly as much as Barack meant that people are religious because they are bitter, exactly as much as Michelle really meant that she is not proud of America, exactly as much as McCain really meant we should keep fighting in Iraq for 100 years, etc.

Every one of those statements (yes, including McCain's statement) was a good thought that got garbled before it came out of the mouth. So either (A) it is completely fair to attack all of them, or (B) all sides should let all of them go. Originally, both McCain and Obama said they would go with (B). McCain has predictably abandoned that pledge. What about Obama?

[ColoradoPete]

Look at the context the phrase was used in, and get a life!!

Maybe someone should contact Microsoft and have them revise their Microsoft Word program to exclude all racially sensitive words from ever being used in a printed document, regardless of the context. That would fix everything,, wouldn't it???

[McPander]

I guess we have found HRC's running mate, I'm sure he is for "Hard Working Americans, White Americans"

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Well since the first time I heard "tar baby" was in a Sade song about South African racists calling Sade "tar baby" when she was growing up the only reference I knew was a racist reference until now. No matter how you cut it when a phrase has two meanings and you apply it when talking about someone who it might offend then it will inevitably be interpreted as a racist comment.

If he said something in one sentence about Obama and said "call a spade a spade" in the next sentence the worst connotation for that phrase will be applied.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

The important think politically this is Davis' macaca moment. The Dems will gain another seat in the Fall.

People who are trying to spin this just sound pathetic. In the context he was talking about Obama and used a racial epitaph in the next sentence. It was an obvious slur whether it came from his conscious or subconscious mind.

I don't know if anyone caught Hillary's Freudian slip yesterday on CNN. When asked if she would support Obama in the fall she said she would support "Senator McCai....Senator Obama" in the general election. The subconscious is much more powerful than we realize.

[cdub1991]

Interesting comments. I'm wondering whether people who argue that they think the use of the term was correct and therefore not offensive are being honest or just making a disingenuous argument. I really am just curious. I'm black, but I admit that, while my ears prick up when I hear the term, I don't go into a tizzy because I understand that most whites honestly don't realize that some of us find the term offensive. I would hope that folks would take this as a learning opportunity instead of simply arguing that folks are being politically correct. Any linguist will tell you that words and terms change their meaning and connotation over time and the term tar baby is in the process of undergoing such a change. Whether it's right or wrong is irrelevant--that's the way language works.

[frumke]

And an interesting question. I did not know until recently that it is considered an offensive term, and I previously had on occasion used the term to describe a difficult situation. Now I feel terrible. I have several co-workers who are African American (some prefer "Black Americans", as they are not of African descent), and a few of my daughters' very closest friends are Black. I wish someone had told me sooner. I now avoid the term, but I could imagine myself using the term by accident ... old habits are difficult to break.

By the way, no one ever explained why the term is offensive. This is a serious question, and I hope you will take it in the spirit it is intended. If it is not painful to do so, would you mind explaining how the term is derogatory? I mean, is it a slang term for a Black person, or does it mean something else?

Thank you.

BTW, I am a 50+ white male Obama supporter. Originally supported Clinton, but switched after hearing Obama in the debates.

[PAposter]

I find it hard to believe that well educated, predominantly wealthy men, who have been elected to office to represent a district of Americans in the UNITED States Government, actually like to be recognized, for whatever reason, as the Proud Racists. I find a way to tolerate the older Republicans, they lived through a different time, but when young men take on this label, I just don't get it. It's one thing to support your party's policies, but there is certainly something to be a said about, "being your own man". I Reject the weak explanation for the usage of this term, from Congressman Tom Davis. I hope he doesn't have any children that will have to pay for his race baiting rhetoric. What an embarrassment to moderate Republicans.

[crl9]

There seem to be only two possible options to consider here: Davis is either an ignorant, clueless individual with below average spelling skills or a nasty, dismissive racist. Neither of those options bodes well for a public servant. One hopes that his constituents will take this into account and never return him to any elected position. There are no possible explainations that Davis is worthy of any office.

[MsLiz]

I have been educated by these comments. As a lifelong Southerner, my mother told me the stories of Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit, and I learned about the tar baby in the context of these stories. Never did I hear the term "tar baby" used to refer to a Black person. Of course, in my family, one would never use any of the derogatory terms for Blacks, and we did not associate with people who talked that way. Some may not believe me, but it is true. We aren't all alike!

Dialogue is good.

[groucho]

Really? The only time I have ever heard the term has been with a black person (or the fable). Noone ever in 5 years said Bush had a tar baby because of the mess in Iraq.

And remember when all the residents of Jenna, insisted there was nothing racial about the nooses hanging from the school tree, why those kids didn't even know about the history of lynching. This despite they grew up in Louisiana.

White people always deny racism, unless they feel the butt of it. (I'm white, and I'm sick of this stupid excuse)

[meanguy]

maybe you need to do some reading beyone PuffHo...'tar baby' refers to an issue you don't want to touch because it sticks to you and you can't get free of it. the memo used the term in EXACTLY that context! hypersensitive people predisposed to see the entire world thru the prism of race are their own worst enemy...GROW UP, people! we're not about to reinvent the language in order to appease the immature

[swooge]

In all honesty, the term "tar baby" was used correctly and was not used to denote Barack Obama but a situation which gets the one person entangled in a mess. But, it is in bad taste and a better term could have been used. "Quagmire" or "quicksand" could have been used.