Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a loyal Clinton supporter, committed one of those "gaffes" the other day, when he told a Pittsburgh newspaper that some conservative whites in Pennsylvania "are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate." He also noted that had his 2006 election opponent, Lynn Swann, been white, the election would have been closer.
In doing so, Rendell has pissed off the following groups:
- White Keystone State non-racists, thinking Rendell has insulted them by implication.
- Fellow Hillary supporters, feeling guilty that they could win the Pennsylvania primary on the backs of racist anti-Barack voters.
- Obama supporters, thinking Rendell is using coded racial language by encouraging whites to vote with their own race.
- Republicans, who think the worst thing on the planet is "making a race issue out of everything, and what about Sharpton? DUKE LACROSSE! DUKE LACROSSE!"
- Actual Pennsylvania racists, upset about being associated with both Hillary and Rendell.
None of this changes the fact that Rendell is pretty much undisputably right, in that there are certain people in Pennsylvania who aren't too keen on candidates of color. And it's not just in rural areas- what about Philadelphia? Ten percent of the city isn't even okay with a black quarterback, let alone a black president.
Posted by Stephen Silver at February 13, 2008 10:56 PM