The prize – and he will likely keep it for some time – goes to Louisiana Democrat Party press flack Kevin Franck, who put out a statement in answer to new charges of skeletons in Cedric Richmond’s closet which ups the ante on left-wing accusations of racism.
“Joseph Cao and his allies are trying to take New Orleans politics back to the bad old days of Leander Perez and the White Citizens Council…Mr. Cao clearly thinks that an orchestrated whisper campaign based on racist stereotypes of African-American men will help him win votes, but those shameful race-baiting tactics have no place in today’s New Orleans.”
Franck’s statement was reported in an article by the Times-Picayune which delved into the various odors emanating from Richmond’s history. That article included rumors that Richmond has an issue with how he treats women – rumors we’ve mentioned here on the Hayride as well, as it’s been out there for a long time that he’s a creep and doesn’t behave himself.
It’s ironic that Franck would consider rumors that Richmond is a masher “based on racist stereotypes of African-American men.” Uh, no, Kevin. If Richmond has a history of mistreating women it’s his problem. It’s not an indictment of black guys. And it’s not racial stereotypes which make it look plausible that Richmond might be guilty of such behavior; it’s his involvement in that bar fight in Baton Rouge in 2007.
Richmond’s side of the bar fight story is below…
Compare that with the tale a witness to the fracas has to offer, which we’ve linked before…
You can believe who you want to believe, but if you believe the witness at all it’s not hard to draw the conclusion that Richmond’s a pretty unpleasant fellow and one who isn’t a particularly good carousing companion – and maybe he’s not a particularly good guy to be dating, either.
And it has nothing whatsoever to do with the question whether Richmond is African-American.
Franck ought to apologize to the black community in Louisiana. That one black guy who’s running for office is being accused of improper behavior shouldn’t be writ large to impugn an entire class of people – even if it’s meant to “defend” them against “stereotypes.” Nobody had made such an inference until Franck did it.
But it’s nothing new. Franck spews idiotic non-sequiturs for a living, and the Democrats as a whole have only tired charges of racism to offer to a public sick of their dishonesty. Richmond’s camp might profit from kicking the racial antpile in an effort to obscure an examination of the allegations in question, but those of us who vote in places other than the 2nd District will make sure they pay a price on Nov. 2.
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