Obama Wades Into Ugly Tennessee House Primary

[jefferson_dem]

Well stated, (soon-to-be) President Obama. :patriot:

Obama Wades Into Ugly Tennessee House Primary

August 07, 2008 1:21 PM

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, waded into the ugly politics being waged in today's Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District's Democratic primary.

“These incendiary and personal attacks have no place in our politics," Obama said in a statement, "and will do nothing to help the good people of Tennessee. It’s time to turn the page on a politics driven by negativity and division so that we can come together to lift up our communities and our country."

Interestingly, Obama was referring to attacks being waged against the white incumbent, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., by an African-American challenger, corporate attorney Nikki Tinker.

Tinker has been accused of playing some of the more ugly racial politics of the campaign season.

She put the image of a Klansman standing before a burning cross in a TV ad to drive home the point that Cohen, as a member of the downtown development board in 2005, opposed renaming a park that is named for Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a founder of the Ku Klux Klan. (Watch the ad HERE.)

But what aroused the condemnation of Sen. Obama is Tinker's new TV ad that not-so-subtly points out that Cohen is Jewish.

The ad states that Cohen has voted against allowing children to pray in schools "while he's in OUR churches slapping hands and tapping his feet."

<SNIP>

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/obama-wades-int.html

[Gabi Hayes]

1. smart move! no chance in Tennessee, so he doesn't have to worry about

black voters there, and it will help him among scaredy cat white voters nationwide. jewish voters, too

assuming they hear about this

[Zynx]

2. I'm glad he spoke out on this. He won this district in the primary in February so he'll have some

pull in swaying voters there.

[DAMANgoldberg]

3. K&R

Ms Tinker is from my hometown in Alabama and while I didn't know her then, I knew of her. However, she seems to imply that this seat is black only because it has always been black. Wrong answer! She had her chance earlier this yr and Steve Cohen ran a better campaign and represents the district well. She will lose again.

full disclosure: I am (whisper) Black!