Virginia 'Brer' Foxx Drops 'Tar Baby' Bomb *Rep. Virginia Foxx* (R-N.C.), a relatively new face of the House GOP attack machine, has angered some Democrats with her use of the racially charged term "tar baby" during a House floor speech Wednesday. [image: Virginia Foxx] Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) finds herself in a sticky situation.(Linda Davidson / TWP)
As she lambasted Democrats for their plan to ban bonuses for executives of corporations that took government bailout (TARP) money, Foxx said, "I thought about just a common sense way to describe this to people: the Democrats have a tar baby on their hands and they simply can't get away from it. They are stuck on this problem." She reiterated, "They've got a tar baby. They are not going to shift it off to the Republicans." But now it seems Foxx is the one who's facing a sticky situation. Foxx, who tends to target newly elected Democratic House members, has particularly irked *Rep. Chris Van Hollen* (D-Md.). One of his main duties as assistant to the speaker is to work closely with freshmen and sophomore House Democrats. Van Hollen's spokesman, *Doug Thornell*, said Thursday, "What does it say about House Republicans that they turn to a member like Virginia Foxx, who spews racially offensive comments from a bygone era, to be their attack dog on the House floor? This is yet another example of how out of touch they are with the rest of the country." A senior aide to a prominent member of the Congressional Black Caucus criticized Foxx for suggesting she was looking for a "common sense" way to describe the Democrats' plan to limit corporate pay. "There are millions of other 'common sense' words, terms, and analogies in the English language that would have been less offensive and arguably more effective in her debate," the aide said, adding, "I recommend she edit her vocabulary." Foxx's spokesman did not return phone calls and an email seeking comment on whether the congresswoman realized the term may be considered offensive. Foxx isn't the first politician to step in the "tar baby" briar patch. Two years ago on the campaign trail in Iowa, *Sen. John McCain *(R-Ariz.) apologized for using the term "tar baby"<http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/16/mccain-apologizes-for-tar-baby-moment/>when answering a question about federal intervention in divorce cases. One of McCain's rivals, *Mitt Romney*, the former governor of Massachusetts, also wound up apologizing for referring to Boston's "Big Dig" fiasco<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/31/politics/main1851199.shtml>as a "tar baby." *Sen. John Kerry* (D-Mass.) also caught flack for using the term<http://www.womanist-musings.com/2008/07/john-kerry-and-tar-baby.html>last year. Although the term has a literary and cultural history -- Nobel Prize-winning author *Toni Morrison*, used it as the title of her fourth novel<http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/tonimorrison/taressay.htm>-- over time it has come to be seen as a racial epithet. And who can forget Disney's "Song of the South"<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX44YHK5Bik>about Uncle Remus and the Tar Baby? That certainly caused its fair share of controversy. But if politically motivated Democrats are hoping the "tar baby" comment will have an impact on Foxx's reelection chances, they're out of luck, says *Joel Thompson*, a professor of political science at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., which is part of Foxx's district. "This is a very conservative and very 'white' district," Thompson says. "The only significant concentration of African Americans in the district is in Forsyth County. Somewhat like her idol, *Jesse Helms*, Foxx is not fearful of being labeled racist." Nor is she afraid of the press writing negative stories about her. "I think she would claim that this is just another example of the 'liberal mainstream media' (a term that plays pretty well in the district) trying to get to her," says Thompson. -- "I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle, but if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." ~Marilyn Monroe --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Black Focus Inc." group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Black-Focus-Inc?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
