Just recently....
First, Rep. J.D. Hayworth.
Second, Sen. George Allen & "macaca."
Third, Tramm Hudson, an "expert" on swimming and race.
Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, referred to his house painter as "a nice little Guatemalan man" and suggested that worker as well as employees of a roofing company he hired might be in the country illegally.
"The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see your green card?'" Burns said at a June meeting recorded by Democrats. "And Hugo says, 'No.' I said, 'Oh gosh.'"
Burns spokesman Jason Klindt said the worker, Hugo Reyes, is legally in the United States, owns a painting company and the senator "never had any doubt" that Reyes is a legal resident. "He was telling an anecdotal story about a time he took the extra step to make sure a worker was legal," Klindt said.
Burns, who voted against a Senate bill this year that would have offered millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship, also joked about the issue at a debate against his Democratic opponent, Jon Tester, earlier this year.
Of course, for all of them, once can imagine that Republican Jews will say, "Who cares about what they think about non-whites -- if they support Israel, NOTHING else is relevant!"
Am I exaggerating?
I don't think so.
The most recent Forward, re Hayworth and Henry Ford's anti-Semitism:
Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, defended Hayworth, pointing out his commitment to the Jewish state. “J.D. Hayworth has been a longstanding and unhesitating supporter of Israel,” Brooks said. “His views on Henry Ford not withstanding, this is in no way a reflection on his own personal actions and his support for the Jewish community during his time in Congress.”
Brooks declined to answer any follow-up questions.
For more on Burns, check out the jump.
Burns, 71, has had to apologize in the past for controversial comments.
In July, he confronted members of a firefighting team at the Billings airport and told them they had done a "piss-poor job," according to a state report. The Hotshot crew had traveled 2,000 miles from Staunton, Va., to help dig fire lines for about a week around a 143-square-mile wildfire east of Billings.
The crew was awaiting flights home when Burns made his comments. The senator, who has a house in Billings, said he was expressing the frustration of ranchers who were critical of the way the fire was handled. He later apologized.
In 1999, Burns issued a written apology after referring to Arabs as "rag heads" during a speech while commenting on oil prices.
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