GOP scheme to supress the black
vote is back, nastier than ever
Errol Louis NY Daily News
In nine urban communities throughout the swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri, poisonous ads have popped up on black radio shows from a group calling itself People of Color United. The ads feature purely personal, racialized attacks on Democrat John Kerry - in fact, none of them mentions President Bush or asks listeners to vote for him.
Here's a sample:
"Our community doesn't need another wishy-washy, rich white politician, and boy, does Kerry come across as rich, white and wishy-washy."
Another ad says: "His wife [Mozambique-born Teresa Heinz Kerry] says she's an African-American. While technically true, I don't believe a white woman, raised in Africa, surrounded by servants, qualifies."
Rodney Capel, New York director of the Kerry campaign, predicts the tactic won't work. "We have no doubt these Republican- financed attacks ads are absolutely designed to suppress voter turnout," he says. "We believe African-Americans will tune them out and instead tune into the positive message of the Kerry-Edwards campaign."
