gop plays the same old racist card

The Tennessee Senate race to replace Bill "I wanna be President" Frist is tighter than expected, with Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr. staying close to GOP candidate Bob Corker.

So the Republican National Committee has turned to the GOP's old standby in a contest involving a black Democrat: racism. This political ad -- with the RNC responsible for its content -- features a bunch of people saying inane or insulting things about Ford, like "Terrorists need privacy too." Ok, whatever. But it also includes a blonde woman -- a WHITE woman -- saying she met Ford at the "Playboy party" and asking him to call her.

Subtle subtext: Harold Ford is uppity and wants to fuck white women, so all you good ol' boys out there, don't vote for him. Or as Josh Marshall somewhat more politely puts it, 'Harold Ford is an uppity negro who does the wild thing with white women.'

I guess Ken Mehlman's apology to the NAACP in Milwaukee a few months ago for the fact that Republicans used racism for politicaladvantage doesn't apply any longer. Maybe he thought it gave him a clean slate to start over again with the slurs.