Rising Kaine

Yesterday, I was reading blog posts across the internet about the Michael Steele announcement when I stumbled upon a blog which was extremely racist. The News Blog is operated by some guy named Steve Gilliard (apparently he is a somewhat well known blogger). There was a post regarding Steele's announcement where there is a doctored picture of him with the caption, "I's Simple Sambo and I's running for the Big House." You've got to see it to believe it.

Obviously, Gilliard is a liberal democrat.

So today, Tim Kaine's campaign (Democratic nominee for governor in Virginia,) requested that the site stop running ads that they had previously paid for. No reason was given as to why they wanted to stop running the ads but it is a bit obvious. But according to Steve Gilliard, Kaine is a coward.

Gilliard is miffed that the Kaine campaign didn't ask him to explain his actions before pulling the plug on the ads. Because if they had actually engaged him on the issue, they would surely change their minds! It was merely satirical after all. How could the Kaine campaign be so rude?

I've read some comments about the picture from people from both sides of the political spectrum but something jumped out at me. Gilliard is (apparently) black. One of his defenses was that people didn't take the time to find out that he was black. So does that make it ok? So if he was white and made the same racist picture, would it then be wrong? What if the tables were turned and it was a white conservative blogger who made the same picture for a black Democratic candidate for office? No doubt there would be a huge uproar by liberals everywhere slamming how insensitive the blogger was being. Apologies would be demanded. Politicians would be required to denounce the remarks. But luckily, it is a liberal making the racist statement and the victim is a black Republican. Those types of blacks are sell-outs to their race anyway, right?

Tim Kaine, I am so glad that your campaign no longer advertises on that racist site. Too bad you couldn't have quit sooner, or rather simply not advertised on there in the first place.

The sad part is unlike skinheads who are knowingly racist, this new generation of racists simply can't understand how racist they are. And they actually think that their actions are good!

Sometimes actions are all you need. It doesn't matter how you feel you need to explain what you have done and why you think it is okay. Wrong is wrong. And you, Steve Gilliard, are wrong. Once the campaign withdrew their advertising, instead of realizing, "Hmm... maybe, just maybe I have done something offensive" he goes on the defensive saying the problem is with Kaine. Um, sorry buddy. It's jerks like you that are the problem.

While I am not a Virginian who can vote in their election, I would most certainly cast my vote for Tim Kaine. Not only because he is Mark Warner's Lt. Governor and actually has a positive message and results to back them up, but because he makes racists like Steve Gilliard angry. Now, if only I could find a t-shirt that said, "MAKE A RACIST LIBERAL MAD. VOTE TIM KAINE."