Tapscott's Copy Desk - North Carolina GOP chairman challenges critical dailies to publish her response on Obama/Wright ad

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North Carolina GOP chairman challenges critical dailies to publish her response on Obama/Wright ad

POSTED April 28, 2:46 PM

It is unlikely that any other individual in American politics has been more ignorantly criticized on the editorial and news pages of the nation's major dailies during the past week than North Carolina Republican state chairman Linda Daves, as a result of the now-infamous "Obama is too extreme" television spot.

For example, The New York Times news reporter Michael Luo, for example, opined under his news byline that the "the ad a injects a potentially divisive racial element" in North Carolina's upcoming Democratic presidential primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Luo thus echoed Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean's claim that the ad was "racially divisive."

But how exactly can a television spot be racially anything when it only makes two factually unchallengeable statements and offers one entirely reasonable opinion about the implications of those two statements for North Carolina voters?

Now Daves is challenging her media critics (and those elsewhere) by demanding equal time. She's asking them to publish her response. My prediction is that fewer than half of them will. In any case, here's Daves' response:

In Defense of Our Ad

By Linda Daves

I flatly reject the accusations of racism directed at our party by the left-leaning editorial boards that have condemned our “Extreme” ad in the last week. From the beginning of this controversy, both in my public statements and my private conversations, I have repeatedly made clear my belief that race is not an appropriate factor by which to judge any candidate for public office.

Our ad has absolutely nothing to do with race. If Hillary Clinton was the candidate whose pastor had made these remarks and the two Democrats running for Governor had endorsed her, we would be running the exact same ad this week.

Not one of the left-leaning editorial boards or liberal media outlets who have accused our party of racism has given one shred of evidence for their claims, but instead they have merely leveled their condemnations based on innuendo and conjecture. This is not only unprofessional and unfair. It is also dishonest.

Our “Extreme” ad presents a simple question about the judgment of two Democrat candidates for Governor in North Carolina, Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore, who have both endorsed Barack Obama. While Obama has attempted to distance himself from the comments made by Reverend Wright, Perdue and Moore have failed to do so and continue to refuse to address this issue.

Not to make clear their position on the unpatriotic and offensive comments made by Reverend Wright shows poor judgment. While even Obama acknowledged this past Sunday that his association with his former pastor is a “legitimate political issue,” Perdue and Moore have remained silent about the issue.

If elected to office, the judgment of these candidates will affect the lives and welfare of millions of North Carolinians. Their judgment, therefore, must be of the highest quality. It is not too much for the voters of North Carolina to ask Perdue and Moore to make clear their position on the comments of Reverend Wright even if they continue to endorse Barack Obama.

There is a vast difference between racism and the mere allegation of racism with no basis or any factual evidence. Portraying me or the North Carolina Republican Party in a false light and accusing us of racism by innuendo does not serve the cause of equality or justice.

It instead degrades the ongoing dialogue about race taking place everyday in our society and causes people to become so calloused to the claim that when actual racism is evident, it may be ignored. In this cause, I do not believe this paper’s editorial board has served its readership well.

While I will continue to hold and defend my position on our ad steadfastly, I do not expect readers to accept my argument at face value. I also do not expect readers to accept the characterization of our ad made by this paper’s editorial board at face value. Instead, I invite you to visit www.ncgop.org and view the ad yourself. After viewing the ad, readers are entitled to form their own opinion as to its content.

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