In yet another outrageous display of racism and ignorance, the Chaffey Community Republican Women in San Bernadino County put a graphic in their newsletter of a fake food stamp with Obama’s face pictured on a donkey, alongside fried chicken, ribs, Kool-Aid, and watermelon.
Along with the caption:
“Obama talks about all those presidents that got their names on bills. If elected, what bill would he be on? Food Stamps, what else!”
The president of the group, Diane Felede, is claiming that she is no racist. She told the local paper:
“I never connected. It was just food to me. It didn’t mean anything else.”
She claims that she received the graphic in several chain emails and decided that it illustrates the way she felt about Barack Obama’s statement that he does not look like past presidents — a statement that she felt was “outrageous”. She told the local paper that she was offended that Obama would draw attention to his own race.
Felede offers, as proof that she is not a racist, that she once supported Alan Keyes.
A black member of the group had this to say:
“This is what keeps African-Americans from joining the Republican Party. I’m really hurt. I cried for 45 minutes.”
The official California Republican Party is sprinting away from this group — and fast. They were quick to point out to media inquiring about this and other incidents involving the group that it is an all-volunteer group with no ‘official’ ties to the party.
A spokesperson for the San Bernadino County Republican party said,
“It’s very damaging and we’re going to take steps to correct this. Unfortunately, I don’t know what you do to correct ignorance like this, but we will do what we can.”
I tried calling the San Bernadino County Republican Party, but no one answered the phone.
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