'Tar baby’ quip lands Mitt in muddle

Boston Herald ^ | 07/31/06 | Laurel J. Sweet

[JRochelle]

Prominent black Bay Staters are outraged by Gov. Mitt Romney’s use of the words “tar baby” to describe the Big Dig as he stumped for presidential points in Iowa. “Tar baby is a totally inappropriate phrase in the 21st century. If Calvin Coolidge didn’t use it, why the hell should Mitt Romney?” railed Larry Jones, a black Republican and civil rights activist. Tar baby can refer to a sticky mess, but it also has been recognized as an epithet to humiliate black people. President Bush’s spokesman Tony Snow learned that in May when his expression, “I don’t want to hug the tar baby of trying to comment on the program,” raised the hackles of political correctness. “He thinks he’s presidential timber,” Jones said yesterday of Romney, “but all he’s shown us is arrogance.”

[muawiyah]

Larry did not do as well in literature class as he should have.

[mkjessup]

Oh grow a freaking HIDE for gawdsakes!!!!

[BenLurkin]

Needless to say -- would be okay had a democrat said it.

[Tax-chick]

What does Calvin Coolidge have to do with this?

[KarlInOhio]

Does Larry's deck of cards only have clubs, hearts and diamonds because the word spade was used for black people?

[cloud8]

Tar baby is offensive because...why, exactly?

[Tulane]

Clearly Mitt is not only a racist, he is also niggardly. /sarcasm

[cripplecreek]

When I hear the words "Tar baby" I immediately think Brer Rabbit.

[sportutegrl]

http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mb060727sw

In a related development, Disney Exec Bob Iger decided against releasing Song of the South on DVD.

[JRochelle]

“The best thing for me to do politically is stay away from the Big Dig - just get as far away from that tar baby as I possibly can.”

What offends me more is how he states that it would be better for him to stay away from the Big Dig.
Its his JOB to deal with it!

[gridlock]

Tar baby can refer to a sticky mess, but it also has been recognized as an epithet to humiliate black people.

It does not! It does not! It does not! It does not!

Maybe if I repeat myself, people will listen.

The important thing about a tar baby is that it is sticky, not that it is black.

Maybe we need to start talking about taffy babies, instead.

[Tax-chick]

Snicker :-). Actually, if he was niggardly (like Calvin Coolidge?) at least with taxpayers' dollars, I'd be more interested in voting for him!

[American_Centurion]

Ignorance equals outrage once again.

A tar baby is simply a sticky trap, it has nothing at all to do with skin color.

Geez! Read a friggin book once in a while!

[goldstategop]

Tsk, tsk, tsk. "Tar baby" is a slang expression meaning to get stuck in a pit you can't get out of. It has nothing to do with blacks. As a metaphor, it refers to animals that drowned in tar pits thousands of years ago. The idiots of PC should learn a little histoire. As usage goes, its about as offensive a term as niggardly, which of course gets confused with that other word. I don't see where Mitt Romney managed to offend the delicate sensibilities of black Americans. PC politics is all by itself a tar baby to avoid.

(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em Down Hezbullies.)

[LIConFem]

And a thespian introvert, or so I've heard.

[mewzilla]

Well, all Bay Staters ought to be offended that Romney's out of state feathering his political nest while folks who are being detoured around the Big Dig debacle are sitting in traffic sucking in exhaust.

[Tax-chick]

I wonder when "Tar Heels" will become a racial epithet that we're not allowed to use?

[Liberty Valance]

http://www.ongoing-tales.com/SERIALS/oldtime/FAIRYTALES/tarbaby.html

[cripplecreek]

It is hereby decreed that the digging utensile formerly known as a spade shall henceforth be refered to as a shovel.

That is all.