Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during an indoor picnic with Story County Republicans, Saturday, July 29, 2006, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Posted on 07/31/2006 8:36:10 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
BOSTON - Gov. Mitt Romney has apologized for referring to the troubled Big Dig construction project as a "tar baby" during a fundraiser with Iowa Republicans, saying he didn't know anyone would be offended by the term some consider a racial epithet.
In a speech Saturday, Romney, a Republican considering a run for president in 2008, acknowledged he took a big political risk in taking control of the project after a fatal tunnel ceiling collapse, but said inaction would have been even worse.
"The best thing politically would be to stay as far away from that tar baby as I can," he told a crowd of about 100 supporters in Ames, Iowa.
Black leaders were outraged at his use of the term, which dates to the 19th century Uncle Remus stories, referring to a doll made of tar that traps Br'er Rabbit. It has come to be known as a way of describing a sticky mess, and has been used as a derogatory term for a black person.
"Tar baby is a totally inappropriate phrase in the 21st century," said Larry Jones, a black Republican and civil rights activist.
"He thinks he's presidential timber," Jones said. "But all he's shown us is arrogance."
Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the governor was describing "a sticky situation."
"He was unaware that some people find the term objectionable and he's sorry if anyone's offended," Fehrnstrom said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow sparked similar criticism in May when he used the term in response to a question about government surveillance.
Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during an indoor picnic with Story County Republicans, Saturday, July 29, 2006, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
YAWN ....
Give it up, Romney, you've got no shot.
Victimhood has its rewards.
That remark's gonna scotch his presidential ambitions.
As if his Universal Healthcare fiasco already didn't?
Well, what do you know, black leaders are outraged once more.
Mitt should have used "steaming pile of s**t". I don't think it has an advocacy group.
No New Englander is getting elected President ... be they GOP or DIM. Period.
If he puts a little English on this, he can spin it to his advantage.
I think the Nation of Islam would take offense. There is no bigger "steaming pile of s**t" in the country.
Romney was right, though; the Big Dig is a tar baby, and the legislature should opt for a more niggardly budget.
Steaming piles of s**t all across the country are offended by your comparison.
Duh! Read the Democrat platform. That's their constituency!
How silly. People need to grow up and get thicker skins. If that's all it takes to upset them they have no business in any sort of public life.
susie
"He was unaware some people find the term offensive..."Tarbaby is a racist term?Your not alone Mitt.It's news to me as well.Of course from this point onward you'll be labeled a racist or at the least "racially insensitive."
Yeah, it's definitely going to be a chink in his armor...
It comes from Uncle Remus' tale "The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story." In the story, Brer Rabbit is tricked into hitting a doll covered in tar. As he struggles with the doll he gets stuck in the tar and trapped by Brer Fox, who is waiting nearby. The phrase is used along the lines of "quagmire," where the more you struggle the more stuck and trapped you are.
Except, of course, when it is used by one of the many black folklorists who are getting government grants to revive the Uncle Remus tales.
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