TN GOP Jumps Into Controversy

Tennessee Republicans did not waste any time chiming in on the state Democratic Party gaffe reported today, where a member of the Party's Executive Committee commented that Barack Obama "may be terrorist connected."

Posted on the top of the front page of the GOP website is a story titled Party Unity? Quoting Fred Hobbs and Beecher Frasier, both prominent Tennessee Democrats, the story attempts to make the case that if Tennessee voters cannot unite behind Obama, they might consider voting for John McCain.

The attempt to capitalize on the flap by trying to tie "racism" to the state Democrats ignores the Republican Party's colorful history on the topic. It was the Tennessee GOP who were told by national figures to remove a picture of Obama in native garb while highlighting his middle name. The Tennessee GOP also took heat for the sleazy "wink" ad the Republican National Committee ran against Democrat Harold Ford during Ford's bid to defeat Republican Senator Bob Corker in 2006.