The Oregon Republican Party's nasty attack on State Senator Jeff Golden blew up in its face.
The attack was not merely false. It was absurd and implausible.
Yet now they are doubling down.
The attacks by the Oregon GOP leadership calling Golden "racist" makes Golden's Republican challenger, Randy Sparacino, look like a pawn of upstate handlers. They have dragged him into their mud.
The GOP Party Chairman Justin Hwang wrote:
Anytime you pull back the curtain on Democrats, you see open racism and hate. Senator Golden’s vile commentary toward Black Americans is outrageous and unacceptable. Jeff Golden should resign from office immediately.
Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopf, a major financial contributor to Sparacino, said:
As elected officials, we represent constituents of all backgrounds and Jeff Golden has proven unfit for that job.
In Golden's 1970 book, Watermelon Sumer, it was obvious that Golden was not reflecting his own voice when he quoted the N-word. He was quoting and reflecting the words of others, the people hostile to his work with Black community in a farm in Georgia. He was working on behalf of racial justice, attempting to help the Black sharecroppers make the struggling farm profitable.
This isn't an honest misunderstanding by his critics. Golden's context was obvious. His critics know it. This is a blatant attempt to deceive. They are doing it anyway.
Who does it hurt? Not Golden. It is patently obvious what is going on. Besides, it gave him a chance to explain the context of his work for economic and racial justice, which I quoted in my post this morning.
It mostly hurts Sparacino. His friends and allies in the GOP are making him look dirty and dishonest. He is letting them do it, which is a disappointment. He isn't just a candidate for state senate. He is Medford's mayor. My city's mayor. I hoped for better.
Disappointed, yes. Surprised ? Not in the least, Sparano has proven himself to be as much a Political Coward as Cliff Bentz or any Politician in Congress refusing to speak out against Trump. It's what is required of R politicians today.