Race always manages to bring out the ‘stupid’ in our political people

There’s one great truth we can observe about our various levels of government – whenever racial issues come up in discussion, somebody is bound to talk stupid.

RAUNER; Diversity through dairy products

Either they get blatantly stupid and offensive in their remarks, or else they try to channel the old Bea Arthur character of Maude – who if you ever watched that show was the grand liberal and admirer of FDR who in her dealings with black people usually managed to come off condescending and show that in some ways, she wasn’t any better than her cousin, Edith’s, husband, Archie Bunker.

IT WAS A pair of stories in the news last week that put such a thought into my mind.

Or have we already forgotten Gov. Bruce Rauner’s great observations about the concept of milk mixed with chocolate syrup.

During an appearance at the Thompson Center state government building, Rauner was with a Hyatt Hotels executive – which was ironic enough considering that Hyatt is the company founded by the Pritzker family, of whom member J.B. is a potential challenger to Rauner in the Nov. 6 general election.

They were trying to emphasize the benefits of diversity amongst our populace by suggesting that a glass of plain white milk gets improved with chocolate syrup, and that when it’s stirred and thoroughly mixed it is superior.

HAROLD: GOPers wish she wasn't one of them?

“IT’S REALLY, REALLY good, diversity,” said Rauner. Which aside from being a trite observation may wind up being the ultimate quote of The Rauner Years of state government.

Then again, “I’m not in charge, Speaker Madigan is” likely can’t be topped by Rauner, or anyone else, when it comes to a vacuous comment. Particularly if one really thinks racial diversity can be reduced to a dairy product.

Although if one thinks Rauner had a vapid Wednesday last week, the very next day the Illinois attorney general’s race gave us a racial whopper likely to live on throughout the campaign season.

Republican attorney general hopeful Erika Harold allegedly was slurred with an ignorant racial label and also had her sexual orientation brought into question.

PRITZKER: His slurs relatively minor

A TOWNSHIP CHAIRMAN from DuPage County initially claimed that Harold had asked him to make the comments so that she could publicly refute them. He since has said he really didn’t say the things he’s alleged to – at least not that bluntly.

But Harold told the Chicago Tribune, “I was just shocked by it and I was thinking how inappropriate it is for this kind of questioning and comments to be part of what should be a professional conversation.”

Now the reason this comes up is that Harold is a black woman, and I don’t doubt there are many amongst the Republican following who resent that one of their party’s candidates for a statewide office is anything other than a white male.

I’m also sure they’re upset that a one-time Miss America (2003) would remain more than a decade later an unmarried woman. Even though on many social issues (such as abortion) Harold is completely in line with the modern-day Republican Party, they probably think she’s a closet Democrat – and someone who doesn’t fall in line their goal of “Making America Great Again.”

IT’S PART OF the reason I can’t take it too seriously when some people try to claim that Democrat Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign is spewing racial taunts about black people. His private comments are downright trivial compared to what comes from others.

Normar Lear's string of 1970s TV hits remain relevant even today

Note I didn’t feel compelled to identify by name the DuPage County official who spewed trash (supposedly) about Harold. Mainly because I don’t want to give him too much recognition. I’m sure some voters will go out of their way to support him come Nov. 6, when his name appears on the ballot for an Illinois Senate seat.

Maybe they think that spewing racial slurs is somehow speaking the truth. Just as how some of them are criticizing Rauner’s milk stunt because they would have preferred him to speak out against racial diversity in our society.

While some people want to believe we in the 21^st Century have moved beyond racism, the fear on my part is that those people are the ones who don’t want to discuss the issue because they don’t want to be called out on their negativity.

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