News & Politics - Unabashed Racist Leads Tenn. GOP Primary

meretwins · 08-06-2004, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Fri Aug 6, 1:10 AM ET

By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - An unabashed racist will represent the Republican party in the November election for a congressional seat after a write-in candidate failed to derail his effort.

With 86 percent of the primary vote counted Thursday, write-in candidate Dennis Bertrand had just 1,554 votes compared to 7,671, or 83 percent, for James L. Hart, a believer in the discredited, phony science of eugenics.

In November, the GOP candidate will oppose Rep. John Tanner (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat who has represented the northwest Tennessee district for 15 years.

Hart, 60, vows if elected to work toward keeping "less favored races" from reproducing or immigrating to the United States. In campaign literature, Hart contends that "poverty genes" threaten to turn the United States into "one big Detroit."

"I didn't expect to win," Hart said. "I thought their network would beat my ideas."

He has run for the 8th District seat before and drawn little attention. But people began to notice this time because he was the only Republican on the ballot.

Since the deadline for getting on the ballot had passed, Bertrand, also a Republican, began a write-in campaign, saying he wanted to protect the party's honor.

"I think his beliefs are not beliefs of any party that I know of," Bertrand said Thursday night. "I knew it was going to be a really long shot, but in good conscience, I had to at least give it an attempt."

Bertrand, a financial analyst and former military officer, was on active duty with the National Guard when the deadline to get on the primary ballot passed.

Hart said he will have lots of time to campaign for the general election since he was forced Wednesday to resign from his job as a real estate salesman because of the attention he drew during the primary.

"They didn't say 'You're fired' in exactly those words, but it was pretty clear what they wanted," Hart said.

While campaigning, Hart sometimes wears a protective vest and carries a .40-caliber pistol, but he said he has run into no trouble.

"When I knock on a door and say white children deserve the same rights as everybody else, the enthusiastic response is truly amazing," he said.

If a black person opens the door, he says he simply drops off campaign literature and leaves.

Timeo · 08-06-2004, 10:12 AM

Don't you love how so....let's just say, backwards people are able to run for office and people actually support him? I think that's a sad reflection of American society. Well at least of that constituency.

n e r b l e · 08-06-2004, 10:18 AM

wow. how the hell did this guy even get one vote. what a waste of egg and sperm.

pacifierrocks · 08-06-2004, 03:14 PM

I can't believe that that guy got even one vote. that's just crazy. how can people listen to the things he says and vote for him?

Elizajoey · 08-06-2004, 08:28 PM

Disgusting that people are so uneducated and fearful that they go around preaching this racist propaganda.

Disgusting that this guy is representing a party

Disgusting that people support this guy.

ActionJackson · 08-06-2004, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Timeo
Don't you love how so....let's just say, backwards people are able to run for office and people actually support him? I think that's a sad reflection of American society. Well at least of that constituency.

A big fat "word" to that.

I can't believe this guy has gotten this far. ::shakes head::

goodnightboy · 08-08-2004, 05:13 AM

An openly racist American has people supporting him to campaign.

I only have one thing to say - I'm glad I don't live in the US. (No offence to those who do

)

birdie · 08-08-2004, 08:23 AM

Quote:

....let's just say, backwards people are able to run for office and people actually support him? I think that's a sad reflection of American society.

And...

Quote:

An openly racist American has people supporting him to campaign. I only have one thing to say - I'm glad I don't live in the US.

Funny, that's the one thing that makes me proud to live in the US.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy that he's running and I hope to God he loses even if it's to Mickey Mouse because he's a bigoted nutjob.

However, the ability of any adult to run for office and for people to support whomever they choose in a political campaign are things I hold sacrosanct. Even when I vehemently disagree with what they say.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. -- The First Amendment of the US Constitution

Timeo · 08-08-2004, 08:56 PM

I think you're seeing what isn't there birdie. I said that it's a sad reflection of American society that those people still support these racist principles. Never did I state that the candidate should not run or that the state or anyone should tell him that he can't run. In your haste to create a position, you assumed that I and mapraleif were openly vehement against the idea of a racist running for office. I think I can speak for both of us when we say that we don't support him or his campaign, but never did we either say that he shouldn't run or that there should be rules banning him from running. Try using better examples next time.

birdie · 08-08-2004, 10:40 PM

Quote:

backwards people are able to run for office people actually support him?

That to me says you were unhappy that "backwards people" are able to run for office and that they have people support them. Two separate ideas with which you expressed displeasure in equally.

If anyone was hasty perhaps it was you in not clarifying yourself in the first post.

Try making yourself clear the first time around and I'll try to not misinterpret what you say.

IsabellaSophia · 08-09-2004, 10:10 PM

birdie, I agree with everything you said.
Its people like guy that give the GOP a bad name. Its really too bad that people today are still ignorant and racist. Really too bad.

Timeo · 08-10-2004, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by birdie
That to me says you were unhappy that "backwards people" are able to run for office and that they have people support them. Two separate ideas with which you expressed displeasure in equally.

It was one idea bonded together by the conjunction known as "and". Not to seem redundant, but "Don't you love how so....let's just say, backwards people are able to run for office and people actually support him?" Perchance next time you should stop assuming that you know what I'm thinking.

Goonieforever · 09-04-2004, 11:43 PM

Wow that guy is pretty ignorant.

UnsilentMajorty · 09-05-2004, 02:58 AM

This isn't news in terms of the larger scheme of our political history.

Do any of you remember David Dukes who actually ran for President as an independent back in the '80s under an open KKK/White Supremicist backing and platform?

Or how about Governor Mecham of Arizona who openly refused to celebrate Martin Luther King day?

The point is that just as we are free to disagree with their policies/platforms and socially shun and ridicule their beliefs...

These people have every right to express these beliefs even if we don't like it as long as they are not openly encouraging violence, or the violation of another person's rights.

As they say, you take the bad with the good.

---

What specifically bothers me about this character is not that he is a Republican (supposedly), but the fact the man carries around a Goddamn, (pressumably) loaded hand gun and wears a bullet proof vest.

He is going to get killed, or worse yet, kill someone else -- probably a Black child/teen -- And it is going to get completely out of control and that will be the "end of it"...

Meaning, it will take someone getting hurt to finally put a stop to this guy in terms of EVERYONE not supporting him and he just looses in a landslide...

But then again, the way the world is, who knows?

I wouldn't be surprised if those who share his beliefs hold him up as some kind of folk hero or martyr (even if he is not dead) just to spite everyone and "the system"

Can someoone stop the world, please? I want to get off...

Rusty · 09-05-2004, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mapraleif
I only have one thing to say - I'm glad I don't live in the US. (No offence to those who do )

Eh, you find supporters and believers everywhere, not only in the US. The Democratic representative Tannner has been elected, what, 8 times? That means it probably won't be much of a fight for him. I believe that the Republicans hadn't even tried much to get another candidate that might win over Tanner, which is why Hart was able to sign up.

I'm sure Hart has his supporters, but his was the only name on the ballot. Any write-in candidate should have a hell of a time getting picked, even if the other option is crazy and bigoted.

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