From Detective Shavedlongcock

If your white and not voting for Barack Obama you must be a racist or redneck!

Democratic Rep. John Murtha said Monday some of his constituents in western Pennsylvania are "rednecks" and the entire region just five to 10 years ago was "really redneck."

The comments come one week after he called his own constituents "racist" in an interview with his local newspaper.

"What I said, that indicted everybody, that's not what I meant at all. What I mean is there's still folks that have a problem voting for someone because they are black," Murtha said.

Murtha said the history of southwestern Pennsylvania is teeming with racism. "This whole area, years ago, was really redneck," he told WTAE-TV Pittsburgh.

Murtha, a Democrat, apologized last week for calling the area "racist," but challenger Bill Russell said it was a reckless insult to the people in his district and the "cheapest of cheap shots."

Russell, an Iraq war veteran, swiftly put out a 30-second Web video on Murtha's quote and plastered his Web site with references to it, using it as a fundraising pitch with 19 days to go until the Nov. 4 election.

"It shows once again how much he has lost touch with our constituents," Russell told FOXNews.com on Thursday. "A lot of people are ticked off. It's just one more issue that is ticking off a lot of our constituents and why so many of them feel it is time for a change."

Murtha has held his seat for 17 terms, and Democrats outnumber Republicans by two-to-one in the state's 12th District -- but Russell, a first-time candidate, said the latest development should give him a boost.

Russell, a 28-year Army veteran who recently retired, has been railing against Murtha, also a veteran, for calling for the withdrawal of troops in Iraq and for voting for the financial bailout package.

"We're very much running a race and it may or may not have occurred to him yet," Russell said.

Russell's been almost keeping pace with Murtha on fundraising. The latest finance reports showed Murtha raised $2.1 million for the race. A Russell spokesman said the GOP campaign pulled in $1.6 million in that period.

Murtha touched off the latest firestorm when he offered the possibility that his home base could reduce Barack Obama's margin in Pennsylvania by a few points, though he still expects the Democrat to win the state.

"There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area," he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, accounting for potential Election Day poll numbers.

On Thursday, Murtha said he was sorry.

"I apologize for making the comment that 'Western Pennsylvania is a racist area,'" he said in a statement.

"While we cannot deny that race is a factor in this election, I believe we've been able to look beyond race these past few months, and that voters today are concerned with the policy differences of our two candidates and their vision for the future of our great country," he said.

Russell said some voters will always hold "racist attitudes," but that voters in western Pennsylvania who break with Obama will mostly do so over his views on issues like abortion and gun control.

"To take that and apply that to the entire population itself in western Pennsylvania, as he did, is absolutely wrong," Russell said.

But Murtha's campaign chided Russell, who only recently moved to western Pennsylvania, for calling the Democratic veteran out of touch.

"Someone who has lived in Pennsylvania for less than three months can't possibly be an expert on the views and needs of Pennsylvanians," spokesman Matthew Mazonkey said in a statement to FOXNews.com.

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How the hell do people like this get elected to federal positions?

What would be the outcry if a Republican Congressman said, Many blacks are racist and have a hard time voting for a white candidate?

Reverse the players and see what happens

http://www.shavedlongcock.blogspot.com/

Wonder what the outcry would be if the headline was BLACK WOMEN BANNED FROM McCain's Photo Shoot?

Muslims barred from picture at Obama event

Two Muslim women at Barack Obama’s rally in Detroit on Monday were barred from sitting behind the podium by campaign volunteers seeking to prevent the women’s headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate.

The campaign has apologized to the women, both Obama supporters who said they felt betrayed by their treatment at the rally.

“This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama’s commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. “We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers.”

Building a human backdrop to a political candidate, a set of faces to appear on television and in photographs, is always a delicate exercise in demographics and political correctness. Advance staffers typically pick supporters out of a crowd to reflect the candidate’s message.

When Obama won the North Carolina primary amid questions about his ability to connect with white voters, for instance, he stood in front of a group of middle-aged white women waving small American flags.

What would happen if roles were reversed?

Let someone say something about a black candidate

St. Sabina pastor says he misspoke in sermon mocking Hillary Clinton

Pfleger: 'Greatest sin against God' is racism, not America

Rev. Michael Pfleger apologized to his parishioners Sunday at St. Sabina Roman Catholic Church for the controversy sparked by a recent sermon. (Tribune photo by Nancy Stone / June 2, 2008)

Rev. Michael Pfleger went on the defensive again Monday, saying his tongue slipped when he said "America is the greatest sin against God" during his headline-making guest sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ.

In the sermon mocking Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), he meant to say racism is the greatest sin, said the activist and Roman Catholic priest. Pfleger is pastor at St. Sabina, a mostly black South Side parish.

After his words began to circulate among conservative bloggers, Pfleger issued a statement Monday saying it's clear from the entire 58-second clip that the wording was an accident.

"I inadvertently inserted the word 'America' in the wrong place and was not even aware of it until right now," he said. "If you hear the whole phrase, it is evident what I meant and that it was a mix-up of words. Because things are so quickly judged right now and easily misinterpreted, I thought I would put this out to provide clarity."

annther part of Pfleger's sermon surfaced last week in which the priest suggested the former first lady is a white elitist who felt entitled to the Democratic nomination for president.

Pfleger's impersonation reignited a debate about Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) longtime church that had nearly quieted down after controversial remarks by now-retired Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. made the rounds earlier this spring. Obama worshiped for more than 20 years at Trinity before terminating his membership over the weekend.

In the latest video clip, Pfleger calls racism "America's greatest addiction," then adds: "I also believe that America is the greatest sin against God."

The declaration generated confusion, including boos from the pews of Trinity, where Pfleger had been invited to speak on race.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa," Pfleger said, clearly taken aback by the congregation's disapproval. "If the greatest command is to love, then a sin against love must be the greatest sin against God who is love and who calls us to love one another. So then, this greatest sin against God—racism—is as natural as the air we breathe."

mbrachear@tribune.com