TBO.com > News > News blog Reports
- Acting Haines City Police Chief Details Problems With Department
- Palin’s Barnyard Pardon
- Pre Thanksgiving Weekend Weather!
- Lake Effect Snow!
- Fla. Senators Make Good on World Series Bet
- Bilirakis Snags Better Capitol Hill Office Digs
- De Palma: I’m Running for Congress Again in 2010
- Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office Promotes Its Own
- Salvation Army Struggling For Donations
- Warmer Today Unless You Go North
- Cold Again!
- More Cold Temperatures
- Great American Teach-In
- Hillsborough, Pasco Open Cold-Weather Shelters
- Final Morning of Putnam’s House GOP Leadership
Al Austin, a veteran, high-level Republican fundraiser from Tampa, today sent an email to his list of his political contacts containing a joke that refers to the assassination of Barack Obama.
When asked about the email, Austin said it was a mistake and apologized, and that he wouldn’t knowingly have circulated it. He said he intended to send an apology and retraction to the same email list.
Austin said he forwarded the email to a list of his politicaly contacts without fully reading it.
The joke concerns a group of school children discussing the definition of “tragedy,” as opposed to “great loss” or “accident.” The punch line comes when one child says that if an airplane carrying Obama and his wife, Michelle, “was struck by a ‘friendly fire’ missile and blown to smithereens,” the event might be a tragedy, “because it certainly wouldn’t be a great loss, and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either.”
Austin acknowledged sending the email to his list of political contacts, but said he forwarded it without fully reading it and didn’t know what it said. That list included at least two reporters.
According to the forwarding history on the email, it had been gone through at least two other individuals before being sent to Austin Tuesday.
Austin, a prominent real estate developer long known as one of the state’s leading Republican campaign fundraisers, has served in recent years as finance chairman for both the national and state Republican parties.
This is just another example of how racism has ruled this nation for countless years. This guy should be locked up ! there is no way that, as a successful businessman and party leader, he could let something slip through like that without knowing what it was. And even if he did not fully read it, it should not have been passed along to further damage the credibility of the republican party - OH WAIT! I guess you can’t get dirt dirty, can you?
This is excatly why Senator Obama will win this election and I hope after he does bigots like this jacka$$ will have to run and hide. A new day is dawning and intolerance will not be tolerated!
John McCain doggedly persists in verbally assaulting his Presidential opponent, which detracts from the reall issues at hand. It was very clear in last night’s debate. Mr. McCain sees it all as some kind of ludicrous FIGHT. Mr. Obama has shown he is well-tempered even under attack from his fellow (elderly) Senator. McCain made himself look bad again. Obama has a lot of support, including me.
This is amazing to me. You can’t joke in any way about bombing or bombs or security at an airport. But now somehow its ok to joke about killing a presidential candidate. What’s wrong with this picture?
This guy needs to be detained and I might suggest a full cavity search by a large intimidating african american. Oh, and can I watch!
Yeah, right. Why would you forward something you hadn’t read? The GOP sure is classy.
This is the 21 century, for cryin’ out loud!!!!!!!! It is not the 60’s. These narrow minded bigots of today should sit back and take a good look at the world and the state of the nation, thanks to our caucasian Republicans in the White House!!! We need a change, and it shouldn’t matter what color he is, or who he was associated with many years ago. Vote Barack Obama, our next President!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Despicable! (This guy definitely needs to use gmail’s new feature to prevent embarassing emails from being sent.) He claims he doesn’t know what it was he sent? Give me a break. Am I supposed to believe this? Most people I know that forward things do it because they think it’s notable or funny, they don’t just randomly forward anything that shows up in their mailbox. Or am I supposed to believe that he too, like McCain doesn’t know how to use email or the internet. What crap…
Is it really that surprising? Seems to me that’s what McCain and Palin and the entire GOP have been aiming for since they found out Obama would be their opponent. Their goal was to plant the ‘mystery seed’ by asking “Who is the real Obama”...the man with the funny name and friends he “pals” around with. For this person to say he didn’t read the contents of the email before forwarding to his friends is an insult to my intelligence. This isn’t something new with the GOP. He’s just sorry he forwarded it to a reporter.
School children laughing at killing Michelle and Barack is funny to someone?
I am breathless and heartened! This he probably learned from his parents and passing down to his children.
I was raised in a racist family and felt the negativity of hate. I do NOT allowed anyone to say anything in front of my children!!!!!!!!!!! The beautiful result is that they do not understand why someone would not vote for Obama based on skin color.
The secret service should investigate him and he should be fired from every paying job he has!
My prayers to the Obama family.
This man and his cohorts do NOT represent Floridians.
Advertisement
Posted by Anthony Look, Moreno Valley, California on 10/21 at 05:49 PM
The drum beat of hate cannot be erased with apologies. Americans see right through it. The McCain campaign and its surrogates are being talked about as running the most racist campaign in history. This is not idle water cooler chatter. If someone asks what one thinks about the GOP campaign, it is a conversation about some shock at the extent of racism associated with it, but not surprise. The GOP has the racism mantle proudly displayed front and center for some time to come. The damage of this small “c’ christian neoncon conservative campaign has wounded not only McCain and branded Palin as inept; but, has provided a mortal wound the Republican party as a whole far beyond this election.