Stupid political comments, part 3
National Republican Committee member Chuck Yob was quoted as follows regarding Melvin Hollowell, Democratic candidate for Secretary of State:
"[Hollowell] is a black attorney from Detroit. As you all know, people in the U.P. don't like attorneys, and they really don't like Detroiters."
Asked later about this issue, Yob denied making the statement. He claimed that he did not know that Hollowell is black, and indeed thought that he was "Hawaiian". (Hollowell is an African-American who was born in Hawaii.) He also claimed that his comment referred to a preference among U.P. residents for the Green Bay Packers over the Detroit Lions.
The quote comes from the Charlevoix Courier, which is Yob's hometown paper.
The Detroit News quotes Yob, digging himself deeper:
"He could have been African-American or he could have been Hawaiian. When you start talking about what race you're from, are you talking about 80 percent, 100 percent, 60 percent?" Yob said. "What percentage are you talking about?"
The Lansing State Journal reports that Hollowell has turned the comments to his own advantage, incorporating some Hawaiian themes into his campaign and saying "We Hawaiians like that kind of work." This was a clever jab referencing Yob's earlier gaffe. Yob had been quoted in April of 2002 saying that the Secretary of State position is a good political office for a woman because "they like that kind of work".
Score one for Hollowell for grace and comportment in response to another inanity from Yob.
11:23:58 AM 
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