Republicans seem not to know what the hell they are doing when it comes to race—and that’s putting it mildly. The fact that the party of Lincoln is also the party of the Southern Strategy and now the party of Trump is the perfect indicator of how schizophrenic and bizarre the party truly is when it comes to race relations. Over the decades, we’ve seen Republican politicians go from clueless to flat-out racist in a number of incidents that show us exactly why they won’t be getting a plethora of votes from people of color anytime soon. And just when we thought they couldn’t get anymore vile, they go and prove us wrong. This week, Miami state Sen. Frank Artiles is facing calls for his resignation after he got into a heated discussion over drinks and hurled some unsavory and inappropriate language toward his fellow black lawmakers.
Miami Republican Sen. Frank Artiles dropped the n-word to a pair of African-American colleagues in private conversation Monday night — after calling one of them a “fucking asshole,” a “bitch” and a “girl,” the two senators said.
Nothing like a little bit of alcohol to let out your true feelings, huh, Frank? Not to worry though because Frank wanted to make sure he clarified exactly what he meant. Except instead of clarify, he actually made it much worse.
Over drinks after 10 p.m. at the members-only Governors Club just steps from the state Capitol, Artiles told Sens. Audrey Gibson of Jacksonville and Perry Thurston of Fort Lauderdale that Senate President Joe Negron of Stuart had risen to his powerful GOP leadership role because “six niggers” in the Republican caucus had elected him.
Artiles later told Gibson and Thurston that he’d used the word “niggas,” suggesting the slang term was not meant to be insulting, Gibson and Thurston said. It’s unclear whom Artiles was referring to, since the only black senators in the state Senate are all Democrats — and none of them backed Negron’s bid to lead the chamber.
Ah, yes. Frank went with the age old debate that if the word ends in “a” instead of “er” it’s not really insulting. There are many nuances to that debate, including whether that’s a discussion that should include non-black people. And then there is the fact that no one is quite sure who he was referencing. However, one thing we can probably all agree on is that that kind of language is wholly inappropriate for Frank to have been using at all at the state Senate, especially in front of his black colleagues. Just what the hell was he thinking? And calling his black female colleague a “bitch” and “girl”? That’s not just tone-deaf and clueless, its also deeply racist. But, then again, apparently Frank has a history of starting trouble.
Artiles, a Cuban-American ex-Marine who represents Southwest Miami-Dade County, has gotten into notorious trouble in Tallahassee before. Two years ago, a college student in town for spring break said Artiles punched him in the face at Clyde’s & Costello’s, a downtown bar a couple of doors away from the Governor’s Club, just hours before the start of the 2015 legislative session. Artiles denied it.
And his timing is lousy as well. He chose to exhibit his misogynoir (the special kind of misogyny directed at black women) the night before lawmakers were scheduled to commemorate a night of racial healing and reconciliation.
Artiles’ slur came the night before a racially diverse group of lawmakers from both parties gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday to offer an emotional apology to the Groveland Four, the four African-American men who were wrongfully convicted in Lake County in 1949.
Gibson said Tuesday she couldn’t look at Artiles after he started railing against her Monday night because she had “never, ever, ever” been treated that way.
Totally disgusting but not in the least surprising. Is it any wonder that this party does so terribly with people of color and especially black women?