One of the rules of identity politics is that when one person says something that another person finds offensive, the motives of the first person are irrelevant. Regardless of how innocently he (or she!) may have blundered, the fact that the second person was offended is the only thing that matters.
Except, of course, when the first person is a liberal.
An eyebrow-raising tweet by a top ranking Obama campaign official on Wednesday about the Latino vote rankled Republicans and conservatives, sparking a backlash on Twitter.
The root of the tweet was a provocative op-ed penned by veteran Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank titled “Does the GOP care about Latino voters?” The passage in question recapped part of the debate during the nomination of a Cuban-American judge, which was held up by some Republican senators:
Some spoke about transportation. Others spoke about the budget. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke about the wonders of his state. “The lettuce in your salad this month almost certainly came from Arizona,” McCain said. “It’s also believed that the chimichanga has its origin in Arizona.”
The chimichanga? It may be the only thing Republicans have left to offer Latinos.
This being the campaign season, the line became instant political fodder for friends and foes of President Obama.
Obama campaign manager Jim Messina dubbed the last sentence the “line of the day” on Twitter.
And now some of those crazy wingnuts are criticizing Messina for it. Come on, what’s the big deal? He said “chimichanga,” not “macaca.”
When asked to address those in the Latino community who might be offended, Messina replied:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyUSlBw-XJw