Horserace
By

Scott Conroy /

CNET/ June 18, 2008, 4:01 PM

Texas GOP Cuts Off Vendor Of Racist Button

The Texas Republican Party said that it plans to donate to charity the $1,500 rent it collected from a vendor who sold campaign buttons at the state convention that asked, "If Obama is president…will we still call it The White House?"

The Associated Press reports the state Republican Party said the vendor's rent will go to victims of the Midwestern floods.

"This vendor need not apply to another Texas GOP state convention," Texas GOP spokesman Hans Klingler said. "We will neither tolerate nor profit from bigotry."

The Texas Republican Party was also involved in a controversy over diversity issues in 1998, when it denied the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization of gay Republicans, a booth at its state convention.

"We don't allow pedophiles, transvestites or cross-dressers, either," then-GOP spokesman Robert Black said at the time.

*Update: The vendor who sold the racist button has apologized, The Dallas Morning News reports.

"It's just been crazy," Jonathan Alcox, who runs republicanmarket.com and had buttons and other items for sale at the GOP gathering, told the newspaper. "The point is we made a mistake. I realize that now. And I apologize."
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    Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.

3 Comments Add a Comment
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kristian35-2009 says:
I think the more interesting question here is how many buttons this guy actually sold at the GOP convention.
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jone775 says:
nelson5714: May it be known that there are places in Texas (e.g., Austin) where Democrats still thrive. On behalf of this group, I apologize for the idiotic antics of the morons among us. Rest assured some of us in Texas are working hard to turn the state blue...

TruUSA: huh? hahaha
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nelson5714 says:
That Alcox fella is a typical Texan - dumb stupid and brainless.....he should apply to be a delegate from TexASS to the ''puke convention
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