By Roger Stone
The Republican Party broke with its past in yesterday’s New Jersey Primary when the first Korean-American ever won a decisive Primary victory for the State Senate in the face of “over the top” race baiting by his opponent in which he was unfavorably compared with the Reverend Al Sharpton.
In a raw appeal to intolerance and bigotry, Assemblyman Kevin O’Toole whose father was Irish and mother was Korean was pictured in a scurrilous flyer with Sharpton claiming that both had claimed protected status as minorities. In a ham-handed way, O’Toole’s opponents sought to use his visage in the printed piece to tell people O’Toole was an Asian American.
The mail piece falsely claimed that O’Toole had used his status as a minority to argue for a more favorable district in Legislative redistricting. O’Toole’s opponents also sponsored automated phone calls telling voters that O’Toole got “preferential treatment as a Korean-American.”
Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson denounced the smear mailing as “despicable.” Republican Assemblywomen Charlotte Vandervalk said “to use race-baiting like that is so offensive, it’s unforgivable.” Republican voters had the final say; O’Toole beat his opponent by better than 2 to 1, carrying Essex County 3 to 1, Passaic County 2 to 1 and beating his opponent on the latter’s home turf of Bergen.
“The voters rejected intolerance tonight,” said O’Toole to a jubilant crowd at his victory bash. “They rejected bigotry and the politics of division,” said the new Senatorial nominee. “We have walked into the sunshine of conciliation and racial harmony.” O’Toole said Republican voters had rejected naked appeals based on race and chosen a nominee based on experience, ideas and issues. “It’s a new day for the Republican Party.”
