Kimberley Paige Barnette is running as a Republican for mayor of Charlotte, NC. Last month she participated in a candidate debate and said some noteworthy things. She didn’t love the poor, whom she said should be discouraged from coming to Charlotte, because they don’t have much money to spend. Except, she thinks, on expensive cars. She spoke to transgender bathroom choice, taking the I’ll-be-the-gender-judge approach.

She expressed disapproval of the people’s right to peacefully assemble. (As mentioned, in fact GUARANTEED, in the FIRST AMENDMENT. Of the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, Kimberly Paige.) She said protests are “expressive of Democratic behavior.” She said “As mayor, what I would like to discourage is assembly. Protests are confrontational, they’re chaotic, they scare people. I believe there’s a better way to express yourselves.”

As in a recent Facebook posting, in which she expressed herself by saying people should “Vote for me!” with the following argument: “REPUBLICAN & SMART, WHITE, TRADITIONAL”.

Yeah.

“Republican” is clear enough. Maybe she believes she’s “smart,” although the reaction to her slogan might seem to prove her wrong. “Traditional” looks like a code word. For something. Something that used to be, or that some people think used to be… Bring back drive-in movies? Bring back lynching? Bring back polio?

Then there’s “White.”

Yes. She thinks people should vote for her because she’s white. Because she tells them she’s white.

SorryWatch has no patience for this idiot Kimberly Paige. If she’s saying white is better than non-white, that’s the definition of racism. Maybe she’s saying that people should pick politicians of their own race, since politicians of other races won’t look after their interests. That’s a narrow, ugly view of human behavior (which she hopes to profit from). Charlotte’s population is 45% white, and it might be that the local Republican party is more heavily white. Though her Republican primary opponents, Kenny Smith and Gary Dunn, also appear to be white. Not that they list that among their credentials.

Whatever she’s saying, the state party hurried to disagree. “Any suggestion that a candidate is more or less qualified for political office based on their skin color alone, [is] offensive to North Carolina Republicans and we condemn it. This type of suggestion has no place in our public discourse.”

She was said to have apologized, or SorryWatch wouldn’t have put our hipboots on to wade through this scum.

She posted (on her now-deleted Facebook page):

There is a group called Congressional Black Caucus. I’m sorry if I described myself as white and it offended others.

SPECTACULARLY AWFUL.

It’s a dread sorry-if, which tells you she’s not sorry at all. She tries to justify herself. She thinks it’s TOTES UNFAIR that people are picking on her if they don’t pick on the CBC. Note that CBC members are already in office, and use the CBC to focus on issues particularly relevant to their black constituents. We didn’t find any whose campaign literature had suggested people vote for them because they’re BLACK. And yes, Kimberly Paige, you did offend others, including those in your own party, maybe because they’re SMARTer than you.

Kimberly Paige, you can describe yourself as white – and not be criticized! – if you’re not doing it to say THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR ME! If you’re meeting someone at the airport whom you haven’t met before, you should feel free to say “I’m white, I have long dark hair and a crazed smile, and I’ll be holding a sign that says ‘WELCOME RICH FOLKS!’”

(Thanks to Simon P. for bringing this to our attention.)