Just not the Joe of 2012 this time. |
"Harris, who is Jamaican-American, inserted herself into a discussion on the thorny topic, saying, 'As the only black person on this stage, I would like to speak, on the issue of race.
"She said it was 'hurtful' that Biden had praised two notorious Democratic segregationists who he served with in the Senate in the 1970s.
"One, James Eastland, from Mississippi, called African-Americans 'flesh eaters'; the other, Herman Talmadge, first ran for the Senate on a pledge to stop blacks and whites eating together in the Capitol itself.
"Biden told a private fundraising event that Eastland 'didn't call me boy,' and said of their time in the Senate: 'At least there was some civility.'
"Harris also confronted Biden on his anti-busing stance in the '70s to encourage racial integration in schools – he worked with the two segregationists to try to prevent federal imposition of the policy.
" 'I do not believe you are a racist. And I agree with you, when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground,' she said. 'But I also believe – and it’s personal, and I was actually very – it was hurtful, to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country.' " . . .