Orange County Republican party official Marilyn Davenport has sort-of apologized for sending out a racist picture of President Obama depicting him as a chimp being held by his chimp parents: “I’m sorry if my email offended anyone. I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth.”
She added: “Again, for those select few who might be truly offended by viewing a copy of an email I sent to a select list of friends and acquaintances, unlike the liberal left when they do the same, I offer my sincere apologies to you—the email was not meant for you.”
Davenport’s message came after the OC Weekly obtained a copy of an e-mail on Friday with a picture of the President photoshopped onto a baby chimp that’s being held by two adult chimps. “Now you know why no birth certificate,” the picture says.
Scott Baugh, chair of the OC Republican Party, decried the e-mail, telling R. Scott Moxley of the Weekly that he thought it was “despicable.”
“It is dripping with racism and it does not promote the type of message Orange County Republicans want to deliver to the public,” he said. “I think she should consider stepping down as an elected official.”
Davenport says she won’t resign, but she did apologize — with some qualifiers: “In no way did I even consider the fact he’s half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people tried to make this about race. We all know a double standard applies regarding this president.”
Orange County is one of the wealthiest and most populous majority Republican counties in the country — and this isn’t the first time a public official there has come under fire for sending racist e-mails pertaining to the President. In 2009, shortly after Obama was elected, Los Alamitos Mayor and City Councilman Dean Grose resigned after he e-mailed out a picture of watermelons growing on the front lawn of the White House.
Here’s Davenport’s full apology e-mail from Saturday — it’s definitely worth a read:
I’m sorry if my email offended anyone. I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth. In no way did I even consider the fact he’s half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people tried to make this about race. We all know a double standard applies regarding this president. I received plenty of emails about George Bush that I didn’t particularly like yet there was no ‘cry’ in the media about them. One only has to go to Youtube or Google Images to see a plethora or lampooning videos and pictures of Obama, Bush and other politicians. That being said, I will NOT resign my central committee position over this matter that the average person knows and agrees is much to do about nothing. Again, for those select few who might be truly offended by viewing a copy of an email I sent to a select list of friends and acquaintances, unlike the liberal left when they do the same, I offer my sincere apologies to you—the email was not meant for you. For any of my friends or acquaintances who were the recipients of my email and were truly offended, please call me so I may offer a sincere verbal apology to you.
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.