Rep. Carolyn Maloney Drops the N-Bomb Against Gillibrand

[LAGC]

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

(CNN) – New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat, apologized Monday for using the N word in a recent interview while recounting a phone call she had received.

"I apologize for having repeated a word I find disgusting," Maloney said in a statement. "It's no excuse but I was so caught up in relaying the story exactly as it was told to me that, in doing so, I repeated a word that should never be repeated."

Maloney, who is challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for the 2010 Democratic Senate nomination in New York, used the full racial slur in an interview with the Web site City Hall while taking aim at Gillibrand's record.

"I got a call from someone from Puerto Rico, said went to Puerto Rico and came out for English-only . And he said, 'It was like saying n—r to a Puerto Rican,'" Maloney said. "I don't know-I don't know if that's true or not. I just called. I'm just throwing that out. All of her-well, what does she stand for?"

Earlier Monday, the Rev. Al Sharpton — a supporter of Gillibrand's bid — sharply criticized Maloney for using the word.

"The quote by Congresswoman Maloney if accurate is alarming and disturbing at best," he said in a statement. "No public official even in quoting someone else should loosely use such an offensive term and should certainly challenge someone using the term to him or her."

The controversy comes the same day Maloney is set to hold a big-ticket fundraiser that includes an appearance from former President Bill Clinton. Clinton has also attended a fundraiser for Gillibrand.

[Curtland1015]

1. Not knocking the story, but the title makes it sound like Maloney is calling Gillibrand...

...you know what.

Or is that what she's saying? I'm so confused!

[JonQ]

2. I don't see a big deal

if she were merely quoting someone else. Quoting someone verbatim doesn't mean you agree with what they have to say, necessarily. Now if she'd added a "hell yeah" to the end of that, well that would be different.

[rvablue]

3. Maloney needs to give it up. She's got sour grapes that she's wasn't picked

to replace Hillary, believes it's "her time," and wouldn't do anything much different than what Gillibrand is already doing in the Senate.

Frankly, I cannot make heads nor tails of that quote in which she employed the N-word, but nonetheless, it's a obviously a cheap shot to rev up some "racist" meme about Gillibrand. Lame.