An Arizona democrat candidate for governor has waded into the murky waters of racial politics last week, when he released a photo of himself with his face darkened to look more Hispanic. Fred DuVal, the presumed nominee for his the Democrat Party, said he wanted to show republicans that he’s a “good sport.”
DuVal’s unusual explanation stems from the fact that his darkened face picture was created in response to GOP operatives who labeled him “The World’s Most Uninteresting Man” playing off the imaginary Latino character; “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” in Dos Equis commercials played by Jonathan Goldsmith, in which he speaks with a voice inspired by his deceased friend and famous actor, Fernando Lamas.
According to the Arizona GOP, “DuVal digitally morphed himself to resemble the person pictured here, put the doctored image out on Twitter and hand-delivered a printed copy to the AZGOP. Painful attempts at humor, especially with racial overtones, usually backfire on candidates.”
The Yellow Sheet spun the behavior for DuVal writing that he “had some fun with the Arizona Republican Party and Graham today, responding to the party’s decree that he is the “most uninteresting man in the world” with some cerveza-based humor of his own.” According to the Yellow Sheet, David DuVal, “the Dem gubernatorial hopeful’s brother, delivered a case of Dos Equis to Graham and AZGOP Executive Director Chad Heywood, along with a thank-you card for giving the Dem hopeful’s campaign a fundraising boost.”
Reportedly, democrats responded to DuVal’s racist prank by donating more than $11,000, according to campaign spokeswoman Leslie Sonnenklar.
In a press release, DuVal said he was “flattered” that the republicans would start targeting him so long before the election, and that rather than attack in response, he wanted to show them that he’s a “good sport.”
Conservative Latinos and Americans of African descent are not laughing however, they say that DuVal and his fellow democrats have a history of using race and racial divisions to raise funds on the backs of the very people their boycotts and other political stunts have hurt.
Rudy Pena, a Latino democrat, said his take was that it “reeks of a move by an insignificant org, heavily under the influence of both the left and the consumption of “Tequila”. Do they deem this to be an effective form of outreach to the Latino/Hispanic community? The extreme determination to find an apparently acceptable means (to at least one Anglo) to pander through ridicule is at best an indication that desperation may be setting in for the DNC’s handpicked candidate. Either that, or an unhealthy, out of touch cockiness has found itself to be quite comfortable at the expense of an entire group of minorities. Which is it?”
“What would be more curious (and an invitation to transparency) in this sobriety lacking, stereotypical attempt at winning favor with a presumed alcohol induced community,” Pena challenged, “would be the revelation as to who in what leadership positions from the democrat left, determined this depiction to be a proper means to address an important voting bloc in upcoming elections. But rather than stooping to the level of liberal-progressive ideology and implying racial bigotry, I will employ a higher standard and recognize it as an authentic lapse in critical judgment.”
“I don’t care how desperate for media coverage and attention you are; a gubernatorial campaign is no place for a racially motivated minstrel show,” said Yolanda Weinberger, a historian and contributor to the Arizona Daily Independent. “I cannot believe that my Latino brothers and sisters–even those with good senses of humor–would encourage this type of activity when we need substance to make informed voting decisions. The Democratic Party should be ashamed to monetarily reward such behavior.”
Jose Borrajero, of the Arizona Latino Republican Association said, “As a Latino, I was not offended at all by the allusion to the Dos Equis commercial guy. It was a very stupid prank by someone who wants to be taken seriously as a gubernatorial candidate. But one must admit, it was amusing. What is not funny is that the Democrat party has become the party of economic oppression of Latinos and other “minorities”. Unlike the Democrat policies of the JFK era, current democrat policies are specifically designed to keep Latinos and others dependent on government programs, in a state of permanent financial slavery.” Borrajero emphasized that his group was not offended by the picture but offended by the democrats’ practices, he continued. “They do this by promoting a victim mentality among minorities, encouraging class and ethnic warfare, and maintaining a constant exchange of votes for free stuff. This extreme government dependency tends to keep Latinos from achieving their full potential, and obtaining economic freedom.”
“We should be focusing our attention on this rather than the silly pranks of silly candidates,” concluded Borrajero.
One republican operative who asked not to be identified said, “This is the kind of thing you might think was funny but would never do… unless you started drinking too many Dos Equis.”
Updated 8/5/2013