Talk about stereotypes

Nevada Democrats issued the following statement:

"Las Vegas, NV – Assemblywoman Dina Neal , Assemblymen Kelvin Atkinson, Steven Brooks, Jason Frierson, William Horne, Harvey Munford, and Nevada Senate candidates Aaron Ford and Patricia Spearman released the following statement in response to Danny Tarkanian saying he will do well with 'black voters' because of his 'basketball connections' -- one day after his campaign ridiculed Steven Horsford for his support of the Voting Rights Act:

" 'Danny Tarkanian's use of patronizing stereotypes has no place in American politics today. Like all communities, Nevada's African-American community will support candidates who focus on creating jobs, cracking down on the abuses of Wall Street and protecting Social Security and Medicare -- not the kind of rhetoric of centuries past. Danny Tarkanian should immediately apologize for his offensive remark.' "

I am not vouching for or discounting anything this release says about what Danny Tarkanian has said. Nor am I suggesting anything right or wrong about Tarkanian's chances among black voters because his dad was one of the greatest "second-chance" coaches (primarily for black basketball players) in college basketball. That's something I'll leave to your personal choice.

But if you want to talk about stereotypes, it is a gigantic stereotype to say the all black people only support candidates who utter the talking points in this release. I suggest we all stop lumping the "black community" into some kind of lock-step voting bloc -- especially the left, who (as this release appears to do) too often take the "black community" for granted as the exclusive property of Democrats.