Last week someone from the Tom White campaign posted a fundraising diary here. Tom White is a democrat running against Lee Terry in Nebraska's 2nd district which includes Omaha.
So, I reached out to my family there to gain their support for this candidate. My brother brought something quite disturbing to my attention, if true. He first said that he would support Tom White because he always votes against Lee Terry. But, after talking with his wife (my sister-in-law is an independent), he then said he would think about it. So, of course, I followed up with him on what caused his sudden hesitancy. He said his wife met Tom White at a corporate run in downtown Omaha, and he was smiling and saying hi to everyone. Then, we he saw her, he stopped smiling, wouldn't speak to her or shake her hand, and walked away. She thought he was a racist. Now, I wasn't there, so of course I'm not accusing him of being a racist. What came across to my sister-in-law could've been totally inadvertant on his part, and maybe her sensitivities caused her to see something that wasn't apparently there at all. I don't know if anyone from Tom White's staff reads here at all when not fundraising. But, if so, maybe someone could advise him to just be a little more sensitive in how he comes across at meet-and-greets.