Election year signals the time for dirty politics. The easiest targets for the school ground bullies amongst politicians are those with foreign origins and “foreign sounding” names. Meet David Krikorian, a 2nd Congressional District candidate. [Politico]
David Krikorian, who took 18 percent of the vote as an independent against Schmidt in 2008 even as Democrats targeted the seat, is fighting back against the allegation that he used racially charged language to describe his primary opponent Surya Yalamanchili, who is of Indian extraction.
Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke and Clermont County Democratic Party Chairman David Lane penned a letter to Krikorian saying they’d “heard from several sources” that he “made fun of Surya Yalamanchili’s name.”
Krikorian reportedly mispronounced Yalamanchili’s name and even made these comments at a meeting. [The Atlantic]
“Now do you really think that a guy with a name like that has a chance of ever being elected?” Krikorian allegedly said to members of Veterans of Foreign Wars in Clermont County.
In typical school bully fashion, David Krikorian, whose last name isn’t exactly the easiest to pronounce either, has denied making these remarks. [Cincinnati News]
These comments have not only drawn the ire of the Democrats’ rank and file but also from potential Republican opponent Jean Schmidt. [Letter from the Democrats and the Republican opponent]
The Democrat party response concludes thus ….
… prompting Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic to raise this question:
Could Surya Yalamanchili be The Next “Skinny Kid With A Funny Name“?
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