GOP Senate Candidate's Apology to 'That Jew' Chuck Schumer Accepted

Arkansas Republican candidate for US Senate Kim "Tippi" Hendren put his foot in his mouth when he referred to NY Senator Chuck Schumer as "that Jew" at a party meeting last week:

Hendren told me, "At the meeting I was attempting to explain that unlike Sen. Schumer, I believe in traditional values, like we used to see on 'The Andy Griffith Show.' I made the mistake of referring to Sen. Schumer as 'that Jew' and I should not have put it that way as this took away from what I was trying to say."

Hendren has since offered an apology to Senator Schumer:

"I ought not to have referred to it at all," Hendren told the AP. "When I referred to him as Jewish, it wasn't because I don't like Jewish people."

Sure, you can like a guy just fine, even if you think he's "crafty." He continued:

Hendren said he made the reference as he talked about comments the senior senator made criticizing some elements of the Republican Party.

"I shouldn't have gotten into this Jewish business because it distracts from the issue," Hendren said.

I'm not really clear whether Hendren was apologizing to Schumer, or to "the issue" from which he distracted, but this was apparently sufficient for Senator Schumer, who carefully constructed a response:

"Apology accepted," the senator said.

I wonder if Hendren needed to apologize at all. In his original remarks, he referenced The Andy Griffith Show, so maybe he was just pitching Schumer for a remake of Marlo Thomas' 60's sitcom "That Girl."

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