To illustrate his point that there really are racists in the Republican Party, The Daily Beast‘s Michael Tomasky turns to the comments section at FoxNews.com and “watermelon jokes”:

He writes:

[T]he rank and file’s racism is just a plain fact. Ever read some of those Fox News website comment threads on race stories, like this rather fascinating thread when Whitney Houston died, or certain Obama articles? It’s like reading Bull Connor’s diary. No, this doesn’t mean every conservative is a racist. But it does mean that if you find yourself at a table with five conservatives and try to break the ice with a watermelon joke, you’re very likely to get somewhere between two and three laughs.

We’ve written The Daily Beast about getting in touch with Tomasky for an answer as to whether the comments section of any website is the best place to draw conclusions on racial sentiments. We’ve also asked if he can elaborate on what a “watermelon joke” is. We’ll update if they get back to us.