Harry Reid suggests Senate Republicans may, in fact, be filthy racists

Speaking to a local Nevada radio station last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid suggested that Republicans on Capitol Hill may be opposed to President Barack Obama's progressive agenda just because he is black -- this from the man who previously hailed Obama for his"light-skinned" appearance and lack of "negro dialect."

To top off his latest verbal flatulence, the uber-modest Reid says he "hopes" he's wrong:

My counterpart, Mitch McConnell, said at the the beginning of the presidency of Barack Obama that he had one goal – and that is to defeat Obama and make sure he wasn’t re-elected. And that’s how they legislate in the Senate. It was really bad.

And we’re now seven months into this second term of the president’s and they haven’t changed much. It’s been obvious that they’re doing everything they can to make him fail. And I hope, I hope – and I say this seriously – I hope that’s based on substance and not the fact that he’s African-American.

Mediaite flagged the audio:

In response, Republican Sen. Tim Scott fired back at Reid. As the sole African-American currently serving in the Senate, Scott released a strongly worded statement:

I am sincerely disappointed by continued attempts to divide the American people by playing to the lowest common denominator. Instead of engaging in serious debate about the failed policies of this administration – from the ever-increasing burdens created by the national health care reform plan to the tax and spend approach to economic recovery, along with countless others – Democrats are once again trying to hide behind a smokescreen.

Our country deserves more from those in Washington. I hope Senator Reid will realize the offensive nature of his remarks and apologize to those who disagree with the President’s policies because of one thing – they are hurting hardworking American families.