Since hearing about the Congressional Candidate named Tramm Hudson , the leading contender for the seat that Katherine Harris is vacating so as to run a comedic campaign for the Senate, who said that Black People cannot swim — or have trouble swimming, I needed to figure out in what context a politician could possibly find for saying such a thing, as it seems just kind of random. I guess I have the answer.

In the segment, Hudson, a former Army commander, recalls leading his infantry company across a river during a training exercise.

“A large number were black,” Hudson said. “I grew up in Alabama. I understand, uh, I know from experience, that blacks are not the greatest swimmers or may not even know how to swim.”

So what he was describing was how much mettle it takes to lead an infantry across the river, and to further appreciate the demands this takes on you, you need to understand that the infantry he was leading were black, and — since he had contact with a lot of black people because he grew up Alabama, he knows that blacks make lousy swimmers, and thus it takes more mettle and more leadership capabilities — the type you would appreciate and the type that it would take to be a fully capable and excellent Congress-man– to lead an infantry that includes a lot of blacks than if it were all white.

So, there’s your pitch. Elect Tramm Hudson. Florida 13th.

He has many Black Friends, as you can see at this website.

am a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and an African American woman. Like Tramm, I commanded troops in the field. I reviewed the complete video tape of his remarks about the river crossing in Panama and do not find it offensive. It shows an awareness and concern for his troops and quite possibly was the reason the soldier was rescued so promptly. I have direct experience with racism and know what racism is. Tramm’s remarks were not racist. To take his words out of context and portray this as something it is not, is the height of demagoguery and smacks of race baiting.

Frances Rice – Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (Ret.)
Chairwoman of the National Black Republican Association

What context Frances Rice has his words in, I do not know.

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