(NAME-MCE) Rep. Carolyn Maloney apologizes over use of N-word

[Anselmo Villanueva]

Rep. Carolyn Maloney apologizes over use of N-word, but slip may cost
her against Sen. Gillibrand

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/07/20/2009-07-20_rep_carolyn_maloney_apologizes_over_use_of_nword_but_incident_may_cost_her_again.html?print=1&page=all#ixzz0LprRIMLp

By Michael Saul
DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Monday, July 20th 2009, 2:51 PM
Monaster/News

Rep. Carolyn Maloney's use of the N-word may hurt her planned run
against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
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N-Word = Awkward

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Rep. Carolyn Maloney's planned Senate bid isn't even officially off
the ground and already she's scrambling to say sorry for using the
N-word in an interview.

"I apologize for having repeated a word I find disgusting," Maloney
said in a statement Monday.

Maloney used the racial slur while relaying a story she'd heard.

The potentially damaging gaffe comes a week before Maloney's scheduled
launch of her Democratic challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand at the
polls next fall.

Baruch College's political pro Doug Muzzio said Maloney's use of the
N-word is, to be blunt, "stupid."

"A week before your announcement you don't want to apologize for
anything, particularly a word that would offend a core demographic
group," Muzzio said. "Is it fatal? No. But it sure ain't good."

Maloney aides say the East Side congresswoman is undeterred by the
controversy and will formally announce her Senate candidacy next
Monday or Tuesday.

She spent last night raising about $300,000 for her House campaign war
chest with a cash bash headlined by ex-President Bill Clinton at the
St. Regis Hotel in midtown.

Asked about the flap at the fund-raiser, Maloney refused to expand on
her earlier statement.

She made the slur while criticizing Gillibrand to City Hall, a
biweekly publication and political Web site.

She was relaying a conversation she'd had with someone disappointed in
the new senator's stance on English-only education - a hot-button
issue in the Hispanic community.

"I got a call from someone from Puerto Rico, said [Gillibrand] went to
Puerto Rico and came out for English-only [education]. And he said,
'It was like saying n----- to a Puerto Rican,'" she is quoted as
saying, using the full racial slur.

In a statement, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who is supporting Gillibrand,
lambasted Maloney, saying her use of the word was "alarming."

"No public official, even in quoting someone else, should loosely use
such an offensive term and should certainly challenge someone using
the term to him or her," Sharpton said.

Maloney explained, "It's no excuse, but I was so caught up in relaying
the story exactly as it was told to me that, in doing so, I repeated a
word that should never be repeated."

Sharpton said he takes Maloney's apology at face value, but he said
the incident could hurt her in the African-American community.

"I personally don't think she's a racist, but I think it is
disturbing," he said. "Does she [regularly] allow this kind of word in
conversation?"

Gillibrand spokesman Matt Canter said the senator believes "any use of
the word is offensive."

Despite the blowback, Maloney's team was still trying to score points
off Gillibrand's English-only stance - a position the senator's aides
say she opposes. But in 2007-08, the "English First" group gave
Gillibrand an A grade.

"Apparently, Sen. Gillibrand has changed her positions so many times
that her own staff doesn't even remember what they are," said Paul
Blank, a senior Maloney aide.

msaul at nydailynews.com