New Jersey Republican lawmaker resigns after his wife sends racist e-mail to Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis.

Courtesy of AP:

Pat Delany stepped down from the state Assembly this month and said he wouldn’t seek a full term in November because of his wife’s missive to Lewis’ campaign, Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton said. Delany originally cited an unspecified family issue as the reason for his abrupt resignation. 

Delany and his wife, Jennifer Delany, are white. Lewis, a political novice who’s among the greatest athletes of all time, is black. 

Jennifer Delany’s email to Lewis’ campaign said, in part, “Imagine having dark skin and name recognition and the nerve to think that equaled knowing something about politics.” 

Layton said Pat Delany decided to leave office to shield his three children from “a hurtful and embarrassing public spectacle involving their mother.” 

“Former Assemblyman Pat Delany’s wife inexplicably sent an offensive and racist email in response to a routine email from Carl Lewis’ campaign; her actions were inexcusable,” Layton said. 

Delany said in a statement that he and his wife don’t share the same racial views. 

He said he was sorry.“On behalf of my family, we sincerely apologize to Mr. Lewis for any pain this caused him,” he said. 

Neither the Delanys nor Lewis could be reached by telephone for comment Monday.

You might think I would be used to it by now, but I STILL find myself shocked by the amount of racism that has bubbled to the surface since the election of Barack Obama. It is like the country was nothing more than a pus filled boil that the election pierced, thereby releasing the rancid infection lying just beneath the surface and allowing it to spill forth onto our airwaves and political landscape.

I want to feel badly for this guy, especially if it is true that "he and his wife don't share the same racial views," however that might NOT be accurate according to this article:

“Three South Jersey Republican lawmakers want to cut off public funding from colleges that enroll illegal immigrants. 

A bill from state Senator Dawn Marie Addiego and Assemblymen Scott Rudder and Pat Delany, all R-Burlington, would take away shares of the state’s $850 million budget for higher education from any school determined to have admitted illegal immigrants to the student body. 

Yeah that sounds like typical Teabagger code for "keep the darkies out of our schools."

I am wondering if both Rep. Delany AND his wife share these same racist views, but only she was careless enough to let the cat out of the bag publicly?

What do you think?