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Remember Joe Klein recently said:

Rove has shown a positive genius for organizing campaigns around poisonous trivia. He will question the patriotism of Democrats (and, once again, be aided by those on the noisome left who believe that the U.S. is a malignant, imperialistic force in the world). He will deploy an ugly, stone-throwing distortion of Christian "values," especially against those Democrats who choose not to discriminate against homosexuals. And if things get really desperate, he will play the race card, as Republicans have ever since they sided against the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Let's play connect-the-dots:

Conrad Burns:

Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose recent comments have stirred controversy, says the United States is up against a faceless enemy of terrorists who "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night."

During a fundraiser Wednesday with first lady Laura Bush, the three-term Montana senator talked about terrorism, tax cuts and the money he has brought to his state. Burns is one of the more vulnerable Senate incumbents, facing a tough challenge from Democrat Jon Tester.

He has drawn criticism in recent weeks for calling his house painter a "nice little Guatemalan man" during a June speech. Burns, whosere-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, also suggested that the man might be an illegal immigrant. The campaign later said the worker is legal. 

George Allen:

Allen was making a campaign stop and spotted a college student who was shadowing him - videotaping all his appearances - to gather possible ammunition for the campaign of his opponent, Democrat James Webb. The young man, S.R. Sidarth, is of Indian descent. Allen pointed him out for the all-white crowd, calling him "Macaca, or whatever his name is", and then said to Sidarth, "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia". Sidarth happens to have be a Virginia native.

Allen and his aides scrambled to assure reporters that the senator had no idea that macaca is the genus to which macaques belong. Nor did the senator have a clue that in some European countries "makak" is a derogatory term for North African immigrants.

Lincoln Chafee:

As we set to see the 3rd Laffey/Chafee debate tonight at 8:00pm on Channel 12, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign has unleashed a dirty, malicious and racist ad attacking Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey in an attempt to portray him as ‘soft’ on immigration and homeland security.

Click here to see the ad.

The funny thing is that Lincoln Chafee supported every pro-immigrant bill in the Senate – from a legalization for farm workers to the legalization bill by McCain-Kennedy. Trying to position Steve Laffey to the left of Chafee is like trying to put Joe Lieberman to the left of Ted Kennedy. Ain’t gonna happen folks.

Joe Lieberman:

The Lieberman campaign is trying to frighten white voters in Connecticut — and Democrats in Washington — by reminding them over and over again that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson support Lamont. This week, the senator’s aides told the New York Times that playing the two African-American preachers off against Lamont will enhance Lieberman’s appeal on an independent ballot line. "Primary night was the first time that many Connecticut voters saw Lamont on TV, and he’s surrounding himself with two of the more divisive and problematic figures in the Democratic Party," said Dan Gerstein, the Lieberman campaign’s communications director.

Any questions?

Update:  As if on cue, Pat Buchanan:

What I would like is — I’d like the country I grew up in. It was a good country. I lived in Washington, D.C., 400,000 black folks, 400,000 white folks, in a country 89 or 90 percent white. I like that country.

Looks like the November GOP War on Brown People is already in full swing.