In politics, humor is dead if the person trying to be funny is someone you disagree with. Some are now trying to imply Representative Mike Rogers (R-Saks) is being inappropriate because he made a “dad joke” at a Congressional committee hearing:

Why is @RepMikeRogersAL saying the following, "It's refreshing to finally have a witness that doesn't have an accent before this committee," right after @RepJenniffer of #PuertoRico speaks. And Rogers has a F-ING ACCENT! #NoMames pic.twitter.com/3LfCzdLPuh

— Latino Rebels ☆ (@latinorebels) March 20, 2018

Yes, Rogers has an accent, that is THE joke. The person he is talking to was fellow Southerner Brock Long, who also has a Southern drawl, which to another person with a Southern drawl is not an accent. Is it a good joke? Meh. But it surely isn’t an insult.

To prove how dishonest this attack is, in 2015 he made the same joke at an event in the exotic racially-diverse North Dakota:

REP. ROGERS:  I’m going to be the first speaker without an accent this morning.

(Laughter).

When I came here I didn’t know they were going to have foreign language speakers before me, but it’s true.  I was in Minot.  As you all know, my ranking member and buddy is from Tennessee.  I’m from the great state of Alabama. 

Why this matters: In reality, it doesn’t matter. When people take this nitpicky nonsense and try to make an issue out of it, it only hurts them. There are actual racists and bad guys out there, there is no evidence that Rogers is one. There are bad actors, operating in bad faith, hoping some local media schmuck will pick up the story and amplify it:

Well, Saks' own @RepMikeRogersAL has a thing against people with accents, apparently.https://t.co/kkDDasN5iZ

— Phillip Tutor (@ThePhillipTutor) March 20, 2018

No one thinks Rogers meant anything negative by what he said. To pretend otherwise shows how phony some people are.

Dale Jackson hosts a daily radio show from 7-11 a.m. on NewsTalk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN and a weekly television show, “Guerrilla Politics,” on WAAY-TV, both in North Alabama. Follow him @TheDaleJackson.