Roger Simon: Being 'a little bit racist' helps in GOP primary

Politico's Roger Simon says that Republican presidential Rick Perry's of birtherism amounts to a racist "dog whistle."

"It's not a 'fun' issue to poke somebody on," Simon told CNN's Howard Kurtz Sunday. "It is more than a little bit racist. Not everyone who believes it is a racist. It grew out of the belief that a black man could not be legitimately elected to the president of the United States."

He continued: "Now, why would Perry use that in the primaries instead of saving it for the general when he's running against President Obama? Well, it's because being extreme, perhaps, and a little bit racist, perhaps, gives you good bona fides in a Republican primary. It shows them that you are on the same side as they are."

"So, it's a bit of a dog whistle?" Kurtz asked.

"Absolutely," Simon replied.

After almost a week of refusing to admit that President Barack Obama was a U.S. citizen, Perry finally said Wednesday that he had "no doubt" that the president's birth certificate was real.

Watch this video from CNN's Reliable Sources, broadcast Oct. 30, 2011.

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