Montana Senator Does It Again

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, whose re-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.

Burns, 71, also had to apologize after confronting members of a firefighting team at the Billings airport and telling them they had done a "piss-poor job," according to a state report. In July, the Hotshot crew had traveled 2,000 miles from Staunton, Va., to help dig fire lines for about a week around a 143-square-mile wildfire east of Billings.

At the campaign event with Bush, Burns talked about the war on terrorism, saying a "faceless enemy" of terrorists "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night."

The campaign said Thursday that the senator was simply pointing out terrorists can be anywhere.

"The point is there are terrorists that live amongst us. Not only here, but in Britain and the entire world," said spokesman Jason Klindt. "Whether they are taxi drivers or investment bankers, the fact remains that this is a new type of enemy."

Another GOP senator, George Allen of Virginia, twice referred to an opponent's volunteer using a term for a monkey, considered by some to be a racial slur. "Let's give a welcome to Macaca here," Allen said. "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia."

Allen has since apologized to S.R. Sidarth, who was born in Virginia and is of Indian descent.

But Republicans hardly have a lock on offending minorities. Former Democratic congressman and civil rights leader Andrew Young, who is black, said this month that Asian, Jewish and Arab shopkeepers in black neighborhoods sold shoddy goods to blacks and drove away their businesses.

And, responding to Democratic complaints about Burns' verbal gaffes, Republicans argued that his Democratic rival made a comment earlier this week that was derogatory toward American Indians.

In an interview with The Seattle Times, Jon Tester talked about the faith he has in his staff, and said, "Nobody has done anything to make me think they're trying to tomahawk me."

Brock Lowrance, spokesman for the Montana Republican Party, said American Indians have long found "tomahawk" a derogatory term. American Indians are the state's largest minority group.