A political leader in Maryland is under fire because of the name of a family pet.
Diana Waterman, the newly elected First Vice Chairman of the state Republican Party, has a black Angus cow named "Oprah."
According to the Baltimore Sun, the issue came to light on a recent Facebook posting when the cow birthed a calf.
The Sun says the posting caught the attention of Sveinn Storm, who runs a Queen Anne's County-focused blog called "Pave Our County?"
Storm criticized Waterman's naming the cow after the African-American talk show host who has struggled with her weight. Storm say that's "precisely why an enormouse number of Americans view Republicans as racists."
Waterman defends the name. In a response to the Sun she said her children named the family's three cows. Oprah was named for a person they admire. The other two, Ferdinand and Isabella are named after the Spanish monarchs who approved Christopher Columbus's trip to the New World.
A spokesman for the Maryland GOP says the state has bigger problems than the naming of a cow.
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"With Maryland facing a record budget deficit, historic unemployment and a government that spends beyond its means, I'm not sure why we're talking about cows," said Ryan Mahoney.
On her Facebook posting, Waterman joked that the newborn would not be called "veal."
