State Sen. Louise Lucas (D., Portsmouth), told a radio host that Republican candidate Mitt Romney is “speaking to that fringe out there who do not want to see anybody other than a white person in a leadership position.”

“I absolutely believe it’s all about race and for the first time I’ve convinced my children finally that racism is alive and well,” she said.

Lucas appeared on the WHKT talk show in her official capacity as an Obama surrogate. The president’s reelection campaign refused to respond to media requests about the comment.

Lucas did not return a call for comment.

Lucas, an African American, has a history of race-baiting rhetoric and lawsuits, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.

In 2008, Lucas sued the city of Portsmouth for not providing two construction companies she owned with low cost loans. The $100 million lawsuit claimed “the [city] council denied the money because the proposed project was led mostly by blacks.”

The lawsuit prompted immediate outrage from the city and Virginia media. The Virginian-Pilot said that Lucas’ attempt to brand her constituents as racist was “specious, irresponsible, and incendiary.” Lucas eventually dropped the lawsuit.

That was not the first time Lucas’ racism allegations have fallen flat. In her 2001 congressional campaign, she claimed a Republican delegate’s get-out-the-vote appeal on behalf of her rival, J. Randy Forbes, smacked of racism. Del. Riley E. Ingram (R., Hopewell) told Forbes supporters that Lucas was “working to get the people out to vote. … Her people. Not Randy’s people, not my people, not your people.” Lucas insisted that Ingram directed his comments at blacks rather than at Democrats.

“I’m very sorry that Forbes and his associates have taken this tone,” she told the Richmond Times Dispatch. “Anybody who knows me knows that’s not me. I’m talking to everybody.”

Forbes defeated Lucas 52-48 percent.

Lucas has played a major role in Obama’s Virginia operation, joining the campaign’s so-called Truth Team, which is designed to rebut criticism. She takes the role very seriously, telling a group of Obama supporters that criticism of the president has driven her to tears.

Newspapers in Virginia have greeted her racial rhetoric and zealous defense of Obama’s record with mockery.

“Lucas thinks Obama has done such a wonderful job—and she has this on good authority because ‘I listen to MSNBC’—that no one could possibly oppose his reelection except for racist reasons,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote in an editorial. “Suppose Obama were Republican. No matter how well he had performed, millions of Democrats—including, no doubt, African Americans—would oppose his reelection on that basis alone … opposition stems from their belief that he is of the wrong party—not the wrong color.”

Obama beat Republican Sen. John McCain in Virginia by 6 percent in 2008. However, he is running in a dead heat in 2012, according to Real Clear Politics, thanks in part to a Republican resurgence that has seen the GOP capture the governor’s mansion and both branches of the state legislature since 2009.

Rep. J. Randy Forbes, a member of the Armed Services Committee and a Virginia Republican, stated in a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the report is late and that repeated excuses from the Pentagon for the delay do not justify “repeated disregard for the law.”

“Unfortunately, the report’s tardy delivery has become an annual occurrence,” Forbes stated.

“My office has heard myriad reasons for these delays—interagency coordination, analytical challenges, political pressures—and been assured of a more timely delivery in the future, but each year the department has fallen short.”

Forbes said that this year the delay is more of a concern because of the Pentagon’s plan to rebalance U.S. forces toward the Asia Pacific, as part of the administration’s post-Iraq and Afghanistan forces drawdown strategy.

The Pentagon also has adopted a new Air Sea Battle Concept that calls for building up U.S. forces in Asia to counter China’s “anti-access” weaponry such as submarines, anti-satellite missiles, anti-ship ballistic missiles, and cyber warfare capabilities.

“I find it even more alarming why a report on the military capabilities of a state that the department has said is acquiring capabilities aimed at denying the United States freedom of action in the western Pacific Ocean would again be unavailable during the National Defense Authorization Act assessment process,” Forbes said.

Forbes stated in the letter that he does not want an explanation for why the report has not been delayed, but when it will be delivered “after its legal deadline.”

The administration delayed the release of last year’s annual report until August, in an apparent effort to avoid upsetting China’s Communist government, which routinely dismisses the report as “groundless” and reminiscent of Cold War thinking.

The Pentagon claimed the delays were due to “coordination” among government agencies.

Pentagon spokeswoman Leslie HullRyde said officials are “continuing to finalize” the 2012 annual report, formally known as the Annual Report to Congress on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.

“We are focused on delivering to Congress the most detailed and accurate report possible,” HullRyde told the Washington Free Beacon. “As required by Congress, the development and completion of this report entails close interagency coordination. This adds time to the process, but yields a more thorough and useful report. We are working to complete the process as soon as possible, but cannot speculate on the date.”

Last year’s report for the first time disclosed new details on China’s secret underground tunnels used to develop, produce, and store China’s nuclear weapons and missiles. The report revealed that China has up to 3,000 miles of tunnels.

Non-government specialists say the tunnels are an indication that China’s nuclear forces are far larger than current intelligence estimates, which put the number of China’s current nuclear warheads at between 300 and 400 warheads.

The tunnel work, which has continued for decades, combined with estimates of China’s fissile material and plans for multiple warhead missiles, shows that the number of warheads could be several thousand.

Forbes wrote the following on his website Tuesday:

The U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) recently modified the logo on its official patch to remove its reference to “God,” following a complaint from the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.  The RCO patch, like many unit patches, included a line in Latin meant to be a clever pun understood by members of the unit.  The motto stated “Opus Dei Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus” (Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money).  It was altered to now read “Miraculi Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus” (Doing Miracles with Other People’s Money).

I am concerned that the RCO capitulated to pressure from an outside group that consistently seeks to remove reference to God and faith in our military. The RCO’s action to modify the logo sets a dangerous precedent that all references to God, despite their context, must be removed from the military.

In reality, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit the mention of “God.” In fact, the Courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of the national motto “In God We Trust,” despite its obvious mention of God.

A copy of the letter from the 36 lawmakers, all members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, to RCO can be found here.