Where's The Racism?

Consider:

"I want to say this about my state. When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years either." [Sen. Trent Lott (R), speaking in a tribute to Sen. Strom Thurmond (R) on his 100th birthday, December 2002] Shortly afterwards, Lott resigned his Senate leadership position, of which House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) commented, "It's an important step." Senate Historian Don Ritchie pointed out that, "We've never had a Senate Republican leader or Senate Democratic leader step down like this before." Trent Lott's remarks were extemporaneous, and meant to honor the institution's sole centenarian during a combination birthday/retirement celebration. To divine any other nefarious meaning from his remarks (i.e. - the country would have been better off with a segregationist as president) is utterly ridiculous. Despite Lott's apologies and explanations, pressure from Democrats and the media forced him to resign.

Now consider this:

He was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama -- a "light-skinned" African-American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." [On Sen. Harry Reid (D) in the forthcoming book, Game Change] So does he mean that having dark skin and a Negro dialect makes one less acceptable to the public? And what would he have to say about this clip?



The firestorm over Reid's comments is quite different from the one that flared up over Lott's, and here's how: The media and the entire liberal establishment have circled the wagons and continue to provide cover for Harry Reid. He, too, has apologized. Yet, his remarks are divined as nothing other than misspeak (i.e. - "He couldn't possibly have meant what he said.") But the PC Thought Police are convinced that Trent Lott absolutely did? Is this not a double standard? Let's not forget vice president Joe Biden's description of Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."[February 2007] And what about Sen. Robert Byrd (D)? You know, the former Kleagle (official recruiter) of the KKK? The one "who vowed never to fight 'with a Negro by my side. Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.'" (hat tip, Michelle Malkin)

Let us recall that it was a Republican president who led the charge in abolishing slavery, and changed the course of history in fighting and winning the civil war. Let us also recall that were it not for Republican votes, the Civil Rights Act would not have passed in 1964.

The liberal mindset is the cornerstone of political correctness, and it is this movement that sees our citizens as hyphenated Americans (i.e - African-, Mexican-, etc.) And by extension, conservative blacks are derided as Uncle Toms (à la the despicable Pat Oliphant cartoon at the top of this post) On the contrary, it is the conservative mindset that sees our citizens as Americans, no matter what their background. Id est: e pluribus unum. Out of many, one.

So again, where's the racism?