Comments on: Crying “racist”

By: Stuart Buck

Stuart Buck — Wed, 05 Nov 2003 16:39:50 +0000

I respond here: http://stuartbuck.blogspot.com/2003_11_01_stuartbuck_archive.html#106796407351384917

By: zizka

zizka — Wed, 05 Nov 2003 04:03:38 +0000

Confusing the issue is the goal, as Joe pointed out, and as ratherworried tried to do. “Alas, a few Republicans are starting to use dirty tricks they learned from the Democrats.” Yeah, that’s the problem all right!

By: Ratherworried

Ratherworried — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 20:32:11 +0000

Judy: Racism is, sadly, not over. It is not over in politics and it is not over in the everyday life of Americans in the United States. It takes many forms, some of which are recognized and some of which are persistantly ignored. Racism is committed by Democrats and Republicans. Lately it has seemed trendy to say racist things about Jews. Some prominent Democrats have said things about Jews they would consider racist if they were said about African Americans. What can you do? You tell them they are wrong and move on. Trying to claim that the only reason for someone’s opposition to a particular candidate or even policy is racism, sadly has it’s roots in the Democratic party. Some Republicans apparently feel that they can level these kinds of awful charges in imitation of tactics employed by some of their Democratic opponents. This form of intimidation has no place in intellectual discourse but that type of discourse has become rarer and rarer these days. What are you going to do? You tell them they are wrong and you move on. RW

By: Judy

Judy — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 19:10:00 +0000

“Logic and ethics are fundamentally the same, they are no more than the duty to oneself.” Otto Weininger, “Sex and Character” I’m not sure about the relevance of this quote but I can’t help but wonder how long is it going to take for this country to grow up? Racial politics is over – as least as far as the average American is concerned. Campaign managers and political activists might still be clinging desperately to the race issues as a wedge but “IT’S OVER - NOBODY CARES” – as in we have bigger fish to fry. Grow up people, grow up.

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 18:45:38 +0000

You guys are missing the real rationale behind the “Democrats are the real rascists,” er, meme. Ask yourself this: Why does the GOP care if it’s seen as racist? It’s not to attract minority voters—they’re going to vote Democratic no matter what. No, it’s to attract the vote of suburban baby boomers and their children who would be noticeably uncomfortable voting for the Party of Racism. So there’s two ways to combat the stereotype of the GOP. The first is to deny charges of racism. The second, as we’re seeing here, is to portray the other guys as being just as racist as you are. Under this approach, the intended goal is for the suburban voters to basically say “well, I don’t like the fact that the GOP is the CCC’s party, but hey, the Democrats are just as bad, so I’ll have the racism-but-with-lower-taxes party, please.” The solution to that is to actively combat the notion that the GOP and Democrats are remotely equivalent. All that would be needed is an effective way to get out the real message… Nevermind.

By: John

John — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 17:51:48 +0000

“Anyone using this argument, from that point on, deserves the minimum decent level of civility everyone gets. No death threats, don’t publicize their home addresses, don’t drag their children into it, etc.”

Zizka – What about dragging their wives who work at the CIA into it, then?

By: rea

rea — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 15:08:07 +0000

“Name a few unsupported accusations of racism made by Jackson and Sharpton outside of the Tawana Brawley case.” And apart from WWII and the Holocaust, Hitler wasn’t such a bad guy.

By: G

Tue, 04 Nov 2003 13:45:21 +0000

Surely the “Democrats are the real racists” meme is riding the back of the hugely successful “Democrats are the real anti-Semites” one.

By: john c. halasz

john c. halasz — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 09:05:06 +0000

A couple of others have already caught this, but Sen. Dick Durbin is from southern Illinois, which may not obviate the guilt-by-association racism charge, since southern Illinois really is …er… southern, but, at least, it should modify the terms of the slur, since accuracy in slurring ought to be a prized political value.

By: drapetomaniac

drapetomaniac — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 08:49:57 +0000

Most people think that charges of racism, which ruin reputations and careers, should be handled with utmost care. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, for example, are often bitterly criticised for making unsupported, politically motivated accusations of racism. Name a few unsupported accusations of racism made by Jackson and Sharpton outside of the Tawana Brawley case. “Politically motivated” is a different story, really. Of course any person chooses where to make a stand on racism and where not to—there’s simply not enough time in the day to go after every instance of white racism—but the Brawley case aside, where these men made unsupported allegations of racism.

By: Brian Ulrich

Brian Ulrich — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 05:40:02 +0000

When Durbin first got elected, he was considered a strong candidate to fill the seat precisely because he was from downstate and not Chicago! I’m sure he has some connections, but as my former congressman, he was a farm-friendly downstater all the way.

By: Norbizness

Norbizness — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 03:21:17 +0000

Not only that, but Durbin, a self-hating Catholic, repeatedly questioned devout and holy appellate court nominee Bill Pryor about his “intention to move the 11th Court of Appeals to Rome”. Really, anti-Catholicism is the only thing blocking that guy’s nomination. I swear.

By: Randy Paul

Randy Paul — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 03:06:45 +0000

Advantage, Mr. Barlow. The nature of debate from the right seems to be that if you say something often enough, that makes it true.

By: Zizka

Zizka — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 03:01:45 +0000

To me, the “Democrats are the real racists” meme (yes, meme!—so sue me!) is such a transparent wedge-issue ploy that anyone who uses it discredits themself, pretty much permanently, as a partisan tool. Considered in the context of the Republicans’ Southern strategy, it’s just an enormous lie. Anyone using this argument, from that point on, deserves the minimum decent level of civility everyone gets. No death threats, don’t publicize their home addresses, don’t drag their children into it, etc. I think liberals (I’m a stuck record on this topic) make a big mistake by arguing seriously with these tools as if they were conscious beings. Debating them in front of an audience is great, and alkali did a great job on the Galt thread. But once someone starts retailing dishonest talking points, they should be gone. At that point, snarkiness and abuse become justified. (Of course, there are stylistic reasons for trying to avoid the simply “fuck you” level of abuse, of course). There are conservatives and libertarians who actually are thoughtful and well-informed, and they deserve more than the minimum respect. But I think that they’re fewer than people wishfully think, and even at best, debates with conservatives end up going around in circles. And yes, there obviously still is racism in the Democratic Party. That just isn’t something Republicans have a right to criticize. There are even some forms of racism more common among liberals than among conservatives—some kinds of tokenism and multicultural racial stereotyping. But granted the gruesome facts of Presidential political campaigning, it’s not for Republicans to talk about these issues either. Except as cheap and dishonest (though completely legal) tools. Being the sole advocate of internet incivility is a thankless job, but someone’s got to do it.

By: Atrios

Atrios — Tue, 04 Nov 2003 02:27:00 +0000

Ahhh, the new PC. Same as the old PC, only stupid and dishonest.