On Whether Harry Reid & The Liberals Should Pay
January 12, 2010 / 6:36 pm • By Dr. Melissa Clouthier
I am so sick of the left’s double standards. Disgusted. So, I wrote my frustration:
If Harry Reid is forced to retire, do conservatives and Republicans actually end up the biggest losers?
This morning I read a quote from Ilya Somin of the Volokh Conspiracy and laughed out loud. Here’s what was said:
If the GOP wins this particular fight and Reid is forced to resign, there will be a new norm in public discourse under which no prominent person can openly say the same kinds of things as Reid without being labeled a racist.
We’ve been there for a long time — if you’re anything but a liberal Democrat. Republicans, conservatives … regular Americans can’t say what Harry Reid said without censure.
Noting that President Obama turns the jive on and off is no different than noting that Hillary Clinton does it. It’s no different than noting that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson do it. It’s no different than noting that major sports and music celebrities (white and black) do it. That is not racist. That’s a fact. Now, whether or not this verbal nuance is a good or bad thing is another argument entirely, but I don’t think anyone can honestly argue that it doesn’t happen.
If I said these things and I was a Democrat, though, I wouldn’t be presumed racist — just a little edgy and maybe somewhat insensitive. But since I’m a conservative, that last paragraph just confirms what is self-evident to someone from the left: I’m a racist — else would I be a conservative?
Never mind that there are plenty of black people who would make the same observation. Never mind that there are black conservatives who would say the same thing. The conservative blacks, though, are illegitimate. They betray their race for refusing to do things like sliding into jive in front of certain audiences. They are trying to be “too white.” They aren’t proud of their black heritage, evidently.
Of course, the whole “black enough” argument is deeply offensive and ridiculous and actually very racist. But these notions are put forth by the very leaders who insist that they are for changing the black culture to respect education, erudition, and intelligent discourse.
So while Ilya Somin is correct in decrying the constriction of speech for all people, I’m saying it’s already happened for some people. Now, I wrote those words because I have already given up. Being labeled racist bothers me less than restricting my speech. And by virtue of being conservative, I am already labeled racist.
What makes me inherently racist is my conservatism. It’s axiomatic. So screw it. The label has lost it’s sting.
Go read the whole thing.
The Examiner’s Star Parker believes the Republicans are making a big mistake, but I find her reasoning less than compelling. She says:
Perhaps worst of all, Republicans insult blacks to think that they do not see the obvious. That alleged Republican outrage about Reid’s remarks is simply a political game.
Or that blacks do not appreciate the transparent hypocrisy when a black RNC chairman, who is in his job because of his race, expresses outrage that a white Democrat expresses the truth that we are not in post-racial America – yet.
By continuing to do business as usual, Republican hurt their party and our nation.
They need to wake up that our country is in trouble, that the conservative agenda that is supposed to define their party is the answer, but that they will never sell it by continuing with political games.
First, some Republicans feel that what Reid said was racist. And sincerely have a problem with what he said. Some liberal blacks do, too. Second, Republicans need work on their messaging, especially to minority communities, there can be no doubt. Like a black activist friend in Houston told me the “bootstrap talk” doesn’t work well. And yes, the black community needs the core conservative message and it should resonate considering their social values are in line with Republican values.
However, the black community like the Jewish community still hasn’t quite come to grips with the racist and anti-semitic nature of the Democrat party. Republicans can reach out and should reach out. They should concede nothing and go into every community and find common ground. The market also has to be ready for the message.
I have felt that after Barack Obama got elected, blacks would be able to “come out of the closet” and vote their values. The peer pressure and group think has been overwhelming to vote Democrat. A threshold has been crossed now. The first black man has been elected. Now, maybe, a new candidate can be looked at for what he stands for and not for what he or she, looks like. And until race hustlers like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, and as it turns out, Harry Reid and Barack Obama, move along, the only message that blacks will hear will be of victimhood and misery.
There are rays of hope, however. School vouchers and the liberals loving embrace of teachers unions strike a chord with parents who desire an education for their children. The collapse of cities like Detroit are evidence of the decay and rot inherent in liberal philosophy. The expense and exclusivity of liberal cities like San Francisco demonstrate their hypocrisy.
Democrat voters need to get fed up with the product they’re buying before they’ll even consider buying something else. The consumer is king after all. Yes, I’m fed up with Republicans mismanaging their relationships with minorities. I also hold voters themselves responsible. Like one black man on Beck said, he votes for Democrats in primaries because only Democrats get elected in his district and he wants his vote to count.
I still say that libs need to pay for their political incorrectness. Turn the rules on them. It works. Over the last year, since the egregious treatment of Sarah Palin by the press, I’ve seen feminists wake up to the misogyny against conservative women. Much of that came from pointing out the rank hypocrisy. It is not okay for liberals to be sexist and racist to achieve political ends. It’s also not okay to make politically incorrect language seem like racist language.
And to the main point: Do American people feel more comfortable about light skinned blacks? Really? I call b.s. The best character out of the latest Star Wars movies was Samuel L. Jackson. Everyone wanted more of him and he’s pretty dark. I personally feel way more comfortable with Clarence Thomas than Barack Obama. But see, it’s ideologically driven not whether I’d feel okay having a burger and fries or, heaven forbid, a beer summit with him.
Reid’s problem is that he thinks he’s better than the American people. He thinks the American people see through the racial lens like he does. Some do. In fact, many liberals do. No one is going to contend that race isn’t still an issue in modern America. What they will contend and rightly contend, is that leftist policies are not making the issue go away. Liberals still have too much to gain by calling “racist!” at ever slight. Conversely, conservatives always lose when the issue of race comes up. The left and the liberal press make sure of that.
















