Freedom's Fidelity

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

"Racism" From the Left is OK

Via Vinod comes this little nugget from the new DNC chairman Howard Dean:

During a meeting Friday with the Democratic black caucus, Dean praised black Democrats for their work for the party, then questioned Republicans' ability to rally support from minorities.

"You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room?," Dean asked to laughter. "Only if they had the hotel staff in here."

His style ever will be blunt: "We have to never be afraid to say what we believe," he insists.

Now, don't get the wrong impression from this excerpt. The above comment is not even close to the focus of the article, no reference is even made to the perhaps offensive nature of it. Furthermore, I am in no way offended, but I am awfully surprised that the PC police haven't jumped all over this one. Wait... no I'm not. A Democrat made this comment, not a Republican so there will be no uproar. I'm not much for conspiracy theories and I don't think one is at work here, but it is hard to believe that if a Republican made a similar comment it wouldn't have garnered much more attention along with acidic charges of racism. I mean imagine if Karl Rove made such a comment, would the black caucus be laughing?

Lets look at some recent history. Trent Lott was rightfully forced out when he praised Strom Thurmond at his 100th birthday and said something to the effect of 'if Thurmond had been elected in 1948 we wouldn't have the problems we do today.' (Thurmond ran on a platform of opposing the end of lynching, segregation and poll tax, etc.) I'm certainly not implying that what Howard Dean said is anywhere close to that - it isn't. But if you are looking for further evidence of double standard, look no further than what Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said last April on the Senate floor.

Dodd said of Byrd, "You would have been a great senator at any moment....you would have been right at the founding of this country, right during the Civil War....I can't think of a single moment in this nation's 220+ year history where you would not have been a valuable asset to this country."

I can, how about the time when Senator Byrd was a leading kleagle for the Ku Klux Klan! These comments from Dodd were nearly identical in all ways to Trent Lott's, but Dodd is still sitting pretty in the Senate. So, to circle back to my original point, there is clearly a troubling double standard, and it seems that ideology, rather than a wish to condemn or stamp out racism, is the lead driver.

Update:Don't forget the left's treatment of Condi Rice, and the deafening silence that followed.

posted by Paul  permalink | |