Unless you have been living under a rock lately, you have heard the brouhaha over a comment by Harry Reid, currently the ranking Democrat in the Senate. In a recent book titled Game Change authored by John Heilemann and Mark Halprin, he was quoted as saying that voters would vote for Obama because he was “light skinned,” and because he exhibited no “Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” Most of the right-wing media has played this up as a racist, offending comment, while the liberal media has said it is of no consequence. I suppose racism is in the eye of the beholder. Obama has accepted Reid’s apology, and Reid is – as the liberals always do when they want to sweep something distasteful under the rug – “trying to move forward”.
Why am I upset? I’m not upset at the hypocrisy of the Democrats in how they treat their favored minorities. I’m not upset at the “racism” of the comment. I’m just more than a tad upset at the double standard of the liberal media, for this case demonstrates most emphatically how differently they treat a Republican vs. a Democrat when it comes to comments such as these. No, that’s not why I am so upset.
I am upset because Harry Reid and the liberals have stood me up again. I keep waiting for MY apology, which I fear will never be forthcoming. Once again, the Democrats have ridden in on their high horse, claiming to read my mind, insulted my intelligence, and ridden off into the sunset, untouched by reality. Harry Reid, et al, whom I shall refer to as “RacistS While Not Admitting Racism” or (RWNAR), have struck again.
Why does RWNAR, assume that I would not vote for a candidate unless he was “light skinned”?
Why does RWNAR, assume that the lack of a “Negro dialect” would change my vote?
Why does RWNAR, assume that I, a conservative, would be a racist? Could it be – gasp! – the color of my skin? Or is it just my political leanings?
Why does RWNAR get to define what it means to be black/African American/current politically correct term?
Who gave RWNAR the permission to define what it means to be black/African American/current politically correct term?
I have seen a number of potential candidates arrive on the scene, of varying hues and genders. It may seem peculiar to RWNAR that I would have at least seriously considered voting for any of them. The party of RWNAR screams about racism and how mean, white, angry, conservatives are at fault for holding back people of color; how we are heartless, cruel exploiters of men and materiel; how we eat the babies of whatever minority group they are courting and how we drink their blood. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. Maybe.
By making his “light-skinned” quote, RWNAR assumes that I am a racist, without giving me the benefit of the doubt or allowing me to prove myself. It is assumed upon waking that I am too brainless to consider the merits of an individual. I don’t care if the candidate is a green and yellow hermaphrodite, in a wheelchair, and has a speech impediment. Is he a natural born citizen? Is he of age? Does he fulfill all the Constitutional requirements of a presidential candidate? What is his track record? What does he stand for? Does he give me confidence in his leadership abilities? Do I feel confident that he will be a leader and not a tyrant? Does he respect the history of this country? Does he have an understanding of economics? What background does he come from? Is he actually proud of his country? Where does he want to take the country? (All of these questions also refer to a female candidate, of course. I was just taught to use the masculine when the gender was in question. Shoot my English teacher if you are offended.)
So, those in the party of RWNAR, those are the questions I ask of MY candidates. Why do you get so hung up on skin color? And why is skin color so tied to an ideology? I assumed that skin color was the effect of pigmentation in the skin cells. To me, what makes the man is not what colors the man.
So, I am offended that Harry Reid, et al, of the party of Racists While Not Admitting Racism, would deign to put the same judgmental standard on me that they see in themselves. Instead of riding off into the sunset on that high horse of theirs, they should dismount and gaze into a mirror instead.
BTW, Harry, I’m not holding my breath waiting for my apology. You are incapable of understanding why I am upset.