On the face of it, there is nothing wrong with Senator Reid said. First of all, what he said, that Barack Obama is a “light skinned negro” and that he has “no negro dialect, except when he wants to” is true, or rather, it is captures the larger truth that, culturally, President Obama is not a product of the African American community, both racially and culturally, and that this is his primary appeal to white liberals.
Second, these comments were made in private. There is, or there should be, a big distinction made between what is said in private and what is said in public. To me, one of the most odious aspects of left-wing ideology is the idea that the personal is political. It can be asserted that what people say in private is a better indication of what they really think than what they say in private. This is no doubt true, but it is also equally true that what people say in public correlates more with what people do in public, and what politicians do in public is the only thing that the electorate should care about. Go beyond this and we end up with thought-crime and doublethink. How many of us have views that are perfectly aligned with PC dogma? (And if actually somebody is so craven to really think like that, I don’t particularly want to meet him.)
Conservatives and Republicans have been quick to jump over this issue to score partisan points. And there is no doubt that this controversy arrives at a particularly auspicious occasion, given the battle-to-the-death currently being fought over health care. However, conservatives should be careful about what they condemn and how they condemn it. One of the worst aspects of today’s political scene is the stifling effect that political correctness has over issues that the left does not what to talk about. We should not be contributing to such restrictions, even if it benefits us at the moment. This is short-sighted tactics.
Of course,
pointing out the hypocrisy of the Democrats and contrasting their defence of
Harry Reid with their condemnation of Trent Lott is fair game (and good
politics). Alinsky’s rule # 4 for radicals: “make the enemy live up to their
own book of rules.”
Even though I wouldn't care to hear all of Reid's views on the world I do respect a man that has earned what he has unlike Obama. What you see when you look at Obama is somebody that was groomed from a young age to take a high position so that he could 'further the socialist agenda.' (real conservative)
Posted by: real conservative | January 13, 2010 at 06:05 PM