Carol Platt Liebau: Getting It Half Right

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Getting It Half Right

In an editorial, The Washington Post does a fabulous job excoriating the Democrats for the race-baiting elicited by the candidacy of an appealing African American Republican, Michael Steele, for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes.

In detail, it sets forth some of the racist and insulting behavior that Mr. Steele has had to endure -- including having oreos tossed at him at a debate -- and quite properly condemns other black elected Democrats by name for becoming complicit in this behavior through their silence.

But then, having denounced some Democrats, The Post becomes quite obviously uncomfortable, and decides it must attack the Republicans, too:

Still, it would be equally naive to overlook the Republicans' evident satisfaction in keeping the debate focused on race rather than, say, party affiliation or ideological affinity, which can only hurt the GOP in a state where Democrats enjoy a 2-to-1 advantage. The Republicans have not manufactured the current furor, but they are exploiting and perpetuating it. After all, it's not the candidates vying for statewide public office in Maryland who have played the race card.

Well, how about some details? Which Republicans are "exploiting and perpetuating" the race-baiting furor, and how? And what does the last sentence of the quoted paragraph mean -- if The Post is implying that Republicans have played the race card, tell us: Which ones, and how?

It's significant that The Post cannot post a bill of particulars against the Republicans with the same kind of specificity and detail that the Democrats' actions warrant. It's equally telling that that fact didn't stop The Post from criticizing the Republicans anyway.

That's what passes for balance in the MSM. Sometimes it seems that the only time both sides are roundly condemned is when behavior of the Democrats is so egregious that it can't be ignored. That's when the MSM starts to worry about "balance" -- and seizes yet another opportunity to take a whack at the GOP. Funny that the same kind of dynamic doesn't seem to operate when Republicans are the primary objects of press excoriation.

2 Comments:

Blogger LQ said...

It’s a sad fact that many black liberals believe in diversity of everything except thought. If you don’t agree with them, you’re not just wrong; you’re a traitor to your race.

It’s so sad, because the problems facing the African American community are so serious and so in need of serious dialogue from different perspectives. All the discussion is from the left, however, and the problems continue.

The anti Republicanism of the POST is of much less significance.

12:30 PM  
Blogger Greg said...

Of course. The half (of the editorial) that "excoriates" the Democrats is the right half. The other half is wrong. Wow. The Republicans are never guilty of anything nefarious, are they Carol?

For the record, I agree that the Democrats have many problems with regard to race. Indeed, they have been rather paralyzed by their fear of being seen as "non-PC" if they dare challenge the the Jesse Jackson types. (Republicans, it should be noted, are in a similar hostage situation with the Falwell/Dobson types.)

But in the end, it was not the Democrats who came up with the Southern Strategy, the infamous ploy by the GOP to tap into white animosity following the civil rights revolution. I'll take the non-Jim Crow party with all its lingering race problems any day.

1:59 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Google