January 12, 2010

On Harry Reid

Sure, it was a stupid thing to say. But let's not get carried away here- he was saying it in favor of a black man running for president, as opposed to praising the policies of a segregationist, which is what Trent Lott did. Ta-Nahesi:

Claiming that Harry Reid's comments are the same, is like claiming that referring to Jews as "Hebrews" is the same as endorsing Nazism. Whereas a reputable portion of black people still use the term Negro without a hint of irony, no black person thinks the guy yelling "Segregation Forever!" would have cured us of "all these problems."

Leaving aside political cynicism, this entire affair proves that the GOP is not simply still infected with the vestiges of white supremacy and racism, but is neither aware of the infection, nor understands the disease. Listening to Liz Cheney explain why Harry Reid's comments were racist, was like listening to me give lessons on the finer points of the comma splice. This a party, rightly or wrongly, regarded by significant portions of the country as a haven for racists. They aren't simply having a hard time re-branding, they don't actually understand how and why they got the tag. 

This is the first time in years I've heard anyone on the right accuse a white guy of racism. I thought the only racists in the world were Al Sharpton and the prosecutors of the Duke lacrosse case.

Posted by Stephen Silver at January 12, 2010 12:48 AM
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