The problem with this essay on race by Texas Railroad Commissioner and Senatorial candidate Michael Williams is that you really need to read the whole thing: there are too many good bits to cram into just one snippet. But a taste:
What grieves me most, however, is not that false cries of racism shortcircuit our debate, but that it makes legitimate concern about pockets of racism impossible to hear among the majority of Americans where it truly exists. Racism does still exist in America today – on both sides of the political spectrum. Now it will be that much harder to expose because the real cry will be impossible to distinguish from the false one, much like the boy who cried, “wolf.” Racism exists, but so does opportunity, and I can personally attest to the fact that there is far more opportunity than racism.
We have rid our institutions of government of the practice of discrimination; if only we could rid our political discourse of the ugliness that ensues when we ascribe discriminatory motive to statements with no obvious discriminatory aspect. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd couldn’t help hearing a missing word in Congressman Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s speech to Congress. The Congressman yelled, “You lie.” Ms. Dowd couldn’t help hearing, “you lie, boy.”
While Congressman Wilson started a fire, Ms. Dowd poured fuel on it. The greater ugliness is not the inappropriate outburst, but Ms. Dowd intentionally injecting a word loaded with a history of racial condescension to label a whole movement of opposition.
Commissioner Williams is of course both a RedState favorite and one of Chuck Devore’s Fighting Four – and if you don’t think that he’s going to be targeted by the Democrats, well, I envy you your naivete. It’s only 8 days until the end of the quarter; now would be an excellent time to consider a donation to his campaign.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
Here’s the situation the Democrats have created: Reject a black nominee, get called racist once. Elect a black nominee, get called racist every time you disagree with him or her. I doubt that’s a big enough disincentive to actually swing any elections, but it sure isn’t doing future black candidates any favors.