February 14, 2006
For Democrats, Race Card Not the Trump It Used to Be
By Jack
Kelly
Jimmy Carter
may not have been the worst president in U.S. history, but he
is unquestionably the worst ex president, as he demonstrated yet
again at the funeral of Coretta Scott King Feb. 7th.
Mr. Carter
took two cheap shots at President Bush, who was in attendance
with his wife, Laura, and his parents.
In the first,
Mr. Carter likened the NSA's listening in on telephone conversations
between al Qaida suspects abroad and people within the United
States to the wiretapping of Dr. Martin Luther King, which, Mr.
Carter neglected to tell his audience, had been authorized by
then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
Mr. Carter's
remarks on electronic surveillance were hypocritical as well as
inappropriate because in 1977 his attorney general, Griffin Bell,
had authorized warrantless surveillance of two men who were subsequently
convicted of spying for Vietnam. The U.S. Court of Appeals for
the 4th Circuit held unanimously that warrantless searches did
not violate the men's rights.
In the second,
Mr. Carter implied there was racism in the federal response to
hurricane Katrina. "We have only to recall the color of the
faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi...Those who
were most devastated by Katrina know that there are not yet equal
opportunities for all Americans," he said, repeating the
now debunked myth that the hurricane victims were disproportionately
black.
Though Mr.
Carter was the most prominent demagogue at Ms. King's funeral,
he wasn't the worst. That distinction fell to the Rev. Joseph
Lowrey.
"We
now know there were no weapons of mass destruction over there,
but Coretta knew, and we know, there are weapons of misdirection
right down here," Mr. Lowery said, nodding in the president's
direction.
Sen. Ted
Kennedy behaved himself, confining his remarks to what is appropriate
for a funeral. And former President Bill Clinton was gracious.
But many Democrats have yet to learn from the highly politicized
2002 funeral of Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, which backfired,
leading to Republican control of the senate. Mr. Carter and Mr.
Lowery may not have a sense of decency, but swing voters do.
"It
was tacky and disrespectful for anyone to launch into a political
attack at a funeral," wrote Chicago Sun-Times columnist
Mary Mitchell, who is black.
"Once
again, Democratic officeholders used a funeral to take political
shots," said the Detroit News. "Is such rudeness
always required?" Many
Democrats seem to think so. Over the top rhetoric has become their
hallmark.
I think Democratic
National Chairman Howard Dean is a lightweight ignoramus with
serious anger management problems. But I'd never dream of comparing
him to vicious dictators such as Saddam Hussein or Syria's Bashar
Assad.
But in an
appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Feb. 8th,
Mr. Dean compared President Bush to Iranian tyrant Mahmoud Amadinejad.
Democrats
traditionally have favored more government spending for everything
except defense. So it is reasonable (though I think inaccurate)
for Democrats to claim the federal government hasn't spent enough
fast enough on hurricane relief.
And it is
within the bounds of acceptable political discourse to assert
the president was negligent, and is "insensitive" to
the plight of Katrina's victims. But Rep. Barney Frank of Massachussetts
likened administration policy to ethnic cleansing.
I suspect
the "Republicans are racists" meme is motivated in large
part by terror. The president received only 9 percent of black
votes in 2004. But blacks are too large and varied a group to
maintain overwhelming allegiance to one political party forever.
Former Pittsburgh
Steeler star Lynn Swann is a prohibitive favorite to win the Republican
nomination for governor in Pennsylvania, as is Ken Blackwell in
Ohio. LtGov. Michael Steele has locked up the GOP senate nomination
in Maryland.
If some of
these outstanding black candidates win (all are even in current
polls), it could spark a shift among blacks to the GOP.
The shift
need not be large to be decisive. If just one black in six votes
Republican, it's hard to see how Democrats can win a national
election. Now imagine what might happen if Secretary of State
Condoleeza Rice is the GOP candidate for president in 2008.
Frantic Democrats
are playing the race card to keep their most loyal voting bloc
on the plantation, but it's not the trump it used to be.
