In his Philadelphia address on race, Sen. Obama identified as a root cause of white resentment affirmative action — the punishing of white working- and middle-class folks for sins they did not commit:
“Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race,” said Barack. “As far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything. … So when they … hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed … resentment builds over time.”
I think it is time that we all stood up and gave the Republican Party a big round of applause. I mean, they have done us all a huge favor. By an overwhelming majority, the GOP has prevented a potential plague from enveloping these United States of America, and I think it is time that we acknowledged it. Yes, the GOP stopped a potential catastrophe. Without the combined efforts of millions of Republicans, there is no telling what kind of disaster might have ensued. Let’s hear it for the GOP! Hip Hip Hooray!
“Washington Post” columnist Colbert I. King, a black man, has blasted columnist Pat Buchanan, a white man (see, no “discrimination” or racial profiling here) for a column Pat has written in which Pat — well – told some – what shall we call them? – how about — inconvenient truths. This kind of thing happens regularly in Washington DC when someone tells the truth about something — that person gets blasted.
On reading George Bush’s discourse to the New York Economic Club last week, Cicero’s insight came to mind: “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.”
With Iraq entering its sixth year, the dollar sinking to peso levels, the economy careening into recession, and 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens roosting here, Bush alerted us to what really worries him:
How would Barack explain to his press groupies why he sat silent in a pew for 20 years as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright delivered racist rants against white America for our maligning of Fidel and Gadhafi, and inventing AIDS to infect and kill black people?
How would he justify not walking out as Wright spewed his venom about “the U.S. of K.K.K. America,” and howled, “God damn America!”
Appointing conservative judges would undermine the maverick’s legislative legacy.
by Michael Brendan Dougherty
American Conservative Magazine
The prospect of overturning Roe v. Wade may be only incentive powerful enough to turn a disillusioned conservative into a motivated McCain voter this November. After the betrayals of the Bush era, many on the Right still point to the ascendance of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court and proclaim, “It was worth it.” Campaigning across the country, McCain promises conservative audiences, “We’re going to have justices like Roberts and Alito.” And Sen. John Cornyn told the New York Times that judges “are the one issue that cuts across all aspects of the Republican coalition,” saying that in the run up to November, “I will encourage him to make it a prominent part of his pitch.”
When the assassination of John F. Kennedy horrified a nation, Black Muslim Minister Malcolm X declared it payback for America’s violence in the world, a case of “chickens coming home to roost.”
“Being an old farm boy myself,” said Malcolm, “chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad, they’ve always made me glad.”
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright surely had Malcolm’s words in mind when, the Sunday after the 9-11 massacre of 3,000 Americans, he declared this, too, was a case of “America’s chickens … coming home to roost.”
To observe Democrats this week, savaging one of their heroines, is to understand why the party is unready to rule.
Consider: At the 1984 Democratic convention in San Francisco, an unknown member of Congress was vaulted into history by being chosen the first woman ever to run on a national party ticket.
Geraldine Ferraro became a household name. And though the Mondale-Ferraro ticket went down to a 49-state defeat, “Gerry” became an icon to Democratic women.
Laying the groundwork for a bold presidential bid, the young Democratic senator set up a meeting with a key leader of the Jewish community. He had won substantial Jewish support in his home state, but as a first termer, he was not yet well known nationally. Sitting down with a prominent Chicago developer, the senator averred that he hoped to make progress on the Palestinian refugee situation.
“The commonest error in politics,” said Lord Salisbury, “is sticking to the carcass of dead policies.”
Lord Salisbury’s rule comes to mind on reading of John McCain’s delight at the $40 billion contract awarded the French-led parent of Airbus — to build the next generation of U.S. Air Force tankers.
The contract could run to $100 billion and is a body blow to Boeing in its duel to the death with Airbus. Two-thirds of all air-to-air refueling tankers are used by the United States. The contract gives a 30-year lease on life to the expiring Airbus A330 and means early death for Boeing’s 767, the U.S. model for the tanker.
Can Barack Obama, who campaigns as an icon of peace, actually be more bellicose than Bush? Yes, he can.
Obama-mania is getting out of hand. Full-grown and well-educated men—from swooning Andrew Sullivan to the entire staff of GQ magazine—are developing “man crushes” on Barack Obama, going weak in the knees for his immaculately pressed suits, oratorical skills, and shameless hope-mongering.
by Michael Brendan Dougherty
American Conservative Magazine
“Ron Paul, under whose standard most dissenters rallied, gave one of the sharpest speeches of his campaign. The only featured speaker to attack John McCain, Paul asked the audience to consider that the presumptive nominee had allied with Tom Daschle on tax policy, with Russ Feingold on campaign finance, with Al Gore on global warming, and with Ted Kennedy on immigration. He did not shy away from his differences with the movement on the war on terror: “Osama bin Laden loves our foreign policy…”
“All is race,” wrote Benjamin Disraeli, “there is no other truth.”
What Disraeli meant by race is what Winston Churchill meant when he spoke of “our island race” — a tribe, an ethnic group, a people unique and separate from all others.
Disraeli saw the Irish in Britain as a breed apart, an alien race:
“This wild, reckless, indolent, uncertain and superstitious race have no sympathy with the English character. Their ideal of human felicity is an alternation of clannish broils and coarse idolatry (i.e., Catholicism). Their history describes an unbroken circuitry of bigotry and blood.”
If Canada and Mexico do not renegotiate NAFTA, said Hillary Clinton in the Cleveland debate, she would “opt out” of the trade treaty that was the legislative altarpiece of Bill Clinton’s presidency. Barack agreed. NAFTA is renegotiated, or NAFTA is gone.
Barack went further. He has denounced “open trucking,” the feature of NAFTA whereby Mexican trucks are to be free to roam the United States and compete with the Teamsters of Jim Hoffa’s union, which just endorsed him.
“Washington Post” columnist Colbert I. King, a black man, has blasted columnist Pat Buchanan, a white man (see, no “discrimination” or racial profiling here) for a column Pat has written in which Pat — well – told some – what shall we call them? – how about — inconvenient truths. This kind of thing happens regularly in Washington DC when someone tells the truth about something — that person gets blasted.
by Brendan O’Neill
Recent Comments