The last resort of the liberal scoundrel is the false accusation of
racism. It's a sign not just of moral and intellectual bankruptcy, but
of desperation.
And — with a swiftness that must seem stunning to them in the wake of
the big Democratic victory last November — liberals now have a lot to
be desperate about.
A Gallup poll released Aug. 14 indicated that in all 50 states, there
are more self-identified conservatives than there are self identified
liberals. The conservative advantage ranges from +34 percentage points
in Alabama to +1 in Vermont and Massachussetts, and is ten percentage
points or more in 40 states.
A plurality of voters in 21 states consider themselves moderates. It
was the significant shift of moderates to the Democratic party in 2006
and 2008 that gave Barack Obama the presidency, and Democrats their
handsome majorities in the House and Senate.
The moderates are shifting back, with a vengeance. Polls show that —
mostly by large majorities — independents oppose Mr. Obama's health
care plan, his cap and trade energy bill, his nationalization of the
auto industry, and his $786 billion "stimulus."
In many an election past, Democrats have snatched victory from the jaws
of defeat by accusing Republicans of planning to cut Medicare. Now it's
Barack Obama who's proposing massive Medicare cuts.
Mr. Obama has wiped out the historic advantage Democrats have enjoyed
with voters on health care issues. In a Rasmussen poll released August
13, respondents trusted Republicans more on health care, 44 percent to
41 percent. In June, Democrats held a ten point lead.
Many liberals have responded to rising concerns about massive deficits
and government-run health care by calling those who express concern
racists.
After a town hall meeting at which most in attendance angrily opposed
the health care bill, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich) told MSNBC: "The last
time I had to confront something like this was when I voted for the
civil rights bill. At that time, we had a lot of Ku Klux Klan folks and
white supremacists and folks in white sheets and other things running
around and causing trouble."
"I have seen this kind of hate before," Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) told
the Huffington Post. "I have seen snarling dogs going after people who
were trying to peacefully assemble. I have seen the eyes of people who
were being spat upon. This is all about activity trying to deny the
establishment of a civil right."
When people in town hall meetings decry "socialism," they're really
using a code word for the N word, said MSNBC "newsman" Carlos Watson.
Forty five to 65 percent of those who protest Obamacare are motivated by
racism, said Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Those who attended TEA parties last April thought they were protesting
the massive increase in the deficit caused by the various bailouts and
the $786 billion "stimulus" bill. Actress and activist Janeane Garafalo
knew better.
"This is not about bashing Democrats. It's not about taxes," Ms.
Garafalo told MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, who apparently agreed. "It's
about hating a black man in the White House."
A week or so ago, a poster depicting Mr. Obama as the Joker, a villain
in a Batman movie, mysteriously appeared. A column by Philip Kennicot
of the Washington Post described it as "racial fear's ugly face," though
liberals saw nothing racial, or even inappropriate, when last year the
trendy lib magazine Vanity Fair portrayed President Bush as the Joker.
The identity of the Obama Joker poster artist was revealed Tuesday
(8/18). He is Firas Alkhateeb, a college student of Palestinian descent
who occupies that narrow strip of political ground to Mr. Obama's left.
Mr. Alkhateeb was a supporter of moonbat Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH).
Falsely accusing of racism those Americans who are opposed to
government-run health care is unlikely to win them over. But it is
diminishing the value of the race card.
"The more Obama fails, the more the Left shouts racism — but the more
the Left shouts racism, the less effective it is," said conservative
blogger John Hawkins. "We've now already gotten to the point where
playing the race card is starting to backfire or perhaps worse yet from
the perspective of the people who rely on it so heavily, it is producing
no reaction at all."
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