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Mel Watt, a black congressman wrote to Harry Reid, suggesting his criticism of Clarence Thomas was racist and ought to have been based on issues not personal attacks.

I was in on the discussion of this on another thread a few days ago, and held the most cynical point of view of Watt's criticism of Reid, namely that it was nothing but window dressing meant to tell us conservatives to bugger off with our hypocrisy charges. I'm still not convinced to totally let that theory go, but it definitely looks like there is some real movement toward the mainstream (or at the very least, some real unease about their current course) within the liberal black establishment that I failed to take into account.

"I was in on the discussion of this on another thread a few days ago, and held the most cynical point of view of Watt's criticism of Reid, namely that it was nothing but window dressing meant to tell us conservatives to bugger off with our hypocrisy charges. I'm still not convinced to totally let that theory go, but it definitely looks like there is some real movement toward the mainstream (or at the very least, some real unease about their current course) within the liberal black establishment that I failed to take into account."

I'm pretty OK with a little skepticism, but I suspect that you'll come around further to what I was saying as time progresses. The treatment of Black Leaders by the Democratic Party establishment is simply too awful and too overt to go unnoticed for much longer...and the treatment of Black issues such as private school vouchers for inner city minority chidlren, which the Democratic Party leadership openly opposes, and then again on privatizing social security (the only way that Black men, who die on average by age 61 when SS payments don't begin until age 65 - will ever have a chance at passing some of their retirement benefits on to their heirs) where the Dems openly oppose the only plan around that benefits Blacks, adds up to some major disrespect...no, outright hostility toward Blacks by liberal White "leaders" in the Democratic Party.

Thanks very much for pulling me in. My point on the significance of events like the one on this thread, Mel Watts, and Bill Cosby, is that blacks and liberal whites have very little in common, and blacks are slowly wising up to it. It is difficult for them - the northeast liberals were out there organizing and supporting them in the civil rights struggles, while the conservatives (Democrat and Republican), by and large stayed clear or opposed those efforts (I know the Republicans were generally more helpful to them than the Dems were back then, but neither was really on the front lines like the NE liberals).

There was a lot of blood spilled back then, so it should be understandable that it's difficult for the blacks to divorce this bunch on a whim.

But the NE libs (who now control the Dem party), having successfully achieved all that they could hope for out of the civil rights movement have moved on to things like gay marriage, bashing religion, legalizing drugs and other crime, and overall just glorifying the decedent rap culture. Unfortunately for the libs, that's a bit too much for the blacks to handle, as many, if not most blacks, have more in common socially with Pat Robertson than they will have in common with the Dem leaders (white or black).

So, now, the sand is beginning to slowly shift under the Dem party. If the Dems lose their lock on the black vote - say by going just 30% Republican, that's basically the end of the Dem party. Let's all hope this happens and do what we can to make it so (and make sure no one on our side puts their foot in their mouth, again).