Republicans Should Talk About Race. Here’s How.

Human Events ^ | 1-15-10 | Gary Bauer

[Wolf13]

How debased has America’s discussion of race become?

Liberal and media elites salivate over the opportunity to ascribe racism to things that have nothing to do with race -- from President Obama’s dwindling poll numbers to the Tea Party protests to popular opposition to Obamacare.

And when Republicans utter what is perceived to be a racially insensitive remark, the response is swift and severe. They are fired, forced to resign or slandered as a closet racist until they lose an election.

But that doesn’t mean Republicans should stop talking about race. They should continue to highlight the glaring double standard on race between Republicans and Democrats, while underscoring the necessity of emphasizing sometimes uncomfortable truths so that real understanding is not stifled by political correctness.

The double standard on race was again highlighted with the recent revelation of racially insensitive remarks by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) about then Sen. Obama.

Reid said he felt that Obama could win the presidency because the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate like Obama, whom he referred to as being a “light-skinned” African-American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

Predictably, most liberals saw little to be offended by in Reid’s remarks. Reid issued an apology, which was readily accepted by the president and the self-declared leaders of Black America like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Henry Louis Gates.

The double standard is appalling. No one can doubt that had, say, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made the same remark, Jackson et al., not to mention most of the news media and the left, would have called for his head.

Reid’s comments were racially insensitive, but it was the hypocrisy of the left’s response that prompted many conservatives to call for Reid to step down.

[C210N]

[Altura Ct.]

Republicans are justifiably tired of the Left’s constant race-baiting. It is tempting to engage in a tit-for-tat exchange using the Left’s standard of unflinchingly taking offense at every errant remark.

But Republicans should remain focused on highlighting the double standard on race. And, crucially, they should underscore the virtues of a standard that rejects faux outrage, political correctness and over-sensitivity in the service of a more honest and meaningful discussion of race.

Absolutely right this 'tit-for-tat' does nothing but further ingrain the PC mania/madness that is destroying us and America.

And they should tirelessly discuss the kinds of policies that are good for all Americans, no matter their race, creed or color.

While this 'good for all Americans' sounds good in theory. Until we get rid of all these racial groups i.e. the Black Caucus, NAACP et al or Whites get their own specific advocacy and lobbying groups then theory is all it is.

[j_hig]

I think most people know this, but it’s not actually being said as far as I hear. Those comments weren’t nearly as insulting to Obama as they were to ALL African Americans. In both cases, it sounded to me like Biden and Reid were saying, well yes Obama is African American, but he’s likable because he isn’t like a typical African American because...

I just want somebody to ask Reid specifically if he thinks that there’s something wrong with being dark skinned or speaking with a “Negro dialect” Why can’t they be called out on that specifically?