Delaware's senior senator, Joe Biden, was recently forced to step down from his position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after making what some considered to be racist remarks about one of his fellow Democratic senators, Barack Obama: "You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. ... I mean, that's a storybook, man." While Biden apologized profusely and tried to rationalize his comments, the damage was done. Facing intense criticism from both sides of the aisle, he agreed to relinquish his chairmanship.
Yes, I know that's not what happened. While Sen. Biden did make those comments, he faced surprisingly little backlash as a result. Most simply wrote it off as "misinterpretation" or a "gaffe" on his part. But can you imagine the pandemonium that would erupt if a Republican uttered anything like that? Well, back in 2002, we did see what would happen. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., was the Senate majority leader. I say "was" because at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party, he had these words of wisdom: "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. . And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either."
Everyone pounced on Lott, saying that since Thurmond ran on a segregationist ticket back in 1948, Lott was endorsing segregation. I'm not going to defend Lott, because, misinterpreted or not, what he said was just asking for trouble. However, if he was lambasted (and rightfully so) for endorsing segregation by implication, shouldn't Biden have been hauled over the coals for what he said about Obama?
Biden is not the only prominent Democrat who is able to "shoot from the lips" and get away with it. A presumptive Democratic nominee for president in 2008 by the name of Hillary Clinton has also uttered comments that, if said by a Republican, would be politically fatal. At a 2004 fundraiser, Clinton introduced a quotation by Gandhi by calling him a guy that "ran a gas station down in St. Louis."
How she, or anyone, could brush that off as "a lame attempt at humor," as she did, is simply mind-boggling. But nearly everyone gave Hillary a free pass, when any Republican would have been run out of town by an angry mob. Imagine if, say, John McCain had introduced a quotation by Martin Luther King Jr. by saying, "He was some guy that operated a McDonald's in Minneapolis." Funny? I didn't think so.
The list of free passes the liberals can get when they're racist is extensive and disgusting. The Daily Kos, one of the most widely read liberal blogs on the Internet today, would refer to Colin Powell as an "Uncle Tom" doing the bidding of "Massah Bush." Again, imagine the outcry if a Republican blog had an article referring to "Uncle Tom" Al Sharpton.
Back in 2001, Cruz Bustamante, the lieutenant governor of California (and a Democrat, of course) was talking about the National Negro American Labor Council when a different word than "negro" popped out instead. While he apologized immediately, that slip of the tongue would be enough to sink any Republican. But again, the liberal Democrat gets a free pass from the media. What do they have to do, join the KKK to be criticized? Well, funny you should mention that.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., is often called "the conscience of the Senate." I know I would want a former recruiter for the KKK (a "Kleagle") who tried to filibuster the 1964 Civil Rights Act as MY conscience. Not enough for you? Byrd also once wrote that rather than desegregate the armed forces, "[he would rather] die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again." I guess it's a good thing he never had to fight in a war.
Do not think that I am saying we should ignore racism, or any nonsense like that. Any racism of any kind is intolerable. However, if you're going to get angry about racism, you can't let your reaction be determined by whether there is an "R" or a "D" after someone's name, which is often the case. Every time a Republican is racist, he's nailed for it. Every time a Democrat is racist, the media basically ignores it. Racism will continue as long as Democrats are not held accountable. What a shame that the party that once stood for civil rights and equality has now become the party of racists.
Caleb Enerson is a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs
and a conservaitve columnist for The Eagle.
