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Liberals have a seperate standard for Conservatives when it comes to issues of race.
One aspect of Liberal special interest groups and their parent, The Democratic Party that really seems to impair their ability to be effective is the double standard they apply to various issues, especially race. Take The National Organization of Women for example. They were real warriors for Anita Hill when she accussed Clearance Thomas of sexual harassment, claiming she should be believed word for word, regardless of her total lack of any evidence. "It's not a question of evidence, it's the seriousness of the charge", was the spin line his opponents used as a final argument. However, these feminists were no where to be found during the Paula Jones case or any one of the many sexual harassment suites involving former President Bill Clinton. This is because Bill Clinton is a Liberal Democrat and it's no secret that Justice Thomas is far from that. Speaking of Clearance Thomas, where were Reverend Jesse Jackson, Reverend Al Sharpton, and the NAACP when this attempt to defeat his nomination to The U.S. Supreme Court was in motion? It seems that if you're an African American, but not a Liberal, you're not entitled to the support of the NAACP or Reverend Jackson's Rainbow Push Organization. If Justice Thomas had been a Democrat, they would have been outraged that someone dare try to deny an African American the chance at a high level position over charges with no merit to them.
The most recent example of this double standard would be the uproar over a statement made by incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) at Senator Strom Thurmond's (R-SC) 100th birthday party. "I'll say this about my state of Mississippi, when Strom Thurmond ran for President in 1948, we voted for him, and we're proud of it. If all the other states had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years". The major problem here is that Strom Thurmond ran for President in 1948 as a Segregationist Dixiecrat, a spin-off from the Democratic Party. Because of this, it has been assumed by many that Senator Lott was endorsing the segregationist ways of the past and wished they still existed.
Senator Lott responded with what I believe to be very sincere multiple apologies and a perfectly good explanation. Strom Thurmond did not just stand for segregation. He also stood for small government, lower taxes, and a variety of other issues now considered to be Conservative that Senator Lott also feels passionate about. The fact that Senator Lott supported Strom Thurmond for The Presidency does not make him a racist, just like endorsing George W. Bush does not automatically make you Pro Life. When you support a Presidential candidate, it doesn't mean you align yourself with them on every single major issue.
Regardless of one's opinion of Senator Lott, the point to be made here is that there seems to be a double standard. For example, less than one year ago, Robert Byrd, Democratic Senator from West Virginia, and former Klansman I might add, said the word "Nigger" during an interview with Tony Snow on Fox News Sunday twice in the same sentence. After, Senator Byrd claimed "his Brain was tired" and the media along with The Congressional Black Caucus gave him a pass.
Another example would be Earnest "Fritz" Hollings, Democratic Senator from South Carolina referred to Mexican Americans as "Wetbacks" when making a floor speech. This prompted no reaction from anyone. One of the best examples of this hypocrisy would be statements made from the one and only Reverend Jessie Jackson, referring to New York City as "Hymie Town" because of its high Jewish population. This, by the way, should be all the proof needed to note that Reverend Jackson is no "Civil Rights" Leader. African Americans have been exploited by him for decades. If Reverend Jackson disagrees, maybe he could explain to us all how you can be a Reverend, whose career is based on offerings from others and a millionaire at the same time. He's refused to do this time and time again.
Another fine example would be Mr. Slick himself. Former President Bill Clinton calls J. William Fulbright, a known extreme segregationist, his mentor. He even awarded him The Presidential Medal of Honor for outstanding work for freedom. This, my friends, is nothing short of laughable, and a much bigger deal then the Trent Lott comments that may or may not have segregationist meaning. Speaking of The Clinton Administration, Former Vice President Al Gore weighed in on the debate over Senator Lott calling him a "racist". I wonder if Vice President Gore ever called his father that name, who was one of the chief opponents to Civil Rights in the Senate and a strong supporter of Dixiecrat segregationists. Just as predicted, these hypocrites have begun to dig through Senator Lott's life for anything that can be taken out of context and declared an example of his supposed racism. In some of these cases, a Democratic senator was participating in that particular discussion. If so, that person receives a pass.
The thing that needs to be understood about Senator Thurmond is that he's been in the Senate for 50 years. One thing the left loves to bring up is his filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. Think about the logic here. In order to override a filibuster, 60 votes are needed. Since that didn't happen, we can assume at least 41 Senators opposed the bill with Senator Thurmond. In other words, almost half the Senate supported segregation in that era. Senator Thurmond was one of the first senators to denounce it. He was also the first senator to hire African American staff members. The other interesting thing to note here is that Senator Thurmond was a Democrat when this occurred, not a Republican. If all the other racist Democrats that opposed the Civil Rights Bill were still in The Senate, would the same criticisms apply?
If not for the votes of Republican Senators, The Civil Rights Bill would never have become the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and society would have remained segregated, at least for the time being. A similar scenario existed for the Emancipation Proclamation. The Republican Party was almost completely responsible for that as well.
The truth here is that this fiasco is about Politics. The Left has been looking for an issue to stick to the Republicans and the President since September 11, 2001. Now that they've been able to cause controversy, they're sure to overplay their hand and that will ultimately hurt them. None of these Liberals believe Senator Lott is a racist. Most of them have worked with him for years. If he were, they would have fired at him long before now. However, if it works to there advantage, they'll be glad to watch him go down in flames. Even many independent outspoken figures have defended Lott. Dick Morris, author of Power Plays, former Clinton adviser, and Political Analyst for Fox News has said he's "known and worked Lott for years and there isn't a racist bone in his body". Several of Senator Lott's past staffers have been questioned, and none of them ever recall him appearing to be a racist. Former President Clinton's staffers from his days as Governor of Arkansas recall him using the word "Nigger" on a regular basis, but somehow he's celebrated as the "First Black President".
This double standard has existed for a long time, and the recent exploitation of Senator Lott's comments just makes it more evident. Democrats have been trying to label The Republican Party racist for years. The fact is, the entire country has a racist past, but the Democratic party has the reputation for resisting an end to it from the Civil War right into the 1960's, and some would say, even today.
About the Author
Weston K. Smith is a Software Engineer from Endicott, NY with an intense interest in politics, dedicated to the promotion and implementation of Conservative ideas which stand for less Government, individual success, and traditional family values.