The Race Card

Louise Lucas is a black 68-year-old Democratic state senator from Virginia who recently made the following statement to an interviewer.

“What I'm saying to you is Mitt Romney, he's speaking to...a segment of the population who does not like to see people other than a white man in the White House or in any other elected position. Let's be real clear about it, let's be real clear about it, Mitt Romney is speaking to a group of people out there who don't like folks like President Barack Obama in any elective or leadership position...He's speaking to that fringe out there who do not want to see anybody other than a white person in a leadership position...I absolutely believe it's all about race, and for the first time in my life I've been able to convince my children, finally, that racism is alive and well...all across this nation, and especially in Virginia."

You can hear these comments directly at the following link.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=03876wG1pmY


Democrats frequently make such charges of racism against Republicans as a group. Sure, they'll grant that not all Republicans are racist, but insist that the majority of conservatives, especially Tea Party types, are motivated largely by racism in their opposition to President Obama. I believe that such charges are not only baseless, but are as repugnant as racism itself. I have 3 simple questions I would like to ask that I believe show the absurdity of Lucas's statement.

1. If a liberal white Democrat was running for President, or some other elective office, against a conservative black Republican, who do you think the vast majority of conservative Republicans would vote for?

The answer to this question is so obviously that Republicans would vote for the black conservative, I don't really need to go any further on this point. But I would like to ask any Democrat, using a lie detector, this same question. I believe the needle would break off into Pinocchio Land if they answered that they think most, or even a small segment, of Republicans would vote for anyone other than the black conservative. To give just one prominent example, black Republican Congessman Allen West was elected in Florida's 22nd Congressional District, which is 82.3% white. And this in the supposedly racist Deep South. Someone forgot to tell those racists that West is black, I guess!

2. In what past presidential election did Republicans come out and vote in large numbers for the Democrat?

Senator Lucas would have us believe that Republican opposition to President Obama is based largely on racism, not differences with his policies. Is she implying that if the President were white, Republicans wouldn't oppose him with equal fervor? Please! Did Republicans turn out en masse in 1980 to reelect President Jimmy Carter? No, they did not. Did they have something against rural Georgians? Or did they think he did a lousy job as president? Did Republicans campaign hard for the reelection of President Bill Clinton? Again, no. Were they anti-Arkansas? Or did they believe that Senator Dole could lead the country in a better direction? Does Senator Lucas honestly believe that conservative Republicans would support President Obama, or oppose him any less zealously, if his skin were white?

3. If America is really so racist, why did Senator Lucas have to convince her children of this?

Senator Lucas averred that the United States is racist, all across the nation, and especially in Virginia. And she said that she had to “finally" convince her children of this reality. I don't know how many children Senator Lucas has or their ages, but I'm assuming they are adults, and that it has taken many years for Senator Lucas to finally bring them around to the reality of America's racism. If America is really so racist, why did she have to convince her children of this? Couldn't they see it for themselves? Senator Lucas is old enough to remember the later stages of Jim Crow in the South. I'm sure no one had to convince her that the South in the 1950's and 1960's was deeply racist. No one had to explain to blacks in previous generations to Senator Lucas's, who saw and experienced the lynchings, disrespect, segregation, and lack of justice under the law toward blacks that pervaded the South, that there was racism. Perhaps the reason Senator Lucas's children had to be persuaded, contrary to all of their experiences and observations, that the U.S. is still racist, is that the U.S. is categorically NOT racist any longer. And thank God it isn't!

The idea that today's Republicans support Governor Romney over President Obama because of racism is manifestly absurd. Accusing people of wrongdoing, when such accusations are untrue, is a vile miscarriage of justice, and needs to be called out when it happens. I can't say for certain that Senator Lucas is lying - it is possible that she actually believes the slanders emanating from her heart and her mouth. But we, as Americans, must not fall for this lie. To do so makes a mockery of the real racism that pervaded our nation for far too long.