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Friday, May 09, 2008

Race and Elections 2008

Damsel of Distress is the latest Peggy Noonan piece on the racial divide among the Democrats. In this case, I have to disagree with Noonan. Hillary was speaking the truth. It was just a truth that can't be spoken - at least among the chattering classes who define what is proper and what is not; what is allowed and what is not allowed.

Is it really true that truth told during an election campaign is a blunder? Is it really true that telling the truth, even when it’s told by Hillary, is racist?

If I can make a confession, at this point I feel sorry for two people who I believe are evil. Both Bill and Hillary are sociopaths. I believe Bill raped Juanita Broaddrick and has molested numberless women. I believe Hillary was willing to send people in the White House travel office to jail just so she could staff those positions with her own friends. They have both sold and abused their positions to become fabulously wealthy. But right now they are human beings and I feel sorry for them.

Let me explain by telling you about a brief conversation I had with a colleague today. His name is Jim. He is a Liberal (with a capital L) has a PhD and considers himself enlightened. During the years Bill Clinton was in office, he stood by him. He was on their side. He was not obnoxious … just sure that Bill and Hillary were on the side of the angels. Lying to a grand jury, lying to the American people, blow jobs in the oval office, Whitewater, travel office, cattle futures, last minute pardons: it was all good.

Today when I ran into him Hillary was a “bitch” who botched the health care issue and was evil incarnate standing in the way of all that was good. He was especially scornful of Rush Limbaugh’s “Operation Chaos” referring to Rush as a drug addict with a 7000 pill a month habit. He was not happy and not nice. In fact, if he had seen himself as a Conservative he would have labeled himself as hateful.

Rarely have I had the chance to see the Left/Liberal in action. The transformation reminded me of what I read about the way the Communists followed the Party line during the Stalin years. One day they were in solidarity with the people of Germany and opposed to the warmongers and war profiteers. The next they were demanding a second front against the Fascist foe, denouncing the pacifists in the United States. The change in direction would have destroyed the steering on any car.

I compare that to the view many conservatives have of John McCain. Take Rush Limbaugh an example. So far, he has not said a kind word about McCain. He does not like him because McCain is not a conservative. He will support him tactically because he believes that McCain is the lesser of two or three evils. Other conservative commentators have said it well: the only reason I would vote for McCain is either Hillary or Obama. But we are not going to turn John McCain from a villain into a hero. And we won’t go from blind idolatry to hate.

The reason? It’s because we have thought through the issue. We are not in love with personalities; we are not in love with our politicos. Jim’s reaction was the same reaction that women give their first husbands once they have their eye on the second. Blind love can turn to hate. Reasoned support never does.

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