PrintNovember 15, 2010
The Failed Notions of Racism
Last month, just weeks before the elections, the very capable Rasmussen Report revealed that most Democrat voters think the Tea Party movement is racist.
The report highlighted that 56% of self-described Democrats viewed most Tea Partiers as racially biased. The poll also found that 30% of GOP voters and 45% of those not affiliated with either major party likewise hold this view.
Also of note, a rather significant 46% of the "Political Class" believes that most members of the Tea Party are racist, but then 34% of elites happen to think a majority of all Americans possess this nasty trait.
As impressive as the most recent election results were for conservatives and Tea Party advocates, an interesting question arises -- if not for this widely held belief and the cacophony of shrill accusations that accompany it, how much more effective could Tea Party-supported candidates have been?
For most of us, there are few things as despicable as a racist. The mere thought of racism produces an instinctive recoil in many Americans, regardless of skin color.
Since the inception of the current citizens' rebellion, Americans have been subject to a constant drumbeat of "Tea Partier equals racist Nazi wacko." As absurd as they are, the poll results should come as no big surprise.
Who could forget the lunatic rant by Janeane Garofalo on MSNBC in response to the first big nationwide round of Tea Party rallies on April 15, 2009? "This is racism straight up," she spouted, going on to explain that the whole lot of Tea Partiers suffer from a mental affliction.
Almost a year later, as Tea Party advocates gathered at the U.S. Capitol to protest the final health care vote in the House, members of the Congressional Black Caucus manufactured a story that they were spat upon and subject to racial slurs as they made their way through the assembled crowd.
While widely parroted by Democrats and much of the press, a review of all the evidence clearly indicates that the incident never took place. Indeed, though dozens of video cameras recorded the event, Andrew Brietbart's offer to pay $100K for proof of the CBC's claims never produced any takers.
Regardless, influenced by the alleged racism, in July the NAACP adopted a resolution repudiating racist elements in the Tea Party, giving the "Big Lie" yet more life.
It seems that a good number of Americans have a love affair with the notion of victimization, particularly of the racial sort. Given the likes of the NAACP stoking the fires, we've developed a subclass of perpetual victims led by charlatans and entertainers whose ridiculous obsessions are considered the stuff of celebrity. From Al Sharpton to Bill Maher, a league of what might be best described as professional race-baiters are sold as objective, authoritative figures.
Clearly, some people are simply incapable of setting aside racial identity, so let's call them "racialists." Unable to conceive that others might group themselves by common interests and fundamental values in lieu of things like race, religion, or ethnicity, the racialist often lashes out when his reality is challenged. This sentiment is reflected in the poll results.
There can be little doubt that among those who believe the Tea Party is racist, few have actually bothered to attend a Tea Party rally or meeting, or even sat down for a chat with one of their engaged countrymen who have come to personify the movement.
Interestingly, while the elites have long propagated the view that conservatives are an unenlightened rabble of reactionaries, the Rasmussen poll reveals that Democrats and their elitist brethren harbor these very tendencies, for their accusations reveal their methods.
For avid Tea Party aficionados who know firsthand whether or not racism exists among their ranks, a majority of Democrats have exposed themselves as, let's just say, symbols of their party, willing to judge others on nothing more than conjecture.
But not all is lost -- far from it. On the other side of the coin, the poll also indicates that a fair number of Democrats happen to know better. Not only is this a sign that registered Dems are indeed among those incessantly protesting their government, but it also clearly signals a portentous future for the Democratic Party.
This is among emerging trends, indicating that the veneer of Democratic identity politics is beginning to crack. We need only look at some of the developments of the most recent elections for proof.
Largely obscured and untold by Big Media, an unprecedented slate of black, Latino, and Hispanic conservatives ran for office at state and national levels in the 2010 elections.
In the south, where conservatives are equated with "a bunch of rednecks" by their detractors, Tim Scott was enthusiastically elected to Congress in South Carolina, as was Allen West in Florida. Similarly, Marco Rubio was elected to the Senate from Florida in a runaway. The same scenario played out throughout the country in various state races.
Races in states along the southern border were particularly telling. Formerly, Democrats held all ten U.S. congressional districts which border Mexico. Of the sixty-plus seats the GOP gained in the U.S. House, three were border districts, two in Texas and one in New Mexico.
Both border districts in Arizona were also extremely competitive, with the GOP challengers losing narrowly -- the 7th district by less than 4,000 votes.
Otherwise in Arizona, not only was Governor Jan Brewer handily reelected but the GOP pulled off a clean sweep of statewide races for the first time since 1994. Among the casualties was the Democrat state attorney general who opposed SB1070.
Conservatives also built on the GOP's standing majority in Arizona's House and Senate, producing a two-thirds majority in the legislative body. To top it all off, SB1070 architect Russell Pearce has been tagged to head the Arizona Senate.
That's right: those very same bold conservatives who were savaged by Democrats and the press as racists for the better part of a year were given a rousing vote of confidence at the ballot box.
In New Mexico, Susana Martinez became the nation's first female Hispanic state executive, easily defeating the Democrat incumbent. Though the state government has always been led by Democrats, Republicans gained at least four seats in the state house and are close to a record number of Republicans in the chamber.
Increasingly, Republican and conservative Hispanics are stepping forward in states with high concentrations of Hispanic voters. Because race is not a factor, white conservatives are voting for them, and more Hispanics are voting for conservatives in general.
Perhaps Texas, more so than any other state, tells the story of what may be to come.
Not only did the state produce newly elected conservatives Bill Flores and Francisco Canseco as members of Congress, but in the Texas House, where the GOP gained an astounding 22 seats, nearly one-third of new Republicans are ethnic minorities. Five Hispanic and two African-American Republicans now occupy the body where none existed previously.
Race-obsessed Democrats have good reason to worry.
George Scaggs is a writer, commentator, voice actor, and audio-video producer based in Austin, TX. More of his work can be found at Bargain Citizen Media, Ramparts360.com, and TexasInsider.org.
