“They’re coming for you…”
If you missed Rachel Maddow’s coverage of l’affaire Sherrod last night, do yourself a favor and watch all three segments. Or at least see this clip:
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Maddow puts the Breitbart-Fox News smear job in its proper context, linking it to past efforts to stoke racial resentment and fear, from George Wallace in the 60s to Jesse Helms in the 90s to Rush Limbaugh today. This story isn’t just about a particular race-baiter (Breitbart) trying to deflect attention from teabagger racism by twisting a dedicated public servant’s words.
It’s a long-range political strategy to frighten working class whites, a cynical maneuver to ensure that the poor and working classes remain divided by color so they don’t unite and, god forbid, demand a fair shake. Ironically, that’s the lesson Ms. Sherrod was delivering in the speech that was subsequently sliced and diced to serve Breitbart’s race-baiting purposes.
Although we lefties are often accused of disbelieving in American exceptionalism by people who confuse nationalism with patriotism (cough**Sarah Palin**cough), one of the things this lefty is most proud of us for is that we attempt to “rise up and live out the true meaning of [our] creed—that all men (and women) are created equal”—as a national mission statement. We do it haltingly. We do it too slowly. We do it at great cost in blood and sorrow. We do it incompletely. We do it despite Bull Connor, Axe Handle Maddox, David Duke, Rush Limbaugh and Andrew Breitbart. But we do it or die trying.
Correct me if I’m wrong here, but has another majority white, Western country aside from the US ever elected a racial minority as president or prime minister? Ever? In the history of this benighted planet? That’s kind of exceptional.
And that’s why these attempts to manipulate voters with race-baiting are not only infuriating and morally bankrupt but fundamentally un-American. Maddow rightly concludes the race-baiting strategy will be with us as long as it works. So how do we diminish its effectiveness as a political tool?
The Obama administration desperately wants to avoid race issues, and that impulse is perfectly understandable given the explosive potential of the topic. But it was their zeal to avoid controversy and to be seen as even-handed that led to the massive cock-up this week.
The only person who came out of this debacle with her dignity intact, Ms. Sherrod, said today she would like to share her insights with the president:
As for an apology with the president, Sherrod told the TODAY show that she did not expect an apology from him — but that she would like to have a conversation with him.
“I’d like to talk about the experiences of people like me, at the grassroots level,” she said. “Let me help him a little bit.”
I hope President Obama takes her up on it. If anyone can offer constructive suggestions on how we move past this mess, it’s Ms. Sherrod. It’s a road she’s traveled.
Posted by Betty Cracker on 07/22/10 at 08:33 AM • Permalink
Categories: News • Politics • Bedwetters • Nutters • Sarah Palin • Our Stupid Media •
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