Wow. I have no words for this: The Fuhrer was G Gordon Liddy’s first political hero. Liddy was a sickly, asthmatic child when he grew up in Hoboken, New Jersey, in the 1930s. The town was full of ethnic Germans…

“Ich schw?re bei Gott, diesen Heiligen Eid: das ich den Leader der Amerikanisches Volkes und Christliches Reiches; und der Oberbefehlshaber das Staatwehr auf Die Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika,

meinem Treue und meinem Ehre schw?ren zu Todesfall. Ich schw?re — ich schw?re bei Gott.”

Is it because the occasional example of conservative racism isn’t as shocking?

Probably. Our idiots are more well-known and more outspoken. Yours are just now showing up. Besides, the racist remarks from liberals are not getting the national play they would have if the shoe were on the other foot. Imagine if Rush Limbaugh or Shawn Hannity had said the same thing. Limbaugh called a black quarterback “overrated” and it was the top story for three days.

They were on the wrong side of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Rights Amendment, Prop 187, and now the Gay Marriage issue.

RE: 1964 CRA: LBJ wrote that he found more support from moderate Republicans (who would be called ultra-conservative by today’s standards) than from many in his own party. LBJ rose to power in the 50s by supporting Eisenhower more loyally than Ike’s own party (See Master of the Seante…can’t remember the author). Granted, those were southern Democrats. And even those Northeastern Dems who, in the end, supported the bill did so more for political expendiency (large, southern black migration) than for any real concern for the welfare of minorities.

Were conservatives on the wrong side of the overall issue? Many of them, yes. But Al Gore, Sr. was a staunch segregationist. Prescott Bush was pro-integration.

But that was all 40+ years ago (and Prop 187 I disagree with today and Gay Marriage…same thing, so maybe I’m on the wrong side now).

About the only Civil Rights issue I see now (other than Gay Marriage, which is a “manufactured” issue in my view) is the death or continued life of affirmative action. I’ve never heard anyone effectively defend its continued existence in 2004…
-keith

The left proclaims itself as the self-appointed “liberators” of minorities, but as soon as a minority has the unmidigated gall to be conservative, there is a tendancy to label them as “not really black.” (See Powell, Rice, Watts, etc.)

I sorta see (and agree with) your point, but I strongly disagree with the first part of your statement.

There’s a strong distrust of non-liberal minorities (which leads to shit like the “Aunt Jemima” controversy), but I think it’s not as much about them not living up to a stereotype as much as it’s disappointment that they’re on the side that’s working against their best interests. I think it’s part of the same confusion that liberals have about the Log Cabin Republicans. To many of us, it just doesn’t make sense that they would ally themselves with a group that goes out of their way to marginalize them.

This is a view I mostly reject. I think it’s somewhat counter-productive, but I respect the fact that conservatives like Andrew Sullivan may think issues like National Defense and Fiscal Policy are more important than gay marriage. As such, it makes sense that they would align themselves with people who agree with them on those issues. The same holds true for black Republicans like Rice and Powell who may lean conservative, even in their views of stuff like affirmative action.

That said, I strongly disagree with your “self-appointed ‘liberators’ of minorities” quote, because it’s just not historically accurate. If you look at the two major parties over the last 60 years, the Republicans have always been on the wrong side of the issues that help minorities. They were on the wrong side of the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Rights Amendment, Prop 187, and now the Gay Marriage issue. It’s not that the left has been “self-appointed” or have liberated anyone, but that the last few decades have shown that when minorities look around, there’s only one side of the aisle that has consistently stood with them.

I find it incredibly disturbing that some on the left think it’s okay to resort to racist stereotypes to criticize someone for having an honest disagreement. There’s few things I find as nauseating as the attitude of “I’m not really racist, so it’s okay if I act like one”. Growing up in the midwest, I’m sure you’re familiar with the sort of people who tell racist jokes and make generalities, but somehow thinks it’a all okay as long as they don’t use the “N-word”.

In looking at the controversy over liberal racism, I think it’s worth examining why similar behavior on the right doesn’t merit the same sort of outrage. Is it because the occasional example of conservative racism isn’t as shocking? Or are they just better at deflecting criticism? It can’t be for a lack of examples.

You make an interesting observation:

…it’s funny how we on the left are always expected to answer for our lunatics when the ones on the right are much more popular and extreme in their views.

You may have a good point here, but one observation that I would like to make is one that I think is obvious. The left proclaims itself as the self-appointed “liberators” of minorities, but as soon as a minority has the unmidigated gall to be conservative, there is a tendancy to label them as “not really black.” (See Powell, Rice, Watts, etc.)
-troll

Isn’t this similar to the childhood experiences of a serial killer?

What did Rove kill when he was a kid?
Twinkies don’t count.