I’m not a fan of Eugene Kane’s (registration req.), and if I were a columnist for a big newspaper writing about why liberalism is bad for America, he probably wouldn’t be a fan of mine, either.
In his latest column, “Edwards Might Hold Key To Energizing Black Vote”, Kane ponders whether Edwards’s “comfort” around black people will win them (us?) over. I don’t know about all that, but I suspect Edwards would be very uncomfortable around me.
Unlike most of the black voting bloc, I don’t like condescending “race talk.” I’ll take religious talk, occupational talk, blogger/writer talk and even gender talk, but not skin-color talk. For those who don’t understand why race is divisive and shouldn’t be part of a campaign platform, there aren’t enough words to explain it.
I couldn’t care less what Edwards’s comfort level is. All that matters to me is that he supports child-killing, race discrimination and a host of other issues incompatible with my beliefs. But some people don’t care about such things.
Kane writes:
“I’ve grown up with African-Americans; there’s a comfort level,” Edwards said.
He spoke to me just minutes after his speech at the rally, which was followed by a bout of hand-shaking and picture taking.
“I’m accustomed to being around black people.”
In fact, Edwards said he knew enough about black voters to understand what they dislike about national politicians who reach out to their community only at election time.
This is what masquerades as insight these days. Name one person who enjoys when people come around only when they want something.
What’s so bad about white liberals “reaching out” to blacks? Reaching out is not the problem per se; it’s the race pandering that inevitably follows. There seems to be a misunderstanding of the word pander, which is defined as “cater[ing] to the lower tastes and desires of others or exploit[ing] their weaknesses.” It’s a pejorative term and not synonymous with “reaching out.” Playing on the anger and resentment of one race and socioeconomic class toward another is not good.
I learned a long time ago that what is obvious to me may be obscure to others. While liberals like Kane believe that Edwards’s “comfort” around blacks is an important quality for a leader to have, I couldn’t care less. Just as long as I’m treated with courtesy, I don’t care what he might be feeling. He can keep his feelings to himself.
I hope George Bush never gets it into his head to pull the some-of-my-best-friends-are-black routine. I’d hang my head in shame. I don’t care if he never saw a black person until he was 30 years old. The point is what he stands for, not whether he’s well-versed in the black subculture. Familiarity with American culture (freedom!) is enough for me.
Kane shares more of Edwards’s deep thoughts:
In our short talk after the rally, Edwards told me he felt most African-American voters wanted one thing more than anything else. “They don’t want their race to be an impediment to what they want to do with their life.”
He noted the unfairness of low-income whites in America getting better interest rates for loans than wealthier blacks and suggested that was something that needs to change.
Who said life was fair? Loan approval and interest rates are based on many things, including credit ratings. If wealthier blacks have lower ratings than low-income whites, it follows that their interest rates will be higher.
But cause and effect is an afterthought in political discourse. For example, some think that if there are more black students being expelled from school than whites, the cause is racism. A simple examination of suspension-worthy behavior should clear things up, right? When people imply that blacks are turned down for loans at a higher rate because they’re black, an applicant’s credit rating is a non-issue in PC culture. This is akin to the “disparate impact” theory in race preferences. If blacks are failing an aptitude test at a higher rate, for instance, then the test must be “racist.”
As a Christian, I have more in common with Bush than I have with any unbeliever, regardless of color. But this is what happens when God is taken out of the equation. Skin color and special interests trump all things.
I could go like this all day, but I think you get the point. Eugene Kane needs to retire, and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel needs to hire me so I can write about race pandering white liberals.
I wonder what effect that would have on Edwards’s “comfort level.”
