So implied Congressman Alcee Hastings, an impeached former federal judge, to an audience of Jewish liberals yesterday.
According to CNN (also see this link), his exact words were (bad grammar included) “anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks…If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention.”
I’m no Sarah Palin apologist, but what Hastings’s said was race-baitingly foul, obviously. I wonder if anyone called him on it or at the very least, asked what the heck he meant. If I’d been there…It’s a strange thing to say. People who exercise their right to carry a gun and who hunt animals are racist?
Imagine a white Republican saying something similar about a black liberal candidate. Mainstream media would cover it morning, noon, and night. There’d be widespread calls for an apology and/or resignation. But they’ll treat what Hastings said as a curious news item, forgotten by day’s end.
Hastings is insignificant in the scheme of things, but I’m curious about how much grief he’ll catch for these dumb statements. You see, a double standard applies whenever blacks or other minorities or liberals make inane and insulting statements about conservatives and Republicans. Back in 2002, white liberal Thomas V. Mike Miller, president of the Maryland senate, called Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a black Republican, an Uncle Tom and got no flak for it. Well, except from me.
Yes, double standards abound. Since I started blogging in 2003, I discovered that when black liberals denigrate black conservatives, white liberals see it as permission for them to follow suit. It’s happened to me, Condoleezza Rice, and probably every other black conservative you know about. (On a somewhat related note, a New York Times reporter interviewed me yesterday for a story on black conservatives and Republicans. I’m hoping it’ll be fair and balanced. No guarantees.)
Hastings was a federal judge when he was impeached for bribery and perjury in 1988 and convicted in 1989. Incredibly, he was elected to Congress in 1992. Is it me, or do black voters seem to have a disproportionate penchant for crooked politicians? (Hard-up much?)
I’ll be watching and waiting for impeached former federal judge Alcee Hastings to catch it for what he said yesterday. The words “waiting” “in” “vain” come to mind.
