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Andrew Breitbart Debacle Just a Warm-Up for Racial Politics Ahead

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Now that we've had a day or two to reflect after the latest paroxysm of what passes for an examination of racial attitudes, I'm certain of only one thing: A star is born. Shirley Sherrod, the woman at the center of the storm, handled herself with such class and grace that her future is limitless. She gets to do her social justice and civil-rights work on a bigger scale if she chooses, helping bail out the politicians who bailed on her, or maybe she'll run for office herself. She's suddenly a hot property in the very best sense.

Beyond that, I hope the new president at the NAACP, Ben Jealous, and the new administration in Washington learn they shouldn't get cowed by conservative media. How sweet it was to hear Fox's Bill O'Reilly apologize for jumping to conclusions based on a selectively edited videotape -- and all in just a few days' time.

For the administration to summarily fire Sherrod out of fear of Glenn Beck is pathetic. And Jealous was way too eager to demonstrate the NAACP's even-handedness in stamping out black racism that he didn't bother to get the full story from a woman with a storied last name in civil rights circles. William Sherrod, Shirley's husband, was a founder of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

The whole sorry episode pulled back the curtain on how the Right uses race as a wedge issue. Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger who circulated the doctored videotape of Sherrod, had plenty of role models.

In the 1988 presidential battle between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis, a conservative activist named Floyd Brown produced a low-budget cable ad attacking Dukakis' support of a prison furlough program that the Right criticized as coddling criminals. It featured the face of convicted killer Willie Horton, an African-American, and opened up the Bush campaign to charges of inciting racial fears.

Although the official Bush campaign aired subtler ads of its own, Republican strategist Lee Atwater, who was known as the godfather of negative campaigning, ran Bush's campaign and was credited or blamed, depending on your perspective, for the ads. Interestingly, it was Al Gore, during a 1988 Democratic primary debate in New York City, who first raised Willie Horton and the Massachusetts furlough law against Michael Dukakis.

And so, even though there were other fingerprints on the remarkably cruel character assassination -- and, yes racist -- campaign of '88, it was Atwater who on his deathbed apologized to Dukakis, and those regrets are what inform my opinion 20 years later.

We taped "The McLaughlin Group" on Friday afternoon, and moderator John McLaughlin suggested that after this week's events, what a disappointment Obama is after having promised us a post-racial presidency. Panelist Clarence Page pointed out that nowhere did Obama claim such a thing, that the post-racial presidency is a media creation. Yes, candidate Obama gave a thoughtful speech on race in Philadelphia after racially incendiary tapes of his pastor's sermons surfaced, but it was more to save his campaign than to assert himself as the paragon of a new racial paradigm.

Getting elected president did that, sending a message that there is a new and diverse America, but since Obama has taken office, undermining him and questioning his legitimacy has had an element of racial fear to it, stoked by people who know better and who are practiced in politics. Talking with Clarence Page after the show, he made the point that playing the race card in the past was done from the assumption that blacks were inferior -- now when the race card is played it suggests that blacks are superior, and that's what has white folks worried.

In the prediction segment of the show, panelist Pat Buchanan predicted that white turnout for Republicans would soar this November, prompted by this week's events and the administration's challenge of the Arizona immigration law. I think there are lots of reasons why the turnout in November could resemble the angry white men's revolt of 1994 that turned the Democrats out of office on Capitol Hill, but I think high unemployment will have a lot more to do with it than racial divisions. Both parties play the race card when it suits them, but only one party has made the Southern Strategy of racial division the core of its electoral strategy since the 1970s. I expect no different this November and during the lead-up to 2012. Everyone should brace for more raw politics around race. This week was just a warm-up.

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no1topsobama

The following title should give you good cause to PAUSE,THINK & WONDER: " Andrew Breitbart Debacle Just a Warm-Up for Racial Politics Ahead ".
..AND RACIAL POLITICS????........JUST WHAT IN GOD'S CREATION IS THAT??..., AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, WHO MAKES IT AND WHERE IS IT COMING FROM??
No, I'm NOT posting for comedians nor for the benefits of hate-filled Americans; I'm reaching out to ALL people of goodwill who has their heads screwed on straight. Elections are suppose to be about SOLVING PROBLEMS AND ISSUES confronting the nation and our people. Elections are suppose to be about DEBATES - in which both participants are expected to tell us, EXACTLY what they're going to do to solve these problems; when and how they'll get them solved w/o taxing us all to death. In my 68 yrs., I've never heard of RACIAL POLITICS; I may have seen the racial card played out in politics, but RACIAL POLITICS?...; In the old days, these inflammatory titles would get news papers sold because ours is still a racist society; newspapers are almost gone, but we're still a racist society and politicians know this...; which brings me to my other point : makes me no difference who's in control because policies WILL be carried out, and when we have the one or the other - of the 2 major political party holding a monopoly on our politics - all we're doing is supporting their ego and allowing them to have power; remove them from office, and they'll do WHATEVER in their quest to reain control of that power - it's what caused that very disgusting event involving a wonderfil black woman who's doing good for many and with a total disregard of the races.
IF THEY HEAR IT 10 TIMES, THEY'LL THINK IT'S TRUE:
...and guess what, we heard the lies and falacies about ACORN for more than 10 times , and like you, I too believed them to be true; last week a do-good woman's life was almost destroyed, and by now we know, JUST LIKE WITH THE ACORN INCIDENT, they were all the manufactured lies of Breitbart - a racist at heart !.
THEY COULDN'T DO THIS AND GET AWAY W/O THE HELP OF WE-THE-PEOPLE:
Poll after polls are saying that only 11% of Americans hold Congress in high esteem, but our congress is a REFLEXION of We-The-People ( and you don't even know it ); we give the job to these people w/o any clear mandate as to what's expected of them; they too easily bury the truth,and we treat and accept it as the norm; they NO LONGER TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES - BECAUSE THEY HAVE "NO SOLUTIONS (and why should we expect creators of problems to have solutions, WHEN THEY ARE THE PROBLEM....;AMERICANS, IT'S OUR GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO RETURN TO POWER THOSE THAT ARE MASTERS AT PLAYING THE RACE CARD, IT'S ALSO YOUR GIVEN RIGHT TO VOTE THEM BACK INTO THE WHITE HOUSE BECAUSE THEY'RE GOOD AT BASHING BLACK AMERICANS; but remember this, THIS TIME AROUND, IT WASA BLACK AMERICAN THAT SAVED US FROM SOUP LINES, RETURN REPUBLICANS TO POWER AND MAY YOU ENJOY YOUR SOUP.

July 25 2010 at 6:42 PM Report abuse -8 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to no1topsobama's comment
Paul

Notice how many people believe Breitbart even though it has been determined that "he" edited the tape. Just look at the Thumbs Up/Down levels. People who speak the truth are constantly negged on this site. The only people who get a majority of Thubs Ups are the onw who just parrot the lies of FOX.

July 26 2010 at 1:17 PM Report abuse -3 rate up rate down Reply
cpadmitchell

Perhaps if persons who release damaging and untrue stories get sued until they have no money remaining, some of this might stop. How poetic justice might be if this is what brings down misleading purveyors of alleged fact.

July 25 2010 at 6:25 PM Report abuse -4 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to cpadmitchell's comment
purplesatinpjs3

does this include the lies from the NAACP?

July 25 2010 at 6:39 PM Report abuse +9 rate up rate down Reply
oldengineera2

The NAACP injected the "r" word in a play to emotional partisan politics, not to any established fact pattern.
Ms. Sharrod was sacked without bothering to establish a fact pattern or dally with due process.
It appears Ms. Clift is piling on without bothering to establish a fact pattern, either. Perhaps she got her instructions on the journolist server.

July 24 2010 at 8:26 PM Report abuse +6 rate up rate down Reply
George & Nancy

I went to my first tea party meeting this week. It was nothing but concerned citizens who are sick and tired of the same tax and spend politics that seems to get your vote. There was no name calling, but there was prayer, a pledge of allegiance to the flag, and some good old singing of the national anthem. We got to meet some of the people running today and what they stood for. Our primary is in August. Not one negative comment was spoken. It was not racially charged as so many are led to believe. I'm going to keep going to these meetings as it was good to hear POSITIVE words about America's future.

July 24 2010 at 7:19 PM Report abuse +12 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to George & Nancy's comment
builder62007

I went to my first Union sponsored political candidate fund raising dinner two weeks ago. There was both the presentation of our flag and the pledge of allegiance to the flag and there was the singing of the national anthem. There was no prayer. We got to meet political candidates running for office. We heard Union officials and politicians talk about how minorities were under represented in the number of minority people running for office on the Republican ticket, as though that was racism on the part of the political party. The only positive news I heard was that the Union members and the Politicians present were positive the lack of Minority candidates on the Republican ticket was because of racism on the part of Republicans.
Why the constant victim roll presented by these people. Sad

July 25 2010 at 3:16 PM Report abuse +7 rate up rate down Reply
yousername195

Where is the video of the Sean Hannity Show where he calls the Tea Party audience "Timothy McVeigh Wannabes"? Why hasn't Breibart posted that to simply show America the reaction of the audience applauding and cheering their approval of this evidently "right on" depiction by Hannity?

July 24 2010 at 6:46 PM Report abuse -5 rate up rate down Reply
416544967

Shirley Sherrod's husband is named Charles. A monument to his voter rights campaign in southwest Georgia is located in the city of Albany, GA. He is still alive.

July 24 2010 at 6:05 PM Report abuse +11 rate up rate down Reply
Hello MaCryer

Hello MaCryer The media WILL keep this racial "thing" going and use this "story" to promote their politics. CNN will have at least four more hours of what it is like "being black" in America. They probably will send a crew to the town of the white couple and deem it racial (remember Jena) Lemon and/or Holmes will have a very superficial discussion on race, pat themselves on the back on what a civil discussion they had and conclude that blacks have been so mistreated that they should be forgiven for every transgression. All races are made up of those who are responsible, do what is right, and stay out of trouble and sadly there are those who are irresponsible, do wrong,and get in trouble. Until we admit that we will always have "race" problems. In other words, stop excusing. Also wasn't Sherod doing what she was being paid for? Why is she getting so much credit for that? Hello MaCryer

July 24 2010 at 4:48 PM Report abuse +15 rate up rate down Reply
wolfml1

So I see, if you tell Rupert Murdoch that he is responsible for the bias of Fox and that he actually pushes it and that it will continue until he gets a conscience and the American people decide they want the truth not to be told what to think, you won't have your comment published, so much for truth. Although if I have enough money to buy a television station I can lie as much as I want, but AOL is not about the truth, obviously.

July 24 2010 at 4:29 PM Report abuse -16 rate up rate down Reply
wolfml1

The arbiter of truth is the man who stands behind the liars. Rupert Murdoch has orchestrated a symphony of half truths and people who can't be trusted. The buck stops there. So, if he continues to make money by actually pushing his employees and their surrogates to lie to the American People and spin their yellow journalism continually, unless Fox is held accountable there will be no end.

July 24 2010 at 4:19 PM Report abuse -14 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to wolfml1's comment
Allah

you want yellow journalism? research "journolist" it is an eye opener

July 24 2010 at 6:27 PM Report abuse +13 rate up rate down Reply
lhoward914

Can someone show me one statement made that this woman refutes her personal racism?

July 24 2010 at 4:11 PM Report abuse +18 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to lhoward914's comment
Diane

Her entire career record is all you need.

July 24 2010 at 9:59 PM Report abuse +8 rate up rate down Reply
scotch43

try watching the ENTIRE video...you'll find it on any non conservative blog...you will see how Ms. Sherrod was not only overcoming her own prejudices, but realizing and declaring that the problems she faced in her work, WERE NOT due to race...but in fact do to something that can befall most of us...BEING POOR...and she acted accordingly...think breitbart or fox will learn in such a way to fix their mistakes...not if they want viewers like you...I sincerely hope Sherrod finds a way to sue breitbart...

July 25 2010 at 12:32 PM Report abuse -5 rate up rate down Reply

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