The Democrats' New/Old Southern Strategy

The Democrats' New/Old Southern Strategy
Scott Wheeler
8-10-10

Editors' note: This piece is co-authored by Buckley Carlson

As many have known for years and warned frequently, the Democratic Party strategy of race-baiting was merely a tactic to gain political power for their White leadership. Sound really cynical? Take a look at the new strategy. Old habits die hard, as the saying goes. And so, too, do deeply-rooted, institutional policies reflective of a rotten core…like the Democratic Party’s harboring of bold racial animus and disdain while claiming the mantle of “diversity,” and at the same time, employing the most overtly divisive racial political strategies seen in this country during the past 60 years.

If not for racism, how else to account for the pervasive corruption in the Democratic party, and yet, under the authority of the Democrat-controlled Office of Congressional Ethics, only one White member is under investigation, while at least eight Black members are? Coincidence? Seems unlikely.

Chris Dodd. Barney Frank. Nancy Pelosi. Jim Moran. These are just some of the names that swiftly percolate to the surface during any man-on-the-street interview with regular Americans when you ask their views on corrupt politicians. And yet, not a one of them is currently under investigation by the Democrat-controlled Office of Congressional Ethics.

So, what is it, exactly, that differentiates those members of the Democratic Party from, say, Charlie Rangel, Maxine Waters, Melvin Watt, or Jesse Jackson, Jr., all of whom are currently enjoying “official, enhanced scrutiny”? Time in office? Power at hand? Intelligence? Good luck? Or, have they garnered special treatment simply because of the color of their skin?

Seem far-fetched? Here is how Democrat cheerleader Froma Harrop described Pelosi’s strategy in her Real Clear Politics column:

“That the Democrats under the microscope -- New York Rep. Charles B. Rangel and California Rep. Maxine Waters -- are both black only underscores the seriousness with which the Democratic leadership supports a new set of standards for conduct.”

In the 45 years since the inception of Civil Rights legislation in America, Democrats have taken Blacks from the back of the Democrat bus, propelled them up to the front of the bus when the microphones and the cameras were in evidence – festooning their likeness throughout – and then chucked them unceremoniously under the bus in order to get back what they consider their lost redneck voters. And yet, this is the political party that consistently “earns” over 90% of Black support at the polls?

Nancy Pelosi, who famously claimed to an un-skeptical press corps that she was going to "drain the swamp" of Washington corruption, has turned into the Creature from the Black Lagoon, mossy barnacles of corruption affixed to all but the surgically-enhanced square inches of her tight visage. The Democrats’ ranks are literally rife with corruption; even a limp-wristed, blind swing of the piñata paddle would yield burst pustules of theft, bribes, and lies. And yet, Pelosi’s efforts have yielded no white members, while ensnaring a full 38% of the Congressional Black Caucus.

According to David Freddoso of the Washington Examiner, “PMA was shut down last year and raided by the FBI in the wake of several reports that its employees and clients were allegedly trading contributions for hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks from certain members of Congress. This accusation has never been proven, and the Office of Congressional Ethics dropped its investigation last year.” An investigation that would have netted half a dozen or so White Democrats for allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes, making what Rangel and Jefferson had done look like petty theft by comparison, until that investigation was shut down by the very same “office of Congressional Ethics” that has taken up investigating Black Democrats, at a very suspicious time- right before the November elections. Pelosi isn’t draining the swamp, she is holding Rangel's and Water's heads under the swamp water. According to the guidelines as established and aggressively heralded by Pelosi and the Liberal Left, the Democratic Party is guilty, at minimum, of “racial profiling”…of the kind they routinely accuse our nation’s police of employing. At a minimum.

But, if we apply the same standards that Pelosi and the Liberal Left force American private businesses to adhere to, then what we are witness to is racism, pure and simple. If this was an affirmative action case, does anyone doubt that the evidence as presented would lead to a conviction?

To believe otherwise makes one a racist by Democrat standards. This is what they have demanded from the rest of us for years.

If you run a company and your employee base does not reflect the “racial make-up” of the community in which you are located, regardless of who has applied to work there? The verdict is swift and clear: Racial Discrimination!

If law enforcement arrests a disproportionate number of minorities? Again, the “evidence” is incontrovertible: Racial Discrimination!

So, if the Democratic Party engages in a “comprehensive effort” to rid its own body of corruption – a body that has long emitted the sights, sounds, smell of corruption – and then identifies ONLY Black members, when they represent just a small percentage of the total? Well, apply the Democratic Party Racial Calculus, and you can only conclude: Institutional Racism!

Democratic Party racism aside, we’re not suggesting that Rangel, Waters, William Jefferson, etc. have been vindicated. But we think it’s clear they were under the delusion that they, too, were free to participate in the wanton looting that has always firmly – if sort of quietly – defined the soul- the rich, White liberal soul of the Democratic Party. It is now clear that they were never part of the “elite,” and that no one bothered to tell them that “carte blanche” in the Democratic Party is delineated with a “hard c”, as in blanc, for white…In other words, you DO get a free pass, IF you’re rich, WHITE, and liberal.

Pelosi and the Democratic Party have wielded the racial baton for years, silencing dissent, undermining opposition, engaging in the most egregious of personal attacks, and always for political ends. And most often without even the slightest morsel of evidence.

“Evidence” was never important; THEY were the arbiters of racism. In fact, how often does one hear that charge of racism now? How about every time a conservative defends States Rights…declares affection for the 10th Amendment…or displays opposition to ObamaCare?

But perhaps the Democrats’ favorite tactic – aided and abetted by a sympathetic, sycophantic media – has always featured the slander of “unintentional racism,” meaning someone could be guilty of racism, but not even conscious of it. Although slightly mitigating – “2nd Degree Murder”, anyone? – this was also the most insidious of charges, because by it’s very nature it could not be accounted for…or defended against.

Well, Pelosi and her liberal leadership are guilty of much worse than even “unintentional racism.” Their racism is active, passionate, and very much pre-meditated. In fact, it’s part of a much larger strategy to win back key Southern political districts. Abhorrent, for sure. But also risky: will the Democrats’ strategy of hanging their Black members out as bait bring back their historically racist caucus? Does that constituency even exist anymore? And can the media, the Congressional Black Caucus, and concerned Americans everywhere tolerate this disgusting racism any longer? We thought this type of politics – surely the “Politics As Usual” historically practiced by the Democratic Party, and subsequently decried by its leader – were relics of the past. They sure should be.

Buckley Carlson is a Washington-based writer and political strategist.