Though indirectly and primarily through surrogates, Democratic candidates in states with closely contested federal or statewide races are getting a boost from an ongoing shadow campaign of naked and dishonest race-baiting. In a piece chronicling the phenomenon, The New York Times noted this week that Democratic allies in Southern states are warning African-American constituents to vote on November 4 lest they want to see a return of Jim Crow, the figurative lynching of President Barack Obama, or more violent clashes with police akin to what occurred in Ferguson, Missouri this summer. “It’s not race-baiting; it’s actually happening,” said an official with the Democratic Party of North Carolina’s African-American caucus. “I can’t catch a fish unless there’s a worm on the hook.” No doubt, there will be takers for a message which suggests that a Republican Senate takeover could mean the impeachment of Barack Obama, and that this outcome is perfectly synonymous with the Jim Crow-era lynching of blacks in the Deep South. It’s a poisonous, unhinged, and deleterious brand of politics to espouse, but it is beyond a doubt that some do believe this. It seems, however, that it is possible to go over the line on race-baiting, even among liberals. Leave it to New York City Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel to not only discover this elusive line, but to leap over it with reckless abandon.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 19:58:17 +0000
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