Give Harry Hell
A Beat Reid Editorial
By Rick Charles
BeatReid.com
January 14, 2010
Harry is in a helluva jam these days. He has proudly taken credit for forcing the healthcare fiasco down the throats of the American people, a program that a clear majority of folks of all political stripes find offensive and distasteful. And thanks to Harry’s decision to link the bill to Edward Kennedy’s memory, for the first time since 1953, Kennedy’s seat is in serious danger of falling into Republican hands. Who would have thunk it even a month ago. (Note: Kennedy’s seat has not been Republican in almost 60 years, but John Kerry’s seat was last filled by the GOP in 1979).
Most egregious to this whole stinking process, however, is Hateful Harry’s complete disconnect with the American people and our values. In the 21st Century, few people think in terms of race and racial stereotypes. Seriously. We elected an African American to be our president for the very first time; by many accounts, voters embraced his race and voted for him because of it, not in spite of it. When inappropriate remarks are made by public people that are degrading to a particular group or underscore long held negative stereotypes, it is often the Democratic party and their cronies - the liberal thought police - who protest loudest and often demand that nothing short of the head of the person misspeaking will correct the mistake.
For those out of the loop, long-winded Helium Harry has helped the Democratic ship of state take on still more water as we enter the new year (on top of healthcare, cap and tax, national security, and oh, that pesky jobless number and the continuing home foreclosure crisis) with the revelation of comments he made about Barack Obama recently revealed in the 2008 campaign manifesto Game Change. In addition to the expected jabs at Sarah Palin and the McCain campaign, the book’s authors report that Reid described in private during the campaign candidate Obama would be electable by the American people because he is “light skinned” and fortunately had “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
If a Republican had said this, I think we all know what would have happened. Remember Trent Lott? At Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday celebration in 2002, then Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (GOP) praised the ailing Thurmond with a comment that the United States would have avoided “all these problems” if his bid for the presidency on a segregationist platform in 1948 had been successful. While the remarks were clearly meant to cheer the heart of an old man, the liberal media piled on, encouraging calls for Lott to step down from both sides of the aisle.
“He had no alternative,” said Reid at the time, claiming, “If you tell ethnic jokes in the backroom, it’s that much easier to say ethnic things publicly. I’ve always practiced how I play.” Fast-forward to 2010. Rambling Reid wants the controversy to go away with his apology, and the old double standard has set in. Those on the left accept the apology without question or demands for any kind of intervention or sensitivity training. They just want to move on. The wider perception, however, is that Harry is too old and too out of touch if he can make such remarks with a clear conscience, especially if they are private. Even his most ardent critics don’t think he is himself racist, but the inappropriate remarks expose a more troubling soul. The most liberal supporters of the president wince at Half-witted Harry’s archaic remarks, for they expose a pitiful man more interested in keeping power based on backroom deals, shady handshakes, dishonest and insincere promises and petty politics. Sadly, these comments expose Abhorrent Harry’s greatest sin - his utter disrespect for the intelligence of the American people and their ability to see beyond a candidate for his skin color or his oratory abilities. Just as Obama hero John F. Kennedy broke the religious barrier as the first Catholic president by fighting mindless stereotypes, so too has our current president had to battle stereotypes all African Americans face at one time or another. How unfortunate for the president that the chorus of ignorance now emanates from the shepherd of his policies in the United States Senate.
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