The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Was Harry Reid Wrong?

Posted on | January 10, 2010 | 112 Comments

This “light-skinned . . . no Negro dialect” controversy raged while I was on the road yesterday. Somebody told me it about Reid’s remark while I was at a Tea Party event in Altadena, Calif., from which I went straight to the airport for the long flight home. Excuse me, therefore, for being late to the Reid roast.

Of course, conservatives are generally denouncing the hypocrisy and double-standards involved here, asking, “What if a Republican had said what Harry Reid said?” Fair enough. On the other hand, Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post has a point:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acted like an idiot.
Also, he was right.
It’s a measure of the suffocating culture of political correctness that it feels risky to say that. It’s a measure of the insulting how-dumb-do-they-think-we-are culture of incessant partisanship that Republicans leapt on Reid’s remarks as racist.

A good start, except that Marcus goes on to say:

For anyone in public life to use the word “Negro” in 2008 is beyond stupid. What was once polite has become demeaning.

Really? Merely to use “negro” is demeaning? OK, so what about “colored,” as in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People?

You can’t oppose political correctness while simultaneously enforcing political correctness, so my reaction is to (a) stipulate that Harry Reid intended nothing “racist” by his remarks, and (b) offer to pop the popcorn while we watch Democrats explain that liberalism is the virtue that excuses all vices.

It is observed at Hot Air and Protein Wisdom that in 2002, Barack Obama was merciless in regard to Trent Lott’s belated endorsement of Strom Thurmond’s 1948 presidential campaign. Obama and Democrats were merely playing racial politics in that episode. Is turnabout fair play? That is to say, does it behoove Republicans to crucify Harry Reid like the Democrats crucified Lott?

We’re at a teachable moment here and we ought to begin by acknowledging the fundamental truth of what Harry Reid was awkwardly trying to say: Barack Obama is “less black,” both racially and culturally, than Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. If Reid was trying to explain why Obama was electable in a way that Sharpton and Jackson were not, then he hit the nail quite nearly on the head.

This is really just another way in which Obama is like Jimmy Carter, who worked with a vocal coach to “de-Southernize” his accent before the 1976 presidential campaign. If Carter had been perceived as just a standard-issue Southern Democrat a la George Wallace, he never would have been competitive as a presidential candidate. And ditto if Obama had been perceived as a standard-issue black Democrat a la Maxine Waters.

Assuming that this was all Reid was trying to say, then the awkwardness with which he said it ought not serve as fuel for a scandal. Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.

Hey, at least no one can accuse me of hypocrisy.

UPDATE: (Smitty): What they can do, Stacy, is package a possible implied conflict of interest as a question.  Ethics do matter.  Had money exchanged hands to produce the penultimate sentence of the original post, I’m confident you’d have alerted the reader to the connection.  Or any other non-obvious connection between you and Reid.

Thanks, Mr. Pontificator.

UPDATE II (Smitty): Admonition to lighten up noted.   Pontificate on, sir.

UPDATE III (RSM): After a three-hour nap (recovering from jet-lag) I wake up to discover Patterico’s getting the ‘Lanche by playing off my joke, in a post that links Protein Wisdom.

So we’ll call this a win-win-win, especially since Harry Reid has inspired Amanda Marcotte to declare that “the old white man-ness of the Democratic leadership is becoming a serious problem.” With progressive friends like Marcotte, why does Harry Reid need enemies?

And I’m sure Reid’s re-election campaign will embrace this slogan:

VOTE for HARRY

He’s No More Racist Than Stacy McCain!

Category: Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Racism, Senate

Comments

112 Responses to “Was Harry Reid Wrong?”

  1. Charles Johnson
    January 10th, 2010 @ 8:18 pm

    Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.

    One of my sycophantic commentators wrote this:

    I’m not sure it was a racist statement that he made.

    Perhaps we should get Mitt or Rudy or Newt or Rush or Glenn to say the exact same thing and see what the reaction is before we determine whether it was a racist statement.

    Then, we would truly know.

    I think my head is going to explode. Now excuse me, I am heading back up to Tahoe for a little rest and relaxation. Boy am I hungry!

  2. Charles Johnson
    January 10th, 2010 @ 8:18 pm

    Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.

    One of my sycophantic commentators wrote this:

    I’m not sure it was a racist statement that he made.

    Perhaps we should get Mitt or Rudy or Newt or Rush or Glenn to say the exact same thing and see what the reaction is before we determine whether it was a racist statement.

    Then, we would truly know.

    I think my head is going to explode. Now excuse me, I am heading back up to Tahoe for a little rest and relaxation. Boy am I hungry!

  3. Charles Johnson
    January 10th, 2010 @ 3:18 pm

    Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.

    One of my sycophantic commentators wrote this:

    I’m not sure it was a racist statement that he made.

    Perhaps we should get Mitt or Rudy or Newt or Rush or Glenn to say the exact same thing and see what the reaction is before we determine whether it was a racist statement.

    Then, we would truly know.

    I think my head is going to explode. Now excuse me, I am heading back up to Tahoe for a little rest and relaxation. Boy am I hungry!

  4. William Jefferson Clinton
    January 10th, 2010 @ 3:31 pm

    Okay President Obama is above fetching drinks, but what so bad about him getting me a cup of coffee before he was President! What is so wrong with that?

    But the more you discuss Harry Reid’s problems the better. I did not have sex with that woman.

  5. William Jefferson Clinton
    January 10th, 2010 @ 8:31 pm

    Okay President Obama is above fetching drinks, but what so bad about him getting me a cup of coffee before he was President! What is so wrong with that?

    But the more you discuss Harry Reid’s problems the better. I did not have sex with that woman.

  6. William Jefferson Clinton
    January 10th, 2010 @ 8:31 pm

    Okay President Obama is above fetching drinks, but what so bad about him getting me a cup of coffee before he was President! What is so wrong with that?

    But the more you discuss Harry Reid’s problems the better. I did not have sex with that woman.

  7. alwaysfiredup
    January 10th, 2010 @ 8:36 pm

    He really is a tool, isn’t he.

  8. alwaysfiredup
    January 10th, 2010 @ 8:36 pm

    He really is a tool, isn’t he.

  9. alwaysfiredup
    January 10th, 2010 @ 3:36 pm

    He really is a tool, isn’t he.

  10. William Jefferson Clinton
    January 10th, 2010 @ 8:58 pm

    Funny, like Charles, I get hungry too when I get upset. It is a vicious cycle. I recommend Weight Watchers. Or affairs. Provided you take it light on the snacks and drinks, you can really lose weight when you are having affairs.

  11. William Jefferson Clinton
    January 10th, 2010 @ 3:58 pm

    Funny, like Charles, I get hungry too when I get upset. It is a vicious cycle. I recommend Weight Watchers. Or affairs. Provided you take it light on the snacks and drinks, you can really lose weight when you are having affairs.

  12. Chris Cassone
    January 10th, 2010 @ 9:19 pm

    Isn’t “Negro” a shortened Negroid? Isn’t “Negroid” a race CLASSIFICATION? Like Caucasian, Mongoloid, Austrailiod. I mean, how can you have racism if not FOR the difference in races? From Blumenbach to Darwin to Huxley, our classifications, our scientific classifications have been used for over a hundred years. Until we tossed science out in lieu of PC.
    I say, let Harry ride on this one and we get the scientific word back. Deal?

    And can we all take a collection for Johnson’s long term therapy? Orate Fratres.

  13. Chris Cassone
    January 10th, 2010 @ 4:19 pm

    Isn’t “Negro” a shortened Negroid? Isn’t “Negroid” a race CLASSIFICATION? Like Caucasian, Mongoloid, Austrailiod. I mean, how can you have racism if not FOR the difference in races? From Blumenbach to Darwin to Huxley, our classifications, our scientific classifications have been used for over a hundred years. Until we tossed science out in lieu of PC.
    I say, let Harry ride on this one and we get the scientific word back. Deal?

    And can we all take a collection for Johnson’s long term therapy? Orate Fratres.

  14. Bob Belvedere
    January 10th, 2010 @ 9:25 pm

    Any conservative who thinks that turnabout is fair play is being a hypocrite. This is preciously the kind of thing we preach against: political correctness and the over-the-top policing of language where every iffy word use is ascribed immediately to bad intentions.

    Quoted from and Linked to at:
    The Reids By The Bank Of The Denial

  15. Bob Belvedere
    January 10th, 2010 @ 4:25 pm

    Any conservative who thinks that turnabout is fair play is being a hypocrite. This is preciously the kind of thing we preach against: political correctness and the over-the-top policing of language where every iffy word use is ascribed immediately to bad intentions.

    Quoted from and Linked to at:
    The Reids By The Bank Of The Denial

  16. Chris W
    January 10th, 2010 @ 9:43 pm

    Great post, I think this is much ado about nothing also.

    BTW Negro is, and has been for some time, on the US census. It seems to be only the liberals that find it offensive.

  17. Chris W
    January 10th, 2010 @ 4:43 pm

    Great post, I think this is much ado about nothing also.

    BTW Negro is, and has been for some time, on the US census. It seems to be only the liberals that find it offensive.

  18. MissTammy
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:00 pm

    Hell, isn’t there still an institution called the United Negro College Fund??

    Harry Reid’s an old man, and the term Negro is what he’s used to. I cdon’t thinkhe’s racistm although I think he should resign for a host of other reasons.

    My daddy always said “colored”, right up til he died a few years ago, and none of my friends even thought twice about it, given that what the term he grew up hearing was a darn sight worse than that.

    The hypocrisy is that if a Republican had said it, the Dems’d be callin’ for his or her head on a platter.

  19. MissTammy
    January 10th, 2010 @ 5:00 pm

    Hell, isn’t there still an institution called the United Negro College Fund??

    Harry Reid’s an old man, and the term Negro is what he’s used to. I cdon’t thinkhe’s racistm although I think he should resign for a host of other reasons.

    My daddy always said “colored”, right up til he died a few years ago, and none of my friends even thought twice about it, given that what the term he grew up hearing was a darn sight worse than that.

    The hypocrisy is that if a Republican had said it, the Dems’d be callin’ for his or her head on a platter.

  20. Patterico's Pontifications » Harry Reid’s History of Racial Posturing
    January 10th, 2010 @ 5:11 pm

    […] saying that he told the truth, however . . . awkwardly. See, for example, Robert Stacy McCain, who declares: “Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.” (Did Reid hit McCain’s tip jar?) And […]

  21. Mr.K
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:13 pm

    I think most Conservatives are pouncing on the “hypocrite” part of this Reid affair, besides the fact he is incorrect – Obama’s father was from Kenya, how much more “negro/black” can ya get?

  22. Mr.K
    January 10th, 2010 @ 5:13 pm

    I think most Conservatives are pouncing on the “hypocrite” part of this Reid affair, besides the fact he is incorrect – Obama’s father was from Kenya, how much more “negro/black” can ya get?

  23. DarkGravity
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:15 pm

    I’m sorry but this is fair play. Even if it’s only to be used as tool to highlight the the blatant hypocrisy of the left. After hearing them excoriate others for slip ups, taking quotes COMPLETELY out of context or just plain making stuff up, I find it most entertaining to watch them have the deal with their own racial crisis. Not that I expect anything to come of this in Democratic circles. Obama and Al ‘Rush Limbaugh is a racist for comments he never made’ Sharpton have already forgiven him. So that should be enough, shouldn’t it??

    No, I do not think Reid is racist; it takes action over words to prove that to me. But it does bother me that he decided to praise Obama in such a bizarre way. It’s not so much the Negro dialect nonsense, but the fact that he praised Obama (and his ability to win) on him being light skinned. THAT bothers me the most. Honestly, I don’t see Obama as light skinned, but why would that be important for Reid?

    At least in Imus’ case, he blurted out a comment trying to be funny and fell flat. But Reid said this in private- in part because he knew it was something he would never say in public. And if you would never say this in public, what prompts you to say it, in such a way, in private? And how can you then call it praise? I troubles me a bit.

  24. DarkGravity
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:15 pm

    I’m sorry but this is fair play. Even if it’s only to be used as tool to highlight the the blatant hypocrisy of the left. After hearing them excoriate others for slip ups, taking quotes COMPLETELY out of context or just plain making stuff up, I find it most entertaining to watch them have the deal with their own racial crisis. Not that I expect anything to come of this in Democratic circles. Obama and Al ‘Rush Limbaugh is a racist for comments he never made’ Sharpton have already forgiven him. So that should be enough, shouldn’t it??

    No, I do not think Reid is racist; it takes action over words to prove that to me. But it does bother me that he decided to praise Obama in such a bizarre way. It’s not so much the Negro dialect nonsense, but the fact that he praised Obama (and his ability to win) on him being light skinned. THAT bothers me the most. Honestly, I don’t see Obama as light skinned, but why would that be important for Reid?

    At least in Imus’ case, he blurted out a comment trying to be funny and fell flat. But Reid said this in private- in part because he knew it was something he would never say in public. And if you would never say this in public, what prompts you to say it, in such a way, in private? And how can you then call it praise? I troubles me a bit.

  25. DarkGravity
    January 10th, 2010 @ 5:15 pm

    I’m sorry but this is fair play. Even if it’s only to be used as tool to highlight the the blatant hypocrisy of the left. After hearing them excoriate others for slip ups, taking quotes COMPLETELY out of context or just plain making stuff up, I find it most entertaining to watch them have the deal with their own racial crisis. Not that I expect anything to come of this in Democratic circles. Obama and Al ‘Rush Limbaugh is a racist for comments he never made’ Sharpton have already forgiven him. So that should be enough, shouldn’t it??

    No, I do not think Reid is racist; it takes action over words to prove that to me. But it does bother me that he decided to praise Obama in such a bizarre way. It’s not so much the Negro dialect nonsense, but the fact that he praised Obama (and his ability to win) on him being light skinned. THAT bothers me the most. Honestly, I don’t see Obama as light skinned, but why would that be important for Reid?

    At least in Imus’ case, he blurted out a comment trying to be funny and fell flat. But Reid said this in private- in part because he knew it was something he would never say in public. And if you would never say this in public, what prompts you to say it, in such a way, in private? And how can you then call it praise? I troubles me a bit.

  26. Chuck
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:28 pm

    “Assuming that this was all Reid was trying to say, then the awkwardness with which he said it ought not serve as fuel for a scandal”.

    Damn right. Old Harry would never cry racism if the shoe were on a Republican foot. Right William Bennett, Justice Thomas, Sen Inhofe?

    Thanks & a tip of the hat to Patterico!!

    Harry. Pot. Kettle.

  27. Chuck
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:28 pm

    “Assuming that this was all Reid was trying to say, then the awkwardness with which he said it ought not serve as fuel for a scandal”.

    Damn right. Old Harry would never cry racism if the shoe were on a Republican foot. Right William Bennett, Justice Thomas, Sen Inhofe?

    Thanks & a tip of the hat to Patterico!!

    Harry. Pot. Kettle.

  28. Chuck
    January 10th, 2010 @ 5:28 pm

    “Assuming that this was all Reid was trying to say, then the awkwardness with which he said it ought not serve as fuel for a scandal”.

    Damn right. Old Harry would never cry racism if the shoe were on a Republican foot. Right William Bennett, Justice Thomas, Sen Inhofe?

    Thanks & a tip of the hat to Patterico!!

    Harry. Pot. Kettle.

  29. proof
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:34 pm

    Excuse me for exposing the rest of the idiocy of the Dimbulb from Searchlight, but what about a “dialect” is race specific? Does Reid buy into “ebonics”?

  30. proof
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:34 pm

    Excuse me for exposing the rest of the idiocy of the Dimbulb from Searchlight, but what about a “dialect” is race specific? Does Reid buy into “ebonics”?

  31. proof
    January 10th, 2010 @ 5:34 pm

    Excuse me for exposing the rest of the idiocy of the Dimbulb from Searchlight, but what about a “dialect” is race specific? Does Reid buy into “ebonics”?

  32. Calfed
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:55 pm

    “Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.”

    That may or may not be.

    It also may say more about you than Harry Reid

  33. Calfed
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:55 pm

    “Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.”

    That may or may not be.

    It also may say more about you than Harry Reid

  34. Calfed
    January 10th, 2010 @ 5:55 pm

    “Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.”

    That may or may not be.

    It also may say more about you than Harry Reid

  35. Patterico
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:59 pm

    I pinged back to my own posting on this topic.

    Amidst the brouhaha over Harry Reid’s comments, some people are defending Reid by saying that he told the truth, however . . . awkwardly. See, for example, Robert Stacy McCain, who declares: “Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.” (Did Reid hit McCain’s tip jar?) And indeed, I fully support the principle that people need to be able to tell the truth, even if doing so might be perceived as politically incorrect.

    But I’m not sure why Harry Reid, of all people, should benefit from that principle. He sure as hell hasn’t given others the benefit of the doubt when it comes to racial matters.

    Although perhaps even myself (although I am mostly infalible) have not always given others the benefit of doubt.

  36. Patterico
    January 10th, 2010 @ 10:59 pm

    I pinged back to my own posting on this topic.

    Amidst the brouhaha over Harry Reid’s comments, some people are defending Reid by saying that he told the truth, however . . . awkwardly. See, for example, Robert Stacy McCain, who declares: “Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.” (Did Reid hit McCain’s tip jar?) And indeed, I fully support the principle that people need to be able to tell the truth, even if doing so might be perceived as politically incorrect.

    But I’m not sure why Harry Reid, of all people, should benefit from that principle. He sure as hell hasn’t given others the benefit of the doubt when it comes to racial matters.

    Although perhaps even myself (although I am mostly infalible) have not always given others the benefit of doubt.

  37. Patterico
    January 10th, 2010 @ 5:59 pm

    I pinged back to my own posting on this topic.

    Amidst the brouhaha over Harry Reid’s comments, some people are defending Reid by saying that he told the truth, however . . . awkwardly. See, for example, Robert Stacy McCain, who declares: “Harry Reid is no more a racist than I am.” (Did Reid hit McCain’s tip jar?) And indeed, I fully support the principle that people need to be able to tell the truth, even if doing so might be perceived as politically incorrect.

    But I’m not sure why Harry Reid, of all people, should benefit from that principle. He sure as hell hasn’t given others the benefit of the doubt when it comes to racial matters.

    Although perhaps even myself (although I am mostly infalible) have not always given others the benefit of doubt.

  38. Bob Belvedere
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:12 pm

    SMITTY: Patterico’s site is aptly named if the the Wiktionary definition of ‘to pontificate’ is correct:
    Verb

    to pontificate (third-person singular simple present pontificates, present participle pontificating, simple past and past participle pontificated)

    1.(intransitive) To preside as a bishop, especially at mass.
    2.(intransitive) To act like a pontiff; to express one’s position or opinions dogmatically and pompously as if it is absolutely correct.
    3.(intransitive) To speak in a patronizing, supercilious or pompous manner, especially at length.

    #’s 2 and 3 certainly apply.

  39. Bob Belvedere
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:12 pm

    SMITTY: Patterico’s site is aptly named if the the Wiktionary definition of ‘to pontificate’ is correct:
    Verb

    to pontificate (third-person singular simple present pontificates, present participle pontificating, simple past and past participle pontificated)

    1.(intransitive) To preside as a bishop, especially at mass.
    2.(intransitive) To act like a pontiff; to express one’s position or opinions dogmatically and pompously as if it is absolutely correct.
    3.(intransitive) To speak in a patronizing, supercilious or pompous manner, especially at length.

    #’s 2 and 3 certainly apply.

  40. Bob Belvedere
    January 10th, 2010 @ 6:12 pm

    SMITTY: Patterico’s site is aptly named if the the Wiktionary definition of ‘to pontificate’ is correct:
    Verb

    to pontificate (third-person singular simple present pontificates, present participle pontificating, simple past and past participle pontificated)

    1.(intransitive) To preside as a bishop, especially at mass.
    2.(intransitive) To act like a pontiff; to express one’s position or opinions dogmatically and pompously as if it is absolutely correct.
    3.(intransitive) To speak in a patronizing, supercilious or pompous manner, especially at length.

    #’s 2 and 3 certainly apply.

  41. Subotai
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:15 pm

    “Is turnabout fair play? That is to say, does it behoove Republicans to crucify Harry Reid like the Democrats crucified Lott?”

    I’m pretty sure that the answers to both of these questions are “Yes”. This is war, not an episode of “Firing Line”. The Democrats will do whatever it takes to win. What will we do?

  42. Subotai
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:15 pm

    “Is turnabout fair play? That is to say, does it behoove Republicans to crucify Harry Reid like the Democrats crucified Lott?”

    I’m pretty sure that the answers to both of these questions are “Yes”. This is war, not an episode of “Firing Line”. The Democrats will do whatever it takes to win. What will we do?

  43. Subotai
    January 10th, 2010 @ 6:15 pm

    “Is turnabout fair play? That is to say, does it behoove Republicans to crucify Harry Reid like the Democrats crucified Lott?”

    I’m pretty sure that the answers to both of these questions are “Yes”. This is war, not an episode of “Firing Line”. The Democrats will do whatever it takes to win. What will we do?

  44. Miss Sharon
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:18 pm

    Wondering who the source is for this Reid “quote”. Who wants him out? With Obama’s too quick to forgive response, (heh. no dithering there)it is curious for me. Seems they would have waited until HCR was signed, sealed and delivered.

  45. Miss Sharon
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:18 pm

    Wondering who the source is for this Reid “quote”. Who wants him out? With Obama’s too quick to forgive response, (heh. no dithering there)it is curious for me. Seems they would have waited until HCR was signed, sealed and delivered.

  46. Miss Sharon
    January 10th, 2010 @ 6:18 pm

    Wondering who the source is for this Reid “quote”. Who wants him out? With Obama’s too quick to forgive response, (heh. no dithering there)it is curious for me. Seems they would have waited until HCR was signed, sealed and delivered.

  47. Patterico
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:23 pm

    Bob Belvedere, so what is wrong with that? Hey, if I can gain a few points by throwing a fellow conservative under the racist express bus, why not?

    Some of you guys are really thinned skinned. It was not personal, it was strictly business.

  48. Patterico
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:23 pm

    Bob Belvedere, so what is wrong with that? Hey, if I can gain a few points by throwing a fellow conservative under the racist express bus, why not?

    Some of you guys are really thinned skinned. It was not personal, it was strictly business.

  49. Patterico
    January 10th, 2010 @ 6:23 pm

    Bob Belvedere, so what is wrong with that? Hey, if I can gain a few points by throwing a fellow conservative under the racist express bus, why not?

    Some of you guys are really thinned skinned. It was not personal, it was strictly business.

  50. M. Thompson
    January 10th, 2010 @ 11:37 pm

    Never interrupt the enemy when is causing misfortune to himself.

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