TWO FROM COUNTERPUNCH

The Other Race Card:
Rush Limbaugh and the
Politics of White Resentment

Statements of this nature exist not in a vacuum, as if mere isolated flotsam and jetsam on the national airwaves, but rather within a broader context, where their interpretation and symbolic value become greater than the sum of their linguistic parts.

In the case of a comment such as Limbaugh's, one must consider the effect, not simply the intent behind the words. It is this consideration that can legitimately cause Limbaugh's remarks to be viewed as racist or at least an example of white racial resentment, which in turn can feed the problem of racism, whether or not this was the goal of the speaker.

That Rush would likely never understand this is not surprising. Indeed, his understanding of racism, like that of most white Americans it seems, is so limited that it only allows the label to be used to describe the most vicious and deliberately bigoted of statements or actions. In other words, Rush, like most whites, views racism as requiring the evil intent of an individual racist, and thereby considers the event through the eyes of the perpetrator rather than the victim. If he didn't mean any harm, then there was no foul.

Fantastic essay! This really hits on some sophisticated truths about the confusing underpinnings of racist subtleties deeply embedded in American discourse. I've said many times that simply refraining from usage of the "n-word" does not make one anti-racist. This essay reveals why that is the case.

Click here.

Can the Republicans Get Much Worse? Of Course, They Can

But as outrageous as Limbaugh and Schwarzenegger are, nothing can top Missouri Republican Senator Christopher Bond's now former communications director, Ernie Blazar. He decided to set up an anti-Democrat web site called "N8354N," the tail number of the plane that carried Missouri Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan, his son, and his assistant. All were killed in the crash. The plane crashed just prior to the 2000 election that pitted Carnahan against the incumbent John Ashcroft. Carnahan, whose name remained on the ballot, beat Ashcroft anyway.

Blazar just exemplified a party that is now under the spell of dirty tricksters like Bush's guru, Karl Rove. Maybe someone should check Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman's staff to see if they have a web site called "N41BE," the tail number of the plane that crashed killing Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife, daughter, three staff assistants, and two pilots. Maybe the Republican National Committee has a web site called "N9253N," the tail number of the plane flown by John F. Kennedy, Jr., which crashed off Martha's Vineyard, killing him, his wife, and sister-in-law. Naming web sites after tail numbers of planes in which Democratic leaders died has the appearance that some Republicans are gleeful over these tragic deaths.

At this point, it has to be obvious that "compassionate conservatism" was simply a ruse. In fact, I would go so far to say that anyone who believed in Bush's carefully crafted oxymoron had his head up his ass to begin with.

Click here.

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