This Racist Election

The sheer heights of joy and giddiness on the part of Mr. Obama's supporters, most definitely including the media, is something to behold.  One would almost think Osama bin Laden had been captured and the Islamofascists converted en masse to social-democratic atheism, from the paroxysms of neo-liberationist celebration.

Where once Chris Matthew's mere leg tingled, his whole body must now be racked by ecstatic seizures.  The Obamessiah has come into his kingdom!  America has been redeemed from its original sin!  Slavery is at an end!

And, indeed, it is.  For all that the left has grossly overused, misused, and abused false accusations of "racism" to accomplish their communitarian ends, the fact remains that America does have a history of racism, and American blacks have been grievously abused over the decades and centuries.  As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said four decades and more ago,

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Well, they've resubmitted that check - and it came back marked "Paid in Full."  No one now can ever again accuse America of being a racist nation; no racist nation would grant the highest office in the land to the oppressed race.

Even if Mr. Obama hadn't won, he had already clearly demonstrated the passing of the days of "racist whitey" by his primary victories: the voters of Iowa, white to a man, were happy to grant him their vote, and a large minority of equally-white New Hampshire did the same.  And indeed both these politically important states, oft derided for not "looking like America", were solidly in the blue column on November 4.

All Americans, right and left, can celebrate this achievement, not the least because we need no longer hear Rep. John Murtha (D, PA) accuse his constituents and ex-Klansman Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV) accuse the entire country of being racists.  The mainstream media all over the world loudly proclaimed that the only way Mr. Obama could lose the election was voter racism.  Might we see an apology for this vicious slander?  Don't hold your breath.

For this election was, indeed, riddled with racism which has been clearly visible for months.  It's a more virulent, more angry, and far more unanimous form of the old racism than has been seen since the long-gone days of the Jim Crow South.

Recall for a moment how the civil rights revolution came to pass.  Blacks marched for their rights; black leaders made great speeches, yes; brave black men and women stood up to police dogs, fire hoses, and murderers, but black people weren't alone.  Whites seeking justice for all stood beside them.  As Hillary Clinton pointed out, it was (white) President Johnson that signed the Civil Rights Act.

Dr. King and his marching millions couldn't do it all by themselves; the current holders of power, white every one, became convinced that they should finally deliver on the promise of America, and were backed by the majority of white Americans nationwide.  The racists of the South found themselves a minority even among their own race.

Full citizenship as enjoyed by American blacks is not merely a right.  It is a responsibility - a responsibility to, as Kennedy said, "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."

Part of doing this is voting thoughtfully - to judge the candidates according to who would be best for the country as a whole, not as a symbol of race or class.  Dr. King said as much when he called for his children to "live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

The white voters of civil rights days actually did judge rightly, considering what was best for the country as a whole and not just themselves; their elected leaders likewise voided racist laws and granted blacks their civil rights, not just in response to black protests, but in response to white voter pressure for justice on their behalf.

Reasonable people can disagree as to what is best.  There is no shortage of folks who truly believe that government knows best and that "progressive" policies will benefit the common man.  They are, of course, wrong, as history the world over clearly illustrates; but that doesn't mean that they aren't sincere.

There have been white people on both sides of the political aisle for as long as there has been an aisle; in the main, and certainly for the last half-century, white America has judged their politicians as Dr. King would have them to do, without regard for skin color.

Even the white voters who, when interviewed, said they voted for Mr. Obama to "make history" on account of his race are not exactly racist, at least not in the sense Dr. King condemned.  America's long sad history of injustice to blacks costs us every day; it's not unreasonable to hope that this past can be laid to rest by the election of a black man.  It's not even totally illogical to think this the most weighty issue confronting us; with the constant drumbeat of "Bush lied, thousands died," the average voter can be excused for thinking the War on Terror is a conjured-up bogeyman born of Darth Lord Cheney's black arts.

So we see that, while Mr. Obama won convincingly, the vote result was what you would expect to see of genuine differences of opinion, the sign of a healthy democracy.  55% - 45% is a free and fair victory, reflecting a democratic resolution of a legitimate debate.

There is, however, one great group where true democracy is in a dire state, and in just that group which should be most sensitive to its importance: black America.

Last week, 95% of American blacks voted for Barack Obama.

Ninety-five percent.

That's not an election result that should ever be seen anywhere short of a dictatorship.  It might as well be unanimous.  A result like that clearly demonstrates that something is badly wrong.

It isn't just that blacks don't like John McCain.  They voted for Mr. Obama over Hillary Clinton, the wife of our "first black president", in numbers almost as overwhelming - 82%, and this despite the media-appointed black leadership siding with the Clinton establishment.

Is it just that blacks are disproportionately poor, and Mr. Obama appealed to the poor?  No; the same exit polls show that he received only 47% of the votes from whites with a family income below $50,000.  If the presidency was up to poor whites alone, he'd have lost.

Is there any other demographic group that ever votes for the Republican candidate with such near-unanimity?  Even evangelical voters, for most of whom opposition to abortion is as much an article of faith as its defense is for Democrats, barely scrape three-quarters for Republicans.

No, there can be only one possible explanation for this result: There is, indeed, true racism still in the United States.  Racism, in the strict sense of judging for or against people based on the color of their skin, is alive and well in the black community.

Now, this is not to say that every last black voter for Barack Obama is a racist.  Indeed, quite a few of them clearly had other reasons for their choice.  Peggy Joseph, of Florida, rejoiced at Mr. Obama's victory and what it would mean for her:

Because I never thought this day would ever happen. I won't have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know. If I help [Mr. Obama], he's gonna help me.

This is a horrifying voting rationale, to be sure, which should put stark fear in the heart of anyone who believes in freedom and the American dream.  As dreadful and as un-American as her dream of Mr. Obma paying all her expenses is, racist it is not.  We can be sure that Ms. Joseph is not alone in her laziness and greed.

Dare we to think, though, that ninety-five percent of black voters were gleefully bribed to vote this way?  These are, alas, the only two choices on offer:

Either American blacks voted for paternalistic socialism at its most stark, in opposition to everything that America has stood for from its inception and in a repudiation of the ideals fought for by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Booker T. Washington, and George Washington Carver...

Or, they voted for racist reasons, just as surely as the white supporters of Alabama Gov. George Wallace and Birmingham Sheriff Bull Connor voted for them for racist reasons.

In words that should be taught in every schoolhouse, but surely won't be, Chief Justice John Roberts said, "The way to end racial discrimination is to stop discriminating by race."  White America has made this transition and reached the promised land dreamed of so eloquently by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Black America?  Well, this election turned over a rock concealing the foul secretions of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his fellow bigots, who, we are told, represent a view not uncommon in black churches.

A "church" which rejects a God that doesn't hate white people?  A preacher who calls down judgment on the opposite race?  If the colors were reversed, there'd be cries of horror and condemnation all up and down the TV dial; but for Rev. Wright and his ilk, only understanding and sympathy.  This is vile; racism, from whatever source, deserves to be ruthlessly exposed and repudiated in full measure.

And not only is rejecting racism good for the souls of everyone involved, a racial rush to judgment cuts off blacks from a whole world of much-needed opportunity for improvement.  Conservatism and the Republican party have much to offer to black Americans in particular that liberalism never can, from effective solutions to our dreadful inner-city schools to essential support for traditional families, the most reliable way to wealth and success yet found.

White Americans have long since learned to listen to the arguments of candidates and evaluate them on their merits as best they can; to judge the candidates by their personalities, yes, and their characters as presented, and vote accordingly.  Sometimes the Democrat wins; other times, the Republican; and in a democracy, that's how it should be. Those places where there is no alternation of power are just those places most disgracefully governed.

When will black America free itself from its racist past and do likewise?  Racism brings its own punishment, and the sooner it is dead and buried by all Americans, the better off we'll all be.