Scott's Brain Meat: Sonia Sotomayor

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Nixon Makes Racist Comments From Beyond the Grave!

Recently, I've angered some people by repeatedly questioning whether or not all Republicans

are racist. Now, to be perfectly honest, angering Republicans was indeed one of my goals in asking such a blatantly unfair questions. But considering the way in which many Republicans and conservatives casually dismiss the anger that minorities display when disparaging comments are made about them, I think it is only fair that they get some of it back.

On the other hand, it was also a serious question motivated by the startling number of Republican and Conservative political leaders and spokespersons that have been filling the airwaves with racially insensitive remarks in a fairly regular basis. Granted, there has always been an undercurrent of racism in much conservative diatribes, thanks to the ever present immigration and border debates. But the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, no doubt combined with the pent-up aggravation felt by some about the first black President, somehow triggered an opening of the flood gates. Since that announcement, both thinly disguised and utterly blatant racist comments, all spoken by right-wing pundits, have beem showing up on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis.

Well, just when I was ready to put this question to rest, yet another Republican leader has

Image via Wikipedia

managed to make headlines with yet another racist comment. And this time, the comment is from a dead Republican.

This past Tuesday, the Nixon Presidential Library released over 150 hours of secretly recorded audiotape from the Oval Office. While most of the recordings that gained attention, as well as the over 3,000 pages of documents, had to do with Watergate, there was a tasty little morsel on abortion buried within.

In 1973, when the courts legalized abortion, then President Richard Nixon didn't come out openly against it. The Oval Office tapes, however, catch him discussing the moral implications of legalized abortions. Like most conservatives, Nixon was afraid that allowing abortions lead to a more sexually permissive culture. However, he did believe that there were specific cases in which abortion was acceptable, if not necessary. Like Rape. Or interracial couplings.

"There are times when an abortion is necessary. When you have a black and a white.
Image via Wikipedia
Or a rape."

Nixon did not go on to say "Or a black raping a white," but I have a funny feeling that thought wasn't too far off. Oh, and there are some fun conversations between Nixon and Billy Graham about the self-destructive Jews as well.

So, with dead Republicans spouting racist comments from beyond the grave to add to the public discourse, I really have to raise this question once again. Are all Republicans racist? I know it still sounds like an unfair question, but when I've got dead and living Republicans alike lining up to make headlines with remarks like this, and no major Republicans condemning the statements, it really makes me wonder.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Are All Republicans Racist?

Let me start by flatly stating that I don't think that all Republicans are racist. I've never been a big fan of blanket statements, having snuggled warmly under dozens tossed over me by other less scrupulous people. It would be foolish of me to assume that someone thinks a certain way just because they belong to a certain group or organization.

Image via Wikipedia

But I have to ask: Are Republicans racists?

I don't know any hardcore Republicans myself. I know a couple of conservatives, but both of them differ enough with the party that they tend to hesitate when asked their political affiliation. So I really don't have anyone I trust that I could ask directly. I suppose I could ask some random Republican, but I a feeling that walking up to a stranger in a parking lot and asking them if they are a racist because of the McCain/Palin bumper sticker on their car is a good way to test the limits of my current medical insurance.

This leaves me to base my opinion of Republicans based on how their political and media spokespersons behave in the public eye.

This, as you can well imagine, where I would get such an idea from.

Ever since (actually, even before) Obama announced Sonia Sotomayor as his Supreme Court pick, talking heads from the far right have been complaining about the ludicrousness of picking a Hispanic woman to sit on the Supreme Court. You've got Pat Buchanan expressing outrage that all four of the potential picks were women, and Tom Tancredo claiming that her membership in the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in America was tantamount to belonging to a "Latino KKK." Some of them have stooped to making fun of the pronounciation of her last name, questioning her love of ethnic food, and racial stereotypes drove one to refer to her as a sing

Image by marsdencartoons via Flickr

le mother without checking if she actually has any children.

The overriding implication, spearheaded by a majority of older white men, is that we can't trust a Hisanic woman on the court, because she might let being a Hispanic woman influence her decision-making abilities. Furthermore, the big argument that just picking a Hispanic women is a form of Affirmative Action has been fearlessly spearheaded by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, and other unrestrained commentators that have positioned themselves as the unofficial official spokespersons of the Republican Party.

Can you blame me for asking?

So please, if you are reading this, and you happen to be a Republican, let me know. Are you all a bunch of completely out-of-touch cold-hearted bigots? Or am I just reading too much into your party's handling of Sonia Sotomayor nomination. I'm begging you, please lay these concerns to rest. Because the people leading your organization aren't helping.