Reid and Race

I tend to agree with Jonah Goldberg's assessment of Harry Reid's race gaffe. From National Review Online's The Corner

George Will said on This Week that everything Reid said is in fact true and, by implication, therefore not racist. Well, I dunno. If Reid had used the word "African-American" instead of "negro" I would say Will has a better case. Though talking about how African-American candidates with light skin are better political prospects seems pretty close to the line, if you ask me. Regardless, on the merits you could easily make the case that Reid, being a bumbling addlepate, didn't actually have any racist views in his heart when he said that.

But the merits have very little to do with race and how it is discussed and used. More to the point, the double-standard issue is unavoidable. If any Republican were caught speaking this way about Obama — even in private — liberal cries of racism would be filling the air. I can't imagine how anyone can disagree with that. I see nothing wrong with acknowledging that double standard. I'm not sure that taking it to the next level and calling Reid a racist is the way to go. It's a hateful and dispiriting tactic when liberals use it against conservatives. It would be hypocritical for conservatives to mimic it solely in the spirit of payback.

As far as political tactics go, I'd rather Republicans simply acknowledged the double standard and chalked it up as yet another example of how Washington's liberal Democrats have one set of rules for themselves and another for everybody else. That's the sort of message that will win elections for Republicans in November. Shouting "the Democrats are racist" won't.