In yesterday’s post I mentioned how the liberal media and others were accusing anyone who opposed Obama’s attempt to add a Constitution-hating activist judge to the Supreme Court racists. As it turns out, there are presidential candidates who have joined in on the fun.
For instance, the email-challenged Democrat candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech in Harlem where she suggested racial bigotry had to be the reason anyone would oppose Obama:
“Now the Republicans say they’ll reject anyone President Obama nominates, no matter how qualified. Some are even saying he doesn’t have the right to nominate anyone. As if somehow he’s not the real president,” she said.
“You know, that’s in keeping with what we’ve heard all along, isn’t it? Many Republicans talk in coded racial language about takers and losers. They demonize President Obama and encourage the ugliest impulses of the paranoid fringe. This kind of hatred and bigotry has no place in our politics or our country.”
While it’s not surprising to hear this sort thing from a liberal, it turns out that this type of racial pandering for votes isn’t unique to the Democrats.
Using talking points that sounded like he plagiarized Clinton’s speech, and using phraseology that should earn him an honorary membership with Black Lives Matter, Marco Rubio took sides with the progressive claim that the nation’s police departments are inherently racist.
During the televised town hall meeting on Wednesday with fellow Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, Rubio seized the opportunity to pour fuel on the fire:
“You talk about race relations in this country, it’s a difficult issue in this country. And I know a lot of it is centered around law enforcement and police departments.”
He went further by saying that he has personally seen blacks in certain communities treated differently than whites for no reason other than the color of their skin:
“In this country there is a significant number particularly of young African-American males who feel they are treated differently than the rest of society.”
And while he would eventually make a token reference to how awesome the cops really are, he still concluded:
“I also know … there are communities in this country where minority communities and the police department have a terrible relationship.”
Besides being blatantly racist, Rubio’s claim isn’t supported by the facts.
In a study by Manhattan Institute Scholar Heather McDonald we learned that one of the primary reasons for a greater police presence in black neighborhoods is because there is a higher crime rate. She provided data that showed the 6000+ black homicide victims in 2013 were overwhelmingly black-on-black civilian incidents. By contrast, police kill roughly 200 blacks a year, most of them armed and dangerous criminals, out of nearly 40 million police/civilian interactions.
Rubio has injected race into the discussion in the past, including frequent mentions of his Cuban heritage. Near the end of the town hall meeting, he accomplished the “hat trick” in the world of racial politics:
“Today I got the endorsement of a Governor of Indian descent, who endorsed a presidential candidate of Cuban descent, and tomorrow will be campaigning with [and] alongside an African-American Republican senator. That says a lot about the Republican party.”
Actually, it says more about how Marco Rubio is willing to engage in the same sort of racial pandering for votes we see all the time from liberals like Hillary and Obama.
And in a country that, as Teddy Roosevelt once said, has no room for hyphenated Americans, I find his conclusion quite sad.
David Leach is the owner and publisher of The Strident Conservative, where you will find news and opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” He is also a frequent contributor at RedState.com.
His daily commentary is nationally syndicated via Salem Radio Network.
