FRN Columnists' Corner - "The Double Standard Is Alive And Well" By Frank Salvato

Free Republic Network ^ | 3-5-04 | Frank Salvato

[Bob J]

We have seen another inappropriate outburst from the liberal left of the Democratic Party come and go without a word of outrage from Democratic leadership. US Representative Corrine Brown (D-FL) issued an incredibly racist statement in anger during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill between administration officials and members of Congress regarding the Haitian crisis. This outburst so stunned those at the meeting that condemnation of Brown's statement has been streaming into the public forum. Curiously, but unsurprisingly, the Democratic Party leadership and leadership from the activist liberal left has been deafeningly silent.

Rep. Brown, obviously unprepared for the meeting to which she was invited and delinquent in her level of familiarity with those with which she would be meeting, exploded into a tirade accusing the Bush Administration of being racist for its approach to the Haitian crisis. Brown took exception with the fact the Bush Administration did not immediately deploy a security force to Haiti and that he refused refugee status for those who chose to participate in a mass exodus from Haiti to the United States amidst their social upheaval. She went on to deprecate the Bush administration for sending "a bunch of white men" as representatives to the meeting. This came as quite the statement to Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega, himself of Mexican ancestry, who rebuked Brown, "As a Mexican-American, I deeply resent being called a racist and branded a white man."

At this moment anyone with an iota of political savvy would have apologized and backtracked from the anger avenue in an effort to at least salvage some credibility with those whom they were meeting. This is even more important when one needs the cooperation of those with whom one is meeting in order to accomplish one's goals. But this was not to be the case with Rep. Brown.

Brown, a Clinton Democrat who arrived on the Washington scene representing the 3rd District of Florida in 1992 and who is currently unopposed in her re-election bid this year, responded to Asst. Sec. Noriega's comments by saying, "You all look alike to me."

To say the very least, this was a blatantly racist remark and those from Brown's office who understand the game of politics immediately set out to issue an apology/clarification statement that would quell the firestorm this statement should have created. But the apology was neither sufficient nor apologetic and the outrage came only from those who were targeted by Brown's statement.

Unquestionable racism from the liberal left was allowed to rear its ugly head and the outrage from within the "party of tolerance" was non-existent, there wasn't even a dropped jaw. While the League of United Latin American Citizens deplored the comment the Congressional Black Caucus was nowhere to be found. While the National Council of La Raza condemned Brown's outburst and demanded that she apologize "formally to the Latino community," the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund refused to reprimand Brown any further than offering a simple clarification, "We would disagree with her assessment that Latinos are white," said spokeswoman J.C. Flores. "We consider Latinos a distinct ethnic and racial group."

Not too long ago Senator Trent Lott was forced to step down from his leadership role due to charges of racism by the Congressional Black Caucus, the Democrats and the liberal left in Washington that stemmed from a statement that "could have been" misconstrued as being racist. To this day there is still a contingent loyal to the senator that contend all he was trying to do was make an old man feel good on his birthday. To be certain, Lott's comments were made quite unofficially at a social function yet his comment, off the cuff and made in humor, proved to be devastating to his position in the Senate courtesy of the liberal left.

Now comes Rep. Brown who issues what can only be considered a racist statement as she participated in her official capacity as a US Representative in an official government policy meeting yet there is no outrage from her peers, not a peep. The same people who condemned Sen. Lott for an off the cuff statement issued forth in jest are sickeningly silent in response to Brown's outrageously racist statement. The hypocrisy is astonishing.

Increasingly we are witness to the "party of tolerance", the Democratic Party and the liberal left in general, becoming more intolerant and prone to using the tools of divisiveness, hate and racism among them, in their quest for political superiority. While they are quick to point out the flaws of all but themselves they refuse to be held accountable to the standards they have set for everyone else, they refuse to accept the consequences or take action when they violate their own established standards. It is the quintessential "do as I say not as I do" mentality and the liberals of this country have embraced it with a grizzly bear sized hug.

The liberal left's refusal to subject themselves to the same scrutiny to which they subject everyone else can only lead to the conclusion that they believe they are better than everyone else, elitism I believe they call it. Liberals, too, believe they should not be subject to the reprimands and punishments they extract from others when they themselves fall prey to unacceptable behavior. Bill Clinton lied under oath and to the nation and yet they contended he didn't violate his oath of office or destroy his integrity because he lied about an issue that shouldn't have been of concern to the nation. But President Bush reacts to flawed intelligence delivered in good faith to him and every member of the Legislative Branch by our intelligence community and they call for his impeachment… "Do as I say, not as I do."

Not only should Rep. Brown be rebuked and censured by her counterparts in the House and condemned by the liberal left as a whole, I believe the good people of Florida's 3rd District should be outraged enough as to remove her from office come this November. Perhaps they could afford the situation a bit of irony by selecting a Latino Republican to take her place, instant Election Day Karma as if where.

If racism is not to be tolerated in our society then we should not reward those who employ flippant remarks of racism. Further, our process of government should cleanse itself of those who embrace hatred of any kind. Corrine Brown has proved that deep down she embraces not only hate but racism as well. With those who practice racism being beneath contempt, Brown is exposed as being the worst kind of racist, one who condemns it in everyone else while using the color of her own skin to justify her own racism.

Copyright © 2004 Frank Salvato

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant, an editor for The Washington Dispatch and the managing editor for TheRant.us. He is a contributing writer to OpinionEditorials.com, and AmericanDaily.com and his pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O'Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications. He can be contacted at oped@therant.us.

[sport]

I asked WTVT channel 13 in Tampa, Florida if they covered it and they said no.

I asked why and they said it was national and they only covered local.

I did notice that they ran the democrat rant on President Bush's ad.

I suppose some thing are more local than others.

[thoughtomator]

Yes, this is called fascism. It's time to start calling a spade a spade, and not a leverage-oriented terrestrial excavation device.

In identifying "goodness" and "superiority" with "us," there was a tendency to identify "evil" with "them." This process involves scapegoating and dehumanization. It was then an easy step to blame all societal problems on "them," and presuppose a conspiracy of these evildoers which had emasculated and humiliated the idealized core group of the nation. To solve society's problems one need only unmask the conspirators and eliminate them.