Faxed Sanctimony in the Capital

Thomas F. Roeser 27 August 2010

There’s no publication that exceeds thecapitolfaxblog.com in touchy-touchy race sanctimony (it groaned in fear that the stonewalling juror in the Blago trial might just be black: she was and so what?). As a wondrously comprehensive publication (and I must salute it for candidly saying something Richard M. Daley does not want to hear: Chicago is bankrupt)
Yet it’s often marvelously blind-sided on political correctness. Seemingly, to it the mere mention of race being used as a political cudgel is a no-no. Certainly for Republicans. It went after State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) yesterday for an allegedly “insensitive” remark he made about the Quinn appointment of Michelle Sadler as his chief of staff.

It gave prominent coverage to a very ordinary Quinn news release and video alleging that Dillard was playing the racial card when he described Sadler thusly:

“While she as an African American-Asian woman is a political choice it remains to be seen if she can govern state government.”

Yikes! (to borrow the publication’s favorite kid exclamation)…have we gotten to the point that it is “insensitive” to…even with nuance mention …the racial identity of a key governmental-political appointee in government and the possible benefit to the elected official who names him/her? Answer: Yes, insensitive if the one who mentions it is a Republican. Meaning: a Democratic appointment can be made with the benefits of racial identity in mind but a Republican is in danger of being “insensitive” if he/she alludes to it. Journalists can do it, understand. And thecapitolfaxblog.com does it all the time. Just don’t let Republicans get caught referring to an appointee in any terms other than an “individual.”

For proof of the double standard, here is ultra-sanctimonious thecapitolfaxblog.com worrying about the possibility of Democrat Alexi Giannoulias being politically disadvantaged from the all-important (to Democrats) black vote by a candidate…almost unknown…running for the Senate seat for the Green Party.

To it, It’s okay to mention race in connection with a super-close election where the Green candidate just might siphon a fraction of the vital black vote away from Giannoulias, resulting in a Giannoulias loss to…ugh…Republican Mark Kirk. Even if the Green candidate urges the banning of all nuclear weaponry and wants multi-lateral nuclear disarmament (you know what that would mean: we’d disarm and they would say they would but won’t)… and attests that Wall Street has brought more harm to the black community than anything else. That’s a Jesse Jackson, Sr. stretch of imagination.

The Green party candidate is LeAlan Jones, a 31-year-old radio and film producer from Englewood. Thecapitolfaxblog.com forgets its racial sanctimony to dig deep into a scary disadvantage for Giannoulias:

“Jones has no political or governmental record and paltry cash—plus a monstrous helping of chutzpah. He owns one unmistakable asset—he is African American. Jones may be a Green but the color of the moment is black.”

Now just for a moment, consider if Kirk Dillard said that. The statement thecapitolfax.com made is true—as true as Dillard’s earlier one about Michelle Sadler. But what would CapitolFax.com say if the senator made that remark? “Grossly insensitive!” it would thunder.

That’s why the liberal mantra of “insensitivity” on Republican mention of race in politics is so hypocritical. Yet, if you want to be “in” on all the political news…plus gossip…you must subscribe and read the blog.

**

Tom Roeser is the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Chicago Daily Observer

http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/faxed-sanctimony-in-the-capital/