| With less than five months until the ethnic cleansing begins (as the media views George Bush's imminent swearing in next January), the media have gone into full battle mode. There is not even a pretense of objectivity anymore. The adversary press has entered full-throttle Gore campaign mode.
One of the most peculiar tropes of the media division of the Gore campaign are the hard-news stories promoting the media's own pet theories about the Republicans' real objectives and beliefs. It is repeatedly stated as fact, for example, that Republicans have forsaken the black vote, and gave many blacks prominent roles at their convention solely in order to appeal to soccer moms.
This is a classic example of people who generalize wildly and illogically from their own experiences. The New York Times is composed primarily of addled liberals who presume all whites share their own bizarre attitude toward blacks. Liberals think blacks confer cache on them and therefore believe that anyone surrounded by blacks must be operating from the same psychological compulsion.
In fact, only liberals are obsessed with the world's perception of their attitude toward blacks. And only liberals think Republicans should be chasing the votes of liberal suburban "soccer moms" or New York Times' reporters. George Bush surely harbors no crazy illusions that he will get the votes of white liberals, anyway.
Still, The New York Times repeatedly asserts that Republicans are using blacks as props to win the almighty soccer mom vote (or in the Times' parlance -- "suburban," "white," "independent" or "moderate" voters). Here's a brief sampling from just two days of The New York Times during the Republican National Convention:
"For the Republicans, it was not so much a matter of reaching out for the black vote, but part of Mr. Bush's determination to portray his party as tolerant and inclusive, in hopes of appealing to independents and moderate Democrats." (Aug. 1, 2000)
"Does (Bush) really think he can do better among blacks than his father ... (or) is it a three-cushion shot, a subtle play for the votes of white suburbanites, a pivotal voting bloc that includes many voters for whom civil rights remains a high priority?" (Aug. 1, 2000)
"... despite the choreography of the convention, which has been featuring minority speakers to moderate the party's image and to appeal to suburban voters." (Aug. 2, 2000)
"The truth here is that the party has written off black voters for this election and is directing its entreaties to the white, moderate suburbanites who abandoned the party in the last two elections to vote for Bill Clinton." (Aug. 2, 2000)
In that last article, the author accused Republicans of engaging in "a symbolic form of minstrelsy" for their "strategic deployment of blacks as props and symbols." Let's examine that proposition -- the claim that blacks were moved around like props at the Republican National Convention. In my recollection, the only prime-time black speakers at that convention were Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice -- who do have some merit apart from being black. Continued... |