Liberals are at the top of their game. This week, they are using a vile recording of racist comments by NBA’s Clippers owner Donald Sterling to score points about racism.
The intense coverage gives the left a chance to pretend racism is an exclusive member of the conservative team. That reasoning typically comes from the hardcore liberal media and quickly jumps to more traditional outlets.
One of the most ridiculous examples of this argument comes from Newsweek/Daily Beast columnist Michael Tomasky. He authored the memorable propaganda piece, “Donald Sterling and the Neverending Fantasy of ‘Democrat’ Racism.”
Tomasky first debates which team gets stuck with Sterling – liberals or conservatives. This is a pathetic but necessary Washington, D.C. blame game every time we have a new villain.
In this Oct. 17, 2010 file photo, Los Angeles Clippers team owner Donald Sterling watches his team play in Los Angeles. The NBA is investigating a report of an audio recording in which a man purported to be Sterling makes racist remarks while speaking to his girlfriend. NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement Saturday, APril 26, 2014, that the league is in the process of authenticating the validity of the recording posted on TMZ's website. Bass called the comments "disturbing and offensive." (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Everything from racist statements to mass shootings gets tossed into the “us” or “them” camp. If the scumbag involved can be linked right or left, the other side goes for the score.
A good example of that was when ABC's Brian Ross falsely accused a Tea Party member of being the Aurora movie theater shooter. Another was when liberals and journalists both lamely tried to link Sarah Palin’s ad to the Gabby Giffords shooting.
In Sterling’s case, his old donation record indicated some support for Democrats, but he’s a registered Republican. Tomasky practically cheered that fact.
“Now comes the utterly shocking news that despite his campaign donations to the contrary, Sterling is – sit down – a registered Republican,” he wrote in an update.
Tomasky admits that both Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made “stupid racial comment(s).” He then excuses those in the very next paragraph because they vote the right (i.e., left) way. He even throws in Bill Clinton’s racist comment before also excusing him. To Tomasky, liberal support for things like “affirmative action” gives them an excuse be racist.
[sharequote align="center"]To Tomasky, liberal support for things like “affirmative action” gives them an excuse be racist.[/sharequote]
Republicans don’t get the same pass because “they’ve been wrong on one of the most searing issues in American political history.” In other words, if you support the liberal agenda enough, you get a lifetime of “Get Out of Jail Free” cards. If you don’t, anything you say can and will be used against you.
Or, in MSNBC terms, you’re a racist. If you’re reading this and not yelling how awful I am, you’re racist. And even if you did yell, did you yell loud enough?
Racist.
MSNBC daily takes Tomasky’s argument to its naturally absurd conclusion. NBC’s wacky sister network, where Tomasky has appeared or been cited 23 times in the past year, loves claiming bizarre things are “racist.”
Its team of race-baiters has claimed the right was racist over a Cheerios ad (they were forced to apologize); racist over pursuing the IRS scandal; and even racist over complaints about how much Obama golfs. I’d say they cry wolf, but I can’t use the whole expression without being called racist for saying “boy.”
Screengrab via Twitchy
Of course, MSNBC also employs noted racist/race-baiter the Rev. Al Sharpton who said “racist” 215 times in 2013. Rev. Al, a “progressive” Obama adviser, is also famous for his role in the Tawana Brawley rape hoax; for inflaming the anti-Semitic riots in Crown Heights; and for opposing a “white interloper.” And while it’s not racism, Sharpton also delivered a 1994 speech mentioning “Greek homos.”
Contrary to Tomasky’s claim, Sharpton is far from alone. He and fellow bigot Jesse Jackson are actually the ones the major media turn to in times of racial strife. Jackson, who called for a boycott of the Clippers, “referred to Jews as ‘Hymies’ and to New York City as ‘Hymietown’ in January 1984.” He is president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an “organization fighting for social change,” and presumably hypocrisy.
There are many more: filmmaker Spike Lee (who dislikes interracial couples); the Rev. Joseph Lowery (who thinks “all white folks are going to hell”); and Rev. Jeremiah Wright (“them Jews”) among others.
The left and media don’t want to discuss any of that. The result is we can never have a legitimate conversation on race because of the double standard. So, yes, liberals and journalists will celebrate every penalty Sterling receives and openly wonder why conservatives won’t debate race, all the while saying conservatives are “racist.”
They would be wise to realize what they have unleashed. ESPN’s J.A. Adande explained the league sanctions also mean owners are “now aware that anything they say, even in private, can and will be held against them.”
Those same rules also apply to journalists. Just ask a few of MSNBC’s former hosts.
Dan Gainor is the Boone Pickens Fellow and the Media Research Center’s Vice President for Business and Culture. He writes frequently about media for TheBlaze. He can also be contacted on Facebook and Twitter as dangainor.
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