Throwing down the race card

Barack Obama's November victory at the ballot box was heralded as a transcendent moment in American history: A nation with a legacy of slavery had elected its first black president.

No one was naive enough to believe that Mr. Obama's inauguration would suddenly instill tolerance in this country's small number of hard-core racists. But there was legitimate hope that the politics of race -- which create conflict, distract from honest debate, instill fear and empower groups at the expense of individuals -- might begin to wane.

But here we are, less than a year removed from the euphoria of Mr. Obama's win, and many of the president's most loyal supporters -- some of the same people who celebrated the social significance of his election triumph -- are slapping down the race card in response to growing criticism of the president's agenda.

Last week's outburst from Republican Rep. Joe Wilson -- "You lie!" -- during the president's speech to Congress on health care reform has "helped escalate an issue that has been on a slow burn for weeks, especially among African-Americans," The Washington Post reports.

Despite the fact that Rep. Wilson immediately apologized to the president for his outburst, and that the president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi subsequently pledged to drop the matter, the House on Tuesday voted to admonish Rep. Wilson for his lack of decorum.

The vote was demanded by the Congressional Black Caucus, whose leaders said Rep. Wilson's comment was too similar to the rhetoric of conservative media personalities and the explosive disruptions of town hall meetings on health care reform -- forces some people, including former President Jimmy Carter, believe are guided not by philosophical opposition to specific policies, but by racism.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., current head of the Congressional Black Caucus, on Tuesday said lawmakers "can't sweep race under the rug -- racism is still a factor and must be addressed."

It would be much more productive for Congress to address the root of Rep. Wilson's remark. He said President Obama was lying about his commitment to deny government-run health care to illegal immigrants. Democrats had recently killed an amendment from Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., that would have required the government to verify the citizenship of anyone who wanted health insurance through taxpayer subsidies or a "public option." The left was committed to maintaining the wink-and-a-nod system that says illegals aren't eligible for public benefits but makes little effort to enforce the provision.

And let's get real about the supposedly harsh treatment President Obama has been subjected to -- it's nothing compared to the vitriol that was hurled at President George W. Bush for eight years. The president still enjoys kid-glove treatment from his fans in most of the broadcast and print media.

The spike in public protests to Obama administration policies did not commence with the election or inauguration of a black man. It was started by the unrelenting tide of taxpayer-funded bailouts of failing companies and the nearly $800 billion "stimulus" spending spree that amounted to debt-funded welfare for bloated government agencies. Now the president is pitching greater government involvement in American health care even though Congress is already poised to run annual trillion-dollar deficits for at least the next decade.

Americans are justifiably afraid that their battered economy can't resume growing under such crippling liabilities -- and they're angry that President Obama doesn't seem to think it's a problem.

Cries for fiscal responsibility and limited government powers are no more racist than demands for more social programs and the withdrawal of American troops overseas. This is a highly emotional political and policy struggle, not a racial one.

The fact that some Democrats and their foot soldiers have now deployed the tired race card is a sign of their sheer desperation and an indication that the constituents of identity politics seek to distract the public from the cold, hard facts of an important debate.

These allegations of racism are downright despicable and should be seen for what they are: Obvious attempts to intimidate the opposition into slinking away in silence lest they be branded bigots, or worse. Such slanderous attacks can't be allowed to stand. They disgrace the message of hope that came with President Obama's election.