WASHINGTON -- We all have our favorite sages. Official
Washington has Don Imus. Or at least that surly vulgarian was the
commentariat's favorite sage until those two gifted hucksters,
Sharpton & Jackson, saw in Imus's bleak humor another
opportunity to engaud their resumes. Now he is a whimpering bundle
of apologies, his First Amendment rights having been jettisoned
almost instantaneously along with his he-man demeanor.
My favorite sage is the economist and columnist, Thomas Sowell.
One of his most recent insights goes like this: the liberals'
favorite argument is that there is no argument --nothing uttered in
opposition to liberal beliefs exists, at least nothing worthy of
their intellectual engagement. Thus a la Al Gore they
proceed to reiterate their point of view boldly, heroically, and
with the insistence that no other point of view is worthy of
notice.
Now with the liberals' sudden assault on the Black Caucus for
its co-sponsorship with Fox News of a pair of presidential primary
debates this autumn, I have an addendum to Sowell's insight. That
is: the liberals' favorite debate is no debate unless the forum is
totally dominated by them. Even then there will preferably be no
argument, just the liberal point of view sedulously propounded in a
forum shaped completely by them. This, students of rhetoric and
knowledgeable of 20th century European history will tell you, is
called propaganda. The Nazis mastered such forums, as did the
Communists. The American political context is freer, or has been
until recently.
Now because the Black Caucus is exercising its freedoms and in
the American democratic spirit of liberality co-sponsoring debate
with Fox News, some recently emergent online nightriders called
"Color of Change" is accusing the Caucus of "dancing with the
devil." Other brute left-wing groups are on the attack. They are
following the cue from the left's most vehement brute group,
"MoveOn," which famously proclaimed of the Democratic Party in
December 2004, "we bought it, we own it, and we're going to take it
back."
One wonders what the uniform of these brutes looks like. Do
MoveOners and their nightriders at "Color of Change" were hobnailed
boots? Do they goosestep? Who is their leader? Those who follow
their work tell me it is George Soros, the Hungarian-born
billionaire who once spread his millions to encourage the Open
Society in the countries of the former Soviet bloc. When I first
heard of him and of his enthusiasm for the Open Society I thought
he was a friend of freedom and democracy. The attempt to intimidate
the Black Caucus and take over the Democratic Party is not the work
of a true democrat or friend of the Open Society. MoveOn's work is
alien from what we in America recognize as true liberal values:
free debate, tolerance, opposition to coercion.
The Black Caucus is more in touch with those values. It is those
values that eventually triumphed over oppression and racism.
Members of the Black Caucus are often themselves old enough to have
fought for those values in the Civil Rights movement. They are
practical enough politicians to know that they need the support of
a broad base of Americans for their Democratic Party to be a
winning party. Fox News is a runaway winner in cable news ratings.
More than half of its audience is composed of independent voters
and Democrats. It is perfectly sensible for the Black Caucus to
combine with Fox to sponsor open debates among Democratic
presidential hopefuls.
Now, cowed by the bullies, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and
Barack Obama have pulled out of forthcoming Black Caucus-Fox
debates. There is courage for you. An anonymous army of bloggers
from "Color of Change" and MoveOn sitting around in their pajamas
and underwear tap out threats and the aforementioned Democratic
presidential candidates vamoose.
Yet there is the stuff of amusement here. Despite their tough
language the bloggers' uniforms remain pajamas, and underwear. The
tougher ones probably wear no clothes at all. Sitting before their
computers the naked armies of the night are intent on taking over
the Democratic Party. I look forward to their appearance at the
2008 Democratic National Convention. My only question is, who will
be pliable enough to be their candidate?
topics:
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton
