The American Spectator

Liberal Reader| 6.29.09 @ 10:43AM

Maybe so.

But Limbaugh is responsible for quite a bit of hate himself.

Limbaugh is vociferous in his denunciation of what he calls "reverse racism" (an argument that is also frequently made by explicitly racist organizations like the KKK), but he virtually never observes or acknowledges actual racism.

Arguments of "reverse racism" are often racist in and of themselves, and they represent a moral relativism one might expect conservatives to shun.

Jeffrey Lord| 6.29.09 @ 11:01AM

Liberal reader..

"But Limbaugh is responsible for quite a bit of hate himself."

Limbaugh believes in- and talks repeatedly of - a colorblind society where people are judged on the content of their character, not the color of their skin - which is to say, he and Martin Luther King agree. Was Dr. King a racist for so believing? I don't think so.....Racism of any kind, my friend, is racism. Liberals - Democrats - have a long and sordid history here...support of slavery, segregation, lynching, racial quotas etc. Sorry, no sale here.

Eric Damon| 6.29.09 @ 11:08AM

Mr. Lord,

What is your point in linking to the Malcolm X speech? Are you arguing that Rev. Moss is the house negro to the UCC masters? And if so, are you arguing that Rev. Moss should be attempting to separate from the UCC Synod? The thing that throws me off here is that the UCC and Rev. Moss seem to genuinely share the same racial politics and liberal beliefs, so they seem to be less in a 'master-slave' relationship than in a codependent dysfunctional, almost symbiotic relationship. Just wondering where you were coming from here.

Eric Damon

Jeffrey Lord| 6.29.09 @ 11:32AM

Eric...

"The thing that throws me off here is that the UCC and Rev. Moss seem to genuinely share the same racial politics and liberal beliefs..."

As it happens, I am a member of the UCC, a local church president and a member of our area Conference Board of Directors. I can assure you there are plenty of UCC members who do not agree with the liberal politics at the top, and for that matter are disturbed at the idea of the church involving itself in politics period, whether on the left or right.

The UCC and Rev. Moss may "seem" to share the same beliefs. What's really going on is that no one who does not share the same beliefs of those in the national headquarters gets anywhere close to a podium/pulpit in the General Synod. There is nothing accidental here, much less encouraging of diversity. So for Moss to agree to speak is to say that he knows he has accepted a devil's bargain. He gets the podium, but he must perform as expected. Malcolm X has covered this pyschology well.

Old Texican| 6.29.09 @ 11:33AM

Mr. Lord
Thank you for that reprise.
MLK was, and shall always be, one of my personal heroes.
I have heard Rush go for hours (it seemed, smile)
He obviously holds Reverend King as a personal hero as well.

Big Leo| 6.29.09 @ 11:47AM

Liberal Reader says, "Arguments of "reverse racism" are often racist in and of themselves, and they represent a moral relativism one might expect conservatives to shun. " Not even remotely true. Moral relativism is a liberal disease for the most part. For example, the idea that racial discrimination is good when it applies to whites but bad when it applies to blacks is moral relativism. I was a liberal back in the sixties. I wanted an end to racial discrimination and color blindness in hiring, education, and all areas of life. I still believe all of those things-- but today, that makes me a conservative.

Jeffrey Lord| 6.29.09 @ 11:56AM

Big Leo...

"I was a liberal back in the sixties. I wanted an end to racial discrimination and color blindness in hiring, education, and all areas of life. I still believe all of those things-- but today, that makes me a conservative."

Bingo! And Ditto!

ds80| 6.29.09 @ 12:26PM

Liberal Reader: " Limbaugh ... (an argument that is also frequently made by explicitly racist organizations like the KKK) ..."

Transparent use of guilt by association. Try again: PWND

Liberal Reader: "Arguments of "reverse racism" are often racist in and of themselves"

Hmmm. Which makes charges of racism against those charging reverse racism .... racist? Is this an argument by modus ponendo obfuscatus?

Mary| 6.29.09 @ 12:44PM

Shelby Steele said that his heart secretly belonged to Malcolm X. That wasn't meant to detract anything from the importance of MLK. I understood exactly what he meant.

Here’s an excerpt from his Ballot or the Bullet speech. I still find it appealing, all these years later.

**And you and I are in the double-track, because not only do we lose by taking our money someplace else and spending it, when we try and spend it in our own community we're trapped because we haven't had sense enough to set up stores and control the businesses of our own community. The man who's controlling the stores in our community is a man who doesn't look like we do. He's a man who doesn't even live in the community. So you and I, even when we try to spend our money in the block where we live or the area where we live, we're spending it with a man who, when the sun goes down, takes that basket full of money in another part of the town. So we're trapped, trapped, double-trapped, triple -rapped.

Anywhere we go we find that we're trapped. And every kind of solution that someone comes up with is just another trap. But the political and economic philosophy of Black Nationalism -- the economic philosophy of Black Nationalism shows our people the importance of setting up these little stores and developing them and expanding them into larger operations. Woolworth didn't start out big like they are today. They started out with a dime store and expanded and expanded and then expanded until today, they're are all over the country and all over the world, and they get to some of everybody's money. Now this is what you and I -- General Motors is same way. They didn't start out like they it is. It started out just a little rat race type operation. And it expanded and it expanded until today where it is right now.

And you and I have to make a start and the best place to start is right in the community where we live. So our people not only have to be reeducated to the importance of supporting black business, but the black man himself has to be made aware of the importance of going into business. And once you and I go into business, we own and operate at least the businesses in our community. What we will be doing is developing a situation wherein we will actually be able to create employment for the people in the community. And once you can create some employment in the community where you live it will eliminate the necessity of you and me having to act ignorantly and disgracefully, boycotting and picketing some practice some place else trying to beg him for a job.**

He spoke, and justifiably so, in the language of his day. He was a man who really loved his people and wanted the best for them.

IMO, he’d be a Libertarian today had he not been assassinated.

The whole speech for those interested.

Eric Damon| 6.29.09 @ 12:54PM

Mr. Lord,

Thanks for the clarification. I did not mean to say that the body of the UCC shares the views of Rev. Moss, but that the national leadership does; I suppose that I should have been more clear. Just know that when I say anything about the UCC i'm speaking of the national leadership, not the laity and congregants of the denominations.

As for Malcom X and Moss, i get exactly where you're coming from now. If Moss wants to have the mic at the meeting, he is in a position where he damned well better say what they want to hear...or his spot in the rotation will go to someone who will. He has to play the tune the leadership expects and demands or he's done. That justifies the house negro analogy!

Eric Damon

see thru it| 6.29.09 @ 1:31PM

This is great. Rev Moss = Rev Wright b/c he had the temerity to say unkind things about Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney?! What Rev Moss apparently said is about the same as at least half the commentators on every network on television and is much different than "God damn America."

Tempest, meet the teapot.

ds80| 6.29.09 @ 4:20PM

see thru it: "What Rev Moss apparently said ... "

... some apparently took as an opportunity to apologize for him.

William Smyth| 6.29.09 @ 5:38PM

In my opinion the roles are actually reversed. Rev. Moss III had a successful ministry before joining the UCC. He was not in the UCC prior to taking over at Trinity UCC. He was and remains a much in demand preacher. I would bet that desire for him to preach by the synod planners was much greater then his desire to do it. At Moss' installation one of the ministers from his old denomination said that with Moss joining the UCC it was like a down payment on the debt owed to the UCC for its historical support of African Americans particularly in the field of education. Or to put it another way, I think it is Moss that is in the driver's seat not the other way around.

One Blind Guy| 7.10.09 @ 11:20PM

For all the talk, it is preachers that preach and writers that write. I found the sermon to be a very well crafted one ALTHOUGH I did not see it necessary to bring up dead horses in the name of L and GW. For God sakes they are no longer center stage. Much more effective is to build your argument without using character comparison. That is a slippery slope. Rev. Moss no matter how gifted and he surely is could use an editor.