Right Minded Online

By far the most attention-getting post-election Cabinet maneuver was President Bush’s nomination of Condoleezza Rice to succeed Colin Powell as Secretary of State. Her confirmation would make Dr. Rice the highest ranking black woman in our nation’s history, as Secretary of State is fourth in the presidential line of succession.

Now, one might think the diversity and affirmative action people on the left would be pleased that a minority woman has been tapped for this position. One would be wrong. The left has met Dr. Rice’s nomination with derision, proving that politics trumps diversity and affirmative action.

First on the docket is an editorial cartoon drawn by Pat Oliphant on November 16. The editorial depicts a grossly exaggerated caricature of Dr. Rice as a parrot perched atop President Bush’s finger. The caption quotes President Bush asking Dr. Rice “How woodums wike to be Secwetawy of State?” Dr. Rice then replies “Awwrk!! OK, chief! Anything you say, chief! You bet, chief! You’re my hero, chief!”

Even worse was a cartoon by Jeff Danziger dated October 4. Here, Dr. Rice is depicted as a perpetually barefoot and pregnant black welfare mother, with a collection of WMD canisters representing her supposedly numerous children. She is holding one of the canisters like an infant, with a bottle held up to his mouth. The caption reads “I knows all about aluminum tubes (correction) I don’t know nuthin’ about aluminum tubes…”

Of course, the mainstream press was mum on these editorial cartoons, the latter of which is blatantly stereotypical of black welfare mothers. You could even call it racist. But can you imagine the howls of protest that would have come from the left had a conservative similarly depicted a liberal black woman? Indeed, the media would have done wall-to-wall around-the-clock coverage. But Jesse Jackson, diversity-minded liberals, hyper-sensitive icons of political correctness, and the mainstream press have remained tuned out.

Meanwhile, on November 17, Milwaukee radio personality John Sylvester used his morning airtime to refer to Dr. Rice an “Aunt Jemima,” and this after calling Colin Powell “Uncle Tom.” During a phone interview the next day, Sylvester announced he was planning a giveaway during his show of Aunt Jemima pancake mix and syrup. “I will apologize to Aunt Jemima,” he said. Sylvester later did apologize for the entire setup, but, again, can you imagine the vitriol that would have come from the left if the tables had been turned?

Well, the tables were turned on October 29, 2003, when Rush Limbaugh, who was doing NFL commentary for ESPN, stated his belief that Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb was “overrated…what we have here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback can do well — black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well.”

Rush was skewered by the mainstream media for his comment, and he subsequently resigned from ESPN to take the heat off his fellow commentators and the network. Indeed, one needed earplugs to drown out the noise from the press following Limbaugh’s comment, but required a hearing aid to pick up mainstream news of Sylvester’s likening of Dr. Rice to Aunt Jemima. (Fortunately, the NAACP did condemn Sylvester, but it really was a lone wolf.)

This is one of the many ironies about the political left. You see, Democrats have long touted themselves as the party of minorities, the spokesmen of those persecuted by racism, or so they say, but when a conservative minority such as Condoleezza Rice is publicly derided, they suddenly find themselves occupied with other things.

The reason, of course, is that Dr. Rice does not fit the template the left has created for minorities, and that template is two-fold. Minorities should either be on public assistance and voting Democrat, or, if they have become successful, must pay homage to the diversity and affirmative action programs that got them there…while voting Democrat.

But minorities who succeed on their own, without the aid of diversity and affirmative action, are a threat to the left because they prove they are just as capable as whites, are not in need of liberal “compassion,” and show that the supposed roadblocks erected by white conservatives to keep blacks down simply do not exist. In short, successful minorities such as Dr. Rice prove that minorities don’t need liberalism.

Condoleezza Rice’s nomination for Secretary of State has provided the left another opportunity to flex its bigotry, while proving that the Democrats’ supposed status as the party of minorities is about as hollow as its labeling of the right as exclusively racist. Indeed, the left’s belligerence toward Dr. Rice is proof that when liberals accuse others of being racist, they are telling more about themselves than anyone else.