Jim Moran: Allen West isn't representative of African-Americans

Via Mediaite, does Moran mean West isn’t representative of blacks generally or that he wasn’t representative of them specifically when he said Obama, Pelosi, and Reid should “get the hell out of the United States of America”? He’s on the right network and the right show for cheap racial demagoguery aimed at a minority conservative, but I’m thrown by what he says at the beginning in claiming that West isn’t representative of the GOP either. That’s an unusual concession coming from a Democrat in attack mode, especially when he’s got Sunshine here egging him on.

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Ah well. After that first flush of ambiguity, he settles into a standard racially-tinged “you’re selling out your roots” jag against West:

He just seems clueless now that he has climbed aboard ship. He’s climbed this ladder of opportunity that was constructed by so many of his ancestors’ sweat, sacrifice, blood. You know, they did everything they could for his generation to be successful. But now that he’s climbed on board ship, instead of reaching down and steadying the ladder, he wants to push it off. You know, “I’m up here. If you’re not with me, too bad.” And President Obama, fortunately, is the kind of guy that says, “I was very fortunate to get where I am and I’m going to spend my life trying to steady that ladder of opportunity by reducing college tuition and training our workers, trying to get a decent job for everybody. Making sure that while I’m African-American, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is my commitment to public service, my love for this country and, you know. I’m going to leave a constructive legacy.'”

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I was … not aware that West opposes lower college tuition, well-trained workers, and jobs. I’d bet cash money that he supports all three so long as they’re being driven by the private sector, precisely because the private sector can build that ladder better than government can. But then, that’s why Moran tossed the “ancestors” reference in there — to use the notion of race treason as a deterrent against minority viewers who might otherwise agree with West about government intervention in markets. It’s one of Democrats’ most brutal tactics and it’s not limited to black Republicans. The boss emeritus has had trolls tossing “race traitor” nonsense at her literally for decades, yet I’d be surprised if even one has bothered trying to explain why Americans of Filipino ancestry should be seen as selling out their heritage by preferring smaller government. The logic seems to be that she’s a minority and minority conservatives are “inauthentic” and, well, there you go. QED.

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That’s clip one. Clip two, via the MRC, speaks for itself; skip ahead to around 11 minutes in and listen to radio host Thaddeus Matthews strip Moran’s point of its Beltway-speak patina to its rawest, most vicious form and then throw it in the face of Republican Charlotte Bergmann. Nice to see this argument naked for once.


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Ed Morrissey 12:40 PM | December 16, 2024
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