Racism and the Conservative Tradition
Are you ready?
Here, a quick juxtaposition:
Voting Rights | White Supremacism
Try another one:
Equal Rights | White Supremacism
Why would I be asking you to consider such strange pairings?
Nondiscrimination | White Supremacism
No, seriously, doesn't that sound absurd?
What happens if we put an equal sign in there?
Woman Suffrage = White Supremacism
Ah, now we see the problem. Why did I change and start talking about women?
I didn't. Change, that is. It's all the same issue, according to Republicans.
TPM LiveWire summarized the issue in three paragraphs:
While defending his decision to speak at an even for a while nationalist group in 2002, Scalise explained that he had a policy of speaking to all groups at the time regardless of political views.
Scalise said he spoke at a League of Women Voters event and described the organization as "a pretty liberal group."
But the League of Women Voters took issue with Scalise's description.
"Representative Steve Scalise's recent comments regarding the League of Women Voters were misinformed. We are committed to working for all voters regardless of their party affiliation," LWV President Elisabeth MacNamara, said in a Tuesday statement. "We believe voters are the basis of our strong democracy, and we're committed to making our government work for all citizens. We will continue to fight for inclusion and tolerance and are committed to Making Democracy Work®."
(MacNeal↱)
The full statement by the
League of Women Voters↱:
"For nearly 95 years, the League of Women Voters has fought to educate and engage Americans on the issues impacting their communities. Rooted in the suffrage movement, the League has always been committed to educating and turning out voters.
"In order to expand participation and give voice to all Americans, our nearly 800 state and local Leagues register voters at every opportunity, including in high schools, at community colleges, bus stops and baseball games, as well as at naturalization ceremonies. In addition to registering new voters, we work to educate voters on important issues in their communities, in part by hosting candidate debates and issue forums as well as publishing voters' guides in advance of elections.
"Representative Steve Scalise's recent comments regarding the League of Women Voters were misinformed. We are committed to working for all voters regardless of their party affiliation. We believe voters are the basis of our strong democracy, and we're committed to making our government work for all citizens. We will continue to fight for inclusion and tolerance and are committed to Making Democracy Work®."
The issue has opened up a flood of criticism about the GOP's willingness to accommodate and even encourage bigotry. However it really is worth taking a moment to appreciate the other side of that:
Politically, civically, morally—is woman suffrage the equivalent of white supremacism?
Was a time when such a question would seem absurd, but by the standards of American political discourse, it seems to pass the test in order to be on the table.
I mean, we get the part about saying something desperate in order to cover for the racism. But it is also significant to note
what Scalise chose. At least David Duke himself had the good taste to stick to his issue,
explaining↱, "Even Republicans go to NAACP meetings, even though they may have disagreements with that group."
Come on,
that one, at least, is expected. David Duke trying to compare his bigoted efforts to civil rights activism? Duh. File under obvious.
But woman suffrage?
Really?
And House Republicans are just fine with all of it.
At some point, yes, it becomes significant.
____________________
Notes:
MacNeal, Caitlin. "League Of Women Voters Not Happy Scalise Compared Them To White Nationalists". Talking Points Memo Livewire. 30 December 2014. TalkingPointsMemo.com. 8 January 2015. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/league-women-voters-scalise
League of Women Voters. "League of Women Voters of the United States Responds to Comments by Rep. Scalise". 30 December 2014. LWV.org. 8 January 2015. http://lwv.org/press-releases/league-women-voters-united-states-responds-comments-rep-scalise
Reilly, Molly, Amanda Terkel, and Matt Sledge. "Majority Whip Steve Scalise Struggles To Distance Himself From David Duke". The Huffington Post. 29 December 2014. HuffingtonPost.com. 8 January 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/29/steve-scalise-david-duke_n_6392910.html