Stealing the Language

Conservatives have come up with a neat new trick. For years, Democrats and Liberals have suggested that Republicans and Conservatives may be Motivated by racism. In some cases, this accusation may have had a ring of truth, but in many others the accusation was a foolish waste of time and distorted the real issues.

Well, Conservatives picked up on that particular accusation. As we documented here, they tried valiantly to make the word NeoCon synonymous with Jew, in order to suggest that anybody who opposed the belligerent foreign policy of Paul Wolfowitz was anti-Semitic.

They have also tried, although perhaps more in jest than in reality, to suggest that opposing the nomination of Miguel Estrada was based on a prejudice against Hispanics, instead of a bias against his extreme beliefs.

And now they have suggested that their opposition to William Pryor is based on the fact that he is a catholic. Of course it isn't. The New York Times provided a list of Pryors previous troubling actions. "It is no great mystery why the nomination is in trouble. Mr. Pryor has urged Congress to repeal a critical part of the Voting Rights Act. He was the only state attorney general to ask the Supreme Court to strike down the Violence Against Women Act. "

However, lets turn to Republicans chief charge. Pryor opposes abortion. The Catholic Church opposes abortion. Could Pryor as a good catholic not serve on the bench, just because he oppose abortion? The answer is of course not. Pryor can enjoy any religious belief he likes and still be an honorable and just judge. But it is when he is willing to legislate his religious belief from the bench that one has to question his capability to be a judge. Incidently, as one writer pointed out over the weekend, the Catholic church also has a pretty strong opinion on the subject of capital punishment, and I suspect that if Pryor were willing to follow that line, we wouldn't be debating this issue. That isn't my point--I read it somewhere over the weekend, but can't remember where--if you know, email me.

At any rate, all this harkens back to the great scam that failed. You know back when conservatives would say that the most persecuted group in America was the White Male. Yep, white males have it so hard in this society (and I should know as a white male). It's just terrible. Thank goodness we basically run everything or else we'd really have nothing.