The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

What’s Dave Weigel Up To?

Posted on | August 4, 2010 | 18 Comments

His first article at Slate has a bizarre and complex subject: Democrats are telling him (evidently in all seriousness) that they are afraid Republicans will use the scandals of Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel as a latter-day “Willie Horton” gambit.

Really? I mean, really? If we are to take Weigel’s Democratic sources at face value, they evidently have been shouting “raaaaacist” at Republicans so long that they’ve actually begun to believe it.

Alternative hypothesis: Weigel’s sources are trying to inoculate Democrats against any possible GOP employment of these two glaring ethics cases in campaign ads by preemptively declaring that such ads would constitute evidence of Republican racism.

Either way, it’s interesting, although I don’t think it’s the kind of reporting Weigel does best. He did, however, get in some quotes from a couple of friends:

Ladd Ehlinger Jr., an Alabama political consultant who produced larger-than-life spots for Republican candidates like Dale Peterson and Rick Barber this year, laughs uncontrollably when told that Democrats are even talking about this. “I have advice for Republicans who are too weak-kneed to make hay out of Rangel,” he says. “If anyone starts coming at you about Rangel or any of this stuff, just [say] this is post-racial America. This isn’t about race. It’s about a fat guy lying out in the sun on a beach and not paying his taxes.” . . .
“This is the cry wolf syndrome,” says Breitbart, who will appear at a Republican National Committee fundraiser later this year. “The battle against legitimate racism, which does in fact exist, is suffering from cry wolf syndrome, Mike Nifong syndrome, Spencer Ackerman syndrome.”

Read the rest.

Category: Dave Weigel, Racism

Comments

18 Responses to “What’s Dave Weigel Up To?”

  1. John S
    August 4th, 2010 @ 4:13 pm

    I like the quote he closed with, from Floyd Brown: “The economy sucks, and liberals want to hold college seminars on racism and gender bias.”

    This is why the Left will (should) be left in the dust.

  2. John S
    August 4th, 2010 @ 12:13 pm

    I like the quote he closed with, from Floyd Brown: “The economy sucks, and liberals want to hold college seminars on racism and gender bias.”

    This is why the Left will (should) be left in the dust.

  3. Ben (The Tiger)
    August 4th, 2010 @ 4:24 pm

    I think Weigel just enjoys stirring stuff up.

    He’s a fun read, now that he isn’t the Post’s faux conservative…

  4. Ben (The Tiger)
    August 4th, 2010 @ 12:24 pm

    I think Weigel just enjoys stirring stuff up.

    He’s a fun read, now that he isn’t the Post’s faux conservative…

  5. Thrasymachus
    August 4th, 2010 @ 4:49 pm

    This is a liberal tactic that goes way back and work very well. Black people do something bad. Liberals immediately say “Of course racists are going to use this incident for their benefit. It would be too bad if conservatives or Republicans made any of mention of this, it would show they really are all racists.” Conservatives and Republicans obligingly shut up. If they ever do have the temerity to ever mention any bad behavior by any black person it becomes an albatross around their neck forever, just as “Willie Horton” is now shorthand for “conservative race baiting” and not “a guy who killed somebody when Massachussetts let him out of prison for the weekend while he was werving a life sentence for murder.”

  6. Thrasymachus
    August 4th, 2010 @ 12:49 pm

    This is a liberal tactic that goes way back and work very well. Black people do something bad. Liberals immediately say “Of course racists are going to use this incident for their benefit. It would be too bad if conservatives or Republicans made any of mention of this, it would show they really are all racists.” Conservatives and Republicans obligingly shut up. If they ever do have the temerity to ever mention any bad behavior by any black person it becomes an albatross around their neck forever, just as “Willie Horton” is now shorthand for “conservative race baiting” and not “a guy who killed somebody when Massachussetts let him out of prison for the weekend while he was werving a life sentence for murder.”

  7. stanx
    August 4th, 2010 @ 5:13 pm

    Dave is a pimple faced fag , who cares what he writes ? Stacy when are you going to shake that nut hugger off your ball sack ?

  8. stanx
    August 4th, 2010 @ 1:13 pm

    Dave is a pimple faced fag , who cares what he writes ? Stacy when are you going to shake that nut hugger off your ball sack ?

  9. Ben (The Tiger)
    August 4th, 2010 @ 5:16 pm

    I’m impressed by how prolific he is. Why, he’s just posted on Double X, on the Palin/Johnston soap opera.

    Who knew men could post there?

    http://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/20317979367

  10. Ben (The Tiger)
    August 4th, 2010 @ 1:16 pm

    I’m impressed by how prolific he is. Why, he’s just posted on Double X, on the Palin/Johnston soap opera.

    Who knew men could post there?

    http://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/20317979367

  11. Estragon
    August 4th, 2010 @ 6:41 pm

    EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about! Political party takes advantage of other party’s corruption!

    Perhaps if the black Democrats wished to avoid being exploited in the campaign, they might have considered NOT stealing the money, mmmkay?

    Wow, Stacy sure can pick some stupid friends – Weigel among the chattering class, Hayworth among the criminal class.

  12. Estragon
    August 4th, 2010 @ 2:41 pm

    EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about! Political party takes advantage of other party’s corruption!

    Perhaps if the black Democrats wished to avoid being exploited in the campaign, they might have considered NOT stealing the money, mmmkay?

    Wow, Stacy sure can pick some stupid friends – Weigel among the chattering class, Hayworth among the criminal class.

  13. gramercy
    August 4th, 2010 @ 8:34 pm

    What Thrasymachus said. Apparently the new rules of political correctness dictate that we must not point out bad behavior by non-white persons, lest we be accused of being racists.

    Contra Breitbart, I don’t think there is a great deal of genuine racism around that must be “battled”. The most prevalent form of racism I see is the denigration (mostly self-inflicted) of white people as goofballs, hillbillies, snobs, and, yes, racists.

  14. gramercy
    August 4th, 2010 @ 4:34 pm

    What Thrasymachus said. Apparently the new rules of political correctness dictate that we must not point out bad behavior by non-white persons, lest we be accused of being racists.

    Contra Breitbart, I don’t think there is a great deal of genuine racism around that must be “battled”. The most prevalent form of racism I see is the denigration (mostly self-inflicted) of white people as goofballs, hillbillies, snobs, and, yes, racists.

  15. Live Free Or Die
    August 4th, 2010 @ 11:02 pm

    Given the long list of Corrupt-o-Crats to skewer, Maxine Waters and Charlie Rangel should just be part of the Cavalcade of Criminality that Republican ads can show.

  16. Live Free Or Die
    August 4th, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

    Given the long list of Corrupt-o-Crats to skewer, Maxine Waters and Charlie Rangel should just be part of the Cavalcade of Criminality that Republican ads can show.

  17. DaveP.
    August 5th, 2010 @ 3:40 am

    Said it before, but it bears repeating:

    To Republicans, the important fact about Willie Horton was that he committed heinous crimes after some idiot following a stupid policy released him from prison.

    To Democrats, the important fact about Willie Horton was that he’s black.

  18. DaveP.
    August 4th, 2010 @ 11:40 pm

    Said it before, but it bears repeating:

    To Republicans, the important fact about Willie Horton was that he committed heinous crimes after some idiot following a stupid policy released him from prison.

    To Democrats, the important fact about Willie Horton was that he’s black.