Hispanics Can Be Idiot Columnists Also

You know, I really try not to look for people like Ruben Navarrette, Jr., as well as Kathleen Parker, Jack Kelly, and assorted other right-wing media numbskulls. However, they seem to return to our discourse with the consistency of cockroaches seeking moisture and food scraps through fissures in concrete.

And Navarrette really uncorked a lulu in his corporate media column today on CNN (I’ll get to it in a minute).

Now I’ll be the last person to defend Bill Shaheen, the (former) New Hampshire campaign co-chair for Hillary Clinton, who had the following to say about Barack Obama (from Navarrette’s column)…

In his remarks, Shaheen, a local attorney and Democratic powerbroker, said he was worried that Republicans would have a particularly easy time going after Obama's drug use as a teenager because he has been so open about it. He contrasted this with George W. Bush, who Shaheen said wisely ruled out answering questions about his behavior as a younger man during his presidential run in 1999 and 2000.

Obama's candor on the subject, on the other hand, would "open the door" to further questions, Shaheen had said. "It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?'" he said. "There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome."

First of all, Dubya didn’t “wisely rule out answering questions about his behavior.” He played his typical game of saying he didn’t want to talk about it because it would almost be the fault of the questioner if they brought it up to begin with (don’t have his verbatim response, but I’ll keep looking).

This of course fits his template perfectly. Incurious George has always been hopelessly overmatched for the job of president, but I’ll grudgingly acknowledge that he’s plenty cagey in the ways of the world or else he wouldn’t be where he is (having the benefit of pliant corporate media and all advantages of his last name – hell, even his FIRST name is the same as his old man – have proven invaluable also).

However, I seriously believe that, at this point, past “recreational” drug use isn’t going to freak out any voter expect someone who isn’t going to vote for a Dem anyway. People were upset about the “don’t inhale” response from Bill Clinton because it showed a tactical calculation that should not have been necessary, as opposed to simple honesty. And Obama is engaging in the latter here (actually, past tense is appropriate, since this was all noted in his book “Dreams From My Father” anyway, noted in the Post story).

(Now if a candidate is photographed stumbling out of a “crack house” at 4 AM in the morning wearing only socks and a speedo and acting in a disoriented manner, that’s something wholly other. But I should note that those rumors about Tom Tancredo have never been confirmed :- ).

So what does Navarrette Jr. have to say about the Clinton/Obama flap?

But could it be that this story is even worse than many in the national press will say? Isn't it interesting that Shaheen, or whoever is behind this, opted to invoke the image of a drug dealer in referencing the first top-tier black candidate for president? That's quite a coincidence. This wouldn't be an ugly Willie Horton-type tactic intended to harvest fear and play on stereotypes about who is a criminal and who isn't, or -- in this case -- who uses drugs and who sells them?

Nah. Liberal Democrats would never sink that low. Why if they did, how could they continue to package themselves as a kinder and gentler -- and more enlightened -- alternative to Republicans? Certainly not with a straight face.

Wow. As kos would say, “Pot, meet kettle.”

“Whoever is behind this,” huh? This after Navarrette spends much of his column attacking the “Clintonistas” (Painting With A Broad Brush 101, it looks like).

And no Democrat has accused the Clinton people of “an ugly Willie Horton-type tactic” here, by the way. The only person doing that, Navarrette, is you.

(And I'm sure we all know that Horton is pictured above, by the way; G.H.W.B. and Lee Atwater roasting on a spit in hell right now both made sure of that.)

So you imagine that there is any connection at all between a United States Senator, a highly accomplished individual with a depth of international understanding and experience both in government and education, and a felon convicted of armed robbery and rape based on their shared skin color?

Your own ethnic background does not absolve you from culpability for race-baiting rhetoric yourself, you cretin.

Update 1 12/17/07: Yep, we all know that conservatives never engage in race-baiting tactics - only Dems do stuff like that.

Update 2 12/18/07: And concerning the prior update above, I bring you this (h/t Atrios).