The Powers that be (unfortunately)

Kirsten Powers is a well spoken, intelligent liberal who seems reasonable enough on her TV appearances and in her column in the NY Post. Today, however, she has a column in the Daily Beast that begins like this:

"Welcome to the summer of hate.

These dog days have brought a veritable festival of racial demagoguery, from a phony “New Black Panther” controversy to Arizona’s draconian illegal-immigrant crackdown to the most recent “ground zero mosque” hysteria."

Kirsten should and does know better. The New Black Panther case is "phony". Really? The United States Justice Department brought an action against members of that party for standing outside a polling place in Philadelphia in 2008, holding a club and threatening whites who came to vote. After the case was won, but before the penalty was announced by the court, the case was dropped by the Obama Justice Department under Eric Holder. Then the DOJ lawyer for the case comes forward to announce that he was told that it was now DOJ policy not to prosecute voter intimidation cases if the perpetrators were black and the victims white. This is anything but phony. Powers says that this is not as bad as the KKK used to be. So? Car theft is not as bad as murder; does that make it unimportant? Powers also says that it was but one precinct and there was but one weapon being held. When did the crime of voter intimidation become one requiring group participation? That is not what the law says. Indeed, the time to stop intimidation is when it is before it is widespread, not after. And, of course, Powers conveniently fails to mention the race based policy of DOJ with regard to enforcement.

Next Powers talks about Arizona's draconian immigration law. I know that Powers has read that law; I used to think that she understood it as well. Obviously not! While portions of the law have been struck down by a lower court, the reason is not because the law was draconian. Rather, the reason was a purported interference with the ability of the federal authorities to order their own enforcement efforts. To call this law draconian is ridiculous. The Arizona law is nothing more than a state effort to enforce the existing federal law, something that the feds seem to have suspended. If Murder on federal land is a federal crime, does Powers think it draconian if the states pass laws allowing them to have their police also look for the perpetrators of that federal crime? Apparently so!

Powers then goes on the the recent ground zero mosque hysteria. Strange, isn't it. The only hysteria comes from the liberals who feel a reflexive need to scream racism. The anti mosque group's position can best be summed up by this: the mosque developers have a right to build in this location, but it would be thoughtful and more appropriate were they to move the facility a few blocks further away. How racist! How Hysterical! What utter BS from Powers. I will wait to see the column where Powers castigates Harry Reid for his racism since he has announced his agreement with the antimosque position.

The saddest thing about all of this is that there seem to be fewer and fewer liberals who are willing to discuss facts rather than ideology. they are obviously getting more and more desperate at the prospect of losing much of their power base in Washington. Still, for the good of the country, they need to stop these crazy attacks and get back to basics.