Today’s Reading List – May 10, 2007 | Article VI Blog

The Al Sharpton Saga Continues

SADLY, this is the big Romney-religion news of the week. And the MSM has not let us down. I'll bet you thought the story was about Sharpton's indefensible comment. Wrong! It's about race, and the Mormon Church's former policy barring black men from holding its priesthood. (The policy was dropped in 1978.)

Read on.

The Reverend Al began by scrambling. We still don't buy his explanation. Whatever happened to, "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it that way." In fact, I can suggest a location where he might deliver such an apology.

Romney took the high road in response:

"It shows that bigotry still exists in some corners," said Romney, who spoke to reporters after a campaign event. "I thought it was a most unfortunate comment to make." [snip]

Asked if he considered the civil rights leader a bigot, Romney demurred.

"I don't know Reverend Sharpton," he said. "I doubt he is personally such a thing, but the comment was a comment which could be described as a bigoted comment."

BUT ENTER THE MSM, in the form of the Washington Post. This writer describes Romney's measured comments this way:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and civil rights activist Al Sharpton traded angry, racially charged accusations yesterday, with Romney alleging that Sharpton had uttered "bigoted" comments about Mormonism. (Emphasis added.)

Really? Angry, racially charged? Does Romney seem angry to you? I thought he said Sharpton's comment "could be described as . . . bigoted."

Now, Sharpton's a different story. In the WaPo account he does seem angry:

"Attacking me, not Hitchens, shows [Romney] is playing politics," Sharpton said. "What is bigoted about asking . . . about a denomination based on racism?"

Mormonism "based on racism?" My, my. Seems like Sharpton has ratcheted this discussion up a few notches. Perhaps he sees an opportunity to demagogue? Heaven know, he's good at spotting those. And no public discussion with Sharpton goes very far before he's talking about racism:

Sharpton called on Romney to address whether the Mormon Church ever supported segregation. "He needs to clarify the truth or non-truth of what I was presented," Sharpton said.

There are people Sharpton could ask about that subject, but doing that would probably not produce the attention he seems to crave.

Yet another WaPo writer, Emil Steiner, smells hypocrisy by Sharpton.

THEN THERE'S THIS (via The Corner):

The president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, William Donohue, said Rev. Sharpton should apologize to Mr. Romney for what Mr. Donohue called "bigotry."

"That basically says that all believers outside of Mormonism are bound to vote against Romney because he's a Mormon," Mr. Donohue said. "For a man of his stature to be making these kinds of bigoted comments about a presidential contender is scurrilous."

Five hard-core bigoted attacks on Romney's faith, all of them coming from the left. Maybe for the MSM, being a Democrat means never having to say you're sorry?

John comments: We have been accused at this blog of trying to cast Romney and Mormonism in general in a "victims" role, mostly be supporters of the other Republican candidates. That is a back-handed way of trying to tell us we are resorting to the tactics of the opposition.

Hardly. There is a difference between pointing out obvious bigotry and "playing the bigotry card." Republicans hate bigotry as much as Democrats, the difference– and this is a key difference– is that Republicans wish to do away with bigotry, and Democrats– well, some Democrats– wish to leverage it into political power.

Never has that been more stark than in this exchange. Romney, and those that agree with him on this issue, identify bigotry and by exposing it, understand that it cannot stand the light of day in our modern society. That's all. Sharpton, on the other hand, immediately descends into a discussion of who is the "real" victim, which group is more oppressed, and who precisely oppressed whom – identity politics down to the core.

A while back I was on a "racially-charged jury" in a criminal case. When it was over, on my Godblog, I wrote:

There was a time, sadly, when the law did not apply equally to all people in our nation. It is our great national shame; fortunately, it is not true any more. More importantly; however, the solution to that former gross injustice lies not in changing what people group gets the benefits of that unequal application – it lies, rather, in assuring EQUAL application.

Someday this nation will finally figure that out.

Update: More comments on the Sharpton flap here. Also, according to Pajamas Media, it looks like Sharpton, true to form, is going to twist and exploit this episode to its fullest race-baiting potential:

Sharpton fired back. “I intend to engage on this. He’ll find out rabbit hunting ain’t fun when the rabbit’s got the gun,” Sharpton said.

Poor, oppressed Rev. Sharpton. He makes an appalling comment, is called on it, and now he's being persecuted. And– he changes the subject! Sharpton brays:

"Fine, you take your shot at Sharpton, but now you got to answer the question. If you have a church built on racial discrimination, then I do not believe you are a true believer in God."

Here's what we are wondering: Is Sharpton going to demand that the Mormon Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, also explain prior Mormon policy on blacks and the church's priesthood?