The Racism Police

On June 30th the Washington Post published an article by Eli Saslow offering a look at racism and rumor in Western Ohio.  Saslow took the comments of four persons on College street in Findlay Ohio and published them to represent the misconceptions and racism that so-called Independent voters attach to Barack Obama.  Of course it isn't journalism, it wasn't at all scientific on the very surface of Saslow's methodology, but to probe just under the surface yeilds a distressing conclusion: Saslow cherry picked his sources and misrepresented them in numerous ways.  First, as the Findlay Courier points out on the following day, Saslow may have taken great liberties with statements, even falsifying them, but also he misrepresented them as Independent or swing voters when they are truly Republicans.

First off, I'll say it, I'm an Ohioan, I know Findlay, I have family there, and feel personally insulted by Saslow's article, but truth is truth and I never deny facts for my own vanity.  That being said, the truth is on my side today, but it is only a hollow victory for what I fear bodes as a more suspicious phenomenon in this election.  The main character of this work of fiction is Jim Peterman who is described as an swing voter; lets see how well he swings.



Since 1998 he hasn't missed a Republican Primary, great swing voter there.  I couldn't get data on Collins or Pollard, however Le Master yeilds a similar results.



What fine Independent minds.  Somehow Saslow would have his readers believe that 65-75 year old Republicans are indicative of great volumes of Ohioans.  Is it really surprising that the oldest generations in the Republican party would present ideas about Obama being a gay African Muslim?  Of course not, why would a man who consistently votes Republican care about the validity of any rumor stalking the Democratic candidate?  

Furthermore, of the two city blocks that Saslow claims to have surveyed, I have record of 10 Republicans, 8 Democrats and 17 Independents.  Saslow would have to ignore 5/7 of his sample area to get his results; it would have been much easier to get a real Independent or just as easy to get a Democrat as a Republican but Saslow must not have received juicy enough comments for an article that was most likely written long before he spoke to a soul.

So what purpose does this serve?  Is it really just a product of journalism that's motivated to seek conflict?  I have to wonder.  After West Virginia and Kentucky were labeled racist after rejecting Obama in the primaries the Obama campaign discouraged that language and it was relegated to personal blogs and poor editorials.  Who fans these flames now?  We remember the "bitter" statement and see the elitist campaign running against Obama right now, and this article serves a purpose to that same end.  There is an "Us vs. Them" scenario being developed to persuade Independent voters that they have been abused by a racism police that derides persons who do not grant Obama with their support as being "racists".  All this while, the fact of the matter is that any perceivable racism exists squarely within the Republican party as it attempts to push an aged, laissaiz-faire hawk, over a progessive, fiscally responsible Democrat.  Who benefits from from this racial controversy?  Obama can not shame people to vote for him and will make no such effort, but Republicans will attempt to coerce voters into opposing Obama for sake of spite and perceived injury by these phantom race-police.

A new phase in the campaign is beginning.  Republicans are propping up a phantom of racism, projecting it to Independent voters, and praying that Democrats will chase after it with careless zeal.  However, if we trace this racial divide closer and with caution, it will draw its line around the borders of the Republican party and, with any hope, isolate their ill-intentions to themselves.