Chicago Racists

I used to think that the the large liberal corporate media conglomerates hated political diversity. I must now eat my words. The Chicago Tribune has a most amazing racist on its editorial staff and for that, the ACLU will undoubtedly hand out high honors. Mr. Eric Zorn baldly states that he knows very little about Alan Keyes, but then goes on to charge that Keyes was only nominated as a Republican party candidate for the Senate based on his skin color.

So, Mr. Zorn calls Dr. Keyes a "token" black simply because he has not managed to impinge on Mr. Zorn's consciousness? Mr. Zorn's racism is made all the more prominent by the facts: Dr. Keyes has a Ph.D. in government from Harvard, was a United States representative to the UN, a successful talk show host, and campaigned twice for the office of Maryland Senator and twice for president. If a man with that kind of education, that kind of public prominence and that kind of experience is a "token" black man then what passes for a REAL black man?

Dr. Keyes would be contesting with a man who holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Columbia University and a law degree (magna cum laude) from Harvard. Barack Obama's main claim to fame is as a lawyer and Illinois state senator. Yet, despite the very similar qualifications, Mr. Zorn would certainly not call Barack Obama a token black Democrat candidate.

Why not? Well, that's not clear. Obama is certainly as much or as little a token black as Keyes, but because his politics conform to Mr. Zorn's politics, Mr. Zorn is unwilling to point out the possibility that Obama is just another liberal Oreo. Yet, when we consider that African-Americans overwhelmingly oppose things like abortion and gay marriage and overwhelmingly support things like school vouchers, we find that Keyes' politics are in line with these sentiments while Obama's positions are not. In fact, Obama's positions are much more in accord with white-run power establishments like Mr. Zorn's employer, the Chicago Tribune.

Who's the token black? Isn't it odd that a white man who admits his ignorance of the black man under discussion takes it upon himself to answer that question?