The issue of race has been injected into this presidential campaign both as a source of pride and progress and as a wedge to scare and intimidate. Of course, this is often true in our election seasons as Republican voter suppression takes center stage and the taking for granted of the African-American vote by the Democrats is often a problem.
This election, perhaps, draws the most stark contrast between presidential candidates as Barack Obama represents the first African-American to be nominated by a major party, and John McCain features one of the most checkered pasts in memory on the other side. There are three major issues on the McCain side that I want to explore here.
In 2000, on the campaign trail, John McCain told reporters, "I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live... I was referring to my prison guards and I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend." In an account of this incident, current Program Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Katie Hong (an Obama supporter) wrote:
Contrary to McCain's attempt to narrowly define "gook" to mean only his "sadistic" captors, this term has historically been used to describe all Asians. McCain said that "gook" was the most "polite" term he could find to describe his captors, but because it is simply a pejorative term for Asians, he insulted his captors simply by calling them "Asians" -- a clearly disturbing message. To the Asian American community, the term is akin to the racist word "nigger."...What makes this incident even more disturbing is how neither the media nor the other presidential candidates have highlighted that his use of a racist term is unacceptable.
What a revelation. The last statement in bold is the most important story of this incident, in my opinion. If John McCain had stated in front of reporters, "I hated the niggers. I will hate them as long as I live," would he still be a Senator? Would we even know where John McCain is in 2008? I sincerely doubt it. This speaks to two important things in our society. First, Asian-Americans have largely been invisible to most of America. The media inclusion of Asians has largely consisted of the female news anchor phenomenon, but nothing of the daily life or the long, rich history of Asian-Americans. Second, coverage of racism is too touchy for the traditional news media. Most news organizations like to sweep race under the carpet as much as possible, since their own record on the subject is so weak. The combination of these two factors led to a huge pass for McCain on his gaffe, although he later apologized for using the word, saying:
"I will continue to condemn those who unfairly mistreated us," McCain said in a statement released Feb. 21. "But out of respect to a great number of people for whom I hold in very high regard, I will no longer use the term that has caused such discomfort... I apologize and renounce all language that is bigoted and offensive, which is contrary to all that I represent and believe."
"We hope that people understand that the senator was referring very specifically to the men who beat and tortured him for five and a half years in a prisoner of war camp," McCain campaign spokesperson Dan Schnur said on Friday. "His language in no way represents his feelings toward the people in Vietnam or the Vietnamese American community."
I respect the heroic acts that John McCain performed during his hellish days spent in Vietnam. He deserves credit for never abandoning his men, when he could have pulled strings to escape. The thing is, he can't hide behind those acts for the rest of his life as he represents the American people. That's what he did in the statement just above. He hid behind his torture and slipped away from responsibility for racist remarks via "mavericky goodness." He also wants us to believe that he won't use the word "gook" anymore after initially stating "I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend." Since it was politically uncomfortable to keep his initial, defiant stance McCain wants us to believe he's repented. I believe he's shown public restraint, belying private and deeply personal bigotry.
The MLK Holiday Issue
15 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., John McCain rejected the opportunity to honor one of the most important historical figures in American and world history. 1983 saw the introduction of legislation designed to celebrate the birthday of Dr. King, legislation which John McCain voted against as a member of the House of Representatives. McCain claims to regret that vote, but after it was overwhelmingly supported and put into place, McCain stood beside then Arizona governor Evan Mechum when he rescinded the holiday in 1987. Three years later, McCain voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1990 four times.
As a university student in the early 1990's I recall listening to Public Enemy's "By the Time I Get to Arizona" wondering who would be so stupid as to oppose a King holiday. The anger in the African-American community was out in the open, as you might note in this video for the song. It's interesting to see the Black Panther theme in the video, as it would probably put PE and their listeners on the terror/no-fly list in 2008. A lot of violent imagery that couldn't possibly find an audience in the post-9/11 mainstream. Still, it's instructive.
In the infamous 2000 campaign, South Carolina McCain representative Richard Quinn stated:
"King Day should have been rejected because its purpose is vitriolic and profane. By celebrating King as the incarnation of all they admire, they [black leaders] have chosen to glorify the histrionic rather than the heroic and by inference they spurned the brightest and the best among their own race. Ignoring the real heroes in our nation's life, the blacks have chosen a man who represents not their emancipation, not their sacrifices and bravery in service to their country; rather, they have chosen a man whose role in history was to lead his people into a perpetual dependence on the welfare state..."
McCain would have to reject and renounce in 2008, but back then he simply defended Quinn, calling him a "respected" and "fine man," and incredulously kept him as a staffer. McCain’s current campaign has paid the firm Richard Quinn and Associates $180,000. Also in this campaign, McCain joined Rudy Giuliani (whose record on race speaks for itself), Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson in skipping the PBS Morgan State University Debate, moderated by Tavis Smiley and featuring a panel of African-Americans. This reflects a general disdain for African-Americans (and probably PBS) by the GOP, but adds to a long list of failings that John McCain should answer for with regard to race.
During the 2008 commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, John McCain attempted to wash away his past failings on the King holiday by announcing that he hadn't understood the issue well enough in the past. As I pointed out at the introduction of this section, MLK Day legislation was passed 15 years after King's death. The repudiation of Quinn in 2000 would have come 32 years after the tragedy in Memphis if it had been made. Alas, it wasn't. How long does it take for John McCain to understand the issue of civil rights? How long does it take a person to understand the importance of Martin Luther King, Jr.? Apparently, it took John McCain 40 years, if we are to believe his recent conversion. How convenient that his awakening took place during a presidential campaign when the first African-American candidate seemed poised to capture his party's nomination. Interesting indeed.
The CBS Evening News and CNN's The Situation Room noted Sen. John McCain's opposition to displays of the Confederate flag, but did not report that during the campaign for the South Carolina Republican primary in 2000, McCain had equivocated on whether the flag should fly atop South Carolina's state Capitol. Nor did the reports mention McCain's subsequent admission his equivocation "was an act of cowardice" and that he had "broke[n] [his] promise to always tell the truth" in order to try to "win the South Carolina primary" in 2000.
Fortunately, The Real McCain never misses such things and produced this clip to remind us all:
Again we see a case where John McCain has backtracked on a position long after the fact, when it seems most politically convenient. In 2000, calling the flag a symbol of heritage after initially calling it a symbol of hatred and slavery looks like a classic flip flop. It was the politically expedient thing to do, appealing to the racist South Carolina GOP base. In fact, his initial stand, when he was actually correct, took courage and probably earned him some "mavericky points", but he showed an incredible capacity to cave in the end. Just like he's done this election season. He's caved on one hand to the religious right, showing an appreciation for their messages of hate. He's caved to lobbyists in a quest to raise enough money to stay viable, first in the GOP primaries and then against Obama's money machine. He's shown the ability to cave to public pressure about his MLK stance when faced with an African-American opponent. He's caved to the scrutiny of his love for the religious right and lobbyists by ordering them all away from his campaign, giving us the ultimate flip flop.
All this tells me is that John McCain is blind to racial intolerance at best, and a flat out bigot at worst. In either case, we see him for what he is....a political opportunist with an incredible capacity for hypocrisy. I, for one, will never forget his use of the word "gook", or the unapologetic stance he took for using it in public. He only backtracked when he saw public opinion drop. I won't forget that he couldn't understand the historical importance of MLK or the civil rights movement until it became a perception problem politically. I won't forgive him his flip flop or his cowardice on the Confederate flag issue. He only admitted his own cowardice when confronted by poor national polling.
When these flip flops and "come to God" moments occur for John McCain on issues like lobbying (after the Keating Five scandal broke) or on the embrace of the religious right (when his own supporters made Reverend Wright look like Mother Theresa) it's easy to roll my eyes and broil at the hypocrisy, but when it comes to race and racism, there's no amount of repentance that McCain can perform at this stage to convince me he understands anything but the lilly white embrace of the far right. You can't teach that 72-year old dog new tricks when it comes to bigotry and so we will see spin. Spin is easier than genuine personal progress on the issue of race. You can decide the degree of McCain's problem with the issue of race, but my two cents says that it's as clear as day. He's a racist, just like the rest of the GOP field.
