Bennett Gives Us an Education in Fighting Crime

Republicans and other conservatives get VERY defensive when you call them on their bullshit. For example, the next time you're engaged in a conversation with a Republican, accuse them of being racist, and take note of what happens.

The Republican party of today rarely engages in overt racism or hate speech - they will often thinly veil or disguise their prejudices and biases, such as when Rush Limbaugh said that Donavan McNabb was overrated because everyone wants a black quarterback to do well. Or, when Trent Lott openly regretted the presidential election defeat of fellow Republican segregationist Strommy "black house-servant-raping" Thurmond at one of his last birthday parties.

Sometimes, the racist statements made by conservatives aren’t all the concealed.

Enter Bill Bennett. Mr. Bill has recently taken it upon himself to promote the "Every Black Voter Left Behind" strategy of the Republican party on his new talk show by making the following statement:

"I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."

(Full audio here)

Holy shit Bill. Did you know the mic was on?

Now, keep in mind Bill Bennett isn't just a radio talk show host. From 1985 to 1988, he was the former United States Secretary of Education under Reagan.

Think about this: The man who was in charge of equality, fairness and balance in education throughout the land is making a link between black people existing in America, and higher crime rates. (It should be noted that Bennett later went on to serve as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under Bush I - a post that is created out of necessity to control the addictive behavior of American citizens, while he himself is a recovering gambling addict).

Notice above I did not say the former head of Education suggested we abort black fetuses to quell crime statistics. 90% of me honestly believes he doesn't really want that to happen any time soon - or at the very least, he believes it would just be too much work.

However, you'll see Bill Bennett appearing on the 1,501 conservative talk shows that comprise the liberal media (such as the cable news nightly lineup nearly in it's entirety) and defend his remarks by saying he would NEVER suggest we do such a thing. After all, Mr. Bennett is a card carrying culture of life member.

Instead, the greater point Bennett will miss, as will other overweight conservatives with little skeletons of addiction living comfortably in their proverbial closets is this:

Bennett's remarks are racist, not because he's suggesting genocide toward African Americans, but rather because he's linking them to crime.

With that said, I'm not sure how many are going to bail him out this time. Check out mediamatters' documentation of the Bennett controversy here.