Editorial: The Political Teflon Continues—
Republicans Get Away with Everything; Democrats Flayed for Anything

Given media and public reaction to both ongoing and recent words and deeds of high-ranking politicians like Trent Lott, Dick Cheney, and George W. Bush, the only possible conclusion is that the Republican party wears a collective suit of armor—coated with political Teflon, to boot.

Consider the recent 100th birthday celebration held for Strom Thurmond. During the festivities, Thurmond’s political life story was glorified in blazing gold letters one hundred feet tall for all of America to marvel at. For example, in 1948, Thurmond ran for President on the Dixiecrat platform, saying, “All the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the Army cannot force the Negro into our homes, our schools, our churches.” (The fact that Thurmond won four states is often overshadowed by Democrat Harry S. Truman’s narrow victory over John Dewey. It is also easy to forget that Mr. Thurmond, who began as a Democrat to pursue segregationism, abandoned the populist cause to become Republican shortly after that election.) So, America is expected to celebrate the desiccated career of this once-segregationist—to pretend that a man who was intolerant of those unlike himself in his comparative youth has magically transformed himself into a tolerant, reasonable man in his decades-long dotage.

To aggravate this egregious insult to intelligent Americans’ sensibilities, smarmy Trent Lott comes along and adds his generous dollop of greasily obsequious if misplaced praise for Thurmond: “I want to say this about my state: when Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either.”

While it is true that Mr. Lott’s ponderous foot is no stranger to his cavernous mouth, it wobbles the mind to imagine what he must have been thinking as he uttered those fateful words. Just which “problems over all these years” was he citing? Did he really mean to say that America would be a better place if it were still racially (and probably sexually) segregated?

Yet, Lott, who time and again steps forcefully forward into the political doggie-doo, comes up smelling like a rose. There is no censure for him from the Congress or Bush, who paints himself as a “compassionate conservative,” whatever that oxymoron is supposed to mean (heavens, does that mean that they all agree with him?). There is no outraged call from the nation’s official leadership for him to step down. There is only his sullen, reluctant apology—made several days after the fact, which confirms that he still sees nothing wrong with his statements—which he claims was not in response to demands made by a disgusted Al Gore. Mainstream media, Democrats, liberals … all are eerily silent.

Conversely, when Tom Daschle burst out in frustration after years of verbal abuse by Rush Limbaugh, he was hung, drawn, quartered, tarred, feathered, and flayed by the press for being a histrionic crybaby. True, Daschle’s remarks were untenable, but they at least did not attack one of America’s (soon to be defunct?) ideals of equality for all. At least, they did not staunchly defend intolerance and call for its reinstitution. Yet, Daschle took a political black eye where Lott, whose comments were so much more incendiary to decent people everywhere, escaped even a token slap on the wrist.

Cheney and Bush also excel at dodging political bullets. Case in point: Bush-appointee U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed a lawsuit by Comptroller General David M. Walker of the General Accounting Office to force Cheney to reveal participants in a presidential task force that was crucial in establishing Bush’s energy policy. Representative Henry Waxman called the ruling “a convoluted decision by a Republican judge.” He laments that, if this ruling becomes the law of the land, Bush and Cheney will enjoy “near total immunity from scrutiny” and carte blanche to “operate in complete secrecy with no oversight by Congress.” Again, one must ask of the Democrats, “O brother, where art thou?”

The reasonable observer is left to wonder: are the Democrats are deliberately sitting on their hands as we all watch the Republicans make the biggest possible asses out of themselves? Are the Democrats collecting ammunition while the Republicans travesty democracy and justice for the masses? Do they want us to see for ourselves just how bad it can be—robbing from the poor to buff up the rich, divesting the populace of equality and civil rights—before they step up in 2004 and offer, if elected, to put the country back to rights?

One can only hope.

The writer, Zoe Owens, Ph.D., is a philosopher and author of religious and philosophical books and articles.