Liberals and their hated constituencies

Gosh, Michelle Malkin is really hitting it on all cylinders today when it comes to blogging about the tremendous disdain liberals have for the voter groups on which they most rely. Her latest post on the subject concerns a Virginia Democratic candidate mocking how the people in his state speak. I posted back in February about this weird loathing Demos have for those same people they claim fall within their purview: the handicapped, minorities, gays, etc. Liberals want these people malleable, and tend to promote policies that keep them that way -- even if those policies, in both the long and the short run do not benefit the specific group. And, as I noted before, when members of these "liberally protected groups" indicate that they don't want these dubious protections, the Dems turn amazingly vicious. (Examples of this viciousness are the horrifyingly racist attacks on Condi Rice, and the use of pejoratives about the mentally handicapped to attack Pres. Bush.) Considering how much liberals seem to loath the people they rely upon for votes, it's not really surprising that they're pushing to include felons in the voter roles. As Edward Feser said in his recent City Journal article destroying the arguments Demos advance to support felon voting:

Murderers, rapists, and thieves might seem to be an odd constituency for a party that prides itself on its touchy-feely concern for women and victims. But desperate times call for desperate measures. After three national electoral defeats in a row, the Democrats need to enlarge their base. If that means reaching out to lock in the pedophile and home-invader vote, so be it. Even newly moderate Democrat Hillary Clinton has recently endorsed voting rights for ex-cons. This is inclusiveness with a vengeance.

It's at times like this that hackneyed phrases have a purpose, so I'll wrap this post by asking, with friends like the Demos, who needs enemies? UPDATE: Over at Blind Man's Eye, there's an excellent post questioning whether the Demo politician, Tim Kaine really was making fun of Republican candidate Jerry Kilgore's accent. Indeed, it's such a good post, I was ready to announce that this wasn't a case of Demos hating their constituents, but that it actually fell into the category of "sensibilities so heightened, I get nose bleeds." So, I went back again and looked at the source material, and decided that it falls into both categories. Here's the relevant part of the Washington Times piece that started all this:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry W. Kilgore says Democratic candidate Timothy M. Kaine is making fun of his rich drawl in a radio ad running across Virginia. Mr. Kaine, who is lieutenant governor, notes in the ad that Mr. Kilgore, the former attorney general, did not use his own voice on his own ad. "If I have something to say, I'm not afraid to say it myself," Mr. Kaine says in the ad. "But Jerry Kilgore has been making things up about me and letting slick radio announcers do his dirty work." The Kilgore campaign said they think the ad is a veiled reference to the Gate City, Va., native's accent. Mr. Kaine "implicitly denigrates the way millions of Virginians talk," said Kilgore spokesman Tim Murtaugh. "The message is clear: If you have an accent of any kind, Tim Kaine will make fun of you," Mr. Murtaugh said. But Kaine spokeswoman Delacey Skinner said the ads are "absolutely not" targeting Mr. Kilgore's accent. "The point is that Jerry Kilgore isn't speaking for himself," she said. "What real leaders do is speak for themselves." Mr. Kilgore often pokes fun at his accent -- at an event Wednesday in southeast Virginia, he said he was glad he didn't have to bring a translator with him. Miss Skinner said Mr. Kilgore is the only candidate in the race who has made fun of someone's accent -- "his own."

Clearly, Mr. Kilgore recognizes that his accent is distinctive and rich. Equally clearly, it's fine for him to poke fun at himself. The question is whether Mr. Kaine can, without getting into trouble, take jabs at Mr. Kilgore's accent. And if he is taking those jabs, is he also attacking others in the state who share that accent? To be honest, if it were me, a private citizen, I'd say I'd have no risk attacking Mr. Kilgore's accent, since he's made it a campaign issue. I think, however, that Mr. Kaine, as another candidate, made a dangerous decision to take on a regionalism that Mr. Kilgore shares with others in his region -- and having done that, he legitimately runs the risk that he'll be accused of attacking his own potential voter base.