Democratic -isms

It's become painfully obvious that Democratic inclusiveness is only ideology deep. When it comes to such things as race or sexual orientation, the Dems are fierce racists and homophobes -- if the person of color or the gay person has the temerity to stray from the Democratic fold. Here's the latest example:

Black Democratic leaders in Maryland say that racially tinged attacks against Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in his bid for the U.S. Senate are fair because he is a conservative Republican. Such attacks against the first black man to win a statewide election in Maryland include pelting him with Oreo cookies during a campaign appearance, calling him an "Uncle Tom" and depicting him as a black-faced minstrel on a liberal Web log. Operatives for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also obtained a copy of his credit report -- the only Republican candidate so targeted. But black Democrats say there is nothing wrong with "pointing out the obvious." "There is a difference between pointing out the obvious and calling someone names," said a campaign spokesman for Kweisi Mfume, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a black Baltimore Democrat, said she does not expect her party to pull any punches, including racial jabs at Mr. Steele, in the race to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes. "Party trumps race, especially on the national level," she said. "If you are bold enough to run, you have to take whatever the voters are going to give you. It's democracy, perhaps at its worse, but it is democracy."

Please note that they're not attacking the political stands Lt. Gov. Steele is taking -- they're attacking is race. If that's not racist, I don't know what is. And as a companion piece, you can read at Cheat Seeking Missiles about a candidate whom the Democrats are attacking, not because of his political viewpoints, but because he is gay. UPDATE: Driving my kids to school, I suddenly realized what this reminded me of -- or rather, what the current Democratic racism signals a retreat from:

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Yeah, right -- as long as the content of your character marches in political lockstep with the Democratic platform.