"You cannot support the governor, prepare for re-election, and at the same time say that you're keeping your options open for a primary. I think that there might be an inclination for racial polarization in a primary in the state of New York. And since we have most African-Americans registered as Democrats, and since you would be making an appeal for Democrats, it would be devastating in my opinion."Shorter Rangel: nice state you got here. It'd be a shame if something happened to it.
Look, I thought we went over this last year. Opposing a female nominee doesn't necessarily mean that one is sexist. Opposing a black nominee doesn't make one a racist. Obviously, sexist and racist people might do those things for exactly those reasons, but this isn't an if and only if proposition--a lot of people opposed Obama out of concern for his experience, and a lot of people opposed Clinton out of concern for her calculation. There didn't need to be racial and sexual components to these things, and my hypothetical support for Clinton was dashed once she started with all that garbage. The identity aspects of that primary were dirtier than the general election was in that respect, to John McCain's credit (though I wouldn't give him too much credit, as this is still the dude that okayed the smut for kindergarteners ad).
But it looks like Rangel is out to reverse that verdict. When he says that opposing Governor Paterson might cause racial tension, he's ensuring that such an event will occur, perhaps by him. He's adding this element into the narrative to try to save an incompetent and gutless governor. If things were the other way around, and Paterson were considering mounting a challenge on an unpopular Governor Cuomo, one can be sure that Rangel would be singing a different tune.
One wonders whether Obama will step in if things get out of hand, and Rangel seems to have anticipated that. Rangel and Bobby Rush are part of the old order of black politicians that are unafraid to dirty themselves with this sort of, well, racebaiting--this is an order that seems to be crumbling. They're angry and they see the writing on the wall. Interestingly, it seems like Al Sharpton is trying to remake himself more along the Obama lines--it seems like, these days, you're more likely to see him in the news working on education policy than for stirring up shit. He gets it. The times, they are a-changin'.
