Racial Politics and Republicans

William Schneider repeats (“How Can You Play Racial Politics, but Not Appear Racist? Be George Bush,” Opinion, July 28) the tired charge that the Bush campaign was playing racial politics by criticizing Michael Dukakis for furloughing Willie Horton, a convicted murderer, one time too many. What is the justification here? Is it that because Horton was black, it was inappropriate for Bush to criticize Dukakis’ recklessly naive policy of attempting to rehabilitate hopelessly hardened criminals such as Horton? So then is it insensitive and racist for the news media to report violent crimes whenever they are committed by black individuals? Of course not. Bush’s criticism would have been equally compelling had Horton been white.

Schneider’s attempt to portray Republicans as playing racial politics is in the tradition of a decades-long, liberal attempt to scare ethnic minorities by convincing them that the Republican Party is the party of racism. If that’s not racial politics, I don’t know what is. I find such demonizing of the right at least as appallingly divisive as anything Republicans have done. Over the years, I have heard leftist descriptions of conservatives and Republicans as racists, sexists, homophobes, fascists, reactionaries and selfish materialists. If liberals would spend more time trying to develop some political consensus on the issues they so justifiably care about, and less time convincing themselves of the evil of the right, then maybe they could justifiably call themselves progressive.

RONALD A. MORALES

Irvine