Wall Street Journal Review & Outlook Ryan, Obama and Racism Two men use similar language and the left calls one a bigot. • March 20, 2014 8:00 p.m. ET A week later, and liberals are still lining up to assail Paul Ryans racism. The episode is worth noting not because Mr. Ryan said anything wrong, but because of what it shows about the political habits of todays elected and media left. The Wisconsin Congressman has been looking into the problem of upward economic mobility and how effective federal programs are in combatting poverty. Appearing on Bill Bennetts radio program, Mr. Ryan observed that antipoverty assistance can often create incentives not to work and to stay where you are, thats not what we want in society. . . . There are a lot of people slipping through the cracks in America that are not reaching their potential and we as conservatives should have something to say about that. He also mused: We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work, so theres a cultural problem that has to be dealt with. Enlarge Image Close House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) Getty Images The liberal online organ Think Progress led with the headline Paul Ryan Blames Poverty On Lazy Inner City Men, and it was off to the races. California Democrat Barbara Lee denounced his thinly veiled racial attack, adding, Lets be clear, when Mr. Ryan says inner city, when he says culture, these are simply code words for what he really means: black. Others were less charitable about his imagined neo-Confederate sympathies. Mr. Ryan put out a statement saying he had been inarticulate but reiterated his point that the predictable result of the poverty trap for society at large has been multi-generational poverty and little opportunity. But dont take his word for it. We know young black men are twice as likely as young white men to be disconnected—not in school, not working. Weve got to reconnect them. Weve got to give more of these young men access to mentors. Weve got to continue to encourage responsible fatherhood. Weve got to provide more pathways to apply to college or find a job. We can keep them from falling through the cracks. Those were the words of President Obama, speaking less than a month ago about his My Brothers Keeper project to help groups whove seen fewer opportunities that have spanned generations, especially boys and young men of color. Its going to take time. Were dealing with complicated issues that run deep in our history, run deep in our society, and are entrenched in our minds. No less than Mr. Ryan, Mr. Obama sure sounded like he was talking about a cultural problem. He didnt mention inner cities, but his entire White House initiative is geared to helping young minority men, not whites. The President even concluded with an ode to self-reliance that Mr. Ryan might have considered a little too lacking in nuance: Government cannot play the only—or even the primary—role. . . . Its ultimately going to be up to these young men and all the young men who are out there to step up and seize responsibility for their own lives. So even though Mr. Ryan never mentioned race, liberals attacked his off-the-cuff remarks as racist while the Presidents moral lecture was hardly noticed. Republicans are accused of racism if they ignore the least fortunate, and now theyre racist for taking poverty and its causes seriously. Unless you unreservedly favor the welfare status quo, or used to be a community organizer, the left gets you coming and going. The attacks on Mr. Ryan are one more example of the politics of personal vilification that typifies the left these days. Its policies were supposed to reduce inequality, but instead the income gap is widening. They were supposed to lift people out of poverty, but poverty has increased. So the last thing they can tolerate is a conservative like Mr. Ryan who is looking for better solutions and using a moral language of opportunity and upward mobility that could appeal to Americans of all incomes and backgrounds. Liberals have to smear conservatives personally because they know theyre losing on the merits.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 21:53:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015