Community organizer is a racist phrase?

Tobin Harshaw:

While John McCain’s acceptance speech slides quickly into the land of the forgotten, Wednesday night’s Republican all-you-can-eat, red-meat buffet continues to leave a taste in the mouth. One big issue, Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic points out, is that “the four mocking mentions last night of Barack Obama’s service as a ‘community organizer’ have ignited a metapshereic debate about whether the term has racial connotations.”

Ezra Klein has been out front in crying foul:

But look, let’s call a spade a spade: When Giuliani sneered about community organizers on the “South side” of Chicago, it’s pretty clear what he was saying: Barack Obama spent his time rabble-rousing among black people. It’s no different then when the RNC called him a “street organizer.” A community organizer can be a PTA member or a Christian Coalition lieutenant. Indeed, there’s something deeply conservative about the vocation, which informally organizes citizens to demand better, fairer, and wiser treatment from detached government bureaucrats. But that’s really not what Palin and Giuliani and the RNC are getting at. Community organizer isn’t being used to describe a job but a background. Obama organized poor black people. Helped channel their anger and grievances and anxieties. That’s change you can fear.

...
There has to be some irony in starting a rant accusing others of racism by saying, "But look, let’s call a spade a spade...."

What is happening is that Obama supporters are playing the race card to fight back against an effective line used by the Republicans who were countering the denigration of their VP candidate because she was a mayor.

Anyone who thinks the job of community organizer is more responsible than that of a mayor is just not well informed. Just because it was said in a mocking tone only means they were returning fire on those mocking Palin's experience. That people like Kline would look for offense only points out how devastating the remark was.

Update: By the logic of those who claim that using the term community organizer is racist, then they are condemning Barack Obama who made statements similar to Palin's when he quit the position. Judging by the comment below there are some people who cannot take a joke.

Comments

  1. John3:01 PM

    The phrase to "call a spade a spade" has nothing to do with racism. Just the fact that you insinuated that it did ruins the credibility of your opinion. Also I would like to know where you found the Obama campaign denigrating Palin's mayoral experience. The only thing I have seen is the campaign saying that her experience does not qualify her to be Vice President. Nothing I have seen indicates that they are disrespecting her at all.

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