My letter to the editor, as submitted to Spokesman-Review:<\/p>\n
In modern American politics, the word “racist” and its synonyms are often used in the same way “communist” was in the 1950s: to smear and destroy political opponents. Last week, we saw it play out in Spokane County.<\/em><\/p>\n The word strikes fear in the hearts of Republican candidates; there is nothing worse than to be accused of racism. It’s terrifying, because anyone can be labeled a ‘racist’, and it’s impossible to prove that you are not a white supremacist, or an anti-Semite, or a plain-vanilla bigot. There is no defense against this smear tactic, and nobody is safe from it. It’s linguistic terrorism.<\/em><\/p>\n Just as McCarthy saw communists behind every bush, liberals see a racist behind every ‘R’. Predictably, opportunists in the GOP exploited the paranoia to character-assassinate fellow Republicans. Ozzie Knezovich leapt at the chance to use the hysteria to get back at his critics: force out the GOP Chair, accuse a Tea Party group of fostering “hate and extremism,” and slander two sitting Republican officials.<\/em><\/p>\n The time has come to confront the bullies and ask “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”<\/em><\/p>\n