The race card is Charlie Sykes' only game

It's hard being a white man these days, what with the whole race card deck stacked against you.

So thank god we have Charlie Sykes to feign outrage and work his listeners into a lather over racial grievances on a daily basis. (The Brawler's unscientific observation is that the race card yields more calls than any other topic on the Sykes show.)

On Wednesday, Sykes was outraged by this bit of humorous doggerel -- a riff on blues great Big Bill Broonzy's "Black, Brown and White" -- that Minister Joseph Lowery dropped in the inaugural benediction.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen. Say Amen. And Amen.

The remarks elicited laughter from an audience that likely appreciated them as a humorous call for unity and an acknowledgment that race remains a divisive issue in our country (particularly in an election where a not inconsiderable number of white folks said they wouldn't vote for Obama because he was black).

But not Charlie Sykes, who (along with the likes of the batshit insane Michelle Malkin) found it utterly vile and racist. "Why does only white have to embrace what's right?" Charlie whined (I paraphrase). Callers from far and white, er wide, called in to complain about how they were being oppressed as well.

(Rick Esenberg griped about the words in a slightly more reasonable manner. I would quarrel with Esenberg about the rhyme's relevance today.)

But not only is the white man being victimized by a civil rights veteran. He's also being victimized by laws allowing criminals to get resentenced if judges make untoward remarks of an arguably racial nature.

Consider the case of Landray Harris, a drug dealer who's getting resentenced after a judge made remarks that could be, not unreasonably, construed as racist.

From the Journal Sentinel:

A Milwaukee man convicted of possessing cocaine will get a new sentencing hearing because the judge who sentenced him asked the man about his "baby mama" and where "you guys" find women to support them while they stay home, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.

In an opinion released Wednesday, the court found that then-Circuit Judge Joseph Wall did not intend his comments to be offensive and did not intentionally engage in racial stereotyping.

"What concerns us is the reasonable perception of an African-American defendant, or an observer, that the sentence was imposed at least in part because of race," Judge Joan Kessler wrote for the majority.

Now, Sykes thought little of this case yesterday when he passed the mike to Jeff Wagner -- if I recall correctly he asked Wags if the guy was going to be resentenced and the answer was yes.

But sensing there was outrage to be generated, Sykes -- who has three baby mamas himself -- spent about an hour on the topic today. He talked over an African American listener who said if he were in the court room the words would have taken him aback (agreeing with another African American listener who said the opposite), repeatedly called the judges who ruled in the majority "elite women" or "limousine liberals" and the like; and denouncing the ruling as being PC screwiness.

Thing is, there's reason to believe the ruling was sound. And the argument that Joseph Wall is not a racist doesn't matter in the least. As the Brawler's honkey illusory tenant notes:

The first question presented to the appeals court, which elements are derived from Wisconsin Supreme Court case law, was:

Did the trial court's comments suggest to a reasonable observer or a reasonable person in the position of the defendant that the court was improperly considering Harris's race?

Boldface added. In other words, it doesn't matter what Jeff Wagner thinks, as reasonable an observer as he might believe himself to be.

What controls are the defendant's — an African-American man, in this case — perceptions. And the trouble with Judge Wall's extended colloquy at sentencing is that he was not only referring specifically to the defendant and the defendant's girlfriend in particular, he was typecasting both of them as members of classes of persons:

THE [TRIAL] COURT: Where do you guys find these women, really, seriously. I’d say about every fourth man who comes in here unemployed, no education, is with a woman who is working full-time, going to school. Where do you find these women? Is there a club?

(Not every fourth man who presents himself to be sentenced after having admitted guilt — as was the case with this defendant — it should be noted. Just every fourth man haled into court for whatever reason, some of which are relatively flimsy to begin with.)

"A reasonable observer." A description that excludes Charlie Sykes (who, by the way, has three baby mamas).

Sykes (who, given he has three baby mamas, is the moral guardian of Milwaukee) went on to draw bigger lessons from this. Obama's called for a new era of responsibility -- but these elite women have undercut that.

Sykes (file under: three baby mamas) said the core of this ruling is that "if you're a white man, shut up." Adding: "Sooner or later the black community will get around to talking about personal responsibility."

Personal responsibility. Did I say Sykes -- another racial grievance merchant who apparently laments he can't blast the African American community in terms more strident than he already uses (that's what James T. Harris is for!) has three baby mamas?

Comments

[Ted]

Red-neck radio is alive and well in Milwaukee. Today, Sykes had an opportunity to talk about John Thain of Merrill Lynch who squandered millions of dollars in unearned bonuses and extravagant office furnishings (including a $20000 commode)-- just before the Bush bailout of Bank of America that ended in taxpayer funded buyout of Merrill. Instead of shining a light on this abuse, Sykes spent a his time yammering about a woman who was desperate for help in her financial crisis. Instead of honest discussion, there was only pandering to the local red-necked racists. The racist tone was obvious. Helping banks with billions is OK, but an individual in desperate need is to be ridiculed. Maybe we should take up a collection for a one-way ticket for Sykes to go to his idol in Midland, Texas.

[illusory tenant]

Sykes said: "Sooner or later the black community will get around to talking about personal responsibility."

Er, Harris pleaded guilty back in May '07, just a few months after getting charged. Had six court dates in between, never missed one. How much more responsibility is he supposed to take?

If Sykes believes all this "baby mama" nonsense is so important, then he's actually helping to make Harris's case, that it was an improper consideration at sentencing.