False claims of race-baiting have no place in civilized society

Nor on the front page of Race42012

It is with great sadness that I am compelled to write this column defending Erick Erickson of Redstate.com against false charges of “pulling the race card”; “race-baiting”; and of being a “race pimp.”

Those are fighting words where I come from, and so, after following the Biblical step-by-step approach to resolve this matter; firstly, directly with the perpetrator of the offense, Kristofer Lorelli; and secondly, by an appeal to R412’s Powers that Be; and then delaying the matter further after receiving a communication from the perpetrator that indicated direct communications would be forthcoming more than 48 hours ago, which direct communications were not forthcoming, despite the provision of my cell phone, I can no longer have the defamations continue to go unchallenged.

I felt it my duty, as one of the four original contributing front page writers at Race42008.com to issue a rebuttal. I don’t issue apologies for things I don’t do. The apology is owed by Lorelli.

The series of events started when R412’s Matthew Miller re-published a video from a website created by Rich Heffley, a close confidant of Florida’s moderate Republican Governor, Charlie Crist and produced in the offices of the Republican Party of Florida. Miller’s blog smartly explains the obvious racial attack implications against Marco Rubio, Crist’s opponent in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Erick Erickson merely re-re-published the video from RACE42012.com, along with some obviously sarcastic comments akin to those used by our own Matthew Miller, to highlight the obvious race-baiting against the conservative Rubio, in order to further expose Heffley and the Crist campaign for playing the race card.

The GOP has been regularly and falsely accused of racism and playing the race card for over 40 years, when it is the Democrats whose whole program is based on racial politics.

Racism is evil. Appealing to racism is evil.

Matthew Miller and Erick Erickson do humanity, Americans in general, and conservative Republicans in particular, a great service in calling out those, especially within the GOP (We must police our own, especially when the Dems and Drive-by media consider us to be racists merely by being conservatives and Republicans.) who appeal to racism or who allow ambiguity to reign with such appeals so as to garner some benefit electorally.

All Crist has to do is utterly denounce the subject video attacking Rubio and his pal Heffley; and disassociate himself from the latter.

Crist has not done so.

I am confident in this because surely our good colleague here at R412, Lorelli, would have mentioned such significant events advancing the story in his blog attacking our Redstate conservative colleague? Wouldn’t he? Or, if such revelations had occurred after I raised the issue in private communications, surely they would have been made known to me by now so as to prevent this poor DeVine substitute for what should have been a direct apology from Lorelli to Erickson, or from the Powers that Be, if Lorelli remained obstinate?

Falsely charging someone with racism and/or race-baiting is evil. The use of the term “race-pimp” is vile when improperly applied. Lorelli did a vile and evil thing here. I found this quite shocking coming from a person whose work I had so often admired.

But words matter. It is best to remain silent than engage in such reckless defamations.

It is especially telling that there is no attempt in Lorelli’s piece to explain away the substance of the video. Rather, we are told the race and religion of the women to whom Crist and his associate are married. It is a regular tactic of the left to claim immunity from racism due to such irrelevant information.

And just as neither Crist’s nor anyone else’s familial racial and religious affiliations give him or them license to engage in vile behavior, neither does a good reputation excuse Lorelli’s behavior.

I do not know if Lorelli works for the Crist campaign (or is merely a rabid supporter), but, given his prior work at R412, can think of no other reasons that would cause him to risk his own reputation with such a lame defense of Crist and such a vile and unwarranted attack on a prominent conservative on a sister conservative website.

Erick, you were owed an apology from Lorelli. I failed to secure it. In fact, I failed, despite numerous attempts, to even get him to engage on the subject.

But I cannot let false charges of racism go unrebutted, whether they be against you or Rush Limbaugh. And especially since you have run such a tight ship at Redstate disallowing the mere appearance of racism, twice at my request insisting on the editing out of questionable material on the subject. For that sir, and many other reasons, you are one of my heroes in the conservative movement and as a Southern Christian gentleman.

God bless you in your work.

Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer and Minority Report columns

“One man with courage makes a majority.” - Andrew Jackson

This will also be published @ Redstate.com.