A professor emeritus from Bucknell University penned a pre-Christmas op-ed in which he wonders if Donald Trump’s election defeat is the “last hurrah of racism in high public office.”
Robert Beard, a who taught modern languages and linguistics for 35 years (but has been out of academia since 2000), apparently likes to emulate Noam Chomsky and opine on all things political.
The problem is, he doesn’t do it nearly as eloquently.
In a PennLive.com piece, Beard resorts to MSNBC-like descriptions of the president’s supporters — anti-abortionists, gun fanatics, white supremacists — and worse, relies on oft-debunked progressive talking points like Trump “excusing” racists at Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. “[Trump] sided with the KKK and American Nazi Party against the protesters …” Beard claims.
The prof believes Trump is like Ronald Reagan, also a racist because he gave a speech in Mississippi 40 years ago in which he noted he was a proponent of states’ rights.
Further, the GOP used the 1964 Civil Rights Act (for which more Republicans than Democrats voted) to “blur the hidden meaning” of states’ rights so as to include opposition to abortion, universal healthcare and gun safety measures.
Then there’s “The Squad“-style talking points:
[Trump’s] presidency has been a mission to erase the legacy of our first Black president. He has criticized the Black Lives Matter movement from the get-go.
Of course, racism hasn’t been eradicated. Juries are still freeing murderers of Black people so long as their killers wear a uniform and carry a badge. Black people are still the last hired, paid less and are socially excluded. But Trump and the Republican Party’s effort to reinvigorate racism in public office was both flagrant and desperate.
I think the evidence adduced above allows us to conclude that this is the last time racism will raise its ugly head in a high public office. Trump is the most entertaining president in U.S. history. He is a stand-up comic for the wrong-headed reactionaries in his base. He attracted more racists to the polls than anyone since George Wallace for this one last hurrah.
For all his allegedly deep concerns about racism, however, Dr. Beard believes forced busing was a positive … because it led to blacks sounding smarter: “[Busing] worked just like liberals predicted it would: well educated African Americans speak just as intelligently as all other well educated Americans.”
Lastly, if you’re among those who believe challenging, and even overturning, presidential election results is some fringe, cultish element, Prof. Beard advocated this very thing four years ago:
4,545,820 Clinton supporters have signed a petition urging the Electoral College to ignore the state-by-state results of the election and instead cast their votes for Clinton, winner of the democratic vote.
The founding fathers of our nation foresaw Donald Trump and totally inexperienced people like him ascending to the presidency. They assumed rich, well-educated landowners would be selected for the electoral college and the would correct just such a popular error.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” the prof said. Oh.
MORE: Prof: Trump, GOP peddled racism for mid-term election successes
MORE: Students accused of racism at basketball game due to chants of ‘Trump!’
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