Time for Political Correctness to Go

American Thinker has a piece on "Changing the Terms of the Debate" and in it they discuss a frequent complaint of mine - the effect of political correctness on our political debate:

Quite simply, the so-called progressives have been able to gradually push their agenda forward because they have controlled the terms of the debate. By "terms'" I mean both the rules and the language. The most potent weapon in their arsenal has been propaganda in the form of political correctness. They have wielded it with deadly accuracy for years, and it is even more potent now that we have a president who identifies himself as a racial minority. However, in reality, political correctness is less about race than it is about controlling public perception.


At the heart of political correctness is the idea that the left can promote any agenda, as long as they camouflage it with a name that is acceptable to a majority of the population. It is through this technique that the leftists are able to make even the most contemptible ideas seem noble. They mask their true intentions, and then set up camp behind what appear to be noble causes: health care for all, helping the poor, defending oppressed minorities, educating children, comforting the elderly, protecting the planet, etc. From there, they may safely assail their opponents without fear of reprisal.


But behind every well-named liberal cause, there lurks an insidious utopian agenda that requires the sacrifice of untold numbers of human lives upon the altar of progressivism. The agenda is hidden under so many layers of well-manicured false humanitarian imagery, that only the most discerning eyes may see behind the facade. Unfortunately, in today's culture, a majority of the public seems to find such in-depth discernment to be mundane and tiresome. We prefer spoon-sized tidbits of more palatable pop-culture pabulum. With the help of their Hollywood image machine, the spin doctors of the left have become masters of creating tantalizing little morsels of leftist propaganda, sugar-coated with seemingly harmless palliatives.

There's a lot more at the link.

As a nation, and the Republicans as a political party, we have grown reluctant to make our stand on political issues as they should be made out of fear of criticism or name-calling from the left. The word "racist" strikes fear into the hearts of many conservatives - even though they know it's not true. They're afraid to risk issues that might result in racial accusations because they haven't figured out that they have to fight back on the same terms. Make the left prove their racial accusations. Don't let them spout that stuff without it being challenged.

Andrew Breitbart has become a master at this, and the best example was the famous march by the Congressional Black Caucus through a Tea Party crowd on Capitol Hill the day before the Obamacare vote. Several black Democrats alleged that racist taunts were made and one even claimed to be spit upon. Numerous cameras recorded the scene from different angles, and although the media ran with the story, there is no proof whatsoever that the alleged incidents actually occurred. Breitbart called "BS" and challenged the Democrats to prove it, even putting $100,000 of his own money up as a contribution to the United Negro College Fund if anyone could produce evidence that the taunts and spitting actually occurred.

They got nothing.  Even Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.  who was recording the scene on his camera hasn't come forth with any evidence to support the claim.  The congressmen involved won't even answer questions from the media about it anymore. Political correctness got the story out there and neither the congressmen nor the mainstream media is interested in the truth.

It's time to quit letting the politically correct determine the rules of engagement.  We have to pick the ground upon which to fight.