Political correctness has no place in the GOP

OPINION:

April, 2007

This session, it seems every time Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Fort Worth) or Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) approaches the front microphone to play the race card, half the GOP caucus scurries for cover and hides in the corner of the House chamber or the member's lounge, fearful of being deemed "divisive" or "insensitive."

So far this session, representing Republican values has seemed to take a back seat to avoiding the race card. Let's take a look at a couple of examples.

On March 21, Rep. Sid Miller (R-Stephenville) brought forward HB 459, a bill designed to protect historic monuments at Texas university campuses from being removed or renamed by university administrators.

Lo and behold, some of the Democrats figured out that some of the monuments being protected honor officers of the Confederate States of America.

These particular Democrats want to rewrite history and ban even-handed treatment of the Civil War from schools.

Liberal University of Texas administrators agree with this agenda and have launched a crusade to move the Confederate statues that have stood for decades on the University of Texas's Austin campus. Miller's bill would put the brakes on this crusade. Therefore out came the race card.

At first, the GOP did the right thing. GOP representatives went to the back microphone to defend Miller. When Veasey tried to exempt monuments to slave owners from Miller's bill, one GOP lawmaker reminded Veasey that Thomas Jefferson and George Washington owned slaves. The Republicans voted down all the goofy amendments.

Then, Rep. David Swinford (R-Dumas), chairman of the committee that heard the bill, went to the front microphone and apologized for bringing such a "divisive" bill to the House floor, and Miller pulled the bill down.

Apologize? What on earth for? Swinford and Miller brought an excellent bill to the House floor - one that most Texans would support. These lawmakers should step up to the front microphone to accept congratulations from grateful colleagues for having the courage to take on this issue, not apologize.

The incident over HB 459 was bad, but it pales in comparison to what happened April 12 on Rep. Dianne White Delisi's (R-Temple) HB 855.

Prosecutors brought Delisi a very simple bill that is supported by the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT). Under current law, police officers have the right to stop a suspect if they have reasonable suspicion to do so, but they cannot make an arrest or search unless they have probable cause. If they stop a suspect under reasonable suspicion and that person lies about his identity, a crime has been committed. But suspects can legally refuse to identify themselves.

All HB 855 does is require suspects to tell police officers their name, address, and date of birth.

But one wouldn't know that from the floor debate.

Some Democrats acted as if Bull Connor had been reincarnated and was directing police officers to round up every minority group member they could find.

"Racial profiling" was the cry from the microphone.

How did Republicans react?

Did they go to the back microphone and laugh at some of the conspiratorial antics of the far left? Nope.

Did they even bother to defend law enforcement and point out that all the bill does is require folks to tell the police who they are? Not one Republican House member went up to the microphone to defend Delisi's bill. Which the House went on to defeat by a whopping margin of 23-116, even though the House passed the bill on second reading the day before by a wide margin.

So much for GOP pretentions to being the party of law and order.

In case anyone is in doubt, people who vote Republican don't want racial quotas, multiculturalism, political correctness, excuses made for criminals, illegal immigration, sensitivity, or the race card.

Yes, real racial discrimination is wrong, and in the isolated incidents where it occurs, there are plenty of laws on the books that ought to be enforced. Yes, people should be polite and considerate.

But the Democrats playing the race card from the front microphone want far more than just equal treatment.

They want to rewrite history based on their own ideology. They want to use white guilt over events in the distant past to increase the power of government and reduce the freedom of individuals.

Republican voters want something done about illegal immigration and want better ballot security for elections.

But many of the lawmakers who filed good bills to address these issues have been labeled "divisive" by leadership, and some of the immigration bills are languishing in the process.

In the next few weeks, leadership will have to decide what is more important: political correctness or letting lawmakers represent their constituents.

If Republicans want to turn around recent electoral problems - caused largely by a demoralized base - they need to contrast themselves with the Democrats and show that the GOP is the party that truly reflects Texan values.

In other words, they need to have the courage to stand up for what is right when a handful of liberal Democrats get up to the front microphone and play the race card.

Will Lutz is the managing editor of The Lone Star Report.

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