Smeed's beef with Obama ideological, not racial in nature
By Maurice Clements
Updated 12 hours 36 minutes ago Aaron LaBarbera of Caidwell, in a “Letter to the Editor” on June 25, scolded Ralph Smeed for a recent message on Smeed’s famous Reader Board sign. The message went as follows: “You don’t like John McCain, eh? Well, just remember he’s the only thing standing between America and Barack Hussein Obama.”
Mr. LaBarbera, as typical of many liberals, assumed that Mr. Smeed opposes the election of Senator Obama as president of the United States because he is black. Indeed, a very racist assumption.
As most politically informed people in Idaho know, Mr. Smeed is a long-time icon of the conservative movement. What Mr. Smeed was trying to illustrate was, as liberal as Senator McCain appears to be, he pales in comparison to the liberal Senator Obama.
Senator Obama is credited with the dubious label as “The Most Liberal Senator in Wahington D.C.” Based on his voting record, you could accurately describe him as a “Socialist”.
Add to that concern his questionable association with the likes of Reverend Wright, his radical minister of 20 years, Mr. Rezko, the indicted fraud and influence peddler from Chicago, Bill Ayers, a convicted Weather Underground terrorist and bomber, and last but not least, Louis Farrakhan, head of the Nation of Islam and an admitted racist.
Mr. Smeed’s concern that Sen. Obama may become president is based on ideology, not that he is black. In addition, he has grave doubts about Sen. Obama’s judgment based on the company he keeps in his rise to political prominence, as illustrated by the persons cited above.
Mr. Smeed could care less if Sen. Obama is black. Sen. Obama’s opposition to the capitalistic system of limited government, property rights and individual freedom is what worries Mr. Smeed.
In point of fact, Mr. Smeed has many black friends, not because they are black but because they share many if not most of Mr. Smeed’s principles and ideology. To name a few, and not in order of their importance, they are Deneen Borelli, Thomas Sowell, Greg Brown, Shelby Steele, Paul Venable, Walter Williams and Florence Erickson.
Mr. LaBarbera tries to sully Mr. Smeed’s sign, his reputation and his good name by the baseless accusation of racism. I had hoped for better from the far left.
* Maurice Clements is a former legislator, retired farmer and active Realtor.
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