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Aug272012

Isaac politicized, but will specter of Faubus hang over DNC?

Monday, August 27, 2012 at 2:33PM

Illustration: J.K. for The US ReportWay back in time according to Internet standards, I did a ‘factoid’ article about the Republican and Democrat conventions.

As the Republican National Convention gets underway and just ahead of the Democrats’ gathering in Charlotte, media have missed a very big date in Democrat Party history.

Media also missed a weather resource I’ve used for everything from our older daughter’s wedding date to various other planning.

In May, I pointed out that The Old Farmer’s Almanac forecasts for both conventions suggested hurricanes wouldn’t be a problem.

Isaac ended up not being a threat to Florida.

Now media have shifted their coverage to potential impacts of Isaac on New Orleans and other cities, drawing the predictable parallel to President George W. Bush and Katrina. Big media never held any Dem officials accountable for their inexcusable lapses during Katrina, but that’s not the point of this essay.

Aside from the regurgitation of Katrina coverage bias, there is a small concern about the Democrats’ Charlotte gala.

While there’s no hurricane threat to Charlotte September 4-6, there is a threat to Florida, according to the almanac. That threat is forecast for Sept. 3-8. Would an interruption affecting Florida impact travelers heading to Charlotte?

As Isaac threatened, Democrats and some media couldn’t resist the God card and the Bush card.

Newsbusters noted Chuck Todd’s remarks—they amount to the Bush card:

White House correspondent Chuck Todd who said on Sunday's Nightly News, "When you think as this storm moves to and closer to Louisiana, the specter, the sort of shadow of Bush and Katrina does hang over this convention."

Todd, like most of his colleagues in old branded media, would be considered Dem-friendly. There’s a rundown at Wikipedia; it’s mostly well-sourced except for a suspect citation or two. Exactly how objective do you think Todd can possibly be when it comes to Republicans?

Prior to Todd’s politicization of a tropical storm, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm channeled God via Twitter. Breitbart News took that one on:

R convention delay due to Isaac: I guess God has ways to shut that whole thing down

Dems certainly chose a peculiar kickoff date for their meeting, because it was on September 4 that a truly shameful moment, one of many, occurred in their party history.

On September 4, 1957, Gov. Orval Faubus called out the Arkansas National Guard after 9 black students attempted to integrate public schools in Little Rock. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops in to protect those students.

Faubus, the racist, was a Democrat.

Eisenhower was a Republican.

Almost every Internet account of this event in history omits the party each man belonged to.

The Eisenhower Memorial provides information most kids won't hear in a public school classroom:

Eisenhower achieved Congressional passage of the first civil rights legislation in the 82 years following Reconstruction. The Senate at first refused to pass the bill, which included both voting rights and a provision authorizing the Attorney General to protect all civil rights. Eventually, Congress approved the Civil Rights Act of 1957 without overall civil rights protection. This was a much weaker law than what Eisenhower had advocated. In 1960, Eisenhower was successful in getting Congress to pass additional voting rights legislation. These laws were the precedents for the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.

Democrats controlled both the U.S. House and Senate from 1955-1981 and beyond.

Taking a page from NBC’s Todd, I must paraphrase him to contemplate the DNC— whether “the specter, the sort of shadow of Bush Faubus and Katrina racism does hang over this convention."

At the U.S. Library of Congress, you can view a photo of Faubus the Democrat holding a sign. Maybe Dems could blow it up and put it on a billboard to welcome their delegates, guests and media. Faubus' sign said: