STAFF EDIT: Dean’s ‘racist’ remark

Clashes of politically correct ideals seem to be standard operating procedure these days, especially in Boston, but now the idea of potential racism has permeated the national consciousness once again this time in a remark made by Democratic presidential candidate and resident firebrand Howard Dean. Dean mentioned early on and reiterated over the weekend that he wanted to be the candidate who got votes from the ‘guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks.’ Several of Dean’s colleagues in the running, notably Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), have lambasted Dean, saying the remark is anywhere from racist and lowbrow to indicative of Dean being a ‘say-anything-to-get-elected candidate.’

Howard Dean, like so many other victims of political correctness who make one poorly phrased remark in the national spotlight, should have considered the connotations of what he was saying before he said it. However, calling the remark ‘racist’ is unfair and indicative of an overly politically correct bias that isolates potential conflict and blocks out context. In short, it’s an easy target for Kerry and Lieberman, who, both once thought to be front runners at different points in the race, have fallen behind Dean in popularity. Had Congressmen Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) or Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) said the remark, it would have been quickly dismissed and not taken seriously. But Dean is and continues to be one of the only Democratic candidates with any noticeable thrust, and rather than examine the context of the remark, people like Kerry and Lieberman have used it to try and stymie that popularity.

All this, of course, is no surprise: politicians go after one another on the smallest and most ambiguous details out of habit and strategy. But this minor conflict stands as yet another example of spinning non-offensive comments into controversy because an over-reliance on political correctness tends to overshadow context. Dean is not making a statement about people whom he believes are Southern racists, but rather attempting to appeal to a voting demographic that is typically close to impossible for Democrats to rely on for votes. The confederate flag is for some a symbol of racism and 100-year-old separatist hate. For others, however, it is not meant to be racist or connote its tangentially racist underpinnings, but it is simply a symbol of Southern pride.

Whether it is appropriate for the Confederate flag to fly above government buildings is one thing, but that is not Dean’s battle. He is trying to sell himself to a demographic that does exist, regardless of how its symbols are interpreted, and also one that votes it is a segment of the population, and an able political candidate tries to appeal to all segments, regardless of differences in ideology.

Dean should have explained his remark and phrased it in a more easily-swallowed manner, but then again Democrats who criticize him out of context should be focused on restoring thrust to their own, meandering campaign platforms.