George Will on "Liberal McCarthyism"

Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters writes:

Leave it to George Will to perfectly explain in just two words all the recent accusations by Democrats and their media minions that anti-government sentiment sweeping the nation is caused by racism.

Liberal McCarthyism.

Delicious.

Fortunately for those not understanding the reference, Will explained further when the Roundtable discussion on Sunday’s “This Week” turned to all the recent pronouncements of racism directed at anyone having the nerve to challenge President Obama’s agenda [click over to Newsbusters for the video — Ed]:

What we’re hearing is the liberals’ McCarthyism, which is, when in doubt, blame people for racism. Litigators have an old argument: When the law’s on your side, argue the law. When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When neither’s on your side, pound the table. This amounts to pounding the table.

I have yet to see evidence, is there — does evidence even intrude in this conversation? Is there any evidence that these people are racists? I think not.

Will coined the phrase on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, whose titular host’s former employer wasn’t above a little Liberal McCarthyism of his own while in power, of course.

And it comes over a year after Kathy Shaidle described fellow Canadian author Howard Rotberg being attacked by a book chain’s PR firm(!) as “racist”, in an article for Pajamas HQ:

Rotberg believes that his suit is a much-needed challenge to the current neo-McCarthyesque climate, in which “racist” has replaced “commie” as the charge, judgment, and death sentence of choice. Like “commie,” the word “racist” is so overused that its meaning is becoming lost; look at one judge’s recent assertion that “devil’s food cake” is “racist.” And, like “commie,” the word has become a source of amusement. (The blockbuster, Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q features an upbeat song entitled “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”) With each passing day, Peter Brimelow’s definition — “A racist is a conservative winning an argument with a liberal” — seems more apt than ever.

And yet, the word still has the power to make even the powerful tremble. Witness the “first black president” himself, Bill Clinton, feeling obliged to insist to ABC News that he’s not a racist.

And since taking office, Americans have had a eight months of our “post-racial” president, his cabinet officials, and particularly his supporters, playing the race card at every opportunity, to the point where, as even the Associated Press recently noted, “‘Racist’ claims defuse once powerful word — With the word being used so often, it’s harder to define its meaning.”

Gosh, who knew?

Meanwhile, speaking of the aforementioned state-run media Sunday host, Roger L. Simon adds, “Stephanopoulos and ACORN: Obama Lies Again.” (Update: Let’s give Stephanopoulos a little credit for being the only host to actually raise the topic with the president during his Sunday blitz.)

Update: Michael Steele gives the left a taste of their own medicine.