Don't Believe It

In case there was any confusion (thanks Kos, Atrios and Drum) about an earlier post, the Public Policy Institute of California presented a very pessimistic view of the state's voters. The first line of my posting was nothing more than a play off the cliché: Good news for people who love bad news. This report is bad news about California. Enough said.

Read the whole posting and read the report.

Comments

[Doug Nelson]

It's sad that this thing got all the way to the front of those blogs; your intent/language was pretty clear. Just sayin': Sorry you got called a racist. Unfair.

[John Wyatt]

I guess there should be no confusion about the racially tinged content in the rest of the column?

"Yay! The white minority will still be in power and subvert the interests of the dark skinned minority! Sehr Gut!"

[Pacific John]

Oy vey. Keep up the good work, Robert. The good news is, not one comment in Kos' thread supports his remark. I'd think that every major CA political blogger would be familiar with your solid record. Shrug.

[mattfwood]

I think it's very clear what you meant. I am not one to take charges of coded, subtle, or subconscious racism lightly, but what you said clearly was not racist or anything close to it.

[db]

Thanks for clearing that up!

Don't blame the bloggers. Your writing was at best ambiguous. And in an age when a senator freely and repeatedly calls an Indian American 'Macaca' in front of a video camer on the campaign trail, well, anything seems possible.

[magmasious]

Someon'e's got Karl Rove on speedial and it ain't the angry leftist bloggers.

[Wayne Miller]

Bad news - your comment was ambiguous enough that people reading your comment who didn't follow your work would probably divide 50-50 on what it meant.
Good news - Pretty much everyone familiar with your daily writing thought your intent was clear and benign.

[-asx-]

Ah, thank you for clarifying. I read your remarks and was convinced it was racist. But your explanation makes total sense. Don't blame anyone for being confused. It was a confusing sentence.

[opendna]

Rejoice!

Markos' diss means your post is getting read, and your (coded) message that Democrats need to get minorities to the polls is being heard. You're being discovered by people who hadn't heard of you and being added to their bookmarks.

I doubt it was intentional, but calling you a racist was probably a more effective way of driving traffic your way than saying something positive.

Congratulations. You've just become a minor darling of kossacks who noticed.