Sam Rosenfeld at Tapped is pretending not to understand an argument because he doesn’t like an argument, or so it seems. He criticizes Fred Barnes (and takes a parting shot at Kathryn) for claiming that if Republicans treated a female black Democratic nominee the way they’ve treated Rice, there would be screams of racism coming from the Left. To which Rosenfeld responds, “This is rather lazy argumentation. Is Barnes saying that the Democrats’ attacks on Rice actually were racist? If not, what is he arguing?”

As Rosenfeld has complained about all this before (and I’ve criticized him for it) I suspect he does in fact understand what Barnes is arguing but is himself being lazy for rhetorical effect; “Why Barnes’ argument is so dumb I don’t even understand it.”

So just in case Rosenfeld is being sincere in his assertions of ignorance let me lay it out in plain english. The point is this: Democrats are astounding hypocrites. When liberal blacks are criticized, Democrats have no reluctance crying racism. When conservative blacks are criticized by liberals, it’s automatically a matter of substance. Indeed, liberals often see nothing wrong with making the patently racist “uncle Tom” argument which says that there is a natural “black” way of thinking and those who violate it are “race-traitors.” Now, I happen to agree that the criticisms of Rice were largely substantive, if at times very cheap, and had nothing to do with race. But liberals like the gang at Tapped are very soft on, and often complicit in, the charging of conservatives with racism whenever we criticize Democratic blacks.

Can Rosenfeld really, honestly not grasp how infuriating such charges are? Barnes argument may not have been on point, but it was certainly a legitimate point. This one-way rule truly rankles because it is so dishonest and cheap and, when Democrats go for the jugular and punch below-the-belt at conservative blacks it is almost impossible not to notice the double standard.

Is that clear enough?