Racist remark gives Biden a black eye

A joke making the rounds shows a Wheel of Fortune puzzle missing one letter. It reads: “JOE BIDEN IS A RA_IST.” Underneath, two choices: “C” and “P.”

Yes, it’s funny. And for those offended, get over yourselves. One of America’s biggest problems is our inability to openly laugh at jokes, since doing so often leads to cries of racism, bigotry, and sexism from a small but vocal minority.

Fact is, what makes most jokes funny is that they are rooted in a level of truth.

To Joe Biden’s despair, that is undeniably the case.

First, we have the allegations from former Biden staffer Tara Reade that the then-senator sexually assaulted her. Even though many questions remain unanswered, Mr. Biden deserves the presumption of innocence, as this column recently explained.

But what isn’t in dispute is the overtly racist remark Mr. Biden uttered last week. In responding to a black radio host, the Democratic frontrunner exclaimed, “…if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.” What’s next? “If you’re legal, you ain’t Hispanic?” Don’t laugh -- you never know what Joe Biden might say.

What isn’t a joke is how racist, arrogant, condescending, obnoxious, tone-deaf and patronizing Mr. Biden’s statement is. About the only thing worse was his non-apology apology: “I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy…perhaps I was much too cavalier.” Perhaps? That’s the best he could muster? “Perhaps?”

This author will not label Joe Biden a racist, since no person should have to carry that moniker because of a single off-the-cuff remark. Was it stupid and woefully misguided? Yes. But barring Mr. Biden espousing similar sentiments, he should be given the benefit of the doubt that he isn’t a bigot.

Mr. Biden’s statement, however, should give pause to every voter about the candidate’s judgement. Time and again, we see Mr. Biden playing both sides, trying to be all things to all people. From running away from his (relatively) moderate voting record, to attempting to score cheap political points as the ultimate opportunist, Joe Biden is acting like a puppet whose strings are controlled by the radical left. In doing so, he is showing himself to be devoid of principles, a candidate who jettisons his core values so as not to offend his audience du jour. That’s the antithesis of leadership.

Have the Dems taken black votes for granted? Absolutely -- and that’s not up for debate. Ditto for union members, immigrants, and other minority communities. Obviously, Mr. Biden will still win a large majority of the black vote. But what concerns the party is that if President Trump siphons off a few more percentage points from that constituency, it could prove decisive in who wins a state’s electoral votes. The last election was razor thin, and 2020 may be no different. In other words, given that Mr. Trump’s total margin of victory in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin was a mere 70,000 votes, a 1 or 2 percent bump in the black vote could again propel the president to victory.

And why would Mr. Trump earn that extra bump? Because (prior to coronavirus), unemployment in the black (and Hispanic) communities was at a record low. Better jobs mean more economic stability, and, with the Trump tax cuts, blacks, like everyone else, keep more money in their pockets.

As far as the other problems plaguing the black community -- a failing education system, crime, drugs, poverty -- virtually every major city is, and has been, under total Democratic control for decades. So when the president appeals to black voters by asking, “What do you have to lose?” it’s a message that resonates.

Tried-and-true voting blocs are a thing of the past. Take the union Democrat who loves guns, hates high taxes, and thinks illegal immigration must be curtailed. His wife is proabortion and dislikes Obamacare, his son is gay, and his daughter marries a person of different race. It’s a fool’s errand predicting how he, and they, will vote.

Just as Jair Bolsonaro was elected Brazil’s president with substantial support from the gay community - despite being outrageously anti-gay - the lesson is that identity politics, in all forms, are getting blown out of the water. Traditional assumptions no longer apply, and those adhering to them will reap the consequences.

In America, we don’t “tell” people for whom they should vote, particularly on the basis of race. In doing so, Mr. Biden gave himself, and his campaign, a black eye.