Fox News Minority Outreach of the Month Moment

Fox News' website ran this piece from a local Fox affiliate on racist covenants being found in deeds on houses in Sacramento. The documents written years ago, Fox did not say when, by the original homeowners specify what racial groups should be restricted from purchasing their house in the future. It struck me as fairly advanced for Fox. 

A recent episode of the Simpsons opens before a meeting of television network execs. The Fox News honchos are being shuttled in on a helicopter emblazoned with the words "Fox News: Not Racist, But #1 With Racists." That's not me talking. That's just an animated sitcom that's been on the air for 20 seasons. I don't want to spoon feed here, but it gets to the root of about 85 percent of what I write about here. The Americans who identify themselves as conservative are overwhelmingly white and that is fine. I think white people are awesome. It is just that time and time again people who identify as conservatives get into trouble sharing anti-social emails. Who thought that anyone could get their hands on an email you sent to 20 of your friends, right?

I am not putting any undo pressure on the Republican party. They themselves claim that they still have work to do on getting their message out to the minority community. I think at this point it would be much easier if they got the word out to their own community. I'm not sure at this point that anyone including Michael Steele has been successful at getting the Right on the same page. Current RNC chairman Reince Priebus would score a coup if he sent the following "Update From the Chairman" in the Republican newsletter:

Hey everybody! The smell of victory is locked up in a safe, but don't worry I know the combination and it's  two-oh-one-two! Let's make this 2012 the best ever. We can do that if we think before we send emails that would be construed as offensive. Let's also think before we speak. And please, don't chuckle if someone at your town meeting or potluck makes a joke about killing or hunting the president. Remind them that you at least respect the Office. ALWAYS ASSUME THE MIC IS ON! Whatever you do, don't call anyone a macaca. I'm talking to you George :P

It isn't up there with Lincoln freeing the slaves and it probably wouldn't work, but imagine the credit Priebus would get for addressing it. 

So that is why It took me by surprise that Fox was running what seemed like a good effort at being concerned. It reminded me of when it was discovered that William Rehnquist who had been nominated as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court owned a home on Caspian Lake in Vermont that had a "don't sell to darkies" clause in its deed. Rehnquist was forced to tell Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden, Chairman Strom Thurmond and the rest of the Senate Judiciary Committee that he found those terms in his deed "obnoxious." It would not have been an issue if Rehnquist had not already had to defend himself in those same hearings against allegations of harassing and intimidating black voters in the 60s. 

It only goes to the point that these deed clauses are everywhere. But kudos to Fox for caring.

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