Prometheus 6

Black is the new gay

Martin Peretz
The New Republic

Dear Mr. Peretz,

I was very surprised when you implied on the Hugh Hewitt show that you do not want the Democrats to retake congress because you're "appalled by some of the people who would become head of Congressional committees." Who might those Democrats be, I wondered, who would be so loathsome, that they would cause the publisher of the New Republic to root for the Republicans in November?

Then yesterday, after I read your piece attacking Ned Lamont for integrating his campaign, the answer occurred to me. You were referring to the five brown Congresspeople (Rangel, Conyers, Millender-McDonald, Thompson, and Velázquez) who are in line to become committee chairs when the Democrats take the House. The thought of brown people with that much power scares the living hell out of you.

I don't blame you. Pigmentation is scary. Who knows what those brown Congresspeople will do if they get to be committee chairs. We might even be forced to take them seriously.