When you have Princeton professor of distinction like Eddie Glaude Jr., the head of African Studies, the theme for a column easily comes into focus, and that is of 'through lines.' Mr. Glaude explained that the through line of the hour of this week's "Meet The Press" was the anxiety of the loss of whiteness" in the country. From immigration to the surge in domestic terror threats to voting rights to attacks on Asian Americans, white grievance seems to be fueling this domestic unrest and it's not a stretch to make that conclusion. Interestingly, The Nevada Independent's Jon Rolston (dean of Nevada political reporting) said that his through line was that 'words matter,' a more tempered response to accommodate white viewers.
While Mr. Glaude's explanation may be uncomfortable for some to hear, it's necessary because just as Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan explained, if there is a particular community of people saying that they feel under assault or intimidation then you should stop and listen to them.
This brings us to the last topic first, the shooting in the Atlanta area that left 8 people dead, six of whom were of Asian descent. The reports, including from the shooter's roommate, say that this 21-year old man had a sex addiction and because of his strict religious upbringing, his guilt was so overwhelming that he went on a murderous spree to eliminate people that temped him. There are so many things in just that sentence that speak of societal ills that it's too much for even a series of columns, however, some have opined in the news media that this was not racially motivated, necessarily.
Consider perhaps why this young man went to Asian spas... Because he fetishized Asian women and saw them as a means to his personal ends, not as people essentially dehumanizing them. When taking that into account, race certainly plays a role in these killings.
Then there's the elephant in the room of this tragedy, which Senator Rafael Warnock (D-GA) summed up best, that an individual can buy a gun and hours later use it to kill eight people but citizens cannot register and vote on the same day. There's definitely something wrong.
The Senator from Georgia makes a powerful case that there should be a cut-out in the filibuster rule for voting rights because of its fundamental nature to our democracy. It shouldn't even be a partisan issue but it is because of a Republican party that has embraced white grievance politics, embedded deep by the previous president. Voting rights restrictions are being put in place because the Republican party writ large is running out of ideas and isn't bringing more voters to its side so they're going back to trying to disenfranchising minority voters, especially in Georgia. African-Americans have seen their voting rights under attack since the country's inception. We should listen to Senator Warnock.
As for retiring Senator Roy Blount (R-MO), he comes from a tradition that no longer exists and votes like reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act, once a no-brainer for a 'yes' vote, is now a cloture vote. He wants to make that 'yes' because he knows it's coming and but he's also smart enough to know that his unblemished election streak (that he indeed referenced) would come to and end for that vote, among others. Nor does he want to have a primary challenger.
When asked by Chuck Todd if he agreed more with Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) or fmr. president George W. Bush on whether the attack on the Capitol was by 'people who love their county' or by 'hostile forces' as the fmr. president described it, Mr. Blount agreed with the former president. His other conundrum is on immigration in which he also agreed with President Bush that it has been over-politicized and a complicated issue.
Ms. Noonan explained that Congress has found a way every time immigration reform comes up in the last 20 years - more actually - it has found a way to screw it up and hence nothing gets done. And contrary to pundits' discussions about the rhetoric and the messaging from the Biden Administration, the surge at the border was coming from the day the former president wasn't reelected.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas explained that the previous administration dismantled many of the policies concerning the border and immigration as a whole. We're willing to give the new administration a little time, but not much. More time is needed because unlike other issues, there is a distinct human factor of course with immigration. The secretary explained that the border is closed and they are expelling single adults and have FEMA working on the crisis of unaccompanied children. What gets no more time is essentially this media blackout. As NBC's Julia Ainsley accurately assessed, this isn't the issue the Administration wants to talk about, but it's the one they're confronted with.
So if there's a through line for us during today's "Meet The Press" it would be that we have to stop dehumanizing people and give more embrace to the ideal of the melting pot. Idealistic, but that's what you get on the second day of spring.
Panel: Julia Ainsley, NBC News; Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal; Eddie Glaude, Jr., Princeton University; Jon Ralston, The Nevada Independent
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