All hell broke loose last week when U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings, both Democrats of Florida, accused the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and party chairman Howard Dean of racial discrimination. 

The media went wall to wall, even breaking into fishing and cooking shows, to report the outrage.  The Reverend Jesse Jackson amassed thousands of demonstrators to march from Tallahassee to South Beach.  The Reverend Al Sharpton, field testing his new video cam implant, appeared on all networks simultaneously.  Civil rights organizations issued enough press releases to deplete an old growth forest.  The House of Representatives passed 16 non-binding resolutions, and Representative Henry Waxman launched an investigation.

Actually, none of those things happened except the accusation, which was filed in federal court.  Senator Nelson and Representative Hastings are suing the Democratic National Committee over the Committee's pledge not to seat Florida delegates at the party's presidential nominating convention as a result of Florida moving its presidential primary to January 29, 2008, by act of the legislature.

Lest we be accused of biased reporting, here's how the Miami Herald reported the lawsuit:

"'For the DNC to say the fourth largest contingent of Democrats in the nation that their votes will not matter in next year's presidential primary is not only shocking and ironic, but we believe is illegal,' said Rep. Alcee Hastings...

"The suit, filed by Miami attorney Kendall Coffey, also argues that the move by the DNC violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by 'impairing minority voter participation.'  The suit suggests black voters would be disproportionately affected because most black voters in Florida are Democrats.

"'One would have thought we wouldn't need this type of discussion 42 years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act,' Hastings said.

"The suit also contends that the party is 'imposing the modern equivalent of a poll tax,' because the only access Florida votes will have to presidential contenders is at fundraisers - the result of a pledge that most of the candidates signed not to campaign in states that moved up their primary in violation of DNC rules."

Discriminating readers, meaning those who distinguish analytically, not those who do the kind of awful stuff of which the DNC is being accused, will immediately note multiple layers of irony in the lawsuit, including but not limited to the kind of inflammatory accusations that are normally leveled only against Republicans who seek to have voters identify themselves with proper identification or prevent felons from voting.

To those who believe that America's political and media establishments have lost all balance and perspective, particularly regarding race and class warfare, we must strongly counter by pointing out the considered reaction against racial discrimination by the National Association of Black Journalists, which on October 9 issued a scathing press release...urging that Don Imus not be returned to radio and television.