In a piece for Fox News on Tuesday, writer Dan Gainor suggested that MSNBC's name should be changed to MSRBC, "with the 'R' standing for race" because "the MSNBC network has reached a point where every issue is about race, no matter what host is ranting." A few excerpts:
The latest example of this comes from perennial race-baiting anchor Touré who on Nov. 26 attacked Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham as "old, white, establishment folks."
In Touré's black-and-white world, McCain is a "bitter" failed candidate who has no right to dare question potential Secretary of State candidate Susan Rice because she is a "much younger black woman." He also claimed McCain was on a "witchhunt" and "tarring" Rice, another unsubtle code word.
To give Mr. Accent Mark his due, here's that full quote about McCain in all its finery. "He also gave us the horrible optics of he and Lindsey Graham as old, white, establishment folks wrongly and repeatedly attacking a much younger black woman moments after an election in which blacks and women went strongly blue." Never one to ignore a chance to paint all Republicans as racist, he added one more dig: "Looks like the GOP is already laying the foundation for losing in 2016." …
Touré again played the race card saying back in September the election was all about America's view of the races …
For Touré, it was just another day fighting The Man, and forgetting that whether it was Martin Luther King Jr. or even Barack Obama, Americans have been told repeatedly we're trying to get past race. Just not on MSRBC.
Zinger! Except, not really.
First of all, the writer managed to distract from his point by misspelling Touré (as "Tour") throughout the piece (it's since been corrected), all while accusing him of dropping his last name "to gain street cred." (Huh? Why would a writer and television commentator need street cred? Where did that come from? Is it because Touré is … wait, we won't say it for fear of being accused of "playing the race card.")
Second, the whole thing seemed more than a little backward because at this point, doesn't just about everyone agree that a refusal to pay attention to race — the very opposite of what Gainor complains about — is part of what has Republicans in a tough spot today?
It's no wonder Fox types wish desperately that we could all just stop talking about it altogether. But for this writer and others who are still hoping we "get past race" by ignoring it, two pieces of advice: 1) Stick to the lone network that still shares that outdated view, rather than suggesting name changes for the others; and 2) Don't hold your breath.
Read more at Fox News.