Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) likened Republicans who objected to Obamacare to congressmen (Democrats, incidentally) who, 150 years ago, fought to delay anti-slavery laws.

Congressman John Lewis (D, GA) manufactured charges of racist slurs aimed at him as he approached the capital building on the passage of Obamacare.

Ex-President Jimmy Carter (D) announced that “an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African-American.”

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D, FL) blames black unemployment on racism.

On the other hand, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D, CA) doesn’t think President Obama is black enough; she’s called him out for not doing enough to target jobs efforts at blacks in particular, instead of pushing them for all Americans.

Attorney General Eric Holder cries out that photo ID requirements for voter registration are racist: they’ll inhibit minorities from voting because they don’t already have the “correct” ID.  Apparently Holder thinks minorities are too stupid to figure out how to get an ID, and how to do so sooner than the day of an election—including one that’s still 10 months off.  Holder’s performance is just the racism of low expectations.

It seems that a failed government is hiding behind racism to try to distract us from its failures and to prevent any criticism of it for its failures.  As Charles Krauthammer has pointed out, though,

…it’s…a cowardly use of the race card and it’s unbecoming. It also is dangerous in a country where it can stoke that kind of racial animosity.

Here is another case where our government is missing a great opportunity to shut up.