August 31, 2003

Tacitus has been on the MECHA - Bustamante watch since the story broke two weeks ago. What does Bustamante think of MECHa and it's racist philosophy? Well, for more than a week we never got a straight answer to the question -- and Tacitus has all of these non-answers posted on his blog. And then, finally, this:

On Fox News on Saturday, Bustamante was asked whether he renounced a slogan of the group: "For the race everything. For those outside the race, nothing." He responded that he loved his culture and would represent the entire state if he became governor. "My politics ... have grown to a point where I'm a very inclusive individual, and all you have to do is look at the politics I've shared and the kind of politics that I've had," Bustamante said. When pressed a fourth time for a more direct answer, Bustamante said, "Racial separatism is wrong... You have to look at what people do, not just what they say, and I think I've demonstrated my ability."

Tacitus comments:

It shouldn't take multiple tries over eight days to drag a straightforward denunciation of MEChA's more reprehensible beliefs from someone. Unless that someone is a Democratic candidate, I guess. This story is over as far as I'm concerned. When I raised the MEChA issue exactly two weeks ago, I said that Cruz Bustamante needed to face the resultant questions "squarely and publicly." It was a logical request and a simple test.

He failed it.

Posted by Greg Ransom