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Bond vs. Mfume

"Don't believe the well-scripted press conference where former president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Kweisi Mfume announced his resignation," Armstrong Williams writes in Human Events Online (www.humaneventsonline.com). "Mfume did not resign from the nation's oldest and most prestigious civil rights organization. He was kicked out, following a long-simmering feud with NAACP Chairman Julian Bond.

"The two began feuding after Mfume nominated National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice for his 2003 NAACP Image Award. Furious that Mfume was reaching out to the Bush administration, Bond responded by nominating 'Boondocks' cartoonist Aaron McGruder for his Image Award. McGruder had ridiculed Rice in his comic strip and later called her a 'murderer' for her role in the war in Iraq.

"The rift grew as Mfume continued to reach out to the Republican Party. Mfume realized that by reflexively voting Democrat in every election, the black voting populace has given away most of their political bartering power."

It was Mr. Bond who in 2003 "referred to the Republican Party as 'a crazed swarm of right-wing locusts' and called the GOP "the white people's party," Mr. Williams notes.

After last month's election, he adds: "Mfume suggested sending a letter to President Bush, mapping out ways that they could work together to help the community. Bond rejected the idea. Mfume sent the letter anyway. To Bond, this was unforgivable. A few weeks later, Bond had Mfume voted out. The message was clear: There is no room within the NAACP for intellectual diversity. Just loyal servitude to the Democratic Party."

Curious criticism

"For no apparent reason, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democrats' new leader, is denouncing Justice Clarence Thomas," James Taranto writes in his Best of the Web Today column at www.OpinionJournal.com.

Mr. Reid, in an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he might be able to support Justice Antonin Scalia as the next chief justice, but not Justice Thomas.