Stereotypes Confirmed

It's no secret that the staff of heavy breathers over at the City Pages spends an inordinate amount of time hatin' on conservatives. How thrilled they must have been when they sent a couple of smirking, cynical scribes over to the GOP party on election night to skulk around the fringes, and guess what, they found things to smirk and be cynical about. Excerpts from their live blogging-like time line:

8:35 p.m.: In the Navigators bar on the hotel's ground floor, a group of five revelers expounds on race relations. "There's a difference," explains one of them. "It depends on what kind of blacks you're talking about. There's the light-skinned blacks and the dark-skinned blacks. And they're different. But you can't just say that."

You know, I was at the GOP party and Navigators bar that night, talked to a lot of people, and I didn't hear anything like that discussion. It's like a miracle that people who view Republicans with such disdain would just happen stumble on rhetoric that justifies their prejudice. Then again, miracles are much more common when the standard of reporting is overheard conversations from anonymous bar flies.

8:47 p.m.: A twentysomething guy is wearing a black T-shirt that reads, "Liberalism is a mental disorder."

Minneapolis hot house lilies, meet The Savage Nation.

8:55 p.m.: Enthusiastic applause greets the announcement that purported closet-case Charlie Crist has won the Florida governor's race.

Ha, those hypocrites! Take note Republicans, if you want the approval of the City Pages, you need to jeer all purported closet cases.

12:44 a.m. A GOP partisan, frustrated by slow late-night returns from St. Louis County, says to no one in particular: "What are they? A bunch of Iron Range hicks?"

Was this anonymous partisan the same as the anonymous guy from the bar? If so, this is an equal opportunity bigot. Come on, let's hear it for equality!

2:37 a.m.: A young Republican counsels an elder comrade on protocol for hooking up on election night. "Give it up, dude," he tells him, sipping from a can of Coors beer. "She's a college Republican. I'm a college Republican. You're like 50."

OK, that happened. But my calling Chad "50" was in jest, exaggeration to make a point. He only looked like he was 50 due to the mandated Patriot uniform for the night.

To provide balance, we're looking for volunteers to skulk around the City Pages staff Xmas party this year and we'll report what you thought you might have overheard in passing. In the name of journalistic integrity and blending in, violations of any substance abuse statutes and/or the Mann Act will be overlooked.

UPDATE--The Elder Adds: First off, I'm only forty-nine. Secondly, this sort of drive-by slander posing as journalism is despicable. Funny how the City Pages staffers just happened to overhear a racist conversation at a bar at a hotel where the GOP victory party was taking place. And funny how the quote they happened to catch was a just oh so perfect example of what the writers and CP readers really believe about Republicans. Best of all, there is no way that anyone can ever check it. It's the perfect crime.