{"id":33891,"date":"2019-09-19T15:15:30","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T19:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/?p=33891"},"modified":"2019-09-19T15:15:30","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T19:15:30","slug":"liberal-influence-not-racism-at-heart-of-ed-buck-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2019\/09\/19\/liberal-influence-not-racism-at-heart-of-ed-buck-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberal Influence, Not Racism, at Heart of Ed Buck Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two men have died, and a third is currently recovering, from methamphetamine overdoses alleged to have been facilitated<\/a> <\/strong>by a wealthy, powerful and politically-connected man in Los Angeles named Ed Buck.<\/p>\n

The victims were black men — so is this crime about racism, as a person close to one of the victims is suggesting? \u00a0Project 21<\/a> <\/strong>Co-Chairman Horace Cooper<\/a> <\/strong>says it is likely Buck’s abuse of influence, rather than racism, that may be more to blame.<\/p>\n

In a segment on the Fox News Channel program \u201cThe Ingraham Angle,\u201d Horace challenged Jasmyne Carrick, a spokesman for the family of Gemmel Moore. Moore died of an overdose in Buck\u2019s house in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not gonna sit here and ignore the fact that the victims were black,\u201d said Carrick. In response, Horace pointed out that the victims were both black and gay. Buck is a prominent gay rights activist, and the charges<\/a> <\/strong>against him claim that he acted like a “violent, dangerous sexual predator” and had a fetish involving injecting people with large quantities of drugs.<\/p>\n

Noting the recent series of revelations about people of prominence using their influence to skirt the law, Horace said:<\/p>\n

We waited way too long for Jeffrey Epstein. Way too long for Harvey Weinstein\u2026<\/p>\n

It is not true to say that this issue turns on race. What this issue is turning on \u2013 what we need to watch \u2013 is: Are we allowing people right in our midst to use their wealth and influence to literally get away with murder?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Still disagreeing with Horace, Carrick flatly responded, \u201cthat\u2019s my truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

That may be her truth, but Horace explained that turning a blind eye to powerful predators is something that has hurt black people in this instance but can affect anyone without regard to their sex or race:<\/p>\n

In the bluest city in America [Los Angeles], they don\u2019t care about other black men who are exploited. If they don\u2019t care there, there isn\u2019t any hope anywhere.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the much more likely story: This man\u2019s influence allowed him to act with impunity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Buck has been a prominent donor<\/a> <\/strong>to liberal political candidates and causes \u2013 something that may have led to influential\u00a0people within his network\u00a0ignoring<\/a> <\/strong>the allegations against him. Horace suggested that a conservative facing such allegations would not have been treated in a similar manner.<\/p>\n