In his July 18 column, Clarence Page argued that after “fail[ing] to convince us that President Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, a secret Kenayan and a secret pal of terrorists, his opponents now want us to believe he is a secret pal of the New Black Panther Party.” Referencing CNN commentator and Red State blogger Erick Erickson's comments that " Republicans across the nation should make King Samir Shabazz their 21st century Willie Horton," Page said “That's already happening, Erick.”

From his July 18 column:

Having failed to convince us that President Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, a secret Kenyan and a secret pal of terrorists, his opponents now want us to believe he is a secret pal of the New Black Panther Party.

Who? In case you're wondering, the New Black Panthers have no connection to the original Black Panther Party of the 1960s. Led by lawyer-activist Malik Zulu Shabazz, the New Black Panther Party has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League for promoting black supremacist and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Although the party's membership could probably squeeze into a small SUV, it has received a huge amount of publicity from conservative blogs and talk shows. All the better to frighten you with, dear voter.

[...]

As Thernstrom wrote in her essay, there are so many other, more substantial criticisms to make of the Obama administration, “Why waste your breath on this one?” Why? Well, there's always politics.

“In 2010, Republicans across the nation should make King Samir Shabazz their 21st century Willie Horton,” conservative CNN commentator Erick Erickson wrote on his “Red State” Web site. That's already happening, Erick.

During the 1988 presidential race, Horton, a black murderer and rapist, was used to smear Democrat Michael Dukakis as being soft on crime. Now the New Black Panthers are being used to vilify a black president as being soft on black racism. Coming soon, I am sure, to campaign attack ads near you.