Linda Chavez: “Last week, Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Bennie Thompson hurled a racial epithet at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on the radio, but his comments barely raised an eyebrow. Apparently a member of Congress calling Thomas an ‘Uncle Tom’ – and doing so on a program sponsored by the New Nation of Islam, no less – is acceptable. And Thompson didn’t leave it at that. When asked about his comments in an interview on CNN, Thompson doubled down, telling reporter Dana Bash that it’s OK for him to use the term because he’s black. Yet no one is suggesting that his colleagues reprimand Thompson for his clearly racist remarks. Directing racial slurs at blacks if they happen to be conservative has no consequences. No one gets ostracized. Apologies don’t follow. And those with exquisite racial sensibilities see no problem in calling Thomas an ‘Uncle Tom’ or depicting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a self-proclaimed ‘house n-gga,’ as cartoonist Ted Rall did in 2004. The selective outrage is troubling.”