James Taranto explores the reasons why liberals continue to accuse their adversaries of racism.

The short answer:

Baselessly accusing their political foes of racism is a way in which today's liberals attempt to incite fear and loathing of "the other." As we argued last year, this serves a political purpose in that it helps persuade blacks not to consider voting Republican. But it serves a psychological purpose as well. It reinforces white liberals' sense of their own superiority.

But read the whole thing.

This has been going on for years. The race card has been played so promiscuously and perniciously by race hustlers and guilty white liberals that it's almost become as bad as actually being racist. That's a good thing. Falsely accusing someone of rape, may not be as bad as someone being an actual rapist, but it's pretty close. It certainly is an evil and disgusting thing to do.

As former Journ-o-lister Spencer Ackerman suggested to his fellow liberals in what he thought was a secret memo on how to deal with Obama's critics:

... take one of them — Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares — and call them racists. Ask: why do they have such a deep-seated problem with a black politician who unites the country? What lurks behind those problems? This makes *them* sputter with rage, which in turn leads to overreaction and self-destruction.

Being called a racist in this country is about as bad a thing as you can be called. To use the charge as a weapon unconcerned about whether its actually true, is the height of poisonous irresponsibility. In short, it's a lowlife thing to do. And those who do it should be called to account for it.