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Dear reader:

It is against the rules of the House of Representatives to call the president of the United States a racist.

Or rather, it鈥檚 a violation of a 鈥減recedential ruling of the chair,鈥� based on guidelines laid out by Thomas Jefferson,聽聽over time to read that 鈥減ersonal abuse, innuendo, or ridicule of the president is not permitted.鈥�

This led to a fracas on the floor of the House yesterday, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi put forward a resolution to condemn President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥渞acist鈥� tweets about a group of female Democratic lawmakers of color, in which the president told them to 鈥済o back鈥� to their own countries, despite the fact that all but one are native-born Americans.

Republicans objected that Speaker Pelosi was violating the 鈥渞ules of order and decency,鈥� as Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy put it, calling it 鈥渁 sad day for this House.鈥� Democrats responded that they had a 鈥渕oral obligation鈥� to condemn 鈥渉ate, racism, and bigotry.鈥� The Speaker鈥檚 remarks were ultimately taken down, but the resolution went on to pass, with every Democrat voting in favor and every Republican but four voting against.

To many on the left, the tendency often seen in the media and other institutions to shy away from direct charges of racism only allows racism to fester.

鈥淭here persists a wrongheaded and entrenched wisdom among politicians and elite journalists that to call something racist is to violate etiquette,鈥澛犅燚oreen St. Felix in The New Yorker. 鈥淭his logic rests on the illusion that racism is mythically rare, that 鈥榬acist鈥� is a dangerous slur rather than a common condition.鈥�

During Mr. Trump鈥檚 presidency, the needle has moved notably on this front, as many mainstream news organizations like the Associated Press this week聽聽rather than simply noting that his opponents viewed them that way.

To many on the right, however, race is another area where the left has gone completely overboard. 鈥淚鈥檓 a racist. You鈥檙e a racist. Donald Trump鈥檚 a racist. Nancy Pelosi was a racist until she attacked Trump for racism,鈥澛犅燭rump supporter Roger L. Simon in PJ Media. Such condemnation, he adds, 鈥渙nly makes people hate each other. It creates racism rather than solves it.鈥�

One thing both sides agreed on yesterday: The partisan back-and-forth effectively overshadowed all other congressional business. 鈥淭his whole day, we haven鈥檛 gotten anything [done] for the American public,鈥� Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.,聽. 鈥淎nd at the center of this is just one man. All this is based on one man鈥檚 words.鈥�

Let us know what you're thinking at csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.