Why The Attempts To Make Obama Into A “Black Militant” Will Fail

[NYCGirl]

from Oliver Willis

http://www.oliverwillis.com/index.php/2008/03/13/why-the-attempts-to-make-obama-into-a-black-militant-will-fail/

The mainstream media, conservative media, and the Clinton bloggers are trying mightily to cast Sen. Obama as some sort of black radical. Today’s version of the attack is the video of the inflammatory rhetoric used by Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Obama’s former pastor. The problem is, this is not someone like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. Barack Obama is the poster-boy for black politics 2.0, not born in the fires of racial animosity and legalized oppression, but of the next phase of equality. Barack Obama is going to issue thundering denunciations - not of external forces on the black community, but about internal and external fissures affecting all of society. The attacks will fall flat, because they’re trying mightily to make a family man from Harvard Law look like a gun-toting 70s-era black nationalist.

Does not compute.


(emphasis mine)

[Seeker30]

1. Wishful thinking and still in denial

[NYCGirl]

2. Hillary can win the primaries? Wishful thinking and still in denial. NT

[Cooley Hurd]

6. And they called us Obama supporters a "cult..."

:eyes:

[UALRBSofL]

15. Cooley, I didn't call Obama's campaign a cult

But calling someone a cult is demeaning but don't worry about it. I call my mothers religion a cult because she's Pentecostal, they are not right, speak in tongues, and preach fire and brimstone, and, I'm going to hell for being gay unless they can cure me.

[Cooley Hurd]

16. You might not have personally, but the Obama "cult" meme has been...

...on these boards for weeks now.

[Cha]

37. They started that because their

psych ops 101 said..Obama's progress must Be Stopped!

"The Cult Meme was also used against Howard Dean. It’s the attempt by the Force of Inertia to stop progress. It’s Cynicism trying to validate itself by keeping things static."

[sniffa]

24. It's a shame she's prolonging their grief

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4848697

[dkf]

3. Obama was raised by his white mother and white grandparents.

This whole thing is ridiculous.

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Happy to Kick and Recommend this...

Thank you for posting this, NYCGirl!:hi:

[NYCGirl]

7. You're welcome! I'm reading Oliver Willis more and more. He's really got

a handle on this situation, and sees very clearly what the RW and Clinton camp agenda is.

http://www.oliverwillis.com/

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. The right-wing effort to link him will fail

That's shows how scared they are of him, though.

[Sadie5]

8. Better think again

Os preacher is surely a Black radical and by association he is too. Axelrod and O have schemed and played the race card from day one. It was horrible that Gerry ferraro or Bill Clinton dared to make a comment concerning O, yet the preacher is given a pass for his hateful politicking. The news gives him a pass too.

[NYCGirl]

10. Yes, Axelrod forced Bill and Ferraro to make race-tinged statements to belittle

Obama — trying to marginalize him as being where he is only because of his race. Must've taken some pretty strong arm-twisting to make them say that.

[catgirl]

13. The preacher didn't get a pass

He left the campaign and Obama rejected his comments. Obama
didn't wait, like Hillary did.

[roguevalley]

20. let me see. you have a black preacher spewing shit and he's

the end of the world. WHOA IS US! LOOK AT THE EVIL MAN SPEWING IDIOTIC BULLSHIT! Now, there are armies of white preachers spewing worse and somehow Obama is a bad man because his preacher is a dick. its all his fault. Where is the outrage over Hillary's millennarian theocratic butt buddies, the
Fellowship? Hypocracy is a mortal sin.

[bronxiteforever]

9. Members of the Harvard Law Review are a dangerous bunch

Harvard Law Review include Supreme Court Justices Edward Sanford, Felix Frankfurter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., as well as Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Charles Hamilton Houston,Senator Barack Obama, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris Cox, Harvard Law Dean Elena Kagan, Yale Law Dean Harold Koh, former Canadian ambassador Allan Gotlieb, former New York State Solicitor General Preeta D. Bansal, University of Texas President William C. Powers, and former Harvard University president Derek Bok.

Maybe Antonin Scalia and Chief Justice Roberts are secret Black Panthers?

[NYCGirl]

11. Wow!

Gun-toting extremists! All of them! And I'll bet that Chertoff had an afro (when he had hair).

[From The Left]

12. All the Hillbots Have to Play Now is the Race Card

They're vicious, shameful, hate-filled and divisive

[earthlover]

17. Will ANY AAs vote in November if Hillary is the nominee?

The turnout is usually low anyway, but I am wondering if ANYBODY is gonna show up in November is Hill gets the nom. I can certainly understand a lack of enthusiasm....

I am now thinking there is a cynical deliberate attempt to appeal to the "alabama voters" in PA. They are trying like Bejesus to paint Obama as the BLACK candidate. And attack his BLACK religion. ANd remind these voters that Obama is (gasp!)....BLACK! And BLACKS are taking the jobs WHITES are entitled to and are lucky enough to have all the advantages over WHITES.

This is not the Democratic Party I have known....Sounds more like a Skin Head Group

[NYCGirl]

19. Also, I'm worried about are the new voters and recent swing voters. NT

[earthlover]

34. It almost goes without saying that the new voters, young voters, recent swing voters

would largely be turned off if the results of the primaries were overturned by the convention.

What would be left would be the same coalition of voters basically that didn't elect Kerry minus lower turnout among AAs.

I think Hillary would bring more women to vote, and this may help offset some of this.

However, she would start with the numbers not really being there for her. Not to mention that she doesn't really have many strong campaign points against Mccain. She can't argue the war, she can't argue for experience, the racist vote she has been courting would likely prefer the reps.

She also has such high built in negatives she won't be able to shake.

She may wind up as VP, but I don't see us winning with her at the top. Never did think that, even less now.

[Swamp Rat]

14. It will fail because most of us are sick to death of racism.

[Texas Hill Country]

18. most dems are... independants and rural voters that would not otherwise vote are the problem.

[anonymous171]

21. Have him make thousands of appearances with his white mother.

Even faux can't ignore that.

[Eric J in MN]

26. She's dead, but Obama used her photograph in some of his TV ads. NT

NT

[anonymous171]

27. I just got owned.

I tend to support more on issues than personal information. But yeah, release tons of pictures of him with his mother.

[NYCGirl]

33. You mean like this one that he uses in an ad where he talks about her death

from ovarian cancer (and how she was more worried about paying the medical bills than getting well)?

[slinkerwink]

22. CNN: Black ministers to denounce Obama

[Quixote1818]

23. This article is right on the money! K and R. nt

[Eric J in MN]

25. Did these portrayals make sense?

Michael Dukakis - unpatriotic
Al Gore - lied about everything on the campaign trail
John Kerry - lied about his war record

[TexasLady]

28. Anyone noticed that Obama Supporters

are just a'fallin like flies?
Me neither. At least not here!

[rucky]

30. I was actually softer in my support before Wright. n/t

[rucky]

29. I don't think the objective here is to destroy Obama...

but cast just enough doubt, amongst just enough voters to tip the scales.

Trouble with this strategy - besides the ethics - is that it might have to be tried twice. Once in the primary, then if that doesn't work, again in the GE.

[TexasLady]

32. but like so many here have pointed out

the 'shock value' will have worn off come the GE, if he is nominated.

[GrandmaJones7]

31. I feel like a hypocrite talking to you and your racist friend

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend

It was the loveliest party that I've ever attended
If anything was broken I'm sure it could be mended
My head can't tolerate this bobbing and pretending
Listen to some bullet-head and the madness that he's saying

This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
You and your racist friend

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend

Out from the kitchen to the bedroom to the hallway
Your friend apologizes, he could see it my way
He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking
Can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend

Notes
Most alternate versions are very similar. The farthest removed is the "extended mix" Dial-a-Song version:

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend
This is where the party ends
I can't stand here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend

It was the loveliest party
That I've ever attended
If anything got broken
I'm sure it could be mended
But my head can't stand this bobbin' and pretendin'
Tolerate some bullethead and the bullshit that he's sayin'

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to your
Your racist friend
This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend

It was the loveliest party
That I've ever attended
If anything got broken
I'm sure it could be mended
My head can't stand this bobbin', sittin' and pretendin'
Tolerate some bullethead and the bullshit that he's sayin'

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to your
Your racist friend
This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to your
Your racist friend
This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend

This is where the party ends
This is where the party ends
This is


-They Might Be Giants

[krkaufman]

35. We shall see, Oliver. Far more seem willing to join the attack ...

... than I would have expected.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

36. Ah... takes me back to when Kerry's Silver Star was supposed to be a good thing...