This Wright issue is entirely about race.

Drunken Irishman

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Wed Mar-19-08 05:34 PM
Original message

This Wright issue is entirely about race.

Edited on Wed Mar-19-08 06:18 PM by Drunken Irishman

Anyone who says otherwise has their head in the sand.

This issue is all about race and you only have to look toward the hypocrisy of the media and Republicans to solidify this belief. Which, especially in today's world, really should be unsettling to every Democrat, whether they support Obama or not.

What we have seen the past week is the media trying to undermine Obama by using the words of his pastor, while white, Republicans get a pass on what the religious zealots on their side say. I know some will refute this argument by saying Obama has been in a close relationship with his pastor for 20 years and his actions and words have shaped Obama as a person. However, it does not matter if it's 20 years or just merely 2, hate rhetoric is hate rhetoric no matter whose mouth it comes out of. And if they are so inclined to believe Obama is any less of a leader because of the words of his pastor, then it seems only logical they too share these views when it comes to their religious leaders. But they do not. Apparently, it is ok for Pat Robertson to blame 9/11 on the gays and lesbians, feminists, abortionists and the ACLU, by stating America deserved the terrorist attacks, yet it is not ok for Rev. Wright to denounce America's foreign policy by saying it was responsible for laying the foundation of anti-American extremism. A point shared by none other than Ron Paul.

It is ok for Pat Robertson to pray for the death of a Supreme Court judge, or wish the destruction of a small Pennsylvania town, but it's not ok for Rev. Wright to question the government's actions toward the black community. It's ok for Pat Robertson to stand side-by-side with Rudy Giuliani, endorsing his campaign for presidency, yet Rev. Wright's association with Obama is automatically toxic and one that he needs to not only reject and denounce, but a relationship and an association he must sever all ties with. Even though no Republican and no member of the media demanded Giuliani reject and renounce the views of Pat Robertson, which often called on hurting American citizens in response to actions he did not support. Nor did they question why Giuliani was receiving the endorsement of such a man and they definitely didn't ask him to cut off all ties with Robertson. In fact, the media actually played up the endorsement as a plus because it provided Giuliani the necessary bridge between many social conservatives who were not supporting him because of his views on homosexuality and abortion.

Then there is Senator John McCain. In 2000, during his first presidential run, he spoke on the extremes of both the left and the right, by clumping Louis Farrakhan and Al Sharpton with the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. This was a risky move in 2000, as it alienated the growing social conservatives and in fact very much ended his campaign. A few years later, McCain is laying the foundation for another run and he sees the necessity of having a connection with those evangelical fundamentalists like Jerry Falwell. So he does a complete 180 and goes from renouncing their divisive rhetoric to not only speaking at Falwell's private university, but praising the Reverend and his actions. Even though Jerry Falwell used his pulpit and his standing in the religious community to preach hate among Americans that did not align with his views of Christianity. The media mentioned it, but rarely expressed concern and hardly asked him to renounce the words of Falwell. Yet if he is praising, undoubtedly that means he must accept those beliefs, or so we're told with this whole Obama/Wright issue.

But it does not end there for McCain. A couple of years after embracing Falwell, he accepts spiritual advice from the anti-gay Rod Parsley. This is the same man who once said we should wage a holocaust on Islam. More hate speak that McCain only lightly had to distance himself from, but never a forceful condemnation and it never got to the point where it was said to derail his campaign. Parsley, though, looks moderate when compared to John Hagee, who endorsed McCain not too long ago. Hagee has called Catholicism the Great Whore, admitted he has more allegiance to Israel than he does the United States, but the only denunciation of his remarks came from the Catholic League. No other major organization demanded McCain not only renounce and reject those views, but cut off all contact and support from Hagee. And even though McCain said he did not agree with some of his comments, he never was asked to reject the endorsement. He was never put in the position to defend those comments and he definitely -- in many people's eyes -- was not guilty by solely associating with the man.

So this what we have. We have Sen. McCain who has openly supported and commended anti-gay, anti-American, anti-Islam pastors and he is given a free pass on all of this. There is no talk of McCain having a pastor problem of his own. Or the fact that two men who are close to the McCain campaign have said just as hateful and divisive statements as Rev. Wright. Why? Because they are white and Rev. Wright and Obama are black. We have two preachers here damning America for its policies. One doing it based on its domestic policy of apparently being pro-gay, pro-choice, pro-feminism and pro-ACLU, while the other damning America for its foreign policy and the impact it has had on causing more terrorism. The former is often lauded and never really a political liability, the latter has not only been called anti-American, but some have even stated he might be treasonous. The double standard is clear and only shows how much racism is still apart of our society today. If Obama had been white and his pastor had been white as well, no one would be making this an issue. Just as they have not made McCain's religious influences an issue, or Giuliani's or even Huckabee's.

This is an issue about race and it is pretty obvious with the coverage we have seen of his sermons. It's unfortunate that in the 21st Century we still have these racial biases. But it's true and this is what Obama will be fighting not only when he wins the nomination, but when he wins the presidential election. Every aspect of his personal life will be analyzed and scrutinized because he happens to be black. There is little room for error here, because everything Obama has done in his entire life and continues to do now will be defined by the fact he is a black man. This is why Obama's speech yesterday was so important because he now knows race is an issue and it can't be ignored. The fact Rev. Wright's comments, however controversial they may be, are used to characterize Obama as whole, while McCain gets a free pass on his radical religious associations, proves this.