Obama is Renewing the American Sense of Identity. Unbelievable to Watch

[thelakelander]

If those are racist tendencies, then everyone here should be labled racists.  Just goes to show, although progress has been made since MLK lost his life, this country still has a long way to go.

[thelakelander]

the funny thing is, we are not having any kind of discussion at all about McCain's views on race relations.  i do hope that the election (should Obama win the primary) will not become a massive question on whether Obama is racist or not.  if that is all the opposition has against him (i think there is much, much more - like his lack of true experience), it is still a sad state of affairs here in the US.

From an Independent's point of view, if this is all the GOP has to hang on Obama, he'll end up being the next President hands down.  Imo, the GOP would be better served debating the issues they stand for, painting Obama as being inexperienced and proving that McCain is the best to lead this country out of Bush's mess.  This isn't Jessie Jackson running for the Oval office.  Scare tactics probably won't work this time.

[Driven1]

If those are racist tendencies, then everyone here should be labled racists.  Just goes to show, although progress has been made since MLK lost his life, this country still has a long way to go.

A long way to go.  But the candidacy and success of Obama's campaign proves that we have come a long way.

Its too bad that partisanship keeps people from celebrating that progress instead of trying to take it down.

agreed.  i couldn't have said it better myself.

[vicupstate]

Can you point out a few examples of the subtle hints in his speeches and voting his record?

I thought some of those were covered earlier in this thread, but sure, I'll point out a few:

Quote from keynote address to Sojourners:

For one thing, I believed and still believe in the power of African-American religious tradition to spur social change. . . . the black church understands in an intimate way the biblical call to feed the hungry and cloth the naked and challenge the powers and principalities. . . .

Right, so what is he implying with the "white" church? Every "white" church I've ever been in has sponsored soup kitchens, shelters, domestic and international hunger/poverty missions, and community outreach such as Habitat for Humanity. As far as challenging powers and principalities...uh, last time I checked, that wasn't a Christian's main responsibility.

What was the context of this speech?  Was he speaking to an AME convention, or some other black religious group? Where/when  does he say that white churches did NOT do these things.  He DIDN'T, YOU did. You choose to imply was racial because you want it to be racial

What remains for the GOP is a campaign premised more on issues of national identity, aimed largely at that portion of our population for which ‘American’ is synonymous with ‘white’ and ‘Christian,’ than any national campaign has been since the American Party (also known as the Know Nothings) based its 1856 campaign chiefly on Protestant bigotry against Irish and German Catholic immigrants.

Hmmm...notice the subtle, racism hint, there?

The modern GOP, particularly in the South, has been built on racial politics. Immigration is just the latest example. Sorry, if the truth hurts. 

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them…And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.
And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Sorry to dispell Stephen's comment about this being an "urban legend" or "political lie", but Obama did say this. If you can't read between the lines here, I can't help you. As a matter of fact, he tried to explain himself, and his true beliefs still hover around:

There is not one word of the above that is not true. There are entire regions of states (Pee Dee SC for one)  that have been left out of the prosperity that the trade deals of the' 90's and 2000's brought to OTHER regions.  Pointing that out is not racial or elitist.  And pointing out that using 'red meat' emotional social issues to divert attention from that, isn't either. 
 

There are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana, in my home town in Illinois, who are bitter. They are angry… So I said, well ya know, when you’re bitter, you turn to what you can count on. So people, ya know they vote about guns or they take comfort from their faith, and their family, and their community, and they get mad about illegal immigrants who are coming over to this country, or they get frustrated about how things are changing. That’s a natural response.

ditto my above comments

His voting record is another matter of research that I cannot delve into right now. I've used up ALOT of work time doing this post. I'll be happy to post some aspects of his voting record a little later.

Actually, it would be refreshing  ( and unprecedented) if his RECORD was examined instead of twisting his words.   

[Driven1]

that is funny...when i was looking up "Populism" earlier on Wikipedia, it was broken down to how it is diplayed in various parts of the world.  in the U.S., the latest entry listed Jim Webb.  here it is...

Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) was elected in 2006 over incumbent George Allen. Webb held prominent offices in the Republican party during the 1980s, but became a Democrat in part because in his opinion, as he stated in a January 2007 NPR interview, the Democratic party seemed more aligned to his populist beliefs. This illustrates that populism can and does span the American political spectrum

Lenin I think it was once said "religion is the opium of the masses".

Populism.  the new drug of choice for Democrats.

[Driven1]

an Obama/Webb ticket that won would go down in history as a very, very bad populist-experiment in U.S. history that would be the equivalent of what the "Great Leap Forward" was in Maoist China.

[Driven1]

ps - i'm a hero member now.

[Jimmy]

Lenin I think it was once said "religion is the opium of the masses".

Populism.  the new drug of choice for Democrats.

I think you guys really need to get your message straight.  Is Obama a populist (this week) or is he an out-of-touch elitist (last week)?  Which is it?  It can't be both.

Populism defies political labels.  Just ask Jim King.

[Driven1]

to answer your question, Obama is a populist.  as Jim Webb said in the NPR interview, "the Democratic party seemed more aligned to his populist beliefs".  sounds like - at least from one VP hopeful - that the Dem party has the corner (at least in natl politics) on the populist market.

[Jimmy]

I reject your premise.  I would argue John McCain's populist credentials trump Obama's.  All that "maverick" nonsense bespeaks populism.

[Driven1]

There is a rumor circling around the web that there is a new video, which will be released at an appropriate time, of Obama's wife attacking "whitey":

I now have it from two three four sources (three who are close to senior Republicans) that there is video dynamite–Michelle Obama railing against “whitey” at Jeremiah Wright’s church. Republicans may have a lousy record when it comes to the economy and the management of the war in Iraq, but they are hell on wheels when it comes to opposition research. Someone took the chance and started reviewing the recordings from services at Jeremiah Wright’s United Church of Christ. Holy smoke!! I am told there is a clip that is being held for the fall to drop at the appropriate time. The last thing Barack and Michelle need is a new clip that raises further questions about her judgment and temperament.

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/05/16/will-barack-throw-mama-from-the-train/

Now, I believe this blogger is a Hillary supporter but, if true, this would throw the election into disarray.

i didn't see this before.  i would be quite disappointed in our dear leader's wife if this is true.  we will just have to wait and see.  my prediction though - for better or worse - is that if this IS true and hits the airwaves, Obama is toast.

[RiversideGator]

I agree that McCain is more of a populist than Obama.  Obama is more appealing to elite guilty liberals (i.e. professionals such as trial lawyers, actors or hedge fund traders), pothead radicals and the black block vote.  The Republicans meanwhile have slowly been transitioning into the party of Main Street and everyman.  And, with McCain as the leader of the party they will become more disconnected from the conservative movement.  It is basically a center-right party at present.  The worst thing is that Bush, who was a moderate, sullied the "conservative" brand with his big spending, immigration debacle and adding to entitlements.

[RiversideGator]

Here is an article about Jim Webb's comments earlier today.

IMO, Webb is probably on the shortest list for potential VPs.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/21/jim-webb-speaks-out-on-ra_n_102915.html

It's refreshing when someone makes the effort to advance the discussion of this year's election beyond debating a black/white divide. So when that someone is oft-mentioned potential Democratic running mate Jim Webb, it's worth taking note.

Webb appeared on Morning Joe today to speak about his newest book, A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America, and to dodge questions about whether he would accept a spot on Barack Obama's presidential ticket. But since the Kentucky primary had just provided pundits with fodder to discuss the ever-popular "Does Obama have a working whites problem?" Webb weighed in on the election results and his Scotch-Irish heritage.

Webb suggested that race is indeed a factor in Obama's poor performance among white voters along the east of the country, saying, "we shouldn't be surprised by the way their voting now." But he bristled at what he suggested is a simplistic interpretation of the issue. "When I hear people say this is racism, my back gets up a little bit, because that's my cultural group."

Webb sought to explain what motivates Scotch-Irish Americans. First, says Webb, it's not a generic race or geographic label, but rather "a very powerful cultural group that's always underestimated, and it's not always in the Appalachian mountains." And the issue is not Obama himself, who Webb thinks is "saying a lot of good things that will appeal to this cultural group in time."

Rather, Webb -- whose previous book Born Fighting explores the effect of Scotch-Irish culture on America's formation -- argued that Scotch-Irish voters' unwillingness to support Obama is less about the candidate himself, than about a sense of injustice among the community manifested by the government assistance afforded to minorities in the post-Civil Rights Era:

    This isn't Selma, 1965. This is a result of how affirmative action, which was basically a justifiable concept when it applied to African Americans, expanded to every single ethnic group in America that was not white, and these were the people who had not received benefits and were not getting anything out of it. And their basically saying let's pay attention to what has happened to this cultural group in terms of opportunities.

Webb even drew a parallel between this bloc and African Americans, suggesting that their grievances with and needs from the federal government are remarkably similar.

    Black America and Scotch-Irish America are like tortured siblings. They both have long history and they both missed the boat when it came to the larger benefits that a lot of other people were able to receive. There's a saying in the Appalachian mountains that they say to one another, and it's, "if you're poor and white, you're out of sight." ...


    If this cultural group could get at the same table as black America you could rechange populist American politics. Because they have so much in common in terms of what they need out of government.

A powerful coalition indeed. If only there were two politicians who understood these cultures, and had the desire and capacity to unity them for a common cause...

What exactly is the point?  That Webb is obsessed with his Scotch-Irish heritage as usual?  Well, I am part Scotch-Irish too but you dont hear me bringing it into every conversation.   

[RiversideGator]

If those are racist tendencies, then everyone here should be labled racists.  Just goes to show, although progress has been made since MLK lost his life, this country still has a long way to go.

A long way to go.  But the candidacy and success of Obama's campaign proves that we have come a long way.

Its too bad that partisanship keeps people from celebrating that progress instead of trying to take it down.

I would vote against Obama no matter his color or family's national origins because he is a far left radical, like Kerry, Carter and McGovern before him.  Race is not the issue here in opposing him.  However, if he and his wife associate with known racists, this is a problem.  Either racism is a wrong belief for everyone or it is wrong for no one. It is time leftists made it clear it is wrong for everyone.

[Charleston native]

From an Independent's point of view, if this is all the GOP has to hang on Obama, he'll end up being the next President hands down.  Imo, the GOP would be better served debating the issues they stand for, painting Obama as being inexperienced and proving that McCain is the best to lead this country out of Bush's mess.  This isn't Jessie Jackson running for the Oval office.  Scare tactics probably won't work this time.

On the contrary, he may not be Jessie Jackson incarnate, but his actions and words sure provide a mirror image.

Lake, I'm saddened that you really don't see the underlying messages in Obama's rhetoric, particularly with the "bitter people" diatribe. I'm particularly concerned about your bitterness. I'm a Christian, I believe in the right to own a gun, and I'm not bitter. Despite what I and most others know about "small-town people" and "Christians", the statements show alot about what he thinks. His explanation of his prior statements does sound more benign, but his true beliefs are echoed with what he had time and preparation to say before the criticism. I believe that Obama has pre-conceived notions about the majority of Americans, and we need to pay attention to what he says before he has the benefit of hindsight.

And I have to disagree with you about our nation's diversity as being its best feature. Diversity in races, yes that is great, but not diversity in culture. Culture, language, and tradition is what unifies a country and gives it an identity. If you take away its identity, or severely mix it up into a hodgepodge mess, you have nothing to really unify the people.

So Charleston.

If someone is being a racist, is it automatically racist to call them out for it?

This is a disingenuous question, Stephen. Describe to me how any criticism of an individual of another race is racism. Maybe racist is the wrong term to define this man. Elitist would be better. Marxist even comes to mind, at least with his policies. And considering the campaign issues list you provided earlier, Marxist looks pretty good.

Elitism demonstrates arrogance and condescension towards every aspect of many American people can be seen in his quotes. His wife has demonstrated sheer elitism in her speeches as well.

Driven you're welcome. There are more quotes, but I just don't have time with work to post them. However, it will be interesting to see what unfolds as this man gets more exposure.