rmrd0000's Blog

American Mythology: The Race Card

2008-08-02T01:46:24Z

The country was reeling from the verdict in the OJ Simpson case When Robert Shapiro Told Barbara Walters "not only did we play the race card, we dealt it from the bottom of the deck."

Since that time, the race card has been used as a bludgeon to halt serious airing of differences in how aggregates of Whites and African-Americans view certain situations. Ask Blacks and Whites how much racist exists or how much racial progress in racial relations has occurred or whether the judicial system is colorblind , and there are marked differences in opinion. Are Blacks playing the race card, or just reflecting their point of view based on life experiences?

Let's go back to the case that served as the agent for introducing the term race card into the language. OJ Simpson's acquittal caused a surge of anger throughout the country. During and after the trial Johnnie Cochran was viewed as a man responsible for setting race relations back several decades.

Paradoxically, many legal analysts felt that OJ would be in prison stripes today if Cochran had been the prosecutor. Cochran would have analyzed the jury in detail. For the Black women on the jury, OJ would have been portrayed as a brutal man who hated Black women. Simpson had divorced his African-American wife. The ex-jock then cavorted with Caucasian blondes. By the time Cochran was finished emphasizing abandonment of Black women, Simpson would have been convicted in a flash.

If the jury had been all-White, Cochran would have presented the same focused data, this time emphasizing the blondes. Again, conviction would be the result. Cochran had the benefit of a prosecution team that was too arrogant to take into account different life experiences of the jury.

Would Cochran have been guilty of playing the race card with the African-American jury or the White jury?

We have now entered a dismal turn in the Presidential race. Obama makes a factual statement. Barack Obama says that he doesn't look like any of the people on US paper currency. To deny that simple reality is absurd. McCain says that because race has been mentioned, Obama has played the race card.

The underlying message being sent to African-Americans is that we may let you in the door, but don't force us to address the fact that you are not Caucasian. We agree to accept you if you deny your ethnicity. A corollary of this message is that there is nothing of importance that someone who is not White could tell us. Be White and you'll be alright.

There is no race card. There are only different life experiences. We don't want to address the contrasts.

McCain Stream Media

2008-07-13T16:04:19Z

There is another post on TPM titled "The Death Of The Associated Press" by Graduate Student. The AP has been demonstrating anti-Obama bias. As I sit watching Howard Kurtz on CNN's "Reliable Sources" today, I see another flagrant example of media bias. The top stories on the show are as follows:
1) A New Yorker magazine cover with a cartoon showing an Afro-coiffed Michelle carrying an AK47 and Barack in Somali attire
2) Obama's statement about refining the action he would take in Iraq as changing his position.
3 Jesse Jackson' s chocolate nuts statement
3) The Obama children appearing on Access Hollywood

There was only passing mention of Phil Gramm's "mental recession comment" and McCain economic flip -flops. The panel of reporters was Michael Medved (radio talk show host), Clarence Page (Chicago Tribune), and Jessica Yellin (CNN analyst). Kurtz allows a known partisan, Medved, to be paired with two non-partisan reporters.

Medved felt the New Yorker cover was tacky. Page agreed with the New Yorker's editor that the cover was satire. Yellin said the cover was in poor taste and went on to say that the depiction did not originate from the McCain campaign, but had it's base in internet rumors. The reflexive need to provide cover for McCain is always present.

The fact that Obama had to hold two news conferences to state that his position on Iraq hadn't changed meant that Obama had a communication problem. Medved thought that the clarifying statement was obfuscation. Page actually reminded us that Obama has said all along that he was willing to adjust his troop withdrawal plan based on facts on the ground. Page quoted a statement that Obama made in September to support his analysis.

Kurtz seized on the fact that Obama felt that the MSM had misinterpreted his words as attacking the messenger. Yellin agreed with Kurtz and went on to say that Obama has shifted "emphasis" on what he would do in Iraq. The fact that checking staements made in the past is of no importance. A new emphasis is noted.

At the end of the Iraq story, Kurtz did ask if Obama was being held to a different standard. Page laughingly replied that Obama was a "better story". Page felt that McCain was "fighting for attention". Yellin fell back on the MSM meme that Obama will get hit harder on national security issues while McCain will be challenged on the economy. She neglected to piont out that the economic foibles of McCain were not being addressed.

Kurtz wondered if the MSM going too easy on Jesse Jackson. Medved felt Jackson loved the attention.

An interview with Maria Menounos of Access Hollywood followed. Kurtz wondered why Obama let his children come before the cameras. Apparently, the girls are fans of a group called the Jonas Brothers and knew that they had appeared on Menounos' show. They wanted to be a part of the interview. The skeptical Kurtz believed that the girls' appearance was no accident, but part of a campaign plan.

The next set of topics were the affair of Lara Logan, an Iraq war correspondent, the Christie Brinkley divorce and the death of Tony Snow

In the past week the following has occurred in the McCain campaign
1) McCain called Social Security a disgrace
2) Phill Gramm of the foreclosure inducing UBS and McCain's top economic adviser called Americans "whiners" and their economic concerns a "mental recession"
3) McCain refuses to accept as fact Iraqi PM Maliki's request for a time-table for US troop withdrawal
4) McCain releases an economic plan with no details
5) McCain deficit reduction requires troop withdrawals

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-bergmann/the-week-that-should-have_b_111983.html

Despite the facts above, Kurtz, the media critic, gives McCain a pass. I do not believe that this is unintentional. The media is biased. Even the critics are biased.

Deborah Howell the media critic for the WaPo gave a pass on a hit piece in the Post on the mortage the Obama's got from Northern Trust. The Obama's invested more with Northern Trust than their mortgage was worth, thus the morgtage rate was normal for someone with Obama's income and credit status. Howell felt that the story was valid since it dealt with the candidates personal finances, but that the negative context of the story was overblown. The negative context was the entire basis for the Wapo loan story.

Obama is facing an openly biased media.

The Coming Immigration Conflagration

2008-05-30T23:42:48Z

I have mixed feelings aout workers coming into the country from Mexico. One hand, these people are being used as cheap labor (remember slavery?). On the other hand, the workers being displaced are American-born workers on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.

Raising fuel costs may create a situation where the cost of shipping products overseas or by air from foreign countries with cheap labor is higher than manufacturing the product in the US.

Obviously that would require sustained increasing fuel prices over a sustained period. If that situation does occur and manufacturing jobs return to the US, what would happen if companies attempted to use non-US citizens as the manufacturing workforce.? In my opinion, the foreign workers would be out of luck in access to those jobs.

As manufacturing jobs increased in the US, foreign workers may face less pressure US born workers who feel more economically secure. Another possibility is that US born workers without the skills to find employment in manufacturing may be angered as they see fellow citizens gaining as they remain stagnant or fall behind.

Those unskilled US workers may demand that foreign born workers be shown the door and press the government for stricter enforcement of immigration laws.

If manufacturing jobs are not available to foreign workers and the government has to address the concerns of US born citizens who feel left behind economically as fuel prices rise, illegal aliens may face even more pressure than they do now.

The question will be what fuel price will serve as the tipping point to ignite US based manufacturing.

Appalachia Will Secede If Obama Wins

2008-05-30T13:07:29Z

MSM has tried to downplay aspects of race in the Primary results in PA, OH, WVA, and KY. In reality, it is clear that race played a role in the vote for many voters in the region.
If You Tube interviews are an indication, many citizens in Appalachia will just never accept an African-American President. These voters will revolt.

The Appalachian revolutionaries will be joined by White Supremacists from around the country along with members of closed communities like the one in Texas who want men to be free to marry 12 and 14 year olds.

Just as the MSM was taken by surprise by the militia group mentality that led to the Oklahoma City bombings, they are missing possible racial anger and frustration building in the residents of the region. An Obama Presidency would be the tipping point.

Hopefully, the crack Department Of Homeland Security is on top of the issue.

McClelland and White Conservative Affirmative Action

2008-05-29T15:48:20Z

One of the funniest things that I heard came when MSNBC's Tucker Carlson called Scott McClelland an incompetent who only got his job because of connections. I was amazed. Did Carlson not see the great irony? What are Carlson's great accomplishments aside from finishing in last place on "Dancing With The Stars"?

Carlson got a job because he wore a bow-tie and he was a White male Libertarian/Conservative. MSNBC graded him on a curve and hired him to show their post 911 patriotism.. MSNBC even gave Carlson his own show, which failed. Carlson is now a political analyst for MSNBC. the qualifications for an analyst job for White Conservatives appears to be having an opinion.

Carlson is not the only low skilled Conservative White guy who has found employment in MSM. William Kristol sits in a columnist spot at the NYT. Since the first of the year, Mr Kristol has had errors requiring correction in three of his weekly columns. Kristol remains employed. Obviously fact-checking prior to publishing is not required for Mr Kristol. White Conservatives need not worry about accuracy in media.

On CNN-HNN, we have Glenn Beck. Mr Beck calls himself a rodeo clown. After attempting to watch him discuss hybrid automobiles with a GM executive, I truly understand the clown part. Beck made sure to attack environmentalists while addressing the alternative fuel source story. I could only stand about a minute and a half of the discussion before my head began to hurt due to the inanities passing for deep thought and humor coming from Mr Beck. Of course, Beck's high mark was asking Rep Ellison, a Muslim member of the House of Representatives if Ellison were a loyal American. Beck gets an hour of each weekday to promote Conservative views and to think that he is thinking. Intelligence is not a criteria for Conservative white Affirmative Action hires.

Then, of course, there is the biggest Conservative White Affirmative Action hire of all times, GW Bush. Bush has set the gold standard for Presidential incompetency. If you have a limited internal mental databse, you don't worry about the wide spn of options you have before you commit the nation to an unwise war. Also, since you perspective is limited, there is not a great deal of reflection.

Now we have the incompetent McClelland rejecting the incompetence of Bush, and incompetents Carlson and Beck attacking McClelland for challenging the results of Conservative White Affirmative Action. If the issues weren't so serious , this would be a Three Stooges skit.

Tiki Barber Should Replace Willie Geist on "Morning Joe"

2008-05-09T13:01:25Z

Joe Scarborough usually runs roughshod over Mika B on "Morning Joe". Willie Geist rarely disagrees with a major point that Scarbourgh offers. Pat Buchanan is a regular analyst on the show. Thus, there is little real variation in points of view that occurs or most of the show. Scarborough's opinion rules.

Former NY Giant running back Tiki Barber has been filing in as a co-host this week while Willie Geist has been on vacation. I have been pleasantly suprised that on occasion he does offer a contrasting opinion to Scarborough and does not let Scarborough silence him.

Scarborough was not on the show today, so Mika hosted. John Edwards was a guest in one segment. Mika had danced around the meaning of Sen Clinton's statement about her suport among White working class voters. Edwards gave a mild response. Barber bluntly asked Edwards if he thought that Sen Clinton was sayng that Obama could not be elected because he was Black. Edwards was then able to answer that he did not think that was what Clinton thought. In fact Edwards was able to go further and say that he knew that Hillary did not think that was true, because of past conversations that he had with Sen Clinton.

Barber's bluntness allowed Edwards to give his point of view on a sore point with many who have a negative view of Sen Clinton because of past comments she has made that appeared to be racially-tinged. Neither Mika,Willie, or Scarborough would have been that direct with Edwards. In fact, Scarborough may have tilted the response by ridiculing those who felt that there might be race-baiting going on in the Clinton campaign. Barber's directness was a pleasant change from the usual bias that rises from the Scarborogh show.

Edwards could give his response to a question posed in point blank fashion. Viewers could form their own opinions about Edwards analysis. Barber would be an excellent replacement for Geist who seves no purpose other than being Scarborough's yes man. Barber would also provide something missing from early morning and prime time cable news shows, ethnic diversity.

Bill Clinton Got Historically Low Black Vote Percentages

2008-05-08T19:22:59Z

Blogger Chino Bianco provided these numbers from USA today in an earlier post by flufferwink entitled Hillary Clinton Says Only Whites Matter

The vote percentages given to Democrats and Repiblicans in recent elections are as follows:

1984 Walter Mondale 90% Ronald Reagan 9%
1988 Michael Dukakis 90% George H.W. Bush 10%
1992 Bill Clinton 83% George H.W. Bush 10%
1996 Bill Clinton 84% Bob Dole 12%
2000 Al Gore 90% George W. Bush 9%

Notice which Democratic candidate got the lowest percentage of African-American votes?
william Jefferson Clinton got < 90% of the Black vote both times.

Our first Black President was the runt of the Black vote getting litter. Did the Clintons see thes numbers and feel thay could jettison the Black vote?

Sen Clinton is getting (GW) Bush League numbers of Black support. Would neglecting the Black vote have been a working formulae in November if African-Americans stayed home and Clinton relied on working class Whites and Latinos?

Just food for thought.

MSNBC Should Hire Rev Wright to Balance Pat Buchanan

2008-05-06T13:33:26Z

This weekend, MSNBC ran an hour-long "Special Report" on Rev Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama hosted by Dan Abrams. The report aired the weekend before Primary voting in Indiana and North Carolina. Abrams rehashed the stories that MSNBC had run repeatedly on its news shows the previous two weeks. There was nothing special about the "Special Report".

MSNBC happens to be the home of Nazi apologist and part-time racist Pat Buchanan. It occurs to me that Rev Wright would provide just the balance MSNBC needs to atone for its repetitive use of Pat Buchanan as a credible political analyst. MSNBC was the home of Dan Savage, a racist homophobe, in years past.

Rev Wright would not remain silent if Buchanan told him to shut up, as Pat did to African-American MSNBC analyst Keli Goff during an appearance on the Dan Abrams show several weeks ago. Abrams remained silent, offering no objection. It was Rachel Maddow, another guest, who voiced opposition to Buchanan's outburst.

Mr Buchanan was a full fledged supporter of the GOP's Southern strategy. Rev Wright could detail how viewpoints like Buchanan's stoked the fire in some of Wright's sermons. I think MSNBC's ratings would skyrocket.

Rev Wright Shot 50 Times by NYPD

2008-04-29T13:15:44Z

Well, obviously not really. But there maybe a connection between two events.

The Rev Wright controversy occurs at the same time as the Sean Bell police shooting verdict. The role of African-American authority figures in both may have interesting implications.

Sean Bell was a young African-American man who was mistaken for someone involved in drug trafficking. Bell was innocent and unarmed, but felled by some of the 50 bullets aimed at a car he was driving accompanied by two friends. A judge acquitted the police officers of any criminal wrongdoing.
As long as you are gulity in the minds of police, it is legal to kill a young unarmed African-American male. Two of the police officers were African-American, two were Caucasian, and one was Hispanic.

Michelle Bernard an MSNBC analyst, Eugene Robinson of the WaPo, and Bob Herbert of the NYT are all African-American. All either feel that Rev Wright is scary or an egomaniac. It cannot be that Rev Wright is trying to have a conversation on how a significant segment of the African-American population views events compared to what we see in MSM.

I connect the Bell and Wright events by noting the African-Americans participate in the death of another African-American in the Bell case and in ignoring a larger message in the case of Rev Wright. In order to rise through the ranks of detectives in NYC, African-American officers have to become part of the mindset of the deartment. In that mindset Bell, even though unarmed, was a threat.

Bernard, Robinson, and Herbert rose through the ranks of their particular organizations. Each realizes that their is only so far one can go in bucking the trend. The meme is that Obama is in political trouble because of Rev Wright. None is obligated to attempt to explain in a larger context what Wright is trying to convey, and none does. A Texas twang is cute. The twang even got a Connecticut yankee with a faux Texas ranch created by a Presidential campaign idea man to King Arthur's Court (aka the White House). Urban dialect is not cute. It's Ebonics, something dark and ugly. We cannot have a discussion of that and other topics becauseit is just not allowed.

I don't thing that anything I'm suggesting is that radical. Take, for example, what happens in the Bush administration. The EPA decides it will handle global warming in a particular way. Most of those who may realize that the policy is in error do not quit, they comply with the edict. The difference between these individuals and the police is that the impact of the environmental bullet will not be fully manifested for decades.

Similarly, reporters of all hues know what the conventional wisdom happens to be and dutifully fall in line. Reporters who do not comply do not get TV access. Note that there are very few Progressive columnists, fewer still seen on MSM. African-American voices with a different view of Rev Wright's comments can only be found in talk radio and the internet. These voices are not welcome on TV.

The Bell case will continue. Legal decisions have yet to be made in Civil and possibly Federal courts. It is unclear if the pilng on by MSM on Rev Wright will fell the candicacy of Barack Obama.

"Morning Joe" Tells Viewers "Screw You"

2008-04-28T13:11:19Z

My moring humor was provided by Mika Brzezinski and Willie Giest. Mika was hosting Morning Joe this morning. Mika made the point that different parts of the viewing audience viewed Rev Jeremiah Wright differently, indicated White/Black and possibly age differennces in reaction.

The "Morning Joe" producer chimed in that most of the e-mail responses the show had received was positive. The snapshot sample thought that Wright's message had been a good one.

We next had analyst of Wright by two people. The first from Rev Eugene rivers III of the Azuza Church in Boston. Rivers, an African-American preacher, felt Wright should not have made any comments until after the election. Wright's comments were too fiery, according to Rivers. The second analyst was Pat Buchanan. We don't have to wonder what Mr Buchanan's sentiments regarding Wright would be.

The interesting think about Rev Rivers as an analyst is that he was a supporter of the White House's Faith Based Initiatives outreach program. He left the program after John Dilulio left.

http://www.publiceye.org/defendingjustice/resources/profiles.html

Two glaring facts present themselves. We know Buchanan's Conservative bias. Rev Rivers is a relative unknown to most viewers. His Bush WH association should have at least been mentioned. We had two Conservatives attacking Wright. The viewers never had their viewpoint expressed in the segment.

This is as "fair and balanced" as one can get.
I am mad as h*ll. MSM is now a bad SNL skit.

Does The Democratic Party Want Black Voters?

2008-04-26T03:40:25Z

Rep Clyburn of South Carolina reports that the Hillary Clinton campaign has a problem with Black voters. The perception is that Clinton is race-baiting. Many Blacks feel that since Clinton can't win, she is trying to damage Obama so much that the Superdelegates will give their support to Clinton. The other effect of the Clinton strategy is to make Obama so damaged that he will not be able to beat McCain if he survives to the General Election. Clinton will then be the frontrunner for 2012 after a one-term McCain Presidency.

Many African-Americans are dismayed. Blacks supported Bill Clinton during the Monica scandal. We were his firewall. The behavior of the Clinton campaign is felt to be the ultimate insult. Following Clinton, we were strong supporters of Al Gore and John Kerry. The support was so strong that about 90% of the African-American vote went to the Democratic Presidential candidate.

The only voices raised in objection to the size of the African-American vote going to the Democratic Party came from Conservatives in the GOP. Repeated arguments were made that African-Americans were being taken for granted by Democrats. All Democrats loved the high percentage of Black support, until the support went to Barack Obama. Now African-Americans are voting only based on race. The Conservative warning seems to have a kernel of truth.

The Conservative voices were muted by the fact that the GOP had become the home of the Dixiecrats, Barry Goldwater's States Rights and the Southern Strategy. Blacks, who had been strong members of the Party of Lincoln prior to the arrival of the Dixiecrats, were ushered out of the GOP so that Republicans could gain favor in the South.

Parts of the Democratic Party did not welcome Blacks with open arms. LBJ relied on Northern Democrats and the GOP which was mainly Northern and Eastern to pass the Civil Rights Bill. Southern Democrats were resistant.

Fannie Lou Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Party are names well known to Black voters. The group was formed in opposition to a racist Mississippi Democratic Party. We had to fight our way into the blocked doors of the Southern part of the Democratic Party.

Simultaneously, as Blacks moved from the Democratic South to the North, they found easier entry into the Northern Democratic Party. We represented votes.

It is important to note that Affirmative Action was ushered in by Richard Nixon and African-American Conservative Arthur Fletcher. As the Republicans sought to gain Southern votes, Blacks became a lower priority. Eventually, the GOP became more hostile. The new GOP destroyed Nixon's Affirmative Action.

Blacks became expendable to the GOP. Black Americans were depicted as an American threat. The Willie Horton ad appeared in limited release, but it's effect was powerful. MSM helped spread the message. We had achieved the attention of the GOP. The message, get out.

The Democratic Party is now at a crossroads. There appear to be some pockets of voters who will not vote for an African-American candidate. There are pockets who will not vote for a female candidate. Blacks represent 10-12% of the country. White women represent 51% of the population. Calculations are being made. Obama did not win in Ohio or Pennsylvania. There is concern that Obama can't close the deal in large states. Do Primary loses mean General Election loses? Will the Primary rules set down by the Democratic Party be changed to give Hillary a victory?

African-Americans sense some race-baiting behavior coming from the Clinton campaign. Clinton is running a Karl Rove campaign. Clyburn's observations will most likely be dismissed by a large segment of White Democrats.

There is a concern among African-Americans that once again a political party will find us expendable. The party hierarchy may decide to throw us under the bus in an appeal to Independents and "Reagan Democrats". This is a scenario that we know all too well. Been there done that.

The final question is do Democrats want African-Americans?

Is it imperative that the Clinton campaign forcefully address concerns of African-American Democrats? Will we only hear dismissive comments from Clinton and her surrogates. Is it time for Senator Clinton to give her own speech on race?

Are African-American concerns going to be taken seriously?
Is the party going to work to keep our votes?

Extremist Pastor Jeremiah Wright, Oops I Mean MLK

2008-04-25T02:51:42Z

The hypocrites who hold the words of Jeremiah Wright must immediately remove Martin Luther King Jr from their list of heroes. Here are the cuddly words of MLK

Letter From A Birmingham Jail (snippets) 04/16/1963

Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action.

In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world?

Riverside Church (snippets) 04/04/1967

Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken -- the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment.

I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

Riverside speech Opening (Poetic License Replacing Vietnam With Iraq)

Now, let me make it clear in the beginning, that I see this war as an unjust, evil, and futile war. I preach to you today on the war in Iraq because my conscience leaves me with no other choice. The time has come for America to hear the truth about this tragic war. In international conflicts, the truth is hard to come by because most nations are deceived about themselves. Rationalizations and the incessant search for scapegoats are the psychological cataracts that blind us to our sins. But the day has passed for superficial patriotism. He who lives with untruth lives in spiritual slavery. Freedom is still the bonus we receive for knowing the truth. "Ye shall know the truth," says Jesus, "and the truth shall set you free." Now, I've chosen to preach about the war in Iraq because I agree with Dante, that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal.

------------
Rest assured that there would have been numerous voices telling Obama to reject Rev Martin Luther King Jr if he had been his pastor.

For those who don't know the letter from the Birmingham jail was written to fellow clergy who felt that MLK was too radical in his activism. He was considered unpatriotic by a large number of Americans. MLK was a firebrand who the MSM of today who would be demonized by today's MSM.
Hillary and McCain would join in.

Racism Gives McCain A 15% Advantage Over Obama

2008-04-22T12:50:20Z

Politico's Roger Simon reports that a "prominent" GOP strategist told him that McCain will have a 15% advantage against Obama in November because of racism.

The strategist says that a significant number of Whites will not vote for a Black man. The GOP feels that race is a more important factor than taxes, the economy, and the War.

Pennsylvania Gov Ed Rendell admitted that some Whites would not vote for Obama because of race. Reading Pa mayor Tom McMahon tells of getting angry calls after he announced his support for Obama. McMahon says that there is a bit of racism below the surface in Pennsylvania.

About 10-15% of Pennsylvania voters are "undecided" in most polls. Are the undecideds Clinton or Obama voters? Are the undecideds too ashamed to admit that racial bias is playing a role in their vote? Or, is the "prominent" GOP strategist just blowing smoke. See my post November analysis for the answer.

Translation Help Request

2008-04-22T00:18:34Z

Earlier in the day, I challenged those who felt that Obama's 90% support from the African-American community was due to some form of group hypnosis, rather than a rejection of the individual candidate, Hillary Clinton. I feel Sen Clinton and her campaign are the sole reason that Obama gained Black support. The post was entitled "Those Racist African-American Voters Who Support Obama." Most of posters who self identified as African-Americans agreed with my position.

One post in opposition went as follows:

"I'm tired, I'm tired..." Come to me, little children, lay down your heavy burdens, find solace in me, for I am the light and the life.... There are more here, you know.... Sleep, sleep, little ones.

I am asking for help in interpreting what message the above post is attempting to express. Thanks in advance for any help. I'm really looking for opinions on the meaning, not attempting to drive traffic to the post. I just found it strange,.

No response came from the person who made the post when queried.

Those Racist African-American Voters Who support Obama

2008-04-21T16:11:34Z

Some Hillary Clinton supporters point to the 90% vote that Obama gets among African-American Democratics as a sign of "race-based" voting. They imply that the "block voting" may be racist in origin. Blacks are merely voting for the Black guy. Blacks feel that it is their turn.

Of course, Obama was not Black enough to run against the wife of the first Black President when the Presidential campaign began.

If one goes back to the start of the campaign season, we find that Senator Clinton had a 2:1 to 3:1 advantage over Senator Obama among African-American Democrats. Her position was similar to that of Al Gore in his Presidential campaign. Gore had 66% of the African-American vote at the start of his campaign. Gore's main opponent, Bill Bradley, had the bulk of the rest. The message to both Sen Clinton and VP Gore was "We like Bill , but who are you?" both Clinton and Gore had to work for African-American support.

Were African-Americans racist by giving 66% of their support at the beginning of the campaign season to Clinton and Gore? Were African-Americans racist when they gave more support to Gore than Bradley during the Primaries, giving Gore the victory?

Senator Clinton, meet Bill Bradley. Gore won the African-American vote, Obama is winning the Black vote. African-Americans looked at Gore and Bradley and choose Gore. They looked at Clinton and Obama, and are choosing Obama. Bradley, has recovered from his defeat and now supports Obama.

Were African-Americans racist when they failed to rally around Al Sharpton in his Presidential bid? Sharpton lost the African-American vote in his native New York City.

Blacks have voted for Caucasian candidates in overwhelming numbers. Majority Black Baltimore, Maryland elected a White mayor. The mayor later became Governor. The MD Governor got the overwheming support of the African -American community even though he ran against a moderate African-American GOP candidate.

To suggest that African-Americans selecting Obama over Clinton is race-based and not a phenomenon that is best called the "Clinton Condescension Effect" represents a truly racist point of view along with a large degree of cerebral ossification.