« Are John McCain And Sarah Palin At Odds Over Campaign Strategy?
Will it Be Suicide for Republicans?: El Espectador, Colombia »
The Old Empire Strikes Back! Why??
I have great respect for Georgia Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. When your a growing up as a black child, Representative John Lewis is a name you hear repeatedly when the phrase “civil rights” is uttered. But I also have some disdain for the “Old Empire” of civil rights that John Lewis belongs to. Many of them are only reactionary. They wait for a racial incident and then pounce with full claws out. But when it comes to being proactive concerning issues in the black community, they either want to have aimless “state of the black union” talks or champion causes and programs that don’t take account how far we’ve come regarding race in America. Senator Barack Obama’s presidential run has damn near silenced many of the “Old Empire” because his run symbolizes an equality in America that Martin Luther King Jr. championed his entire life. When you have a living symbol of MLK’s dream, it’s hard to talk about inequality in the way it has been: from the vantage point of the perpetual “on-the-bottom” viewpoint.
So when John Lewis compared Senator John McCain”s campaign to events that featured pro-segregationist, former Alabama governor and presidential candidate George Wallace, I almost threw my German lager at my laptop screen. Why in the stars do that, Mr. Lewis? Your words don’t help Senator Obama’s campaign in the slightest. See my fellow citizens of Earth, this is why I have a beef with the “Old Empire” of civil rights: they have this damn tendency to REACT without THINKING. Senator Obama’s presidential run, win or lose, has empowered the black community in America. We, on average, feel an immense sense of pride and accomplishment (the struggle wasn’t in vain!). A black person is very close to the Office of the President of the United States of America (arguably the most powerful role on the planet). America really works! Those nagging doubts of inequality at the top are fading away. Now other black candidates have a fighter’s chance in presidential politics.
But men like John Lewis just have to inject their Jim Crow experiences into the Election ’08. As a result, the usual reaction and counter-reaction that causes brain cells to die. First, the McCain Camp (via Jonathan Martin’s Blog):
“I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I’ve always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track,” the GOP nominee said in a statement this afternoon.
He added: “I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America.”
I was feeling you just fine, McCain camp, until you presented the whole “shut down debate, let’s talk about important things” angle. You’ve had your fair share of talking about unimportant things. But John Lewis started it, so you’ll get a pass from me.
Obama Camp’s turn (via Jonathan Martin’s Blog):
“Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. “But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’
Just had to stick it in a little more deep, eh? One more time with the “pals around with terrorists” rebuke. Sheesh!
Representative John Lewis, could you please do me a big favor: Keep your mouth closed for awhile. You’ve experienced much, survived, and flourished. No one can take that away from you. But equating a man who doesn’t have any record of segregationist and racist views (John McCain) with one who did (George Wallace) is baseless, classless, and takes away from your legacy.
opinions powered by SendLove.to
14 Responses to “The Old Empire Strikes Back! Why??”
“Why??”
well, he was one of the men mccain mentioned earlier this year that he'd ask for advice when president; if the two are close, maybe it startles and frightens him to see the man so. (it does me.) he got angry, and justifiably so.
yes, it's exaggeration comparing mccain to wallace, but there's been a lot of exaggeration going around lately now, hasn't there?
McCain and Palin have insulted, offended an demonized Senator Barack Obama. all too much.
Senator Obama is too much of a gentleman (and a savvy poltician) to come out swinging against the hate and prejudice. But, I can see why some just won't take it sitting down..for better or for worse.
T-Steel, d'ya feel any better now you've gotten that off your chest?
Seriously, I empathize, maybe it would be best if the old guard just let Obama and the “youngsters” run the show.
I understand and sympathize with your point, T-Steel. Inserting yourself at this point in the current overheated pressure cooker of the final weeks of a presidential campaign in which a black American is on the verge of becoming leader of “the free world” is an invitation for typically misplaced righteous indignation.
And typically, this indignation is misplaced. The link you point to notes there was no direct comparison to Wallace – just to the atmosphere created when rhetoric feeds the underlying embers, and adds legitimacy to it.
Lewis' statement:
“George Wallace never threw a bomb,” Lewis noted. “He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights.”
I think his point is absolutely correct and relevant, if poorly timed. And I agree with JSpencer that it's best that the old guard let this remarkable man handle this stuff. He's got this thing.
T-Steel's post is very interesting in two respects:
(1) Cool down the rhetoric: As T-Steel suggests, it would be excellent, regardless of who wins, that everyone notches down the rhetoric before and after. No anti-BlueState rage, as per the anti-Redstate rage of 2004…no cries of traitor, terrorist, war crimes trials etc. Obama's reference to impeachment a few months back…that regardless of it merits, it would perpetuate an endless cycle…suggests he knows well how this posionous rhetoric is fuelled in cycles. Perhaps this election, and a cooler head prevailing, may leech these poisons out.
(2) This election is transformative of African-American & identity politics: T-Steel's post emphasized something we have not talked much about here at TMV…the implications of an Obama victory for African-American politics. Certainly there has been long running tension between Obama and some of the old guard (e.g., Jesse Jackson). It is also interesting how many established figures supported HRC (e.g. Rangel). An Obama victory would effectively shatter any glass ceiling with a sound few could deny (though I would not be surprised if some tried).
Yes, I may be naive and optimistic in this. (And yes, I am conservative…but while my partner is American I was not raised in the US. Hence, I am not as appalled as some conservatives at Obama's politics…which are actually more conservative than that of conservatives in other parts of the world
McCain and Palin–and their ilk– have insulted, offended an demonized Senator Barack Obama. all too much.
And the MSM has insulted McCain with a totally baseless front-page article that hinted he was having an affair with a lobbyist last Feb., and Palin was demonized as having pretended to be pregnant and subjected to all sorts of ridiculous guttersnipe garbage and continues to be attacked baselessly.
The evidence that Obama and Ayers had more than a decade–long relationship that included Ayers' selection of the then-unknown State Senate candidate to chair a $150 million Annenberg education project that was a cover for radicalizing and politicizing primary school education.
I knew Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, and other radical SDSers in Ann Arbor in the late sixties and Bill Ayers was a terrorist as a Weatherman and remains unrepentant to this day. To say he “pals around with terrorists” isn't much of a stretch, since Ayers has switched to subversion via Saul Alinsky—-read “Rules for Radicals” and get a clue.
I also met John Lewis at the '68 Chicago Convention when he was part of the Poor People's March. The guy is about three miles around the bend and no longer capable of lucid thought.
I personally believe that Obama used Ayers and ACORN more than vice-versa, so there's merit in not pushing any panic buttons if he is elected. I think he has done it under false pretenses in some respects and has been given a free ride by the media—just ask Hillary Clinton.
McCain and Palin–and their ilk– have insulted, offended an demonized Senator Barack Obama. all too much.
And the MSM has insulted McCain with a totally baseless front-page article that hinted he was having an affair with a lobbyist last Feb., and Palin was demonized as having pretended to be pregnant and subjected to all sorts of ridiculous guttersnipe garbage and continues to be attacked baselessly.
The evidence that Obama and Ayers had more than a decade–long relationship that included Ayers' selection of the then-unknown State Senate candidate to chair a $150 million Annenberg education project that was a cover for radicalizing and politicizing primary school education.
I knew Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, and other radical SDSers in Ann Arbor in the late sixties and Bill Ayers was a terrorist as a Weatherman and remains unrepentant to this day. To say Obama “pals around with terrorists” isn't much of a stretch, since Ayers has switched to subversion via Saul Alinsky—-read “Rules for Radicals” and get a clue. Ayers wants to subvert the constitution by a lot of different means, some of which are illegal—I doubt he is a bomb-maker [I met his then-girlfriend Diana Oughton who exploded herself in Greenwich Village a few months later.] Too bad Ayers wasn't there while his four friends were blown to smithereens making a bomb to terrorize a Fort Dix dance for GIs.
I also met John Lewis at the '68 Chicago Convention when he was part of the Poor People's March. The guy is about three miles around the bend and no longer capable of lucid thought.
I personally believe that Obama used Ayers and ACORN more than vice-versa, so there's merit in not pushing any panic buttons if he is elected. I think he has done it under false pretenses in some respects and has been given a free ride by the media—just ask Hillary Clinton.
Daveinboca…
The MSM have carried a lot of water for Obama in this election, that is undeniable. McCain has one attack dog in Palin, to the media's legion.
Of course, the eminent Media Matters for America still attempts to push the meme that the media is totally in the tank for McCain. I think MMA feel obligated to trot that one out. But even liberals no longer buy it.
Saturday Night Live in September had a great skit on the extraordinary MSM bias against the GOP in this election, and on the slanders of the New York Times & Co. against Palin (how many reporters went to Wasilla versus how many to Chicago to read the Annenberg Challenge files?).
Some conservatives were outraged about the “incest” angle, but considering Sullivan's Ahab-like pursuit of Baby Trig at “The Atlantic” the SNL parody of MSM “objectivity” is not far off.:
SNL Transcript.
(NEW YORK TIMES NEWSROOM)
Now, you all know why you’re here. You are, quite simply, the fifty finest investigative reporters in journalism today. Thanks to your work, it was The New York Times that broke the story about our government’s secret program to track terrorist finances overseas. A program so secret that, until our series, even Al Qaeda didn’t know about it! Great work on that one, Dennis.
(GROUP APPLAUDS)
But we don’t coast on reputation here. We are The New York Times. And in Sarah Palin, we’ve got a Vice Presidential candidate about whom we know virtually nothing.
KRISTEN
I’d like to know if she’s ever been a member of a golf club that doesn’t admit women. No wait, forget that. That makes no sense.
JAMES
Quite alright, Tandalea.
Yes? Stephen?
BOBBY
What about the husband, Todd? You know he’s doing those daughters. Come on! It’s Alaska!
(MURMURS OF AGREEMENT IN THE ROOM)
JAMES
He very well could be. Admittedly, there is no evidence of that. But significantly, there is no convincing evidence to the contrary. And these are just some of the lingering questions about Governor Palin. That’s why, in a few days, all fifty of you are going to Alaska!
(THE GROUP CHEERS AND APPLAUDS)
KENAN
Peter, do you really need me on this? I’m still working on the sub-prime mortgage piece.
JAMES
James, that piece can wait. Lehman Brothers isn’t going anywhere.
Frank Rich (yes, I know he is a “Liberal”) has an opinion piece (“The Terrorist Barack Hussein Obama “) in today's New York Times (yes, I know it is a “Liberal rag”) on this very subject that you may want to read–it is relevant to the discussion here–and, of course, disagree with it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/opinion/12ric…
[...] in fact, he is probably damaging his chances for victory. My advice to John Lewis and Julian Bond, echoes fellow columnist T-Steel, “keep your mouths closed for a while” – at least for the next four [...]
Good post, T Steel, and I enjoyed Marlowe's comments as well- especially that he brought up the derangement of Andrew Sullivan. Why is it that so many of the bloggers here at TMV (including some of the actual moderate ones) continue to link approvingly to Andrew Sullivan when the man has been beating the drum daily for proof of maternity of Trig Palin (this from a man who has written eloquently about the need for privacy of medical records!)
If we all need to tone down the rhetoric and stop the witch hunt mentality, then isn't it time to start calling out the formerly moderate people who've gone off the deep end like that, on both sides of the political spectrum?
John Lewis is a very respectable guy as far as I know, and I won't condemn him for this one remark although I definitely think the remark itself was over the line. I assume he just got caught up in the moment (which I see a lot of people doing right now because of the way the anti-Obama sentiment at McCain/Palin rallies is being completely exaggerated by the media and bloggers- people are reacting to what they think is going on there rather than what is reallly going on.) And that's the point really- we all need to step back and take some deep breaths and think about what is fact and what is 'scary' spin on both sides.
Daveinboca : “I knew Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, and other radical SDSers in Ann Arbor in the late sixties and Bill Ayers was a terrorist as a Weatherman and remains unrepentant to this day. “
So Dave, are you saying you palled around with terrorists too then? Lordy! Maybe you need to be investigated!!!
Daveinboca, despite the fact that you've been exposed as a dirty stinkin' radical commie pinko wierdo hippie type and thus I shouldn't be associating with you (:-)), allow me to ask a question: you say “Bill Ayers was a terrorist as a Weatherman and remains unrepentant to this day.” Can I take that to mean you have first-hand knowledge that Ayers broadcast his lack of remorse prior to publishing his memoirs in 2001?
DB: I knew Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, and other radical SDSers in Ann Arbor in the late sixties and Bill Ayers was a terrorist as a Weatherman and remains unrepentant to this day.
WTF is this BS, I believe Rudd had few ties to Michigan and Ann Arbor. Rudd grew up in NJ and went to college in NY. Exactly how does Dave know Rudd, or is he just doing a cut and paste with the WUO names.