> But Obama was seen as an 'African-American' who said 'white > Anglo-Saxon' things most of the time and this made him the darling of > a temporarily expanded Democratic Party,
^^^^^^^ CB: Yeah, not only could he talk white but his "racial ontology" was "half-white". He "was" half-white because his mother was white. That definitely helped a lot of white people to vote for him. On the other hand, it probably triggers some of the racist anger with him now, because it reminds of the ole American bugga boo "would you want your daughter to marry , actually fuck, one. " ^^^^^^^ in which young and > African-American and even anti-war lefties participated for the > presidential election. That he managed to split the independent vote > to favor the Democrats also helped. ^^^^^^^^ CB: I suspect that it is among these independents that you find a lot of quasi-left quasi-libertarians who might have voted for Obama and now are recoiling in horror at what they did. Their racism was sort of suppressed and then they regressed, and sharply. There's a historical pattern of Americans "taking back" anti-racist gains, as with jim crow after slavery was abolished and Reaganism after the civil rights movement gains. Here a discussion of it: If racism tipped the scales in 2010, why didn't racism tip the scales against Obama in 2008? ^^^^^ That was the historic aspect of 2008 that I wrote about constantly on lbo-talk and otherwise. It was one of those extraordinary events in American history like the Civil War or Civil Rights movement ( though not as structural and big as those), when a majority of White Americans take an anti-racist act. I wrote constantly about it from the Iowa Caucus on. Black people were amazed. We were right on to (a whole lot) of White people voting anti-racist ! But as in the other historic cases, the advances seem to beget a take back or "cold feet" or betrayal response as in Jim Crow taking back the gains of Reconstruction after slavery, or Reaganism betraying the gains of the Civil Rights movement. Now the Tea Party racists betray the historic advance and symbol of anti-racism in a Black President. At any rate, the thing to pay close attention to is the sharp reversal from 2008 and how to negate that negation. ^^^^^^^ He was widely condemned as a "socialist" by the loony right then too (Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers). The economic crisis was already the foremost issue and the same meme about government spending was circulating in regards to the TARP. ^^^^^^^^ I can only speculate. The loony right was reeling back on its heels from how bad the Bush administration's programs were going , so unpoplar. The Republican Party was declared down and out. Obama did everything he could to make race not and issue, as he would lose on it. He didn't confront any racism. That was his part of the deal to the very middle of the road White Americans who were sincere about being colorblind, not judging him by his color, accepting that racism is wrong , but that America has reached a post-racist society. This is not true and it is part of Reaganism, the denial that racism still exists among whites. But there was a large group of Whites who accepted the sort of benign but naive color blind aspect of Reagaism. Not accepting the racist aspect which says the racists today are Black people. These white people who voted for Obama really do represent the great hope in America today. The racists down and out revived themselves pretending to be not Republicans but Tea Partiers - a charade and masquerade like the original Boston Tea Party. Pretending to be rebels , but really cadres for the status quo. The scary part is that _masses_ of whites ignored the obvious lie that they weren't Republicans, since they all ran as Republicans it was a big lie, and many masses voted for them. Large numbers not everybody, but large enough to shift the balance in the election. The major theme, unifying theme of the Tea Party was to get Obama . They went way past normal American standards in attacking Obama. This is the direct indication of racism and appeal to racism. And it resonated with millions creating another great white American betrayal of White steps forward against racism. Interestingly a Canadian writer noticed how far over the line breaking its own American traditions of patriotism and respect for a sitting President the Tea Partiers went. http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/articles/america-hes-your-president-for-goodness-sak America - He's Your President for Goodness Sake! By William Thomas Posted: Friday, October 1st, 2010 There was a time not so long ago when Americans, regardless of their political stripes, rallied round their president. Once elected, the man who won the White House was no longer viewed as a republican or democrat, but the President of the United States. The oath of office was taken, the wagons were circled around the country’s borders and it was America versus the rest of the world with the president of all the people at the helm. Suddenly President Barack Obama, with the potential to become an exceptional president has become the glaring exception to that unwritten, patriotic rule. Four days before President Obama’s inauguration, before he officially took charge of the American government, Rush Limbaugh boasted publicly that he hoped the president would fail. Of course, when the president fails the country flounders. Wishing harm upon your country in order to further your own narrow political views is selfish, sinister and a tad treasonous as well. Subsequently, during his State of the Union address, which is pretty much a pep rally for America, an unknown congressional representative from South Carolina, later identified as Joe Wilson, stopped the show when he called the President of the United States a liar. The president showed great restraint in ignoring this unprecedented insult and carried on with his speech. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was so stunned by the slur, she forgot to jump to her feet while clapping wildly, 30 or 40 times after that. Last spring, President Obama took his wife Michelle to see a play in New York City and republicans attacked him over the cost of security for the excursion. The president can’t take his wife out to dinner and a show without being scrutinized by the political opposition? As history has proven, a president in a theatre without adequate security is a tragically bad idea. Remember: “Apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?” At some point, the treatment of President Obama went from offensive to ugly and then to downright dangerous. The health-care debate, which looked more like extreme fighting in a mud pit than a national dialogue, revealed a very vulgar side of America. President Obama’s face appeared on protest signs white-faced and blood-mouthed in a satanic clown image. In other tasteless portrayals, people who disagreed with his position distorted his face to look like Hitler complete with mustache and swastika. Odd, that burning the flag makes Americans crazy, but depicting the president as a clown and a maniacal fascist is accepted as part of the new rude America. Maligning the image of the leader of the free world is one thing, putting the president’s life in peril is quite another. More than once, men with guns were videotaped at the health-care rallies where the president spoke. Again, history shows that letting men with guns get within range of a president has not served America well in the past. And still the “birthers” are out there claiming Barack Obama was not born in the United States, although public documentation proves otherwise. Hawaii is definitely part of the United States, but the Panama Canal Zone where his electoral opponent Senator John McCain was born? Nobody’s sure. Last month, a 44-year-old woman in Buffalo was quite taken by President Obama when she met him in a chicken wing restaurant called Duff’s. Did she say something about a pleasure and an honour to meet the man or utter encouraging words for the difficult job he is doing? No. Quote: “You’re a hottie with a smokin’ little body.” Lady, that was the President of the United States you were addressing, not one of the Jonas Brothers! He’s your president for goodness sakes, not the guy driving the Zamboni at “Monster Trucks On Ice.” Maybe next it’ll be, “Take Your President To A Topless Bar Day.” In President Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor, he’s a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president’s predecessor, he’s a highly moral man. In President Obama, Americans have the real deal, the whole package and a leader that citizens of almost every country around the world look to with great envy. Given the opportunity, Canadians would trade our leader, hell, most of our leaders for Obama in a heartbeat. What America has in Obama is a head of state with vitality and insight and youth. Think about it, Barack Obama is a young Nelson Mandela. Mandela was the face of change and charity for all of Africa but he was too old to make it happen. The great things Obama might do for America and the world could go on for decades after he’s out of office. America, you know not what you have. The man is being challenged unfairly, characterized with vulgarity and treated with the kind of deep disrespect to which no previous president was subjected. It’s like the day after electing the first black man to be president, thereby electrifying the world with hope and joy, Americans sobered up and decided the bad old days were better. President Obama may fail but it will not be a Richard Nixon default fraught with larceny and lies. President Obama, given a fair chance, will surely succeed but his triumph will never come with a Bill Clinton caveat – “if only he’d got control of that zipper.” Please. Give the man a fair, fighting chance. This incivility toward the leader who won over Americans and gave hope to billions of people around the world that their lives could be enhanced by his example, just naturally has to stop. Believe me, when Americans drive by the White House and see a sign on the lawn that reads: “No shirt. No shoes. No service,” they’ll realize this new national rudeness has gone way, way too fa The guy had a lot of things to say > when he was running, most of which I didn't think much of at the time. > Now it seems he doesn't even have much to say. > > As for a Palin presidency--she is about as qualified as anyone else > the Democrats or Republicans are going to let into the race. I don't > think even the Republicans can sell and brand a woman though, > especially one who can't read the script much of the time and > extemporizes. What self-respecting Repug man would want to be her VP > candidate? CB: yeah good point, CJ. that would be a problem, not to mention lots of rightwing men voters who have not bought into feminism (ha ha) i.e. are stone male supremacists. > > CJ > > _______________________________________________ > Marxism-Thaxis mailing list > [email protected] > To change your options or unsubscribe go to: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis > _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list [email protected] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
