Some artwork from my brother:
The Obamamobile heads to Washington
(Artwork courtesy of Danny Augenbraun, click image to enlarge)
Considering that it has been nearly a month since Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee and at least some of the unrestrained euphoria has worn off among his supporters/fans, I figured I would take this time to do a quick recap of some of the recent developments in his campaign. It is hardly a secret that since the late 70s and early 80s the Democrats have embraced a national strategy that attempts to appeal to the same constituencies that the Republicans have been able to ride to electoral success for the last 25+ years. This, in turn, gives the Republican Party an enormous amount of leverage in setting the terms of debate in the run up to elections and also produces the inevitable rightward shift taken by every Democratic candidate over that same time period. Moreover, it should come as no surprise that the Dems are every bit as beholden to the same set of corporate interests as the Republicans which largely explains their unwillingness to reject a national strategy based on constituencies constructed by the Republicans and to attempt to create and appeal to an alternative constituency–namely one organized around a program that can be of immediate benefit to the working class.
But, without further adieu, let us take a trip back to the not so distant past:
Filed under: Current Events, Election 2008, Paul, Videos | Tags: Democratic Primary, Souja Boy, The Real World, white people
As a critic of most things, I find myself shaking my head a whole lot. Thusly, I would like to introduce my first installment of the Shaking My Head Awards more commonly known as the SMH’s (get it lol, lmao, gtg…smh?). This post is actually inspired by Melissa Harris-Lacewell’s “John Brown Awards”, which coincidentally put her on the list…well done. These individuals and entities have been awarded an SMH not because I hate them or dislike them, but simply because they have recently made me shake my head in disappointment and/or utter disbelief. Sometimes I laugh afterwards and sometimes I die a little bit afterwards. Either way I applaud you all for the incomprehensible moments of absolute bewilderment that you all have provided me; leaving me to just…shake my head.
Melissa Harris-Lacewell
As noted your “John Brown Awards” are given to “white me who are down for the cause.” So far, so good. After all there’s nothing wrong with giving out awards to deserving individuals. However, giving John Edwards a “John Brown award” is like giving Ward Connerly, the “Nat Turner Award” around his work for racial uplift and commitment to the Left. Now I do appreciate the fact that you started the piece noting that it was “unauthorized” and “likely to be rejected and denounced” which takes away any anger I would have held. That does not however negate the fact that you did this…I suppose that I am no better than you either considering I am responding, albeit facetiously. But I still have to shake my head on this one Professor.
Filed under: Current Events, Election 2008, Josh, Politics, Race | Tags: Election, Hope, Obama
When I was roughly 9 years old, i proudly declared to my older sister that after mulling it over in my head for the past decade or so, I had finally decided what I wanted to “be” when I grew up- President of the United States. It seemed like a rather glamorous position to me at the time, what with the king-like authority, cool-shaped office, 24-hour on-call posse of armed guards in black suits, etc. and besides that, it just seemed way cooler than being a paleontologist (my former dream career). Yet still, despite the amount of time, energy, and critical thought I’d put into my newfound aspiration, I was met not with praise from my eldest sibling, but rather discouragement. On the evening of my ever-so-eloquent verbal declaration of my intention to pursue the position of Commander-In-Chief, with all the careful delicacy of a falling anvil, my sister unflinchingly looked me in the eyes, and told me that no Black man would ever become President. No shot. Not a chance. Ever.
What a difference 10 years makes.
I have mixed feelings about the “youtube-ification” of American politics. On one hand you get hilarious stuff like this:
“B**** got eyes like the GEICO lizard…”
On the other hand you get stuff that is hilarious for all of the wrong reasons:
Filed under: Election 2008, Eric, Gender | Tags: Clinton, Hillary, Iran, Obliterate
Check out this Good Morning America interview with Hillary Clinton from Tuesday:
Clinton’s hard line on Iran shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone at this point, but I do find this nonsense about an attack on Israel rather disconcerting – meant only to stir up people’s fears and provide a pretext for actually beginning to have a discussion about OBLITERATING an entire country (for the record, Iran, contrary to popular belief, does not possess nuclear weapons; Israel does). As an aside, Obama too has made his intentions clear for Iran, and they don’t stray too far from Clinton’s path. I do think, though, that sometimes Clinton’s position as a female candidate competing against men for an office that has been held by nobody but men forces her to perform certain rituals of masculinity – hence, the tough talk about murdering 71 million people on a whim.
But obliterate is a REALLY strong word and I can only assume that a Clinton presidency will look something like this
A group of my friends attended a Barack Obama rally on Friday where they managed to claw their way to the front of the crowd and take their place at center stage for the event. Upon their return, I asked about the rally, and one of them exclaimed, “WE TOUCHED HIM!” She then explained that they were given the opportunity to shake Obama’s hand and tell him how much they love him. I took issue with the description of their interaction with the presidential candidate for it bore an eery resemblance to a familiar story. If the woman with the issue of blood (the one who touched Jesus and was healed) had been a college student, the aforementioned encounter would fit seamlessly into either of the synoptic gospels. However, I doubt touching the hem of Barack’s garment (or even shaking his hand) will produce similar effects.
The media is having a field day with what they’ve dubbed Obama’s “rock star status”. His competitors have also latched onto this idea in their attempts to discredit his ability to lead the country, attributing his success during the election to the fact that he is a rock star (which implies that Paul McCartney could too run for president and give Hillary Clinton and John McCain a run for their money. I am not sure what they are attempting to say about themselves with this argument.) As far as policy is concerned, the only person who should be worried about this pedestal Obama is being placed upon is the man himself. It seems nearly impossible for him to live up to what some are expecting of him because the expectations can only come to fruition by the stroke of some minor miracle.
Filed under: Class, Election 2008, Eric, Religion | Tags: Bitter, Marx, Obama, Religion
“Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people.” -Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right (1843)
“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.” -Barack Obama at a San Fransisco fundraiser, April 6, 2008
Can’t you see the resemblance?
By now, you would have to be living under a rock not to have heard the media backlash over Obama’s recent comments at a San Fransisco fundraising rally in which he ascribed the embrace of religion, guns, and bigotry among small town whites to their “bitterness” over being screwed by American capitalism over the last 25 years. While the media, HRC, and Old Man McCain have blasted him for being ‘elitist’ and ‘condescending’, as a self described Marxist I was more struck by the eery similarity between Obama’s statements and Karl Marx’s now (in)famous materialist analysis of religion. Of course, Obama added the nuance that people turn to guns, too, out of bitterness – though I can think of reasons other than bitterness that people might own guns.
“Why should I, as a progressive, vote for Obama?” I recently asked an Obama supporter desperately trying to compel me to change my party affiliation from Independent to Democrat. Of course, I had no intention of switching. I have heard all the arguments before and have yet to be persuaded.
“I serve as a blank screen…on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.” -Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope
“Well, Obama is the only candidate who has opposed the war in Iraq from the outset,” the Obamamaniac began.
True indeed! Though isn’t it convenient that he was also the only candidate who was not in the Congress in 2002 to vote on the war. This is, of course, beside the point. What the Obama man was trying to say was that his candidate is the true “anti-war” candidate. It has a certain Orwellian quality that in this country someone who has voted for every single war spending bill, has stated repeatedly that he would consider using nuclear force on Pakistan, has stated that he would crack down on Iran, has refused to commit to any plan to remove troops from Iraq by 2013, and has stated that he is in favor of increasing the size of the military by 100,000 troops can position himself as the anti-war candidate. Obama, like his party, is thoroughly committed to maintaining U.S. domination of Middle Eastern resources and politics. He may be against the way the war has been executed, but one must be a skilled in the art of intellectual contortion to believe he is at all “anti-war.” Meanwhile, more than 4,000 U.S. troops and likely over 1 million Iraqis have been killed over 5 years of this unjust occupation. The anti-war movement can’t repeat its mistake from 2004 and throw its support behind another pro-war candidate.
“Okay, but he supports universal healthcare,” said the campaigner, slightly flustered.
“Oh really? So he supports single payer healthcare?” I replied.
No. In fact, Obama voted against the single payer health care bill HR676. Obama is not interested in challenging the healthcare and pharmaceutical corporations who make healthcare so unattainable for the more than 50 million without it and the service so poor for working and middle class people who have it. While he has said he wants to make healthcare more affordable, his plan for reform operates on the corporations’ terms. This is understandable as he tries to position himself as friendly to the corporate agenda and attempts to attract their support.
“Fine, but he is a better candidate than Hillary or McCain.” I could hear the first signs of desperation in his voice.
Alright, sure. My dog is a better candidate than McCain. As for Clinton, from what each candidate has revealed about their respective platforms, it’s hard to distinguish Obama’s positions from the largely party-line centrism advanced by Clinton. However I think Ralph Nader’s formulation says it best: “The problem with voting for the lesser of two evils is that at the end of the day you still have evil.”
“I just think it would be an historic change to finally have a black president. It’s a sign that there is hope for the future.”
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