Ward 8, Get Your Granddaddy

Photo by dbking, Wikimedia Commons

Take his hand and lead him inside the house.  Gently sit him down in his beat-up La-Z-Boy.  Grab him a Michelob from the fridge, but keep the remote out of his reach.  This will require his full attention.

Slowly proceed to explain to him that although he is well past the age where some older black folks stop being polite and start getting a little too real (based on my relatives and the elderly pianist at my home church, I think it's around 64), sharing their unedited thoughts on subjects like your weight, spouse or lack thereof, their friends' wayward grandchildren, what's going on at "that church over there," and crooked doctors, racism is NEVER acceptable.

He'll think that since he is a black man who survived Jim Crow, riots, attempted murder, addiction, prison, multiple scandals and made it beyond Social Security benefit collection age, he should be able to say whatever runs across his mind, whether the mic is on or not. 

Look him in the eye and tell him that he's dead wrong.  Being a former civil rights activist, he should know that racial scapegoating--this time, in regard to Asian business owners--is reprehensible and vile.  Let him know that saying that "dirty" Asian-owned businesses should all leave Ward 8 so that African-American businessmen can take their place sounds like he remixed hateful rhetoric from a white supremacist group.  As he knows, there are likely good and bad business owners of every hue east of the Anacostia.  A person of his stature should approach neighborhood beautification, business development and resident concerns in a strategic and holistic manner, coordinating meetings and talking to groups of business owners and emerging entrepreneurs, rather than singling out an entire race.

Remind him that if these words were uttered about black businesses by a white politician in a gentrified area of the city, he knows that he would be the first one to organize a march and demand that councilman's resignation.  Defensive justifications and a quick visit to a "good Asian" (!) are not enough.  Making real amends requires constructive, meaningful dialogue and true leadership.

If he still doesn't get it, try showing him some graphics to drive the point home--his antics just made the "Highbrow-Despicable" quadrant of New York Magazine's Approval Matrix.

If You Have a Uterus and Live in Virginia...(UPDATE)

**Air raid horns in background**

The Obama Administration Stopped Another Jihadist. Will the GOP Give Him Any Props?

Yesterday, the F.B.I. arrested another wacko allegedly trying to murder innocent Americans.  This time, the bombing attempt occurred in our backyard.

With the second major arrest of a domestic jihadist in less than a month, do you think that the GOP will finally back off on their claims that Obama is "soft" on terrorism?

Another note of kudos to the administration--this week, officials sealed a major trade deal with South Korea to increase exports and further open up its markets to U.S. automakers.  Over time, this action could result in tens of thousands of American jobs.

Like Blair Underwood memorably said in Full Frontal, "Can a brother get some love?" 

Compromise or Capitulation?

I love the president, I really do.
But this week will go down in history as the one when the ish really hit the fan with his liberal base.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/07/AR2010120701402.html?hpid=topnews

What You Missed While You Were Fighting Chicks at the Mall

While folks were out standing in lines on Black Friday (unnecessary for the single and fabulous who have no kids to shop for...;), our president somehow managed to end up with the most ghetto injury that a person of his stature could attain.

Random Thoughts: P.G. County Edition

The P.G. County drama doesn't deserve my full attention, being that I don't live there, but I thought I'd share a few pretty little thought bubbles on the issue anyway.

WTF?!! of the Week: Turner Classic Movies

Granted, it's a little early in the week, but I couldn't let this one pass.

Turner Classic Movies showed The Birth of a Nation, which is arguably the most racist movie ever made, at 12:15 on Tuesday morning, one week to the day of the Republican takeover of the House and substantial electoral triumphs in the Senate.

For those of you who may not know, this silent film presents the Klan as heroes who save South Carolina (and by extension, America) from evil Blacks who have taken over their state, passed laws to allow interracial marriage, and who are actively denying Whites the right to vote during Reconstruction.

Coincidence?  I think not.

Your thoughts?

This Is Not the Time for Liberals to Cry in Their Imported Beer

Really.  Take a deep breath and a day off.  It will be okay.  At least the Senate is still in the hands of the Dems.

Well, deep.honey did her part as a proud moderate voter, re-electing the incumbent Democrat in her local VA House race (she has no voting rights at her bachelorette pad in the obelisk).  He's a good guy who I've heard speak on a number of occasions, and he does an excellent job of reaching out to the Black powers that be in her community, even stopping by her place of worship recently.

But back to the bloodbath.  What can President Obama learn from this?

*For starters, he should shake up his circle of advisers even further, finding a mix of policy wonks and political strategists that are less liberal and more in touch with the concerns of independents and moderates.  Last night proved again that the support of independents and moderates is essential for winning any national election.

*He needs to pay attention to what people of faith and blue-collar America see as weaknesses in his governing style and priorities.  I'm a Christian, originally from the Deep South/Bible Belt, and I'm sure that when he started pressing for more rights for gays, my former blue-collar neighbors and those like them all over the nation immediately shut their ears to the rest of his agenda.  He has to remember that America is still largely a Judeo-Christian nation.  Offend folks' basic sense of right and wrong, and the conversation is over.  Those who may not have had a strong dislike for Obama before began gunning for him, and the Tea Party took advantage of their bitterness and anger.  He should attempt to calm the storm in blue-collar America by focusing on infrastructure projects and job creation in an obvious, measurable way, and continuing to support small business owners.

*The Dems need an infusion of young blood on the local level.  Part of the reason why Obama was so attractive to voters under 40 in '08 was that they saw him as being in touch with Gen X and Y.  He wasn't one of the typical, cynical baby boomers.  X and Y believed that his administration and policies would be innovative, forward-thinking, able to slough off the tired conventions of Washington politics.  However, Obama's agenda was stalled from the outset because he had to clean up the economic and military messes of his predecessor, and he's still working on that.  Meanwhile, a lot of young voters' goodwill and enthusiasm for Dem priorities evaporated.  Remember, the Facebook generation has a short attention span. 

To reengage young adults, Dems have to do a better job of cultivating the next generation of transformative leaders for Congressional races.  It's hard to get involved as a young person when you don't think that any of the candidates has a clue as to what your generation's priorities are.  Dems must also effectively use social networking to keep young adults informed about opportunities to contribute their talents to party efforts locally.

*Dems also need to conduct more outreach to determine what senior citizens really want.  It was interesting to me that last night, CNN displayed data showing that this group is most likely to vote for Tea Party candidates.  According to CNN.com, only 39% of senior citizens voted for Democrats last night.  This is a 10% drop in comparison to numbers from 2008.  SMH:  Aren't Dems the party most likely not to touch Social Security entitlements?   Don't they remember the Republican effort to privatize it?  Either they are misinformed, or just completely uninformed.  Outreach strategies have to be completely revamped.

Regardless, the next four years are going to be interesting.  Buckle up, everybody.

Van Jones at Busboys and Poets, 5th & K NW

Van Jones, President Obama's former Special Advisor for Green Jobs, will be at Busboys and Poets' 5th and K location for a post-Stewart/Colbert rally fund-raising event on Saturday at 7 PM.  Not only is he a leading intellectual and civil rights activist, he also happens to be fine (and unfortunately for me, very married)...  

The event is sponsored by ColbertRally.com, and will raise money for DonorsChoose.org, an organization that supports economically disadvantaged students across the nation.

One for My VA Beach/Hampton Roads Peeps

According to the Washington Post's Virginia Politics Blog, David Bartholomew, the chairman of the Virginia Beach Republican Committee, has rightly decided to tuck HIS tail between his legs and resign...har, har.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/10/va_beach_gop_head_faces_pressu.html

deep.honey hopes he took a long walk off a short seaside pier afterward.

You see, Mr. Bartholomew forwarded an e-mail with a racist joke featuring a "black dog" whose owner applies for welfare on its behalf.  The sharp eyes at the Blue Virginia blog called him out:
http://www.bluevirginia.us/diary/2026/virginia-beach-republican-committee-chair-forwards-racist-email.

How can you be so hateful when you live near the beach?!  But I've been told before that the Virginia Beach area definitely has more than its share of "racial issues."
 
My sisters who are transplants from that area need to check in with their folks and make sure they are supporting their local Urban League and/or NAACP...

Obama and the New McCarthyism

"Until this moment...I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness."  

 "You have done enough.  Have you no sense of decency?"
 
Although these quotes could easily be used today in reference to the far right's numerous fabrications against the Obama administration (birther hysteria, the imminent threat of martial law, death panels, undercover Muslim, etc.), these words were directed at Senator Joseph McCarthy by Joseph Welch, an attorney that represented the Army against allegations of poor security and communist ties during the nationally televised Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954.

I bring this up because I recently watched "Scandalize My Name," a one-hour documentary on how the McCarthy hearings and related blacklists affected famous Black entertainers in the 1950s, including Paul Robeson, Harry Belafonte, Canada Lee, Hazel Scott, Ossie Davis and Rosetta LeNoire.  

I was struck by the extent to which the far right was able to ruin or adversely impact the careers of numerous Black performers who spoke out for the cause of civil rights, all by falsely alleging Communist ties or by condemning some performers for having held sympathies toward Communist organizations or philosophies.


I see the similarities in how the far right is attacking the Obama administration.  When the President proposes or supports legislation that upsets the status quo (universal healthcare, extensions of unemployment benefits, repeal of tax cuts for the wealthy, etc.) and helps the nation's most vulnerable citizens, it seems that there is always some sort of conspiracy alleged by his detractors.  Replace the 1950s charges of "Communist!" with "Socialist!" and you can see that the Republicans have clearly studied the McCarthy playbook.  It seems that there is a new, wacky charge against the President every week.



President Obama could learn much from the Black entertainers that were successful at maneuvering around the blacklist.  In the documentary, those that kept pleading their case before Congress and the media seemed to get nowhere...

Harry Belafonte, a man of courage, did not go before Congress.  He focused on his art and advocating for his people.
 
Belafonte won a Tony in 1954, and tradition dictated that Tony winners appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. When summoned by Ed Sullivan for a meeting after his Tony win, he was told by Sullivan that he was on a blacklist and was asked about his alleged "anti-American" activities.

Belafonte told Sullivan that many of the activities he mentioned were false, some true, but as an American citizen with inalienable rights, he did not feel the need to declare which were true and which were false.  He thanked him for his time and left, even though being on the show would have been a major boost to his career.


Sullivan respected his stance and booked him for his show.


I write all of this to say that the President should just purse his lips and hunker down in the White House for a while and focus on progressive, innovative policies that everyone can agree upon, regardless of tax bracket.  President Obama has repeatedly stated to his friends and foes who he is, his place of birth, and goals for the country.  He should take a page from the Bush administration and stop responding to every allegation.  Energies spent crafting statements to address the endless claims of a lunatic fringe (check out this list of popular right-wing conspiracy theories from the Southern Poverty Law Center (http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/fall/patriot-paranoia) could be put to much better use.  
 
The President should also stop acting as if he's on the campaign trail and doing the "I feel your pain" tour in backyards and too-frequent press conferences unless he's announcing a new initiative or a major update on Iraq or Afghanistan.  He could mail one year of salary to everybody, and he still wouldn't please the haters.  The President should work on maintaining the support of his Democratic and independent base, the moderates in particular. 
 
Full disclosure:  Although currently registered as a Democrat, I consider myself an independent who happens to vote for Democrats because they are usually the lesser of two evils.  I'm definitely not a fan of the Democrats right now--they've swung a little too far to the left for me lately, and have failed to focus on jobs or articulate a unified message that focuses on the concerns of our shrinking middle class.  I'm not someone who blindly supports President Obama because of his party or skin tone.  I'd give him a solid B- for his performance thus far.  


I want him to succeed.  I also want the lackadaisical Democrats to hold onto their majorities in Congress (or preferably be replaced by more pragmatic, populist new Democrats or independents).  We can't afford to go backwards and get stuck in the mire of conservative culture wars again.  It's unfortunate that it's already happening again in Virginia under McDonnell and Cuccinelli.