So I Am a Racist?
By Larry Johnson on March 31, 2008 at 10:25 PM in Current Affairs
From the blog whose name we do not speak comes the charge that I’m the new Grand Dragon of the KKK. Why? Because I had the audacity of hope that progressive bloggers could understand how Barack Obama’s ties to Jeremiah Wright poses significant challenges for him should he be the Democratic nominee for President. My piece, The “Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit” Dilemma for Barack, was inspired by Barack’s new pastor, Otis Moss.
It seems that Otis was defending the reputation of Jeremiah Wright on Easter Sunday and insisting that this was an electronic lynching of Wright. About seven minutes into part III of the video of that sermon Moss states:
“If I was Ice Cube, I’d say it a little differently. You picked the wrong folk to mess with!”
UPDATED (Here’s the video thanks to C.S.):
Pastor Moss cleaned up Ice Cube’s “Wrong Nigga” song for polite company but there is no doubt about his meaning. This in turn inspired my article about the problems Wright’s relationship with Obama creates for the Senator’s quest to become President.
The video of Jeremiah Wright screaming “goddamn America” and referring to this country as the KKK United States may play well at some urban African American churches, but it repels and inflames most Americans. Let’s not forget that the Republicans used one off-hand comment by Michael Dukakis about not wanting the death penalty for a man who raped his wife and combined it with the visage of Willie Horton. The rest is history.
And how about that wild scream of Howard Dean? Hell, we are still hearing that baby and he is not running for anything. So if you believe that the Jeremiah Wright condemnation of this country while Barack Obama is calling him “uncle” and an influential adviser will have no weight in the fall election you are a certifiable loon. But we are not talking simply one minor video taken out of context. The Wright material is voluminous. You may believe it will not matter but you are wrong. You may believe you can catch a 300 pound safe dropped from the top of a thirty story building, but if you are standing below it you will be squashed. You may believe that the surge in Iraq is working, but that does not heal the sectarian strife. Your belief does not change reality. This is not faith based politics.
And Uncle Jeremiah is just the start of Obama’s woes. There is his friendship with the unrepentant terrorist, William Ayers. There is his mentor and fund raiser, Tony Rezko, who is facing significant felony charges. There is the video of Barack not putting his hand over his heart during a pledge of allegiance. And there is the silliness about him not wearing the flag pin.
These will be weaved together in one fashion or another. The Clinton campaign is largely shying away from them. But some of us who support Hillary and want a President other than John McCain (or any Republican for that matter) come November are alarmed by the looming disaster represented by the Barack candidacy.
The man is a wimp. Pure and simple. He may be smart and articulate, but he is not a man of great character or courage. The true essence of Barack was exposed most recently in his staunch refusal to allow the registered democrats in Michigan and Florida to vote in a recognized primary election. He is afraid to lose. It is that simple. When it comes to the principle of Democracy or political self-preservation, he chooses self over democracy.
Well no thank you. We already have a President who trashes the Constitution, ignores habeus corpus, and tolerates torture. We have a President who puts his own interest above the welfare of his country. We do not need another. So if pointing out the inadequacies, incompetence, and poor judgment of Barack Obama makes me a racist, then I am guilty as charged.
But Barry Obama’s limited political experience, foolishness in surrounding himself with radical leftists and anti-semites, and recklessness in associating with the likes of Tony Rezko has nothing to do with him being black. My complaints about Barack have nothing to do with the color of his skin but everything to do with the content of his character. Black people are no more likely to be foolish or reckless than white people. The former governors of New Jersey and New York proved that point beyond a doubt.
It is Barack who is playing the race card and trying to immunize himself against political attacks by insinuating that any criticism of him and his record is racially motivated. As Bud White pointed out earlier today Barack’s use of terms like “bamboozle” and “hoodwink” had no other purpose than to insert race as a weapon into the race. Nonetheless, I do not accuse Barack of racism. I accuse him of not being smart enough or seasoned enough to be President. For a smart guy who takes pride in his academic accomplishments he showed serious shortcomings in judgment by hanging with a pastor that cursed America and buddying up with an American born and bred terrorist who lamented not planting more bombs. It is Barack’s inability to recognize the danger inherent in having friends with such extreme positions that scares me. And it should be a source of concern for every American who will vote to select our next Chief Executive.
, the basis for the Best Motion Picture Nominee (Golden Globes) starring Brad Pitt.
, the novel by John Le Carre, a new motion picture starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
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