Caught Up in the Packaging
Posted by LoisLane at Thursday, January 10, 2008 7:21 AM and is filed under Black Power,Under Current,Potted Luck 
As a black woman, I truly I feel that I can’t lose despite who wins the Democratic Presidential Nomination. Both top Democrats represent a first. A win by either would go beyond meaningless symbols or empty rhetoric in America’s freedom from racial and gender discrimination. Yes, it will still exist but their example would serve as a beacon of light for all those close-minded folks desperately trying to remain in the dark. Some worry about the future of affirmative action programs if one of them (or both) take the White House but I tell you, right now, that should be the least of our worries because the battle wages on and it’s not just Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama that we need to keep an eye on.
Take the recent polling fiasco, which has dominated online news since New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s spectacular coup in the New Hampshire caucus. News agencies scrambled to find out where they went wrong after Obama’s Iowa win and subsequent New Hampshire defeat. A McClatchy article plainly states one reason was that many voters simply lied when saying they would support a black Obama then in the privacy of the voting booth cast a ballot for Clinton instead. It’s that propensity to be afraid of the unknown that could cost either Dem a November White House win.
There are still factors that get in the way and I’m not talking about one candidate’s emotional quotient or the color of another’s skin. One thing going against Obama (and Hillary) who has been attracting many Independents is that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg maybe considering a run for president as an Independent. Now, there is no chance in hell that he’ll take a dub, but what he would do is subtract votes from the Dems (remember Ralph Nadar?), which would send John McCain directly to the Oval Office.
Oh yes, don’t discount McCain just because he’s related by party affiliation to The-President-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-In-This-Campaign. It’s safe to say that whichever candidate emerges, it will be easier for moderate Republicans (those I deem are more likely to vote for a centrist Democrat) to stay with their own centrist. Back some eight years ago, Republicans rebuffed McCain because his views were to the left of old Bushy. But now, after two unhealthy doses of George W. many Republicans don’t think McCain’s centrist views are too bad after all. Take his New Hampshire win as proof.
What it all boils down to is whomever wins the Democratic nomination has to be good enough, tough enough to bury McCain and his 20 years of experience, former POW status and attempts at various congressional reforms. Those are factors that the GOP bets its voting power on and I don’t believe Clinton or Obama can win without plucking more than a few elephants from the herd.
In New Hampshire, exit polls showed (in light of recent events take it with a grain of salt, mind you) hard-line Dems who care most about the economy voted for Clinton and Independents who care most about the war in Iraq went with Obama. Also of note, is that 57 percent of women who turned out cast Clinton ballots, of which Obama’s camp relied.
One thing in Hillary’s favor is that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is throwing in the towel on his presidential bid. If you remember, he was a very successful Clinton Cabinet member, so his votes might go to her.
The fact of the matter is, it is really too early to call and this week’s poll fiasco proved that. What’s most important is not getting hung up on color or gender when the time comes. They are simply smokescreens. When the nominees do emerge, be sure you listen to the gift of their knowledge and plans for our country while resisting the urge to play with the box it comes in.
Take the recent polling fiasco, which has dominated online news since New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s spectacular coup in the New Hampshire caucus. News agencies scrambled to find out where they went wrong after Obama’s Iowa win and subsequent New Hampshire defeat. A McClatchy article plainly states one reason was that many voters simply lied when saying they would support a black Obama then in the privacy of the voting booth cast a ballot for Clinton instead. It’s that propensity to be afraid of the unknown that could cost either Dem a November White House win.
There are still factors that get in the way and I’m not talking about one candidate’s emotional quotient or the color of another’s skin. One thing going against Obama (and Hillary) who has been attracting many Independents is that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg maybe considering a run for president as an Independent. Now, there is no chance in hell that he’ll take a dub, but what he would do is subtract votes from the Dems (remember Ralph Nadar?), which would send John McCain directly to the Oval Office.
Oh yes, don’t discount McCain just because he’s related by party affiliation to The-President-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-In-This-Campaign. It’s safe to say that whichever candidate emerges, it will be easier for moderate Republicans (those I deem are more likely to vote for a centrist Democrat) to stay with their own centrist. Back some eight years ago, Republicans rebuffed McCain because his views were to the left of old Bushy. But now, after two unhealthy doses of George W. many Republicans don’t think McCain’s centrist views are too bad after all. Take his New Hampshire win as proof.
What it all boils down to is whomever wins the Democratic nomination has to be good enough, tough enough to bury McCain and his 20 years of experience, former POW status and attempts at various congressional reforms. Those are factors that the GOP bets its voting power on and I don’t believe Clinton or Obama can win without plucking more than a few elephants from the herd.
In New Hampshire, exit polls showed (in light of recent events take it with a grain of salt, mind you) hard-line Dems who care most about the economy voted for Clinton and Independents who care most about the war in Iraq went with Obama. Also of note, is that 57 percent of women who turned out cast Clinton ballots, of which Obama’s camp relied.
One thing in Hillary’s favor is that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is throwing in the towel on his presidential bid. If you remember, he was a very successful Clinton Cabinet member, so his votes might go to her.
The fact of the matter is, it is really too early to call and this week’s poll fiasco proved that. What’s most important is not getting hung up on color or gender when the time comes. They are simply smokescreens. When the nominees do emerge, be sure you listen to the gift of their knowledge and plans for our country while resisting the urge to play with the box it comes in.
Great Article:
As for N.H., who allows people from other states in to vote I was surprised. So much for people wanting change in America. Not much change anyways.
I believe the media will chose the next president and have heard that Hillary is about to start using the race card some how to get the votes from Obama.
I would like to know how this election would turn out if there was no polling allowed.
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Thanks for your comment! It would be interesting to see how the Clinton Camp decides to use the race card... I'll stay tuned for that. Your point is a salient one: how much does published poll results factor into the choices voters make behind the curtain? Recent articles say, that polls are not meant to predict an election's outcome but there's not much said about how much they influence one? I smell another blog... good thoughts, Nashville! Thanks again!
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Just a comment about the polling - check the above link from last night's Countdown wih Keith Olbermann, where they show that the problem wasn't with the polls themselves, but with the REPORTING on the polls.
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AS A WOMAN AND A BLACK PERSON, IT IS A VERY DIFFICULT TIME FOR ME INVOLVING THIS ELECTION, THIS ARTICLE HAS GIVEN ME SOME PERSPECTIVE, OF WHAT THE TACTICS ARE.... WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS, THEIR ARE ALWAYS MORE THAN ONE VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS EXPECIALLY IN TEXAS!!!!!!! WELL I GUESS MOST DEMOCRATS HAVE NO MONEY TO BUY ANY ADDITIONAL VOTES
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These two candidates do represent an open-minded america, however it's indication proves that money is now electing presidents in this United States. Corruption and bruises to our Constitution will continue when unlimited amounts of money can be used to purchase the presidency. Yes, I know Obama does not take money from lobbyists but large sums allow him to run the race doesn't it? Hmm! Subsequently, this democrate will only support whoever wins. The point is made that a divided vote will cost us much more. Let's stand together and support who wins so that "We the People" hold on to some form democratic government.
Get out and vote!!
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wow! njoyed reading this especially since it's been several days since i watched the news. loved the blog site and very visually appealling! and enjoyed what u had to say--informative. pleasantly surprised!
Be in the way,
Dre
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Ailene the article was very informative.
I think there were about 40,000 more than expected people that voted in New
Hampshire.
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This is a game and its a smoke screen for the truly uninformed. The puppet has already been chosen by the power elite/world bankers there are no more countries, just wool over our eyes.
The US and the consititution began dying with the introduction of the FED (central bank). Who ever is elected there will be no change just deeper enslavement.
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I hate to grant ammunition to the cynic in you but it appears that you are oh so wise. Like Yoda... And I had such high hopes. Michael Moore once begged Oprah to run for president (2004), you think now that she's got her own network, she could be bothered? At least, that would be different. Read on:
Double-Speak, Barak Obama and the Continuing U.S. Hypocrisy
by: Larry Pinkney
http://blackcommentator.com/259/259_keeping_it_real_obama_double_speak.html
What better way to manipulate the masses of people than to propagate lies disguised as truth, and to say nothing of substance in the name of being crystal clear. This is the double-speak by America's latest well known cynical opportunist, Barack Hussein Obama. Indeed, it is being demonstrated yet again that, "America is like a melting pot. The people at the bottom get burned and the scum floats to the top."
The superficiality and racism of white America is amply shown by its current propensity to equate real economic and political "change" with skin color. This is a fact, which for a certainty, does not escape Mr. Obama or his handlers. As a college-educated white woman - Barack Obama supporter - recently stated on national television, she wants to see the "color" component of "affirmative action eliminated " because after all (according to her) there is now color equality in America, and she made it quite plain that she felt justified in her racist quest because, as she proudly asserted, she is after-all, "voting for Barack Obama, a black man" for US President. In the very name of supposedly empowering the people, Barack Obama and many of his supporters are actually about the business of disempowering people, most especially Black, Brown, and Red peoples.
Does anyone remember Condoleezza Rice? She is, by the way, biologically Black, and she sure as hell does not represent economic and political "change" in the vein of truly empowering the people. Oh yes, and what about that biologically Black man Colin Powell? You remember him, don't you? The first biologically Black US Secretary of State, who went to the United Nations and told the entire world the big lie that Iraq "possessed weapons of mass destruction" that, in turn, provided political cover for the colossal debacle of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. It must be reiterated that equating genuine and much needed economic, social and political change with skin color is absurd, cynical, and enormously dangerous. Yet, this appears to be an important part of what Barack Obama and his handlers are cynically counting on. They know that a significant portion of the American people, including many whites, want real change, so why not give them clean-sounding superficiality instead of truth, coupled with a huge dose of double-speak. This strategy serves to please and engender trust of the corporate backers while confusing many potential voters, especially young and/or first time potential voters. It might be an effective strategy but it is also a cynical and dishonest one.
Then of course, notwithstanding the huge dose of political double-speak, there is the Obama-disguise of rhetorically cloaking himself as a candidate of peace when in fact he is a candidate of war who has indicated that he favors "unilateral" US military actions in other nations - supposedly in "pursuit of the real terrorists." In other words, he favors unilateral, state-sanctioned terrorism in order allegedly to pursue individual and/or organizational terrorists in other nations. While such simplisticly cloaked militaristic rhetoric on the part of Obama might make for tasty media sound bites, it is the stuff of cynicism, betrayal of the people, and madness.
For over seven years now, George W. Bush and clique repeatedly have illustrated the folly of such a dangerous policy, both at home and abroad. Yet, Obama, a so-called candidate for "change," is simply repackaging the same old, dangerous and failed US foreign policy with shiny but perilous rhetoric. He is not a candidate of peace. By his own admission, he is merely desirous of waging war "the right way," i.e. with a more effective killing machine. Of course, he has never personally been in mortal combat in this nation or outside of its national boundaries, where limbs are broken and life is snuffed out. He has never been confined and tortured in US prisons as have some of his own Black constituents who were tortured by members of the police department in Chicago, Illinois. There is no "right way" to wage war. War is not antiseptic. It is not clean. It is bloody and it is horrible; the only "right way" to wage it is to avoid it, and most especially the use of "unilateral" US military force.
The Democrat and Republican parties long ago divorced themselves from promoting, in any real sense, the interests of the vast majority of the people. The politics of these parties continue to move America, as a nation, from the frying pan straight into the proverbial fire. For Black, Red, and Brown people in America and throughout the world this must be and is of particular concern.
Ironically, the one serious candidate of the people who is outside of the joined-at-the-hip Democrat and Republican parties is former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who had the guts and integrity to leave the mire of the Democratic party and declare her support for the national "Power To The People Coalition," which in turn supports her candidacy for US President. For this, she has been outright ignored and/or repeatedly attacked by the US corporate media. Much of America, collectively, even in the 21st century, simply cannot abide integrity, only hypocrisy. Nonetheless, real change and real power/empowerment must come not from cynical, corporate and shiny insubstantial rhetoric that is, in reality, callously pimping and manipulating the "hope" of people. Rather, it must come from systemic change that begins with the people - who are fed up with the machinations and hypocrisy of the Democrat and Republican parties. No matter what occurs in the upcoming and ongoing corporate media circuses referred to as caucuses and primaries throughout the United States, and no matter who the big corporate media presents as the so-called "front runners" in these circuses of, for, and by the Democrat and Republican parties, justice and integrity can never emanate from an intrinsically unjust, amoral and hypocritical US system. Moreover, when viewing the candidates of these parties, including the candidacy of Barack Obama, it behooves all of us to remember and apply the age-old African adage: "Beware of the naked man who offers you clothes."
This is the year 2008 and it is time to truly analyze, organize, educate, and liberate ourselves and our brothers and sisters. It's time to keep it real. Onward then. The struggle continues….
BC Editorial Board member, Larry Pinkney is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil/political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn].
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