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The healthcare debate needed this. Instead of the "birthers" & "deathers" we needed a dose of reality. Straight Talk. Begrudgingly, this morning (I typically can't stand the smugness and self-righteousness which is Joe Scarborough), I turned to Morning Joe and became riveted to the television.I couldn't remember the last time I heard as thorough an argument against the current system of healthcare while dropping balanced rhetoric explainingwhy a single payer system, while not perfect, would constitute real healthcare reform and why a public option is the least that progressive democrats can settle for.

I think I have a pretty good handle on the politics here. The President wants a bipartisan bill and the polls seem to indicate that the American people want both parties to work together. I completely understand this sentiment. The problem seems to be that while the President has reached out to Republicansthe ideological gap between the two parties seems to indicate that the Republicans will not vote for any compromised bill. They will not vote for single payer, thepublic option or the co-operatives that have been recently discussed. The Republicans will not vote for any version of a healthcare reform bill that they have demonized and demagogued and that their shrinking political base has railed against for weeks now. They truly are the party of no. Bipartisanship is a means,not an end. And it seems disingenuous to me for Republicans to claim the Democrats are averse to the bipartisanship that they refuse to commit too. FrankLuntz put out the GOP talking points months ago. Republicans were instructed to say they were in favor of reform but to attack any reform measures as an attack on personal liberties and to frame the debate around the notion of a government takeover of healthcare. This practice is in full effect. It's time to turn the tables and I think Rep Anthony Weiner (D-NY) may have just helped our cause.

Sarah who???

People. Your first mind is probably right. They tell you this when you are taking standardized tests. Your first thought is probably the right one. So what did you think when you first heard that John McCain had chosen an obscure female governor from the state of Alaska as his running mate.? I will tell you what I first thought: WTF??
I mean, who is Sarah Palin? Does she even know McCain? Have they ever worked together on anything. (MSNBC reports that the two met for the first time 6 months ago) How is it that a man who is criticizing Obama's experience selects a woman that no one knows. (She is also under an ethics investigation in the state of Alaska) How must Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney feel right now. When Chris Mathews asked if they would be comfortable with Palin's experience to run the country and her being "one heartbeat away" from the presidency, a McCain political operative never answered the question. Instead he talked about Palin's conservative agenda, her love of hunting and pro-gun rights agenda. Call it what it is. A political move that hopes to capitalize on "post-rational" Hillary Clinton sentiments. Does McCain really beleive that pro-choice supporters of Hillary will view a pro-life Palin in the samelight as they do Hillary? The racial equivalent would be McCain appointing Ward Connerly or Clarence Thomas or JC Watts as his running mate. As in the previous case, Black people will not support a candidate just because he is Black (in fact most Blacks abhore Connerly, Thomas and Watts as sellouts) and most Hillary supporters will not support Palin just because they share the same feminine parts. Their issues do not align and neither do their politics.
Frankly, this was an exotic pick that McCain hopes balances Obama's "exoticness" as the first African American presidential nominee. This was a purely political move that did not take into account the gravity of a VP pick. This pick calls into question McCain's judgement and his willingness to gamble with the lives of the American public for political gain. Sounds like he will do anything to win....and I, for one, have seen enough.
After last nights epic speech from Obama I am convinced that anyone that does not vote for this man...has serious intelligence issues or they just refuse to see across party lines and continue to vote against their own economic issues...

More than Ever...Race is Unavoidable.

If Barack Obama loses this historic presidential bid to John McCain the blame will fall squarely on white, rural, working class, lower income voters who by definition are Democrats but who just can't physically allow themselves to pull the lever for a Black man. Forget the fact that their politics are almost identical or that Democratic policies will give them the economic leg up that they need in these Republican-infused distressed economic times or that these same Republicans have dragged the American brand through the mud worldwide...they just can't mentally wrap their minds around it.. Forget about the fact that Michelle Obama spelled out in her speech to the DNC that her and Barack's story (the African American story) are identical to the mythical American dream that everyone espouses and we all hope to emulate, both Black and White. I guess that's not enough. Never mind that both became successful despite working class roots and parents who sacrificed for their children. No that's not enough either.
On MSNBC's Morning Joe the panelists openly discussed how white voters are wondering how it is possible that these two Black people could get into Ivy league schools when their own children were not that fortunate. They discussed white sentiments that were against affirmative action and how a quota system must be the reason why these two Black people are successful. I mean they openly discussed how white folk held resentment towards successful blacks by making assumptions about how they got to be successful. I mean it was lunacy. (The real facts are these: While affirmative action connotes the idea that unqualified Blacks get preferrential treatment, the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action are WHITE WOMEN) These same folk will vote for Republican elites who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth and have no real connection to average Joe Smith or their economic issues and furthermore have run our economy into the ground the last 4-8 years. (ie George W Bush and McCain - both were well connected but abysmal students that held status because of their family blood line, not hard work) While corporations continue to get bailed out with taxpayer money and others make record profits while charging us higher prices and still others hire illegal aliens who will work at way less than the going rate and still others continue to ship American jobs overseas for bigger profits, these same working class whites continue to profit from white entitlement and the white superiority that is embedded in our society. When they see a successful white the attitude is one if pride and similarity. When the successful one is black they are met with skepticism and envy. It doesn't matter that we are all American or that Blacks can succeed by playing by the rules. None of that matters. In the solitary confinement that is a voting booth, where no one is watching them, they remain unable to vote for their own interests when the candidate that shares thier views and lives their story is Black.
It is times like this where I can truly understand the depression of my ancestors. They told us that we can't just be as good as whites...we had to be better. What they didn't tell us is that even when we are better and play by the rules and achieve...there is a resentment that will follow from the dominant culture that is rooted in racism and white supremacy. Those of you in corporate America know of what I speak. Look around upper management at your job. How many of you rise through the ranks without even considering that your race is a factor? If people will not vote for a Black man who shares a common American story and shares their economic issues...do you really think they would hire one or better yet promote one? I will continue to scream this from the mountain tops: Racism and white supremacy is this country's first and most pervasive and insidious sin and the manifestations if this sin affects each and every one of us...each and everyday...more than ever before.

Lying to yourself: Sex, Race and the White House

Ok. I must tell the truth, as I see it. I am officially tired of Hillary Clinton and her supporters (PUMA's / Party Unity My Ass) who would rather make a scene against Barack Obama at the convention and then cast their vote for John McCain in the fall. All because of some percieved slight of Hillary Clinton. I could maybe see their argument if she had been running against an older white man who certainly would have some built in political advantages but her opponent was an upstart Black man who is dealing with many of the same if not more negative political stereotypes and perceptions. I swear these people are derainged or just simply unintelligent. Hillary lost!! The nomination was not stolen from her. Get over it. I find it impossible to fathom that Barack supporters or Barack himself would hold up and threaten the election of the next democratic president like this. Where is your class Hil? I thought you were a statesman of some sort. And PUMA's, have you forgotten the facts? Hillary lost Iowa and only won New Hampshire after shamelessly shedding crocodile tears at a news conference (What is ironic is that it was those "tears" and her political use of that femininty that spawned the New Hampshire win and now her supporters claim it was sexism that derailed her campaign and that Obama should have spoken out against her treatment) It was Hillary that never planned for the campaign to go on after Super Tuesday. Her arrogance and sense of entitlement made it difficult for her to believe that she would even have a challenger after February 5th. Have they forgotten that it was Hillary that employed the "kitchen sink" strategy after understanding that the nomination was in fact slipping away and this turned the primaries into the negative campaign she thought she needed to win. I guess negative politicking doesn't always work, right Hil? So let me get this straight... Hil got outworked in the caucaus states, got out financed, got out-manned on the ground, had no strategy for a long campaign, fired her campaign manager Mark Penn, went negative (including adding injury to Obama by helping fuel the Rev Jeremiah Wright debate) and then blamed Obama for repsonding to her negative attacks, lost the delegate race and Obama is to blame?? The audacity of her!! Look at the man in the mirror Hil !!! And then tell these PUMA's to get on board or get out the way.These feminists are mad because they feel she wasn't treated fairly by the media. They claim sexism played a role in the election, and while I give that arguement credence and do agree that sexism was and continues to be a big issue...so was the racism that affected and still affects the Obama campaign. The bottom line is both candidates ran historic campaigns but somebody had to lose. And the only person who was in the position to have the nomination stolen from him was Obama. He took the lead in delegates after winning 11 straight contests after Super Tuesday and never relinquished that lead. That lead was the direct result of Clinton's arrogance and unpreparedness. So in actuality these Clinton supporters still have a win at all cost strategy... despite the lack of righteousness that this strategy evokes.
If you think this election was stolen from Hillary...you are lying to yourself
If you think Hillary was treated more unfairly than Barack during the primaries...you are lying to yourself
If you were supporting Hillary and now are voting for McCain then you are "post-rational" (and I suspect you have an issue with Black people) and...you are lying to yourself
And if you don't see race intertwined in the fabric of this election and the electorate...you are lying to yourself...and I feel sorry for you.

Update: August 26, 08 11:20pm
I just watched Hillary Clinton give her speech at the Democratic National Convention... simply put... a great speech. She deserves credit for the fire and vigor with which she delivered her support for Obama. I just wished she had done this earlier and I hope she continues this during the general... I also wish she had driven a more righteous campaign during the primaries and we maybe could have avoided all of this mess and these distractions...

So Who is Playing the Race Card???

I find this topic insulting to my core. The idea that McCain and his surrogates can charge that Obama is playing the race card after 4 straight negative ads that have run since Obama's much heralded trip abroad is just plain grotesque politics and I am highly offended..On MSNBC's Morning Joe program it was discussed openly that McCain's campaign had made a fundamental decision last weekend to attack Obama as much as possible so they could do a few things: 1. Keep Obama on the defensive 2. Control the airwaves and not let Obama control the debate.Now how will this help McCain? By controlling the media jargon you distract the media and the public from "real" issues (ie. Exxon Mobil's record profits, rising unemployment & food prices and a continually failing housing market - all which has happened under a Republican administration). By keeping Obama on the defensive you keep him from talking about the issues and you again distract those casual voters from the real issues.The idea that Obama is playing the race card is just straight lunacy. Obama has tried to keep the discussion from race for the entire campaign. We all know that a political campaign infused with race is a losing proposition for Obama. It makes no sense.When Obama (a Black man) says that the republicans are goimg to try to make you afraid of him by pointing out his "funny name" (we all know that when Fox News and their pundits continue to refer to him as Barack HUSSEIN Obama they are preying on electorate fears of Muslims and terrorism), and his Blackness (numerous republicans and the RNC ran adds during the primary season that were at best racially tinged to again draw out fears held by a largely white electorate) he has a valid historical point (remember the Willie Horton ad) and this latest "race card" attack is along the same lines. A Black man discussing his blackness as positive is vastly different from republicans or the RNC or swiftboat type organizations discussing race as a way to draw out fears of the white electorate. Just because Obama discusses his race does not mean that he is playing the race card. One is discussing the elephant in the room (All the other 40 or so presidents and vice presidents have been WHITE males...this fact in and of itself is a referendum on racism in America) and the other is "playing" the race card. In a campaign where it is widely known that discussions of race hurt Obama...why is the McCain campaign so eager to discuss race and accuse Obama of playing the race card? This is shades of the Rev Wright controversy all over again. The right wing is very good at talking about race and drawing out it's negativity as it relates to the white electorate and then hiding it's hands as if they are not responsible for it. This is an old game...and I am not buying it...you shouldn't either.

Yeah Jesse Jackson Messed UP...But He Still Speaks for US!!

First, I need to preface my comments by reiterating that I am a huge Obama fan and will be voting for him come November and that I love it when we can talk openly and honestly about issues like this.Jackson supported Obama in his bid for the Illinois State Senate seat and he was onboard for Obama’s presidential bid before Obama had any name recognition or the head of steam he has now…For too long we have sat in front of our TV’s and just accepted the information that was being spouted without a deeper grasp of the “game” that is the media. And for too long we as Black folk have watched as white-owned and operated and spearheaded media groups have fed us a very biased account. We know this and complain about it to ourselves and in barbershops and during family discussions over Thanksgiving dinner but in situations like this, where Jackson, admittedly, made some very crude and downright mean comments on a “hot mic” that were not meant for public consumption about a candidate that we as a people believe in and has our full support, Black leaders do not get the benefit of the doubt from Black people. (Unity btw that is rarely seen by Blacks on a mass scale in this country since before I was born). When I say we KNOW that the media is biased towards Blacks what I mean is…we KNOW that mainstream Black thought has no avenue to be heard on TV. We are not the headliner of any mainstream show (ie Olbermann, Chris Mathews, Bill-O, Sean “Insannity” Hannity and the like) and it is rare that you hear a Black person that is not giving their stamp of approval to the notion of white supremacy and nodding their head in concert with a more conservative way of thinking (ie Rev Eugene Rivers, Juan Williams, Lee Elder, Armstrong Williams, Rev Joe Watkins and the like) I know…I know…get to the point Bruce….OK here it is… How many of you have really thought about the fact that these comments were recorded on a “hot mic” on Fox News (a notoriously right-wing network that has been out to dismiss and defame Jackson for years) By no means am I excusing Jackson’s comments but I think a real critique must be levied on a news network that has consistently shown Blacks in a negative light. This same network (Fox News & Sean Hannity) got snippets of Jeremiah Wright’s speeches and looped it for 6 weeks straight and in the process really hurt Obama’s stance among white-americans and could have cost him the nomination or better yet the presidency that we want him to have so desparately. In that 6 week period Jeremiah Wright stood mute and without comment but where was the outrage in the Black community about how those, other-wise true statements by Wright, were used as a wedge to white-America? It was only after Wright stood up for himself, his community and his church did Blacks show any fury…and guess where they aimed their fury…at Jeremiah Wright…. for speaking his mind about this racist society…not the systematically racist media that refused to give Wright’s comments any context. So who is exhibiting the crabs in a barrel syndrome? How many of you have heard Jackson speak on the need for personal responsibility of Black fathers and the Black community? I have. How many of you have heard Jackson give his unwavering supprt to Obama before anyone including members of the Congressional Black Congress did? I did. How many of you understand his broader point which is…that Barack has spoken to Black constituencies ONLY on topics which placate white-america (i.e. the issue of responsibility of Black fathers but he is reticent to discuss how government should have a role in righting generational wrongs or governments role in creating an urban policy that will help big cities or governments role in affirmative action or reparations (whether it be free schooling, or a check or an entreprenuerial tax break for Black businesses)). My point is…in order for Obama to win the presidency he must be Black enough to get our support but not too Black to alienate whites (We all know this) The FACT that he has to walk this tightrope, to me, makes it clear that this country continues on its same racist trajectory. When have we ever asked white canidiates to not be too white as not to alienate us? We don’t. These same white candidates rarely speak to our issues or our interests but we vote for them anyway. Jackson understands this political game and is making the point that Obama needs to speak to our issues like he speaks to Latino issues, Jewish issues, white-working class issues, Gay issues etc.. Don’t we deserve that??I must say this too. There seems, to me, to be a more sinister work at play here. In every newscast I have heard there seems to be a running theme of how there is some rivalry or jealousy brewing in the Black community between Obama and Jackson. Old thinking vs new ideology. There seems to be a need to put us against each other whether it be Obama vs Jackson or Jackson vs Sharpton or Farakhan vs Obama or Bill Cosby vs Michael Eric Dyson etc.. Let me be the first to say there is no rivalry in Black America. There may be a difference of opinion ideologically but there is no rivalry. All of these leaders want the best for Black America. They all believe in Black responsibility, Black self-reliance and a higher moral standard but they also should believe in the role of government, to which you and I pay our tax dollars, to uplift our community socially and economically. BOTH/AND not EITHER/OR. Just becasue we went to Howard and we root against Morehouse at Homecoming doesn’t mean we don’t have love for them on the Yard, right? The idea that some of you are “tired of the old school “so-called” civil rights leaders of yesterday who are full of $%^&” is frankly demeaning and mean spirited. If you don’t agree that Jackson should have made the comments then say that (I agree by the way) but to defame his character goes a bit too far. This is the same man who has continually spoken out for our community and like it or not we stand on his shoulders. It is precisely because of the “old civil rights leaders” that you and I have the positions that we have today. And just like we stand on their shoulders, Obama stands on Frederick Douglas’ and Shirley Chisolm’s and Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton’s collective shoulders. If there is any jealousy on Jackson’s part he should be ashamed. But the fact remains, I don’t see that as a reality considering his very early and steadfast support of the campaign from its inception. These are the same folk that marched, bled, died and saw their counterparts assasinated for the specific purpose of uplifting Black people. I will always LISTEN to my elders even if, in the end, we disagree. We atleast owe them that.I think it is clear that we must look for media that tells our stories from our unique point of view and that has not been historically negligent and biased to our history. I urge all of you seek out Black talk radio like Sharpton’s nationally syndicated show, Warren Ballentine’s and Joe Madison’s nationally syndicated shows. All of these shows can be heard on XM radio and Sirius is another good option as well.I love the discussion and I think it is our duty to bounce ideas off of each other. The discussion is the main thing. Let me know what you think…. Much love Black people…