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Election 2008

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Dear Undecideds, Obama Is Not A Nimbus Of Vague Hope

cross-posted to Jack & Jill Politics I was reading Salon and found a lengthy article by a Rebecca Traistor who claimed to be torn. She claimed to be very informed politically, and yet was able to write the following sentence with apparent ease:
"She provides a steel-solid track record, he a nimbus of vague hope."
That sounds an awful lot like a decision coming from someone undecided, and so I decided to post a comment on the site about it. Here goes:
Obama is NOT a "nimbus of vague hope!" you wrote "She provides a steel-solid track record, he a nimbus of vague hope." It bothers me so much when people say this, especially people who claim to follow politics closely. All it takes is a simple click over to www.barackobama.com and then the "issues" section, and you'll see the well-thought-out, detailed plans. Just because Obama is one of the greatest public speakers in the country does not mean he lacks substance nor that his belief in hope is vague. You have the ability to ascertain this for yourself, but you seem satisfied to adopt the ill-informed attitudes of the Clinton campaign in this area. For track record, Obama has had more time in elected office, being accountable to voters, than Sen Clinton. Her experience can hardly be said to obviously outshine his. Finally, I look at the manner in which each has conducted his and her campaign, and it's hands-down Obama, for he did not send out mailings questioning Hillary's commitment to a woman's right to choose, nor did he go back on his word not to campaign in Michigan or Florida, nor did he attempt to disenfranchise voters in Nevada once it looked like Hillary might win, nor did he use race-baiting tactics in an attempt to undermine her. Republicans may try all of these things, but I have a higher standard for Democrats, and I hope you do as well. http://baratunde.com/blog/obama
There are substantive differences between these two candidates. Obviously, I see them as making the case for Obama, but it's simply false to assert that he is a "nimbus of vague hopes," and it frightens me to see even "informed" people wielding such ignorance.

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Oprah Brings It! "I AM NOT A TRAITOR" (video)

cross-posted to Jack & Jill Politics C-SPAN was the joint yesterday. Oprah spit hot fire at those women who call her a traitor for backing Obama, saying: i'm a free woman. and being free means you get to think for yourself, and you get to decide for yourself what to do. so i say i am not a traitor. no, i'm not a traitor. i'm just following my own truth, and that truth has led me to barack obama She also has words for those who claim she's voting Obama just because he's black, saying, "Don't play me small." We're working on getting other video from the UCLA rally with Caroline Kennedy, Maria Schriver, Stevie Wonder and Michelle Obama. You can read a great Salon.com review, and in the meantime, watch Oprah do her thing. She looks right at home on that stage.

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Huckabee To Mitt: "Why Don't You Give It Up And Go Back To Boston?"

C-Span is the greatest. I had it on the background and caught Mike Huckabee absolutely eviscerating Mitt Romney over Romney's suggestion that Huckabee drop out. Here's a quote: "This old Arkansas boy is not for sale. He doesn't have enough money to buy me. I'm not some troubled company that he can buy, sell off the assets and send us home." Everyone seems to really hate Mitt Romney. I almost feel bad for the man. Check this video. It's so brutal.

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will.i.am Obama Music Video - Yes We Can

cross-posted to Jack & Jill Politics Many of you have written to let us know about this video by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. It's inspired by Obama's speech after New Hampshire and has mad celebrities in it. It's ridiculously powerful and gives me goosebumps! No one is making bomb ass videos about any other candidate. We will not have another politician capable of inspiring such widespread emotion and belief in the possibilities of this country for a long time.
Here's an interview with the makers of the video as well.

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Letter from a South Carolina Volunteer

cross-posted to Jack & Jill Politics Blog readers, here's yet another account from an Obama volunteer, Marisa Darden, who traveled to South Carolina. It's a letter she sent out to friends and gave us permission to post here... ------------------------------------- Hey All, I know I haven't spoken to some of you in quite awhile, but I wanted to share a little bit about a weekend that has really changed my belief on politics and this upcoming election. I've been wanting to send this out for days, but it's been more than difficult trying to encapsulate the true depth and emotion that I feel when I think about the tremendous history that is being created, and how one candidate so emphatically embodies our nation's future. I have been a Barack Obama fan since his DNC speech in 2004. While I was excited to know he'd be running for president, I have been in awe of his campaign from afar, subconsciously worried about his chances at a real shot for the White House, and reluctant to put my full weight behind this rising star. I signed up to help in the South Carolina Primary, mostly because I wanted to do something, rather than just sit and bitch and complain about the state of politics today. I signed up a few days before the Iowa Caucuses. Wednesday after class, I drove to Kingstree, South Carolina, located in Williamsburg County. The county is the second poorest county in the state, and is overwhelmingly African-American. More information about the county can be found on Wikipedia. While I had motivated several other Duke Law students to come down and participate, no one else wanted to skip school (ha!), so I went alone, really not knowing what to expect. Obama had about 80 paid staffers in South Carolina, and three of them were mobilizing in this county. They had a great ground effort going, but it was clear they needed our help. About 2 hours before I got there, 7 Harvard post-graduate students had also come to Kingstree to help, and they turned out to be a godsend, taking me under their wing and providing hours of entertainment and fun. The campaign arranged for me to stay with a family in neighboring Greeleyville, where me and the Harvard kids all stayed. It turns out I made a great choice coming down early, because Senator Obama was coming to Kingstree the next day! Bright and early last Thursday, the other volunteers and I made our way to one of the two high schools in the county to set up and prepare for Obama's visit. The crowd was almost all Black, but spanned all ages. It was an amazing turnout for a Thursday morning, and Sen. Obama spoke for 30 minutes, giving a similar version of his stump speech. The crowd was clearly enthralled by the Senator, though they got bored pretty easily when he went into too much detail about his policies. This crowd responded to the rhetoric mostly, and there was very little Clinton-bashing, even though Bill Clinton had been in the area the day before, disparaging the Obama campaign. After the rally, the Senator came out to thank all the volunteers, was very polite, and shook everyone's hand. We were all really excited, and motivated to keep working towards his win. Friday, I spent the day going door to door in Kingstree and Greeleyville, stopping at homes that had been earmarked by the campaign as Obama supporters. Door to Door isn't exactly accurate, particularly in Greeleyville, where it seemed as though we were going "quarter-mile to quarter-mile" because the houses were so far apart. This was where the county's poverty was most apparent because most of the homes were permanently placed double-wide trailers that were run down and dilapidated. A few highlights from the day:
  • I fell through a porch
  • I received a marriage proposal (I said maybe... hold the gifts)
  • Chased by a rotweiler on a very long leash...
  • I met an 86 year old African-American woman who had 11 children, all grown and successful. She told me that she felt this election wasn't about her because she was "on the way out." Instead, she was voting for Obama because she wanted her grandchildren to see that they could achieve anything and be anything they put their mind to. She told me that she hadn't seen anything like this since Dr. King, whom she met in the 1960's.
  • A group of construction workers told me I was "preaching to the choir" about Obama, because their pastor had told them all about the campaign and Obama. I heard this a lot- pastors played a tremendous part in the grassroots campaign. Those of you from the south aren't likely surprised how entwined religion and politics are, but I guess I had never seen it in action. I walked away grateful that the pastors were on our side.
Everyone was genuine, friendly, and sincere, and I really recommend the experience to anyone who has a passion and wants to help others understand their motivation. Friday night we went to a volunteer meeting and heard a rousing speech from a community leader who stressed the historical legacy of this time in Williamsburg County. No only had no presidential candidate ever come to their county, he said he had never seen so many people of the community get involved and participate in their government. It moved him almost to tears to talk about how long he had been in the community and how proud he was to be able to help mobilize for a candidate he truly believed in. I walked out energized and ready to take on Primary Day. Saturday brought surprises and interesting challenges. I had two jobs during voting day: throughout the course of the day, I was on standby to do "Voter Protection" work, which is a fancy term for lawyers (and law students) who make sure that everyone at the polls gets a chance to vote and those associated with the Obama campaign, like poll watchers, etc., weren't denied the ability to do their jobs.   There were several other attorneys and law students in the area, so I only ended up handling one issue. Around 6.30 a.m., we were called to a voting place in Kingstree where the (white) poll captains were denying our (black) poll watcher from being able to check off the  number of voters and those who are Obama fans (that's legally allowed). Our poll checker was a 17-year-old who was very frustrated and confused when we arrived. He didn't want to confront the women directly, but kept saying "I just want to be a part of history." After sweet talking the poll captain and politely informed her of his right to poll watch, she made a call and came back fairly agreeable. I was nervous  while we tried to handle the situation because I wasn't familiar with the underlying racial tensions of the community, and didn't know how I'd be received. Some of the locals had warned us that tensions ran high, and there had been some church bombings of black churches in the area just a few years ago. In the end, the incident went off without a hitch. My second job turned out to be far more interesting. My job as a "runner" required me to go to three targeted precincts several times throughout the day and obtain various information from the poll watcher. I would take the information back to the Obama local "staging area," where we'd call the Obama supporters on file who hadn't yet voted. Our staging location had about 20 or so volunteers in and out all day, many of whom had slept there the night before to prepare everything. There was food, laughter and a common mission to share. Joining the student cohort was a carload of University of Connecticut undergraduates who drove 17 hours on Friday and were going back Sunday morning. The hubris of the young! I had to take a nap at one point, having gotten no more than about 10 hours of sleep the previous nights. After 3 visits to each of the precincts, I returned to the staging area to help the phone people make the final push of calls to get people out to vote. The day's organization was tremendous. Volunteers knew what to do, who to call if they had questions or concerns, and where to go. I was very impressed. Me and another law student left our posts and drove straight to Columbia for the big rally. We were anticipating a victory, but didn't know until friends and loved ones called us to report the big news that Obama had cleaned up. In Williamsburg County alone, he beat Clinton by 58 percentage points, and the county had record turnout. I know this is long, but I wanted to share my experiences with you. After hearing Obama's victory speech (which moved me to tears), I am more convinced than ever that Senator Obama not only could be president, but should be. His ability to use a message of hope to rally people to possess a vested interest in change. This is a man who has convinced thousands of Americans to participate in their government, many of them for the first time. Politics by design are decisive. Many believe they have no place in social or academic relationships. Forgive me for thinking that's crap. If I believed in the most reliable and trustworthy vacuum cleaner, or stain remover, I wouldn't hesitate to share my discovery with those I love. And while those who do know and love me know that the odds of me USING a home appliance or stain remover are slim to none, the analogy is nonetheless useful. This is no different. We may not agree. But the discussion is half the battle. Thank you for reading. Please email me if you want to talk, share a response, or have any specific questions about Senator Obama and his positions. I'd also encourage anyone to visit his website to learn more.

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Some Quick Thoughts - One Is Mean

cross-posted to Jack & Jill PoliticsI'm in a California hotel after giving a talk to students at the Five Colleges consortium in Claremont. (great students BTW).I turned on Anderson Cooper, and he had Claire McCaskill and Stephanie Tubbs Jones on talking about Obama and Clinton, respectively. Tubbs Jones tried to act like Florida was such a big deal, blah blah.Then it occurred to me what really bothers me about her:Stephanie Tubbs Jones doesn't close her mouth when she's not speaking. Look! 
 There's just something not right about that. That's all I have to say in the mean department.Elsewhere in thought land, I kicked it with a group from the school for several hours, and someone mentioned an idea I hadn't even considered.If Barack Obama used gender against Clinton in the way she used race against him, he'd be dead. Her folks calculated that you could dis black folks who stand at only 12 percent of the population. He can't rightly dis over 50 percent of the electorate. Nasty.I'm gonna be on a TV-less plane during the one -on-one debate tonight, so yall have to watch and take good notes for me!

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From South Carolina: Canvassing and More

cross-posted to Jack & Jill Politics We've been fortunate to have some folks in South Carolina willing to share their experiences during the primary week. Below we have another dispatch. This one is from Hugh, and he offers some details and insights into what it's like to canvass for Obama, the importance of election clerks and more. Enjoy, and thanks to Hugh for sharing.
All went quite smoothly here in Anderson County. Over the course of the day we had a combined total of 30 phone bankers, canvassers, and poll checkers at my house: white, black, Indian-American, young (16), old (65), male, female. Our precinct went 2-1 for Obama, both against Clinton and against Edwards, matching their combined total. The clerk of elections in our precinct was an advocate for all voters, going out of his way to assist those without the straightforward credentials, guiding them with provisional ballots, changes of address forms, etc, and spending substantial time on the phone with the county office to track down where folks needed to be if they were in the wrong place.Our election protection attorney, a law student from the University of Tennessee, supposed that about five percent (~30) of the voters might not have otherwise been counted had the clerk not been such a staunch advocate for all of them. For rural upstate South Carolina, the epicenter of neo-confederate thinking, to have such a clerk was refreshing. Of course this was not the case at all precincts in Anderson, but our election attorneys were there to fight for the voters. The law student was very moved by the day. He had only just gotten involved, and had expected to lift a finger for Obama in Tennessee, but now he will "work his ass off."Other than a few hours of phone calls, I spent the entire day canvassing a small "turf" of about 80 houses, repeatedly hitting doors and pestering folks until they voted. The day before these same doors had received precinct-specific door hangers reminding them to stand up and be counted. They did. This turf went 4-1 for Obama, with respect to Clinton and with respect to Edwards, thus he doubled their combined totals. I suspect that about 5 folks might not have gotten to the polls had I not pushed them more than once. This is what happened all over the state in precincts the campaign targeted for the get-out-the-vote operation. By the end of the day, our supporters started to get annoyed that we were calling them so often to confirm they'd voted. Redundancy fosters robustness though, and I think they will forgive us, especially if they catch a glimpse of Obama's victory speech.
The entire democratic party in South Carolina is ecstatic about the grass roots network now alive in South Carolina. Many of us will be spending time in Georgia and our team will remain in place to make phone calls to folks across the country. However, I do doubt this network can fully re-emerge for the general election for anyone other than Obama. In Pickens, Oconee, and Anderson counties, these new grass roots were cultivated by a 22 year old jewish girl from Maryland named Rachel Levine, who arrived at the Greenville office in June as an unpaid volunteer. I cannot overstate the credit she is due as a local field organizer -- after a month she was recognized for her efforts and started getting paid. She was tireless and it was so gratifying to see her exuberance last night. She knew the 20 pt margin was possible, and she hopes to be back here for the general election if Obama makes it through. Relative to all other counties in the entire country, these were some of the most pro-Bush counties in his 2004 re-election. Despite this, she decided that she could.As I walked the neighborhoods I had a big roll of Obama 08 stickers, and I gave them out to a handful of young kids -- ages 8, 10, 12 or so -- who were outside entertaining themselves in front of their respective houses. One african-american kid was climbing a dogwood tree in his front yard --- hands and feet each on a different branch. I offered him some stickers, gave him about ten, and warned him gently to not go too far out on the limbs because dogwood trees are especially gorgeous in the springtime. He knew who Obama was and as I walked on down the road he announced from the tree "My name is Barack Obama, and I approve of this message!" 

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The Clintons, Black Folk and America - A Reckoning

cross-posted to Jack & Jill PoliticsI have been sitting on this post for two weeks. Much has already been said, but seeing Darryl Fears's article in the Washington Post has forced me to finally hit the publish button. The article begins:
For nearly two decades, Yvette Wider, an African American, adored Bill Clinton, once described by a famous black novelist as the nation's first black president.But now, after Clinton's "fairy tale" remark about Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in New Hampshire and a statement in South Carolina that Obama had put a political "hit job" on him, Wider said she feels she hardly knows the former president. "I was surprised to hear him make a comment like that, because I thought he understood our people better," said Wider, who said she will vote for Obama in Saturday's South Carolina primary. "It made me think he's been playing us all this time."Wider's sentiments are echoing across black America -- on blogs, Web chats and talk radio, where Clinton is being attacked as never before.
Finally.You see, I used to love Bill Clinton as well. I've met him on two occasions, once at my high school, the other at the White House when was enrolled in the Washington Association of Black Journalists teen training program. Clinton evoked all sorts of wonderful feelings in me. I assumed he was a great a president as most Democrats seemed to publicly think he was. But I was in high school during his first term and distracted by college during his second. I missed a lot, and over the past few years and especially months and most especially, weeks, I've come to a different view.I now start with a basic assumption that he was a good, but not great president. I used to long for the days of Clinton. No more. That longing could only exist when contrasted with President Brush-Clearer. But the low standards of subsequent administrations are no excuse to lionize the past and make it something it was not.Here's my timeline of The Clintons (yes, they are a "they" and deserve to be capitalized):Pre-Obama Conventional Wisdom - 1992 through 2006: Bill Clinton The Savior
  • Plays sax on Arsenio Hall
  • Isn't physically uncomfortable around black folks
  • Looks good in black church and can handle the pulpit. Claps on the beat.
  • Referred to affectionately as "the first black president"
  • Appoints prominent black folks to positions of power
  • Expands Earned Income Tax Credit
  • Presides over booming economy
  • Moves to Harlem. Which is about the whitest thing you can do in New York, but the rest of America doesn't know that.
  • Gets all statesmanly with global aids initiative and tsunami recovery goodness
Transition Period - January 2007 through January 2008: Cashing in on the Race Card
  • Civil Rights OGs back Hillary
  • Hillary Clinton has majority of black support in polls
  • Meme spreads of Obama's lack of black cred
  • Sharpton says "not a lot of black folks grew up in Hawaii"
  • Jesse Jackson says "Obama is acting white" with regard to Jena
  • Andrew Young says "Hillary Clinton is as black as Obama"
  • Shelby Steele publishes book, "Why Barack Obama Can't Win"
  • Obama wins Iowa Caucus, spilling hope-filled egg all over Steele
  • Baratunde aka Jack Turner begins his next book, "Why Shelby Steele Can't Write"
January 2008: The Ugly Comes Out
  • The Madrassa Emails
  • The MLK History Lesson
  • The Drug Dealer Comments
  • The Shucking and Jiving of BET's Bob Johnson
  • and dozens of other offenses including blaming all of this on Obama. (see: Clinton Attacks Obama Wiki )
Post Obama Relationship
  • Black folks realize they can have a real first black president. Why settle for a wack substitute
  • All folks, not just black, start to publicly dig into the past and challenge the assumptions of Bill's blackness and his greatness
Here's what they find.
  • The mass incarceration of black men, due largely to a failed "War on Drugs" which is as farcical as our current "War on Terror." In 1995 Bill Clinton had a chance to bring crack and cocaine drug sentencing into line. He did not. A generation of black men got their education in the prison industrial complex.
  • There was the deregulation of the banking industry under Treasury Secretary Rubin which created the incentives and lack of oversight that allows the current subprime crisis. Rubin came in from Wall Street and returned a hero.
  • There was the expansion of media consolidation, one of the most insidious attacks on our democracy. Media ownership. Communications licensing. All sold off to the most moneyed of interests.
  • There was the missed opportunity to set us on a path of a sane energy policy that would anticipate the coming supply crunch rather than wallow in the temporary glut of low prices. No energy efficiency. No investment in renewables. Just the digging of a deeper hole
  • (Update: I left this out but twas on my list). There was "welfare reform" which forced mothers into the workplace with nowhere near adequate health or child care options
  • There was the sitting by and watching millions of people get butchered in Rwanda
  • There was the set of trade deals that lowered our standards and helped gut America's ability to provide for itself, setting the stage for our current vulnerable position
I'm glad the ugly has come out. I'm glad Bill Clinton's face is glowing so brightly and so red; the better to see this campaign by. I'm glad Bill Clinton is getting down and dirty and using his considerable political capital to smear a great presidential candidate. I'm glad The Clintons are calling in favors from their black beholden elected officials and power brokers. Because every time they do, we get to dig up another little nugget which has us questioning the entire premise of "The Clinton Administration."And I'm glad Hillary keeps moving closer and closer to Bill, closer to that co-presidency. Keep running on "experience." Just don't get mad when we help remind people what that experience really was, and why many of us never want to see it return.

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