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The Need for a Democratic Electoral
Sweep
An Editorial by Rudolph Lewis
America is a conservative
country. I am tired Rudy . . . and I am feeling
overwhelmed . . . and I don't know if I can meet their
expectations.
Wilson
Chasing the truths of
politicians is enough to make anyone tired, especially
when image is more emphasized than text and when speech
is filled with deceit. Such is the case with John
McCain's pick for VP. (My goodness she is a pretty
woman, and with five kids and a governor to boot of a
frontier state.) McCain is sure to have a fun campaign
if not a winning one. Governor Sarah Palin, however,
will have little impact on the vote-getting potential of
the Republican Party beyond its evangelical base for the
presidential election. If one is to be a loser,
nevertheless one should indeed look good.
The Republicans are looking
forward rather to the future, as the Democrats were
looking forward when choosing Obama to give their
keynote address in 2004. The Republicans have been
seriously hurt by the neocons. Key Republican are
evacuating a sinking ship as we saw important
Republicans step to the podium to denounce the betrayal
of principle by Bush and his neocon allies at the
Democratic National Convention, including Jim Whitaker
of Alaska, Jim Leach of Iowa, and Susan Eisenhower. And
you have already pointed out
Paul Craig Roberts
So in their heart of hearts
the Republicans know they have only a snowball chance in
hell of winning in 2008. The polls presently give Obama
and 8-point lead but it is probably double that because
the Black and Hispanic vote is never estimated properly.
But the Republicans want to put on a good show and thus
Governor Palin picked as the vice president nominee. But
they know that Bush and his neocon allies have screwed
up their chances for the next presidency. A bad war. A
bad economy. Trillions of dollars in debt to Chinese and
Japanese. A sinking dollar against the Euro.
Anyone paying attention knows
that the American people are not stupid enough to strike
out with a third term Republican administration ruining
the country farther, however conservative the American
public is. Matters political and economic are so dire
and horrid Americans are ready and eager to vote against
their racial prejudices and for definitively for
pocketbooks getting thinner.
I have a fondness for the
kinds of things being said by McKinney and Nader. On the
whole, they are on target. But never the matter their
candidacy is irrelevant at this stage. They cannot win,
and winning at this stage is exceedingly all important.
The Democrats have a much more progressive program than
the Republicans that will be beneficial for the largest
number of people, despite whatever reserve or criticisms
we may have about their platform and their intent.
Moreover, the Republicans
have been so horrid and terrifying that they deserve to
lose and they should lose punitively by large numbers to
demonstrate how egregious their eight-year reign has
been, economically (e.g., withholding a rise in minimum
wage for over a decade to the housing debacle to a
doubling of energy prices) to militarily (torture at
Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, and millions dead needlessly)
to national security (e.g., curtailing of civil
liberties and a reign of military fear at home and
abroad).
More than just a win, the
nation needs an electoral sweep by the Democrats, a
clear rejection of Republican neocon politics. This
sweep would give Obama a mandate to put into operation
all of his policies and programs, with something left
over for true progressives to remake American politics
that will stand for more than a generation. That would
prepare the Democratic Party for a second term that
would meet the Republican intent to reform its party and
oust the neocons and the religious right as its base.
This kind of forward looking
campaign is where all progressives want to take their
stand and work exceedingly hard to register new voters
and get out the vote. This kind of vision will undermine
the cynicism of those who stand on the sidelines and
consider American politics as merely a spectator sport.
If one want to change American politics one must engage
one’s neighbors about what is at stake. This kind of
vision is worthy of service for those who sincerely love
America.
I have published seven of the
speeches made at the Democratic national convention. You
and others might want to use them as a resource:
Michele Obama
Obligation to Fight for the World as It Should Be /
Barack Obama
America,
We Cannot Turn Back
Hillary Clinton
Time to Take Back the Country We Love
/ Bill Clinton
The American Dream is Under Siege at Home
Joe Biden
The America George Bush Has Left Us
/
John Kerry
We Must Listen and Lead by Example
Al Gore
Seize this Opportunity for Change
I have published also one of the
speeches of Cynthia McKinney to show that some of the
recommended policies of the Green Party are being dealt
with by Obama and the Democratic
Radical in Pursuit of Peace and
Justice. On these issues the Green Party could have
joined with the Democrats in defeating the Republicans
instead of taking a broad-brush swat at both parties.
Below McKinney speech I wrote a further and more
extended criticism of the Green Party. In addition, I
have pulled together an entire page of links of speeches
that can be found on ChickenBones
Speeches and
Sermons Table. it will be a great resource for
organizers, scholars, and teachers.
Do not despair, my brother, relief is on the way. Obama-Biden
will win by necessity.
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Response
Rudy: By the way, from what I've
seen of her, I think Palin is great in front of an
adoring crowd, but basically an intellectual
lightweight. (Unless destroying Alaska's wildlife
reserves qualifies as groundbreaking policy.) The
conservative to look out for in the future, I think, is
Bobby Jindahl. South Asian-American. Very conservative.
Rhodes Scholar. Governor of Louisiana.
My guess: the Republicans lose this
one and start pushing Jindahl hard, on his manifest
intelligence, on the strength of the improved response
to Gustav, versus Katrina; on his "resurrection" of a
white and Latino New Orleans, and on his ability to
capture non-black minorities as well as the Republican
base.—Keenan
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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If you like this page consider making a donation
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Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
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Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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posted 3 September 2008
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