How Obama’s election has NOT helped “race relations”
Many of us predicted it would happen way before he was elected President: Barack Obama has not helped race relations. Before he was elected, scrutiny of him by opponents was treated as “racist” in nature. And not just from conservative opponents. Hillary and Billy Clinton were on the receiving end of the “racist” accusations at the start of the primaries in January 2008, and those accusations were fostered by none other than Obama himself and higher-ups in his campaign staff. The accusations continued throughout the primary and general election campaign seasons, especially once it the sunlight shone a little brighter on Obama’s 20 year relationship with his racist “spiritual mentor” the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
In the early part of the summer, once Obama had the nomination in the bag, he accused McCain and the GOP of “preparing” to point out the fact that he “didn’t look like all those other presidents on dollar bills” – a blatant lie and intentional race-baiting. When pressed on the subject by the few media outlets that dared to ask about the inflammatory remarks, Obama’s chief advisor David Axelrod and Obama himself both admitted that he was playing the race card. This alarming admission was treated by the MSM as if they had admitted to having a love of politics. Continuing on into the summer and fall months, the accusations of “racism!” continued, especially as it related to calling out Obama on his close association with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. Apparently pointing out Obama’s disturbing penchant for associating with leftist radicals meant that you hated black people.
With his election, and then inauguration, the cries of “racism” kept coming, as the top ranking black man in the House – James Clyburn – started off by accusing GOP Governors who expressed opposition to receiving government money from Obama’s stimulus package “racists,” not only because they were opposing Obama, but also because some of those Governors have a large contingent of black people living in their respective states. And the hits since then have kept on coming, most recently as a result of the growing opposition to ObamaCare. I’ve documented numerous instances here of various “racism” and “KKK” references coming from both Democrat politicos and liberal pundits alike in response to the criticisms opponents of Obama’s brand of healthcare “reform” have expressed.
Most MSM outlets haven’t noticed this disturbing trend where Democrats are trying to silence the opposition via cries of “racism” (which they’ve always done – but since we now have a black President, they’re taking them to a whole new level), but the Politico has, and earlier today they filed this report:
AUSTIN – Eight months into Barack Obama’s presidency, as criticism of his administration seems to reach new levels of volume and intensity each week, the whispers among some of his allies are growing louder: That those who loathe the nation’s first African-American president, and especially those who would deny his citizenship, are driven at least in part by racism.
It’s a feeling that’s acutely felt among those supporters of Obama who are themselves minorities. Conversations with Democrats at an otherwise upbeat Democratic National Committee fall gathering here, an event largely devoted to party housekeeping, reflected a growing anger at what many see as a troubling effort to delegitimize Obama’s hold on the office.
“As far as African-Americans are concerned, we think most of it is,” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), when asked in an interview in between sessions how much of the more extreme anger at Obama is based upon his race. “And we think it’s very unfortunate. We as African-American people of course are very sensitive to it.”
Johnson is a somewhat-reserved, nine-term member of Congress, more gracious southern lady than racial bomb-thrower. She enjoyed a warm personal relationship with fellow Texan George W. Bush when he was in the White House and fondly recalled their ability to get along, divergent politics aside.
But she said the disdain for this president, especially sharp in her home state, had reached a point where it had become necessary to speak out.
“It’s hurting the spirit of this country,” Johnson said, citing concerns about what the rest of the world may think about a powerful nation where a significant segment of the population does not accept their elected leader as legitimate.
Er, did she miss all the cries of “pRESIDENT” and “Commander in Thief” we heard from rabid leftists all throughout Bush’s presidency? Even John Kerry used the belief that Bush wasn’t elected legitimately in the 2004 elections in order to raise money. And he is not the only Democrat who did so.
Continuing:
Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, agreed with his colleague that elements of the opposition can’t accept the reality of a black president.
“There’s a very angry, small group of folks that just didn’t like the fact that Barack Obama won the presidency,” Honda said, adding: “With some, I think it is [about race].
Said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) about the race factor: “There are some issues that have been swept under the rug and we’re not witnessing them come out.”
But it’s still a sensitive enough issue that the party doesn’t broach it directly.
Virginia Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine used a speech Friday to single out those conservative critics whose hostility toward President Obama goes deeper than just opposing his policies — but without mentioning that which many in his party believe drives the anger.
And, um, which “conservative critics whose hostility towards President Obama goes deeper than just opposing his policies” are Kaine referring to? They need to stop with the vague “some” crap and get right to the point. Give people a chance to respond to the charges that their criticisms stem from racism instead of using vague terms and faulty assertions to broadbrush critics.
But if they were backed into a corner on the issue of who exactly it was/is they’re talking about, they’d be forced to admit that the race issue is the driving force for so few critics of the Obama administration that it’s not even worth mentioning. But then again, if they did that, then they wouldn’t have an argument, would they? They wouldn’t have a strawman to kick around and to use in order to raise campaign money and drum up other various kinds of support for both the President and his agenda. It’s almost impossible anymore to have serious policy debates in Congress, amongst most pundits, and between average Joe liberals and conservatives without the Obama supporter in the debate eventually yelling or at the very least implying “racism” out of either political frustration or a genuine – but misguided -belief that most opponents of Obama’s agenda are racists.
And this is supposed to be the “big tent” “pro-exchange of ideas” party? Don’t.make.me.laugh.