2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumOn Stone Mountain "White Supremacy and the Birth of the Modern Democratic Party"
A long but worthwhile read.
https://bostonreview.net/us/christopher-petrella-stone-mountain-white-supremacy-modern-democratic-party
Christopher Petrella
March 30, 2016
........
Yes, Reagan and the Republican Party pulled the Democratic Party to the right, but at the same time Jesse Jackson and his National Rainbow Coalition were pulling the party to the left. We need to reckon with how the Democratic Party chose to deal with these competing pressures.
.....
To solve the Reagan-Jackson antinomy, centrist and conservative white Democrats from the Southled by political strategist Al From and including Georgia Senator Sam Nunn, Virginia Governor Chuck Robb, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and Tennessee Senator Al Goreestablished the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) in 1985 with the chief aim of mov[ing] the partyboth in substance and perceptionback into the mainstream of political life.
The DLC repudiated Franklin D. Roosevelts development of the social welfare state through New Deal initiatives and what it perceived to be Lyndon B. Johnsons partiality to special interest groups. No longer was the Democratic Party interested in speaking to, and representing, its core constituency since the 1960s: people of color, labor, women, the working poor, and the unemployed. Instead, the DLC couched its campaign rhetoric and policy platforms in the language of mainstream America and the forgotten middle class. The DLC was determined to make the party more palatable to the white menespecially the Southern white menthe Democratic Party had lost to the GOP after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other political victories won by people of color. If Nixons Southern strategy opened the GOPs door to alienated white voters by dog-whistling an embrace of white supremacy, the DLCs aspiration to move the party into the mainstream of political life was an attempt to court those same voters.
The article goes on to describe a DLC and Clinton Campaign event at Stone Mountain Correctional Institution in Stone Mountain, Georgia. and the photo that was taken there. Stone Mountain is the birthplace of the modern KKK and "home to the Confederate Memorial Carving... a Mt. Rushmorestyle grotesquerie that depicts three leaders of the Confederacy: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis."
As Michelle Alexander states in this Facebook post;
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=978303298924294&id=168304409924191
"Everything about the public relations stunt captured in this photo -- including its location at Stone Mountain -- sent a not-so-subtle message to white voters that the Democratic Party was about to turn its back, literally, on black folks. It is often said that if we do not learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it. I fear that we have not yet truly faced this history, much less learned from it."
amborin
(16,631 posts)Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)jwirr
(39,215 posts)the politicians with him in this picture? Brown suit Sam Nunn?
We certainly were taken for a bunch of fools. I want my party back.
KPN
(15,650 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)fun statements about President Obama to Bernie Sanders.
Seem fair?
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)and degrading language.
Bernie thought Cornel West made a great ambassador to black voters.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)And you managed to drag a black scholar and activist's name through the mud in the process.
Good job!
I am so glad you're on Hillary's team, I would he embarrassed if you were a Bernie supporter.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)he's a vain, petty, bitter, hateful man who's not afraid to use racist/race-baiting invective against other black people, including President Obama.
Which is why he's a favorite of white people on the left who hate Obama--he says things they could never get away with.
stuff like this:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/prof-cornel-west-tells-ed-schultz-that-president-obama-is-afraid-of-free-black-men/
That was his wordy way of calling Barack Obama an Uncle Tom. Just like his fellow traveler Ralph Nader.
And then there's this:
But too many black people are niggerized. I would say the first black president has become the first niggerized black president.
CNN ANCHOR: What do you mean by that?
WEST: A niggerized black person is a black person who is afraid and scared and intimidated when it comes to putting a spotlight on white supremacy and fighting against white supremacy. So when many of us said we have to fight against racism, what were we told? 'No, he can't deal with racism because he has other issues, political calculations. He's the president of all America, not just black America.' We know he's president of all America but white supremacy is American as cherry pie.
We're talking about moral issues, spiritual issues, emotional issues. White supremacy has nothing to do with just skin pigmentation, it has to be what kind of person you want to be, what kind of nation we want to be. Democrats and Republicans play on both of those parties in terms of running away from the vicious legacy of white supremacy until it hits us hard. Thank God for Ferguson. Thank God for the young folk of all colors. Thank God for Staten Island and fighting there. Thank God in Baltimore, now the precious folk in Charleston.
http://crooksandliars.com/2015/06/cornel-west-obama-first-niggerized-black
Classy fellow.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)You dismiss his record of fighting for racial justice simply because he doesn't play for your team.
If that isn't an example of white privilege I don't know what is.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)So much fail in one thread, I fear it may collapse.
It's not my place to tell black folks what to say or how to advocate for racial justice.
It's not yours either.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)against President Obama. (that claim is total gibberish, by the way--you should understand what white privilege is before using it in chatter like that)
That certainly implies you agree with his comments.
Here's some useful reading for you:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/03/03/1492931/-Why-black-voters-vote-the-way-they-do-and-advice-on-how-to-win-them
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Just like it's male privilege to tell women we're being sexist when we're fighting for our lives.
I don't get to condemn Cornell West's tactics just like you don't get to tell women we need to watch outr mouths.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)You want to censor him because it offends you.
White privilege.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)it is very apparent you agree with West's comments, as you are lashing out quite angrily at criticism of his comments
P.S. When he insults President Obama, he's not fighting for civil rights, he's just being a dick.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)White privilege.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)every time a white person criticizes a black person.
since you have literally nothing to say other than repetitive chatter about "tone policing" and "white privilege" and "leave Cornel West alooooooone" you get to have the last word.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)I may not like how he said it but it's not my place to judge him or condemn his message.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)as if some in this thread like them some white supremacy?
I have found that the subject can hardly be discussed when one side is ....
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Most curious.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)Instead of reflecting on why West might feel and talk that way, all I am seeing is a knee-jerk reaction that seems to me to be a mere projection of hidden inner feelings.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)The people who cherry pick his quotes and try to paint him as racist are very transparent.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)Exposing a truth always brings out the worst from some people.
I like Obama, but expected more from him when it comes to the masses and what government could do for us. Seems West has a logical view worth considering.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Some allies get it and some people just pretend to be allies.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)How could anyone be okay with that?
Onlooker
(5,636 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Lying by omission, otherwise known as exclusionary detailing, is lying by either omitting certain facts or by failing to correct a misconception.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Lying_by_omission
*Note to jury: no one is being called a liar, pointing out the use of logical fallacies is not a personal attack. Thank you for serving.
Onlooker
(5,636 posts)... You should hear Hillary's remarks on the Iraq War bill, both at the time she voted for it and after. Very good stuff. But, the bottom line is the vote, right?
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)I have heard Hillary's "remarks" on the Iraq war resolution, not only did she support it, she repeated Bush's lies in order to convince others to vote for it and endorsed the invasion in 2003. Then she went on to call what we did to the Iraqi people the "gift of freedom".
840high
(17,196 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)RandySF
(59,224 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Onlooker
(5,636 posts)... It's just as easy to find a Hillary supporter explaining her votes as it is to find a Bernie supporter explaining his votes. In my view, they are both right. Both Bernie and Hillary have good liberal records. Bernie's may be better but it's not perfect (unless you like the Kosovo War, the Minutemen, the Stealth bomber, and assault weapons, too). Bernie supported the crime bill of 1994. Hillary didn't get to vote, of course. Bernie, like Hillary supported the 1998 bill to overthrow Saddam Hussein, and the 2001 bill to provide arms for fighting Iraq and Afghanistan. Hillary supported the 2003 Iraq War bill, but apologized. Perhaps you can find where Bernie apologizes, rather than rationalizes his choices.
At any rate, here's a summary of what Hillary said in 2003.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2016/02/hillary_clinton_told_the_truth_about_her_iraq_war_vote.html
Even though the resolution before the Senate is not as strong as I would like in requiring the diplomatic route first
I take the president at his word that he will try hard to pass a United Nations resolution and seek to avoid war, if possible. Because bipartisan support for this resolution makes success in the United Nations more likely and war less likelyand because a good faith effort by the United States, even if it fails, will bring more allies and legitimacy to our causeI have concluded, after careful and serious consideration, that a vote for the resolution best serves the security of our nation. If we were to defeat this resolution or pass it with only a few Democrats, I am concerned that those who want to pretend this problem will go away with delay will oppose any United Nations resolution calling for unrestricted inspections.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)He voted to stop a genocide and the only people who think he was wrong to try to prevent ethnic cleansing are Hillary supporters. (see lying by omission fallacy)
And he voted to ban assault weapons EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. These votes are a matter of public record, you should do some research before making false claims.
No she promoted it by telling people we needed to be protected from "super predators" who needed to be "brought to heel". (see lying by omission fallacy)
If you had bothered to watch the video you would know that Bernie opposed the parts of the bill she supported.
Bernie supported the PEACEFUL overthrow of Saddam Hussein, he OPPOSED the war in Iraq. (See lying by omission fallacy)
He voted for an omnibus bill. (see lying by omission fallacy)
Millions are still dead, maimed, orphaned, displaced and suffering because of her "mistake". That's one of the biggest reasons why I don't trust her.
Bernie explained his vote at the time and wanting to save women's lives doesn't require an apology. Not to me.
You're still making up falsehoods about Bernie's record and misrepresenting his positions. Every one of your claims can be easily debunked, you've obviously leaned nothing from our previous exchanges.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)black men in prison.
Talk about a rock and a hard place.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)I realize that's how the game is played in Washington but when Democrats do it somehow it's worse. I expect it from Republicans.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)Really? Bush? At his word? Really?
All rightie
jillan
(39,451 posts)Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)RandySF
(59,224 posts)Bill Clinton became one of the most popular presidents among African Amercans in history. In the meantime, Bernie voted to dump Vermont nuclear waste near poor Latinos in Texas and give aide and comfort to supremacist militias "patrolling" the US/Mexico border.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)In 2008, after Bill Clintons intemperate response to Obama winning the South Carolina primary shocked many in media, Chris Kromm, of the Institute for Southern Studies, looked back at how Ricky Ray Rectors fate intersected with Bill Clinton in that campaignone in which no Democrat wanted to face a Willie Horton ad like the one that helped destroy Michael Dukakis in 1988:
It was almost exactly this time of year 16 years ago that then-Gov. Bill Clinton, eager to break away from a tight pack of 1992 Democratic primary hopefuls, decided crime would be one his big-ticket issues. Democrats should no longer feel guilty about protecting the innocent, he would proclaim from the campaign trail.
How did candidate Clinton choose to show he was tough on crime? By flying down to Arkansas, mid-campaign, to personally preside over the execution of Ricky Ray Rector, a mentally retarded African-American man.
It was only the third death sentence carried out in Arkansas since 1973, and Clinton made a point of being on hand for the TV crews when Rector was killed by lethal injection on January 24, 1992.
In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that executing persons who are mentally retarded is cruel and unusual punishment. And in the court of public opinion, many African-Americans judged that Clintonfar from being a black presidentwas in reality another white president who was all too willing to use race when it suited him.
Kromm went on to quote Margaret Kimberley at The Black Commentator:
Ricky Ray Rector became world famous upon his execution in 1992. Then Governor Bill Clinton left the campaign trail in January of that year to sign the warrant for Rectors execution. Rectors mental capacity was such that when taken from his cell as a dead man walking he told a guard to save his pie. He thought he would return to finish his dessert.
I try to remember this story when I am told that all Black people love Bill Clinton or that he should be considered the first Black president. Clinton wasnt Black when Rector needed him. He was just another politician who didnt want to be labeled soft on crime.
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/25/bill_clintons_gutsy_apologies_now_he_owes_one_to_ricky_ray_rector/
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)This was during the 1992 primary.
A lot of people saw it saw as race baiting, trying to get southern white votes by showing he would keep the prisoners locked up. Tough on crime, that sort of thing. This was just right after the Clintons took a quick break from the campaign to fly back to Arkansas so Bill could oversee the execution of a brain damaged mentally ill man. Nasty.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Every time it gets brought up they disappear.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)Horrified by Cornel West though. Strange priorities.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Their silence is deafening.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)for the Democrat
the candidate running on the party for which I was a registered member.
It was around 1993 that I became heavily involved with prisoner justice and welfare justice and also Cop Watch in Oakland (prior to that my focus was mainly on abortion rights and violence against women reforms).
The "welfare reform" fight was when I first became aware of Clinton's Stone Mountain event. And I, mentally fell flat on my ass in aghast. This stunt to appeal to racists was a hair breadth different from Reagan's speech at Philadelphia, Mississippi where three civil rights activists were murdered.
Really. Stone Mountain. With your white privileged Senators standing with you and black imprisoned men forced to line up facing your back.
Welfare reform is when I changed by voter registration to "unaffiliated." How dare they expect my loyalty to a party that would harm the least amongst us. Harm them to the extent that childhood poverty is a national disgrace.
And Hillary actively lobbied for "welfare reform." She actively lobbied for what has resulted in a national disgrace.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)Yeah Tom Harkin actually had flyers printed with this picture and distributed them in South Carolina.
I was a Clinton campaign intern during this. I thought he was god's gift. Oops no. This was definitely where the Democrats took a wrong turn. Welfare reform, war on drugs, filling up the jails, killing off American industry, etc etc.
And don't think this photo was an accident. Clinton understood the power of a photograph better than anyone. These guys were sending a message that they were going to get the Blacks under control. Here's a backup in case it disappears.
raging moderate
(4,308 posts)It is preposterous to believe that this group represents the true proportion of white/Black criminals in that state.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)jwirr
(39,215 posts)tough on crime laws. And I remember that developmentally disabled man he executed also.
Lord, what was I thinking to even vote for him once?
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)jwirr
(39,215 posts)Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)Also he seemed most electable. That's probably how they suckered us into it because we were desperate to win one after 12 years.
Don't get me wrong he did some good things but he also did a lot of Republican things. History has shown we would have been better off with any one of those other guys - Jerry Brown, Tom Harkin, etc.
jfern
(5,204 posts)MisterP
(23,730 posts)it goes beyond broken windows and superpredators, beyond rolling back "the legacy of the 60s" against participatory democracy and letting people speak for themselves, to the fundamental tenet of neoliberalism, that people should be judged by their numbers--IQ, degree attainment, income
at the same time Clintonism coupled with the early 90s' newest left, the campus identitarianism that divides rather than unites, "she's not a man!" combining very easily with "he was just following his pecker"
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)jillan
(39,451 posts)Please - phonebank for Bernie!
dana_b
(11,546 posts)If I had realized that he was like this this back then, I would never have voted for him. I was so lost in my own world. Ugh!
Tanuki
(14,920 posts)https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19920303&id=ELZGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8f0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1150,260954&hl=en
According to the AP article, "Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas offers words of encouragement to inmates..."
Do you have any information about what he was actually saying in your picture?
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)bigtree
(86,005 posts)...that Bill Clinton signed.
So much for this meme that it was the product of the DLC.
It was the product of legislators like Bernie Sanders.