Freedom Rider: Thinking Post-Obama

When the day comes that Obama does leave office, it will be important to examine the significance of his presidency and the effect it had on black politics. Obama fever was dangerous in more ways than one, having taken all of the oxygen out of the political room. The joy of seeing a black president took away the significance of any other political victories. In 2009 and 2010 cities and states across the country saw large declines in black voter participation. There would be no Republican-led assault on public worker unions if black voters in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states had shown 2008 levels of interest on election day in November 2010.

lampy diodowe

The Democratic Party base reminds me of the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.  As she melts away into oblivion she commisserates, "what a world, what a world."  As the Progressive base fades into oblivion I can hear echoes of the same.

Oh my, what must a partisan, loyal Dimocrap do?  "What a world, what a world."

Rachel Maddow, a loyal, partisan Dimocrap  apparently was mimicking the Wicked Witch of the West the other day:

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/ 

At the end of her monologue, Maddow focused on the contrast between how the Republicans treat their base and how Democrats treat theirs, specifically emphasizing that the White House announced this decision on the same day it kicked off Obama's re-election bid. About that point, Rachel said this:

A Democratic President kicks his base in the teeth on something as fundamental as civil liberties -- he puts the nail in the coffin of a civil liberties promise he made on his first full day in office -- and he does it on the first day of his re-election effort. And Beltway reaction to that is. . . huh, good move. That's the difference between Republican politics and Democratic politics. The Republicans may not love their base, but they fear them and play to them. The Democratic Party institutional structures of D.C., and the Beltway press in particular, not only hate the Democratic base -- they think it's good politics for Democratic politicians to kick that base publicly whenever possible.

Only the base itself will ever change that.

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How will that happen? How can the base itself possibly change this dynamic, whereby politicians of the Democratic Party are not only willing, but eager, to "kick them whenever possible," on the ground (among others) that doing so is good politics? I'd submit that this is not only one of the most important domestic political questions (if not the most important), but also the one that people are most eager to avoid engaging. And the reason is that there are no comforting answers

 . "There are no comforting answers," No Shit!!.  What a laugher.  Notice he didn't say there were NO answers, only that "there are no comforting answers."  Isn't that the entire modus operandi of the Dimocraps to make it so there are "no comforting answers?"  Come on Greenwald, you're much smarter than that.  I submit to everyone with a brain most if not all of you KNOW THE LESS THAN COMFORTING answers, but you lack the courage and intestinal fortitude to act on that knowledge, as such you are left imitating the witch in the land of Oz:  "What a world, what a world."  Grow up mamby pambies, get a heart and brain while you still in Oz.  LOL

Now hear what the insightful Greenwald goes on to say, (must have stayed in Oz long enough to get a brain, huh?)

"In Slate, the normally rhetorically restrained Dahlia Lithwick has a superb article condemning Obama's decision on the KSM trial as "appalling, cowardly, stupid and tragically wrong."  Indeed, as I've documented before -- virtually every country that suffers horrible Terrorist attacks -- Britain, Spain, India, Indonesia -- tries the accused perpetrators in its regular court system, on their own soil, usually in the city that was attacked.  The U.S. -- Land of the Free and Home of the Brave -- stands alone in being too afraid to do so.

Related to that:  the notion that political opinion in America would not allow Obama to do anything differently on these issues is empirically disproven; he ran on a platform of opposing all the measures he now supports and won decisively.  By itself, that proves that -- when these debates are engaged rather than conceded -- these positions are politically sustainable.  Obama adopts Bush Terrorism policies because he wants to and has no reason not to -- not because doing so is a political necessity.

Finally -- and as is usually true for this excuse -- the notion that "Congress made him do it" is totally false: aside from the fact that the Obama administration long ago announced that it would retain the military commission system, the White House -- long before Congress acted to ban transfers of detainees to the U.S. -- removed decision-making power from the DOJ in the KSM case and made clear it would likely reverse Holder's decision.  

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" "What a world, what a world, what a world." The thought process must go beyond "Thinking Post-Obama" is must encompass "Thinking Post-Dimocrap Party."  

Let the Rethuglicans win, I'd rather be shot in the head then die a slow death of poisoning.  The collapse must come sooner than later.  That will permit a new paradigm to come sooner than later. "Good-bye, my little prettys." "What a world...."  lol

Money Quote:

Those same voters may not ever speak a word against Obama, but those who didn’t vote or did so sporadically, may go back to old ways of engaging – or perhaps not engaging at all – with the political system.  

As someone who has (but no longer will) participate in voter registration drives there are two glaring realities: (1) the impact of felony convictions on voter registration and participation, and (2) the belief, neigh conviction, that "politics don't matter."   Last time I checked there was no slowdown in felony convictions and now there is even more proof for many that "politics don't matter."

The air has been escaping from the Obama delirium balloon with the passage of each month.  Obama has lied and flipped flop on 90% of his campaign promises.  I guarantee you that while Blacks won't flock to the GOP (more racist and bat-shit crazy than ever) they won't be flocking to the Mall in D.C. crying their little hearts out over he who was "heaven sent."  Seems more like "he" was sent by the devil in retrospect.   

The only way to reengage Black folks is through social activism or a cultural awakening like the Black Power Movement, and an increasing drive towards self-help.  It should be abundantly clear by now "we are on our own."  There will be no national solutions from the cowards and traitors who call themselves Democrats and Progressives, they will only further retreat and align themselves with the "Right."

Funny, the Balkanization that is now rolling out of the White Man's playbook as a scheme to exert hegemony world wide is the same strategy that might work for Blacks and Progressives of any color or ethnicity in America.  Let the rednecks and bigots have certain pockets of America and we have our own.  This should be easily accomplished given that residential patterns and demographics in America are as racially fixed as ever, and given that cultural and ideological outlooks are as demarcated geographically as ever. 

Let the "union" of American disintegrate, it is already occurring, let's just see to it that it occurs in a way that is favorable to Blacks and progressives.  I don't intend on participating in voter registration drives, but I would contribute to community building. If "leaders" are not interested in doing that, then leave me alone. 

Last, Obama will probably win but he isn't a shoo-in if the GOP nominates someone who isn't a Tea Party scum bag or Right Wing degenerate.  A moderate Republican could compete with the "moderate Republicans" from the Dummocrat Party.  Electoral politics (especially on the national level) is for losers, same for symbolic racial achievement, whatever that is.  And a MAJOR reason for this possible competition is that a huge swath of Blacks, Whites and Hispanics have lost enthusiasm for Obama.  The voters will go to the polls out of FEAR not enthusiasm, and even then not in large numbers.  Heres another thing to chew on, the race will be so tight that the media will use it AGAIN as a reason why Obama should mimic Ronald Reagan, I'd be happy if he'd mimic Tricky Dick Nixon, who in retrospect, is more liberal and progressive than Obama.  So even if the Dummocrats "win" we lose.