Reply #98: you seem to have missed at least half my point [View All]

and all of my other posts.

I think that Obama's choice to share a platform with McClurkin and the other questionable performers in this tour thing is absolutely unacceptable. And I have said so at considerable length. (I'm Canadian, and thus not involved, but I can tell you that if the right-wing party up here did this -- it being the only party that would even think of doing it -- a lot of people would be disgusted.)

I see an important distinction between Obama's carefully planned and publicized choice and Dean's less orchestrated words: Dean did not invite people who had publicly and repeatedly incited hatred of African-Americans to be the face of his campaign.

I also see an important distinction between the people whose votes Dean wanted to attract and the people whose face Obama is putting on his campaign: Dean was not talking about people who had publicly and repeatedly incited hatred of African-Americans.

I can certainly understand that some people in the African-American community would have felt rejected by Dean when he said that (especially to a virtually all-white audience; it might have been wiser to say it to a largely black audience, by way of asking them directly to reach out to people whose true interests lie on the same side of the fence as theirs -- it being in everyone's interests to get them to see that).

I expect that some people in the GLBT community would feel the same way if Obama, speaking to an audience of straight people probably including a good number of homophobes, said that he wanted to get homophobic bigots to vote for him. (How about if he said it to a largely GLBT audience?)

But that isn't what Obama is doing. He's putting the face of bigotry on his campaign, he's giving a platform to bigots, not just asking for their votes; and it really is just different from what Dean did. If Dean had flown the Confederate flag to draw in racist voters, that would have been analogous.

That's why I call the analogy false. It's possible to criticize what Dean did, and to criticize what Obama is doing. They just aren't the same.

And now it's my turn to be offended:

The lack of empathy for what people, many of whom have different experiences, impressions and perspectives than you do, feel about a situation is pretty amazing.

I don't believe we've met, and I don't believe you have any basis for your gratuitous characterization of me, which is in reality quite the opposite of reality. If you have a star, give it a workout. If not, try google.

Here: on hate crimes.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1686463&mesg_id=1687089
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=118&topic_id=146742

That might help.