Topic subject A letter to Obama about race-baiting

Forum Name General Discussion: Politics
Topic subject A letter to Obama about race-baiting
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4048326#4048326
4048326, A letter to Obama about race-baiting
Posted by 2rth2pwr on Sat Jan-12-08 09:35 PM

(This is not me speaking or writing this pulled from a blog-follow link)
http://blog.brendanloy.com/2008/01/a-letter-to-oba.html

I just sent the following letter to the Obama campaign through their contact page:

Dear Senator Obama,

Like many Americans, I have been inspired by your message of hope and change, and by your belief that politicians should be able to "disagree without being disagreeable." Your victory speech after the Iowa caucuses gave me goose bumps -- and I am usually a jaded political junkie, not prone to such emotional reactions. But your campaign is something special, or so it has seemed to me. Thus, in the past few weeks, I've changed from a tentative Hillary Clinton supporter to a tentative Barack Obama supporter.

I am deeply concerned, however, by recent events surrounding your campaign. Media reports indicate that a number of your supporters and surrogates have suggested that recent remarks by Bill and Hillary Clinton were racially insensitive. Yet the remarks in question, while perhaps substantively wrong, had nothing whatsoever to do with race. Criticism of the Clintons' statements should be limited to the actual substance of what they said, without resort to such divisive rhetoric. I urge you to publicly disavow the cynical tactic of using race as a wedge issue, and to dissociate yourself from anyone who persists in using such tactics.

Bill Clinton's description of your Iraq narrative as a "fairy tale" may be factually incorrect and wrong-headed, and if so, you should rebut it on its merits. But it is certainly not racist; to claim otherwise is ludicrous and offensive. Likewise, Hillary Clinton's comments about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. may have inappropriately downplayed the importance of ideals and rhetoric, and if you believe that, you should say so. But again, there is no reasonable way to interpret her comments as being racist.

Although I am inclined to support you over Hillary Clinton, I believe the Clintons' record on racial issues speaks for itself. They are by no means racists. Now, of course, their record should not insulate them from criticism if they were to say something genuinely insensitive. But that is not the case here. As I said, their remarks may be wrong-headed and worthy of criticism on their merits, but there is absolutely no reason for anyone to imply that the remarks are racist, and it is deplorable and indefensible to do so.

When I read Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, a prominent supporter of yours, arguing that Bill Clinton should refrain from criticizing your record (specifically, the "fairy tale" accusation on Iraq) because he and Hillary Clinton "owe the African-American community" for "saving his presidency," I am frankly disgusted. The African-American community is not a monolith, and no one should argue that substantive criticism of an individual African-American leader is somehow off-limits because of past support from other African-Americans. Assuming Mr. Jones was not misquoted, I urge you to disavow his comments and, if he will not publicly renounce them, disassociate yourself from him. (If he was misquoted, I hope he can publicly clarify the record about what he actually said.)

Similarly, I am deeply concerned when I read that Rep. James Clyburn is reportedly thinking about endorsing you in part because he believes it was racially offensive for Bill Clinton to state that your message of unity and optimism is a "fairy tale." First of all, that is not what Bill Clinton said; it was perfectly clear that his remarks were focused entirely on your Iraq position. Secondly, even if the former president had been calling your hopeful message a "fairy tale," that would be, again, wrong-headed but not racist. If Rep. Clyburn chooses to endorse you, I have no doubt that you'll accept his endorsement, and I don't blame you for that. But I hope you will make clear that you do not believe that the Clintons have said anything racially insensitive, as they have not.

A key reason I have been inspired by your campaign is because of your promise to change the tone of Washington's discourse, to move away from the bitter politics of the past toward a more hopeful and united future. Yet this sort of cynical, divisive race-baiting is a prime example of the very sort of poisonous tactics that have made our politics so bitter in the first place.

It is absolutely imperative that you avoid being associated with these race-baiting tactics. If you are to convince voters like me that you really intend to follow through with your promises of a new, more hopeful politics that unites rather than embitters, you must take a clear stand on this issue. Statements and actions that are truly racist or insensitive should of course be harshly criticized, but inventing racism where none exists for political or tactical advantage is deplorable and has no place in the sort of hopeful America that I hope to see you lead.

Sincerely,

Brendan Loy

P.S. By the way, I am a registered voter in Tennessee, which holds its primary on February 5. I will be closely following this issue, among others, as I finalize my decision of whom to vote for. I hope that, in the end, I will be able to cast my ballot for you.

at Jan-12-08 09:45 PM
Response to Original message
6. Update...same author

UPDATE: I only just now read this from today's New York Times article about the issue:

“Voters have to decide for themselves what they think of this,” said Bill Burton, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, declining to discuss the matter further.
That's not acceptable, obviously. Obama needs to distance himself from this crap, and fast, or he will risk losing my support (and I bet I'm not the only one). The prospect of having a president who will allow his surrogates to cry "racism" whenever anyone criticizes him -- about anything, no matter how unrelated to race -- is not something I want to deal with for four or eight years.