Cornel West on Obama is no better than a birther

Cornel West on Obama is no better than a birther
By Jonathan Capehart

Anyone who knows me, and knows me well, knows that I have little patience for the “Blacker than thou” crowd. These are the self-appointed guardians of what it means to be black — a decidedly limited and ignorant perspective that has more to do with the accuser’s insecurities than the alleged transgressions of the accused. And the leader of the pack these days seems to be Dr. Cornel West. In an interview with the Web site Truthdig, the brilliant Princeton professor took off after President Obama in a manner that was myopic, offensive and embarrassingly petty.

I understand the policy disagreements West and many African Americans have with Obama. But they appear to wilfully disregard that Barack Obama is the president of ALL of the United States, not just black folks. That’s why I tear my hair out over their complaints and their misguided explanations for why the president hasn’t done what they want him to do. They think he has turned his back on the black community. They either think he has to present a “pro-black” agenda or that what he has done isn’t “pro-black” enough. They think this is happening because he has been co-opted by powerful forces.

Challenging the president’s progressive credentials in that Truthdig interview, West slammed the president as “a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats. And now he has become head of the American killing machine and is proud of it.” And then there was this:

<SNIP>

What West said is no less offensive, harmful and wrong than what Dinesh D’Souza said — with an assist from Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee — about a presumable anti-colonial and un-American mind-set possessed by Obama. Whereas these folks tried to deny the president his citizenship, West is trying to deny him his inherent blackness. By indulging in the “Obama-as-other” narrative, West is no better than a birther. By making petty complaints in that Truthdig interview about the lack of returned phone calls and not getting Inauguration tickets, West is no different than Gingrich in 1995 , when his displeasure over his seat on Air Force One led to a government shutdown.

<SNIP>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/cornel-west-on-obama-is-no-better-than-a-birther/2011/03/04/AFcyUb6G_blog.html

sad to see such rhetoric....

To borrow from the song lyric, clowns to the Left of the President, jokers to the Right.

People are lining up to be the next carnival barker.

:crazy:

Some Liberals and Progressives want Obama to go to war with everyone. Wall Street, Republicans, Lobbyists, the Media, Rush Limbaugh, Capitalism, Free Trade, you name it.

If he were to do all of that, he presidency would be a joke. It would be over, and no one would ever take him seriously except for a hand full of left of center intellectuals and bloggers.

As I've said in many posts, maybe the Liberal/Progressive bloggers should do more to get progressives elected instead of belly aching about what Obama has not done. Where were the Progressives when Ted Kennedy's seat was up for grabs. Why did they let a Republican take it?

A poor candidate and a complacent party machinery led to the defeat in Massachusetts. It wasn't those "lazy progressives."

QED 2010

If by "Going to WAR", you mean Standing Up for traditional Democratic Principles,
then I disagree with you.
We MUST FIGHT, and FIGHT HARD...No Prisoners.

Your strategy has allowed to "Democratic" Party to morph into a vaguely defined "Centrist" coalition party
that wouldn't even be recognized by DEMOCRATS like FDR and LBJ.


"If we don't fight hard enough for the things we stand for,
at some point we have to recognize that we don't really stand for them."
--- Paul Wellstone

Yeah . . . not so much.

"True liberals" can't have fragile egos?

"True liberals" are incapable of saying stupid shit possibly driven by their hurt feelings and fragile egos?

I don't care how "liberal" West is, he's making a fool of himself. A "true liberal" fool, but an insecure, embarrassing fool nonetheless. He's adding nothing constructive to the national dialogue. He's just pissed and hurt that the President isn't lavishing attention on him and he's acting out.

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Something about this man drives people to say and do things that really reveal what's going on in their heads. Interesting.

Jamil Smith at The Maddow Blog


There was so much offensive and wrong with West's criticism, he's becoming a cariacature.

His Congressman or Senator or the President? He probably thought the President owed him for some reason.

Cornell West have his reputation go down in flames. He's turned into such a petty, bitter man.

I see a lot of handwringing over CW. Is he touching a sore spot or something?

and that Obama "has a certain rootlessness, a deracination". What was your favorite part?

Dr. West, as far as I know, has every right to his opinions like everyone else. So, I don't the reason for all the crying over what he is saying.

hmmmm

What is cryptic about that?

Did all the other problems in the world go away? All we have to deal with is a petty dust up between two people?

and in the process, leveling some offensive comments about race all in his fever to condescend to the President. He's adding nothing positive to the national dialogue and he's making a fool of himself in the process.

But to your point, the President will ignore this as he deals with REAL issues.

I am sure he will be relieved to hear from you so you can set him straight on what he can and can't say about a public figure.

My neighbor two doors down talks trash about Hillary, will you pay him a visit while your at it?

You want to go on the record in public? Be prepared for people to comment on what you say. Simple.

You seem to be awfully offended on behalf of West's bizarre outburst. Tavis, is that you?

:rofl:

At any rate, he's making a fool of himself essentially over not being invited to the inauguration. He ought to stop digging or at least step away from live mics while he bloviates.

I don't care about West but I dropped my pom poms last year when I reaized we had been duped.

But that line, it serves well here where our own 28 percent will never give up.

they are attacks of a very personal nature, which is par for the course for some when it comes to any criticism of Obama

your posts in this thread, for instance, fit that bill...

as being fearful of "free" black men? :shrug:

How about you?

Classic response. "Who...me?"

I don't know why some DUers like you have this wacky idea that everyone must support Obama at all times or else. It's the *way* he's being criticized that causes other DUers to react negatively, not the fact that he's being criticized in the first place.

If West wants to make a substantive critique of Obama's policies, that's fine, but he should leave out hogwash like Obama's not black enough if he wants to be taken seriously, along with the DUers endorsing the article.

:thumbsup:

:rofl:

Oh, Cornel West has dared to criticize The Obama. Now he must be destroyed, no matter what the source of our ammunition. DEE-STROYEDDDDD!!!

:rofl:

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I was misled by Capehart's strident defense of gay Republicans, although he claims not to be one.

http://books.google.com/books?id=wGMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=capehart+advocate+gay+republicans&source=bl&ots=2dU11WwzRe&sig=z8YUCDGNQu9yXLzN3dtjxVCAus4&hl=en&ei=vVPUTeacKIbwrQemwM3ZAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

"Gay Republicans are not oxymorons and they are not self-hating. They are brave."

:puke:

Now, I've admitted my error - please continue with your regularly scheduled character assassination. The truth is, if you weren't afraid Cornel West's words were resonating with people who respect his opinion, you wouldn't care enough to bother. The fact that you're working so hard to discredit him speaks volumes.

Truthfully, I'm very disappointed, personally, that Professor West went down this road. He's been an idol of mine for some years -- I've seen him lecture several times in person and share video clips with my students (this one ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAfxFEGF-wY).

I do not relish in criticizing him... but feel I must. Cognitive dissonance repair.

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What you have here is the political equivalent of a jilted girlfriend launching a verbal attack on the guy who she perceives has wronged her.

There's no grand exposition of a Manchurian Candidate; West's motivation is no greater than salving his bruised ego.

Not all critics are correct or have only noble intentions.

West is no heroic Cassandra; he's blaming the President's actions on racial confusion. :wtf:

that a coherent response would be utterly pointless. Still, ace effort on your part. :)

:tinfoilhat:
Props to CakeGrrl!

Forget this --> :tinfoilhat:?

Red meat for the "Corporate tool / Manchurian Republican" crowd. Apparently that sentiment is alive and well.

:crazy:

Personally, I think he is a Corporate Tool, knowingly or not, in who he is listening to, and what he has done and not done. he has supported the corporate agenda more than he has progressive populism, or even basic liberalism.

I don't think he is a Manchurian Candidate deliberately planted by some sneaky cabal. Rather it is just that he is a symptom of the decay in our system as we move towards a full-fledged oligarchy.

That's the smart way to be. :eyes:

and thinkers who are trying to figure out what in the name of all Hell has gone wrong with Cornel West.

Rec'd.

"offensive, harmful, and wrong." Why should I care? I'd rather see a serious discussion of the issues where West disagrees with Obama. But that would take fact-gathering, analysis, and hard work.

and then placing others below yourself within that hierarchy is fun. Few things are more satisfying than looking down at another person.

I mean he's done alot for gays, he's trying to get an immigration bill, he had the Lilly Leadbetter fair pay act, but there has been little done for the African American community by this administration in terms of having a policy.

"I mean he's done alot for gays, he's trying to get an immigration bill, he had the Lilly Leadbetter fair pay act, but there has been little done for the African American community by this administration in terms of having a policy."

You don't think those policies benefit blacks?

integrated. Have special needs like single parents, children, old people, other ethnic groups, the unemployed etc.etc.etc.

We are the majority of the prison population so he could reduce some drug related sentences or even legalize marajuana just to reduce some of the prison population. How about a program to help ex-cons get their voting rights back or give them jobs once they're out? He could also increase aid to schools in African American communities. The African American community had above a 10% unemployment rate before the economy turned sour and it's only gotten worse now. Yet everytime Obama is asked about any of these problems he gives us platitudes about pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. It's insulting and saddening at the same time.

The Democracy Restoration act of 2009, which Obama supported?

And how do you increase aid to just African American communities????

I think you need to read up on what he has done---

How about legalizing weed out right. How about ending the war on drugs and restarting the war on poverty? Doing that would help the majority of poor people- black, white or otherwise.

What, precisely, is President Obama supposed to do, just special, for the Black community???

I have always had a mixed reaction to West. I like and believe a lot of what he says, but he is so melodramatic and weird in his personal style that I have a hard time watching him....I'm also the stereotypical WASP, so have no firsthand knowledge of the African American experience...Having said that, throwing West under the bus seems to be a counterproductive waste of focus:

1) In some respects, West's observations are similar to what Obama himself said when he was discussing issues of race in his great speech during the campaign and other times. Basically both are delving into the complexities of the subject and talking about the differences that can exist between people who were formed by the experiences of the civil rights movement and those who grew up later and had different formative experiences. Obviously West and Obama come from different places in that regard, but this is a reflection of the very points Obama himself has made.So it could be seen as an extension of that underlying debate.

2) Taking race out of it for a moment, West is basically speaking for many liberals and progressives in expressing his disappointment that Obama has aligned himself with the very same forces and powers that many thought they were voting against when they supported Obama. Referring to Obama as a "mascot" is in poor taste, but otherwise, many people do agree with West's reactions to Obama's choices:

---“I was thinking maybe he has at least some progressive populist instincts that could become more manifest after the cautious policies of being a senator and working with Lieberman as his mentor,” he says. “But it became very clear when I looked at the neoliberal economic team. The first announcement of Summers and Geithner I went ballistic. I said, ‘Oh, my God, I have really been misled at a very deep level.’ And the same is true for Dennis Ross and the other neo-imperial elites. I said, ‘I have been thoroughly misled, all this populist language is just a facade. I was under the impression that he might bring in the voices of brother Joseph Stiglitz and brother Paul Krugman. I figured, OK, given the structure of constraints of the capitalist democratic procedure that’s probably the best he could do. But at least he would have some voices concerned about working people, dealing with issues of jobs and downsizing and banks, some semblance of democratic accountability for Wall Street oligarchs and corporate plutocrats who are just running amuck. I was completely wrong."

That's how many of us felt.

Asshole!!!