Let’s see: State Rep. Austin Scott is running for Governor but some Georgians consider him yellow for siding with former Governor Roy Barnes and those flag-changing Democrats. Scott gets into a brouhaha with Black members of the General Assembly regarding a resolution honoring President Obama.
This situation sounds convenient (mutual benefit) to me. Scott gets some “cred” in the white hood (bad choice of terms) and the Black legislators get “cred” in Black hood for fighting the good fight.
The resolution sounds flowery to me and using “unimpeachable” and “vision” crossed the line for the full House. (Could you see the Democrat members voting for a similar resolution if McCain won?
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/search/hr673.htm
On the Albany T.V. news last night, Scott said they are always playing the race card. “They” being the Blacks in the General Assembly is going to become “they” all Blacks globally in the media. During the interview, a framed sign from the “Boot Scott” for flag changing could be seen on his office wall. It was there like “Dewey defeats Truman.” This whole situation is a cool calculation on Scott’s part but I still think he would be better off taking Jim Marshall’s congressional seat.
This drama ends a week that included President Obama’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the president discussing his NCAA basketball bracket. At first, I thought the Leno visit was wrong but he mostly covered policy matters; the Special Olympics comment regarding his bowling was clearly a gaffe. The president is still a regular person so he gets to share the national interest in the “big dance” despite Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s joking comment that he should focus on the economy.
Obama doesn’t have a Messiah complex but it seems some of his supporters (don’t think followers) might. MLK, RFK and Malcolm X worked hard to keep the Black community from seeing them that way because they were not the Messiah and any movement focused on one person could end with the loss of that person. “I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the Promise Land.”
Let Obama be Obama: a real, regular dude. Did you see him at the NBA game sipping that cold beer? The Messiah turned water into wine (not Coors) but I had better leave that alone before I write that Messianic prophecy on the Second Coming doesn’t mention chilling at the Wizards’ game. He went to see the Wizards rather than the football team from New Orleans—the Saints. Is it a sign of the antichrist or a sign that some folks are as nutty as a fruitcake?
” (Could you see the Democrat members voting for a similar resolution if McCain won?”
Actually, yes. That is the main source of outrage. Honors like this are routinely approved all the time for Presidents and other prominent leaders from both parties with absolutely no opposition. The Georgia House has honored liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans before with language that was just as ridiculous. As a matter of fact, in 2005, Georgia Democrats did not oppose a resolution honoring George W. Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Scott is race – baiting, plain and simple.
Gerald: Thanks for the insight. I often wonder where the line is on matters like this one. What if a high school or college marching band was playing at a candidate rally but some band members had issues with the candidate.
I think the resolution honoring the historic nature of President Obama’s election would have been just right but that vision stuff made it thorny. When President Reagan was leaving office the “Academy” considered giving him a lifetime achievement Oscar, basically for being a former actor and SAG leader who became president. But, Mrs. Reagan put a quick end to that because critics were saying that he was “acting” as president—like a role. If he was, he did a good job of seeming presidential to me.