I am getting familiar with this term “identity politics” which seems to have a negative connotation from the political right. Would identity politics be code for suggesting that Judge Sotomayor’s nomination is about affirmative action or quotas? Are sinister Latinas hatching a plot bent on global domination at the expense of White males? No.
What happens in the private sector and what happens in governmental entities are two different things because seeking a little diversity in governmental operations is a simple effort to have more voices and opinions heard. I am learning that certain groups have little desire to have the public discussion represent a cross-section of opinions. The power establishment will decide what is best for the whole community and you will like it. And they wonder why Obama and Palin are so popular.
After meeting traditional qualifications, LBJ and Truman brought a down-home mentality to the Oval Office that I liked. The same should or could be said about Sotomayor and Thomas on the Supreme Court. At the end of the day, Thomas is more like me than Obama. Did I just type that?
I still won’t be comfortable until that other political party has someone in congress who looks like/and almost thinks like me. Call that what you will.
I keeping hearing the hook from rap anthem “Self Destruction” when I think about Obama’s concerns for our community. With elements of Kennedy’s “Ask not what this country can do for you” classic speech, President Obama and his lovely family will outline the formula for better living for those who care about themselves and how we carry ourselves. However, that same rap hook applies to the self-destruction of the GOP.
The GOP is working hard to marginalize themselves and doing a fine job. Alienate Blacks with attacks on Obama, Steele and Powell…check…alienate Hispanics and women with attacks on Sotomayor….check…alienate centrists by pushing Specter away and preparing to attack McCain and the few remaining moderate GOP senators if they voted for Sotomajor’s confirmation….check and checkmate. You just guaranteed defeat in the midterm elections.
If the GOP purifies their rank and file, those voters pushed away will natural hang in the center or join the Blue Dog division of the Democrats. The Blue Dog selection of the Democrat team could therefore grow large enough to counterbalance the far-left urban ultra-liberals and give President Obama the opportunity to be more corn-fed Kansas populist than Chicago rural liberal. We must remember that Obama created his statewide appeal in Illinois by connecting with the country folks down state.
While the GOP is counting on the big spending from the White House helping them during the mid-term elections, America might actually like Obama and the Democrats more as the White House slides toward the center. Cover the children’s eyes because the sight of a dying elephant could traumatize them for life.
Michael Steele has some elephant-sized EKG paddles in his hands but I don’t think he can get pass those who are in denial about what when wrong in the past or those who don’t want new congressional candidates to be more Sen. Isakson smooth and less Fox News bitter. They could pick up three House seats in Georgia just by reading this blog.
The House Minority Leader John Boehner recently said what…I can’t believe it…no he didn’t…he told the truth.
“We’re digging ourselves out of a deep hole,” he admitted. “We took it in the shorts with Bush-Cheney, the Iraq War, and by sacrificing fiscal responsibility to hold power.” Boehner also acknowledged that the GOP hasn’t done a good enough to job shaking the “party of no” label.
Rep. Boehner outlined his positive strategy turning things around but I think he needs some fresh face with encouraging vibes. Michael Steele should consider the following a personal gift from me: in Georgia, getting Austin Scott, Deborah Honeycutt into the correct congressional races would be your best spot at picking up seats by pulling voters from Blue Dogs.
As the Republicans taught the Democrats in the 90s, voters are reluctant to vote out incumbents from the party controlling the power in Washington. The GOP can’t win any congressional races in Georgia without producing Obama and dare I say Palin like popular, fresh candidates.
We know that traditionally Organized Labor and the Trial Lawyers controlled the Democrats with money and the Faith community and big business did the same for the Republicans. Obama got most of his money from the people so after all this bailout stuff he should do what the people want if he wants a second term. (And I am not sure he actually does. Maybe he wants to change the whole game with sweeping reforms without concern for reelection..walking away on top of the game like Jim Brown. Is that the secret deal he cut with Hillary?)
What would happen if the faith community created a third party? Who would be left in the GOP? Hear me: embrace some less bitter GOP candidates now or suffer the consequences.
Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush’s personal history includes being born in Albany, Georgia and time in the Black Panther Party. While working for Albany State University, I bumped into Rush coming out of the old Broad Street Bistro downtown. When I called him congressman, he was surprised to be recognized in south Georgia. Unfortunately, he was in town for the burial of his father and said that Rep. Sanford Bishop made the customary congressional courtesy offer of putting his local office at Rush’s disposal during his visit to the district.
Congressional courtesy is a classy gesture that is quickly vanishing. Traditionally, the same consideration applies on the staff level. Recently, I bumped into Bishop’s District Director at a function and he listened to my laundry list of policy concerns in the parking lot because that is what staff does for former staffer or those who are “informed constituents.” This director’s counterpart to the east makes it a hobby to not humor this particular former colleague—alright then.
Bobby Rush has the distinction of being the last opponent to defeat President Barrack Obama. After the 2000 congressional race, Obama regrouped and did well for himself. Rush spoke to our Black congressional staff organization once and told us that he was late for a Panther meeting that ended up in a conflict with the authorities; he might have been dead or in prison if he was on time that day.
Rush said that the Panthers felt that Blacks in America were similar to a trained elephant in the circus. A baby elephant is tethered to a steel rod in the ground and taught to walk in a circle. After the animal grows into a massive giant, the trainers can push the rod into the ground with their hands only because the trained mind of the elephant does not realized it could simple free itself by recognizing it’s powerful potential.
Rep. Rush also told the sad story of baby elephant being found next to their mothers’ bodies after ivory hunter killed the mother. Babies elephants have been discovered dying of dehydration while standing in the river. The mother was slaughter before teaching the young one to reach down and drink. Rush’s parallels between the Black community and elephants were classics.
This blog’s foundation is political diversity because different voices and histories at the table create better discussions and better solutions. Judge Sonia Sotomayor needs to stop back peddling on her statement that her Latina experiences brings different judicial perspective to the table or bench.
To use a worn term, she is uniquely qualified and I will be smiling when the next election brings a less bitter GOP House member or maybe a woman into the Georgia delegation. Georgia has only had six women in congresss and three of them serve less than a year. If Bobby Rush can go from Black Panther to congress then Georgia should have more than three females in Congress since World War II. It’s not affirmative action to think that the Georgia delegation’s vibe is a little testosterone-driven.
Project Logic Ga 