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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Soul Crusher on December 06, 2010, 05:46:55 AM
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Clarence B. Jones.Scholar in Residence, Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University
Posted: December 5, 2010 03:14 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index .Time to Think the Unthinkable: A Democratic Primary Challenge To Obama's Reelection
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/clarence-b-jones/time-to-think-to-unthinka_b_792237.html
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Been thinking and reading a lot about President Barack Obama. Lots of news commentaries about his alleged lack of leadership on this or that issue. About his disappointing the Gay and Lesbian and Transgender Community on his election pledge to end the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy in the armed services. And his disappointment by the anti-war coalition, who supported him because of his opposition to the war in Iraq, only to find that he has escalated the US's involvement in Afghanistan. Now, after the midterm election victories of the Republicans, he seems willing to compromise on his pledge to end tax breaks for the rich.
In previous blogs, I have tried to contribute to a constructive analysis and dialogue about Obama's presidential leadership. Several readers accused me of being an "apologist" for Obama. Perhaps, in artfully, but all I was trying to do was to present objectively those major issues confronting this administration, requiring decisive presidential leadership
Few news columnists can match the political erudition of Frank Rich of the New York Times. In the Sunday edition he wrote:
We're now at the brink of a new economic disaster that will eventually yank a chicken out of every pot. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculates that the extended Bush-era tax cuts will contribute by far the largest share to the next decade's deficits -- ahead of the recession's drain on tax revenues, Iraq and Afghanistan war spending, TARP and Obama's stimulus. The new Congress's plan to block any governmental intervention on behalf of 15 million-plus jobless Americans guarantees that the unemployment rate, back up to 9.8 percent as of Friday, will remain intractable too.
After reading this, I watched a PBS special on the songs and protest music of the 1960s. It bought back a flood of memories: my friendships with Mary Travers and Peter Yarrow of "Peter Paul and Mary," Lorraine Hansberry, Robert Nemiroff, Ernie Lieberman, Art and Burt DuLugoff of the Village Gate night club in NY, Pete Seeger, Albert Grossman, Odetta, James Brown, Al Bell of Stax Volt Records, Harry Belafonte, James Baldwin, and many others of that period.
However, nothing influenced me more to write this blog than listening, again, carefully to some of the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "Blowin in The Wind."
How many roads most a man walk down Before you call him a man?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
Then, I began to think about 1968: about Allard Lowenstein, President Lyndon Johnson, Senator Eugene McCarthy, Sarah Kovner and Harold Ickes of the New York Democratic Party New Coalition who had the courage to lead a grassroots challenge to Lyndon Johnson's re-election.
Lyndon Johnson was one of the greatest presidents in the history of our country. He enacted Immigration reform, bills establishing a National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Highway Safety Act, the Public Broadcasting Act, creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a bill to provide consumers with some protection against shoddy goods and dangerous products, Social Security and Medicare, Voting Rights Act of 1965, only to mention a few. But, he squandered and threatened the viable implementation of these legislative achievements by his aggressive pursuit and escalation of the war in Vietnam.
Some of us, like Allard Lowenstein, Sarah Kovner, Harold Ickes, Eleanor French, Blair Clark, decided that Johnson's pro Vietnam policy had to be publicly challenged. Our "agent" for this challenge was Senator Eugene McCarthy from Minnesota. He may have been an "uncertain trumpet" on other domestic issues. However, we worked hard to support his candidacy for President in the New Hampshire Democratic primary as a challenge to the Vietnam policy of President Johnson. McCarthy came in second with 42% percent of the vote against 49% for the President. This precipitated Johnson to announce that he would not seek re-election as the candidate of the National Democratic Party.
When few other public figures of national stature spoke out about Johnson's escalation of the war in Vietnam, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, at New York City's Riverside Church, before a meeting of Concerned Layman and Clergy, on April 4th, 1967, said "A time comes when silence is betrayal." For Dr. King, it was "time to break the silence."
And, so it is with Obama's continued squandering of the extraordinary support he developed for his election as President.
Go and check out the video clips of the panorama of faces that assembled in Grant Park in Chicago after the election results confirmed his victory. Check out the million + people who came to Washington to witness his Inauguration.
It is not easy to consider challenging the first African-American to be elected as President of the United States. But, regrettably, I believe that the time has come to do this.
It is time for Progressives to stop "whining" and arguing among themselves about whether President Obama will or will not do this or that. Obama is no different than any other President, nominated by his national party. He was elected with the hard work and 24/7 commitment of persons who believed and enlisted in his campaign for "Hope" and "Change."
You don't have to be a rocket scientist nor have a PhD in political science and sociology to see clearly that Obama has abandoned much of the base that elected him. He has done this because he no longer respects, fears or believes those persons who elected him have any alternative, but to accept what he does, whether they like it or not.
It is time for those persons who constituted the "Movement" that enabled Senator Barack Obama to be elected to "break their silence"; to indicate that they no longer will sit on their hands, and only let off verbal steam and ineffective sound and fury, and "hope" for the best.
The answer is blowin' in the wind
The pursuit of the war in Afghanistan in support of a certifiably corrupt Afghan government and the apparent willingness to retreat from his campaign commitment of no further tax cuts for the rich, his equivocal and foot dragging leadership to end DADT, his TARP for Wall Street, but, equivocal insufficient attention to the unemployment and housing foreclosures of Main Street, suggest that the template of the 1968 challenge to the reelection of President Lyndon Johnson now must be thoughtfully considered for Obama in 2012.
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Can i report myself for racist post?
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Repubs should be PRAYING Obama doesn't get defeated in a 2012 primary.
A blue dog dem would win, where obama can lose.
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Repubs should be PRAYING Obama doesn't get defeated in a 2012 primary.
A blue dog dem would win, where obama can lose.
who knows what will happen in 2 years
2 years ago the republican party was supposedly dead and about to be disbanded...now...
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who knows what will happen in 2 years
I do.
Palin wins the nomination.
Obama wins re-election.
Getbiggers have 4 more years of whining about how Palin is a victim and how bad Obama is destorying America. Amnesty passes. Cap trade passes in small tie-on chunks to other bills. Healthcare solidified.
All because 333386 swayed voters away from Thune, toward Palin. He singlehandedly turned the tide in her favor because he got a woody when that deer got capped on her show.
And so it shall be written.
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Bro you think fifty people are going to make a difference.
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Bro you think fifty people are going to make a difference.
i do. congrats on Obama's win. it was all you brah ;D
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Cool.
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I do.
Palin wins the nomination.
Obama wins re-election.
Getbiggers have 4 more years of whining about how Palin is a victim and how bad Obama is destorying America. Amnesty passes. Cap trade passes in small tie-on chunks to other bills. Healthcare solidified.
All because 333386 swayed voters away from Thune, toward Palin. He singlehandedly turned the tide in her favor because he got a woody when that deer got capped on her show.
And so it shall be written.
HILARIOUS
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Her beating the halibut and ripping its heart out and holding it inher hand made me want to rub one out. Can't lie.
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Her beating the halibut and ripping its heart out and holding it inher hand made me want to rub one out. Can't lie.
that will for sure help her run a country
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It was a metaphor for what and how she will vanquish her enemies.
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It was a metaphor for what and how she will vanquish her enemies.
Or she will quit when it gets tuff
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I do.
Palin wins the nomination.
Obama wins re-election.
Getbiggers have 4 more years of whining about how Palin is a victim and how bad Obama is destorying America. Amnesty passes. Cap trade passes in small tie-on chunks to other bills. Healthcare solidified.
All because 333386 swayed voters away from Thune, toward Palin. He singlehandedly turned the tide in her favor because he got a woody when that deer got capped on her show.
And so it shall be written.
lol
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Palin wins the nomination.
Obama wins re-election.
I agree here.
She is going to distract people and fuck up the process.
8)
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33,
at what point will she start 'vanquishing' her enemies?
Right now, she has two mode. Quit, and complain.
She quit her job, and she spends her time on FOX complaining.
I don't care about party, gender, age, whatever... but I just can't stand whiny people, you know? I can't stand whiny dems, i can't stand whine repubs.
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33,
at what point will she start 'vanquishing' her enemies?
Right now, she has two mode. Quit, and complain.
She quit her job, and she spends her time on FOX complaining.
I don't care about party, gender, age, whatever... but I just can't stand whiny people, you know? I can't stand whiny dems, i can't stand whine repubs.
Insert silly ass picture of her with a gun
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Insert silly ass picture of her with a gun
Your wish is my command
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I have to say I'd most likely vote Hillary over Palin. Obama or Palin on the other hand....
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I have to say I'd most likely vote Hillary over Palin. Obama or Palin on the other hand....
Hillary is done. By 2016 she will be too old and look like poo.
The wikileaks stuff does not sit well with the far left and she is not going to primary obama since she is considered too corporate for the freak show that has most sway in the dem primaries.
She is done.
I'm hoping we get a Christie/Thune ticket or something like that.
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Hillary is done. By 2016 she will be too old and look like poo.
The wikileaks stuff does not sit well with the far left and she is not going to primary obama since she is considered too corporate for the freak show that has most sway in the dem primaries.
She is done.
I'm hoping we get a Christie/Thune ticket or something like that.
lmao.. now you find out Palin is a Poser.. you rather Thune
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lmao.. now you find out Palin is a Poser.. you rather Thune
actually, 333386 claimed he wasn't quite aware if keeping trigger finger off trigger was important in hunting.
BWAAAAAAAAHA HA HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHaaaaaaaaaaaaa
then he did admit it was irresponsible, I give him props there.
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actually, 333386 claimed he wasn't quite aware if keeping trigger finger off trigger was important in hunting.
BWAAAAAAAAHA HA HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHaaaaaaaaaaaaa
then he did admit it was irresponsible, I give him props there.
he dosent go to the range if he runs around with his finger on the trigger
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there's a reason it's called unthinkable... It is....
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he dosent go to the range if he runs around with his finger on the trigger
see, I believe he does go to the range. he has posted many pics of guns he's bought. I believe him there.
And he admitted its very poor to put finger on trigger in the range- then claimed he didn't know if it was against hunting norms. Which was entirely laughable. it's not about range vs. hunting. It's about simple gun safety, applicable everywhere from range to hunting to your backyard outhouse. You never put the trigger finger on the trigger until you're pointed at something you are ready to destroy.
To anyone who has every handled a gun - the trigger is SACRED. It's the thing that kills everything you see. That's kinda a big deal. All of us with a brain knew palin was just using guns as props to deliver boners to right-wing gun lovers. But as a gun lover, I prefer a candidate who isn't so irresponsible.
then again, it's not a new trend. Palin told a story of her water breaking at 5 am in Texas... then she bravely waited until 5 pm to give a speech, then took 2 flights to Alaska and drove past two larger hospitals to attend a hospital in her own town. These are her words, remember? This isn't left-wing hate. This is her own hero story of being preggo with a 5th child, premature handicapped, and being "brave" enough to wait 22 hours to give birth.
So IMHO, anyone irresponsible to board a plane with broken water (actually 2 planes, she had a layover in seattle), is certainly likely to be irresponsible enough to handle a gun by the trigger...
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see, I believe he does go to the range. he has posted many pics of guns he's bought. I believe him there.
And he admitted its very poor to put finger on trigger in the range- then claimed he didn't know if it was against hunting norms. Which was entirely laughable. it's not about range vs. hunting. It's about simple gun safety, applicable everywhere from range to hunting to your backyard outhouse. You never put the trigger finger on the trigger until you're pointed at something you are ready to destroy.
To anyone who has every handled a gun - the trigger is SACRED. It's the thing that kills everything you see. That's kinda a big deal. All of us with a brain knew palin was just using guns as props to deliver boners to right-wing gun lovers. But as a gun lover, I prefer a candidate who isn't so irresponsible.
then again, it's not a new trend. Palin told a story of her water breaking at 5 am in Texas... then she bravely waited until 5 pm to give a speech, then took 2 flights to Alaska and drove past two larger hospitals to attend a hospital in her own town. These are her words, remember? This isn't left-wing hate. This is her own hero story of being preggo with a 5th child, premature handicapped, and being "brave" enough to wait 22 hours to give birth.
So IMHO, anyone irresponsible to board a plane with broken water (actually 2 planes, she had a layover in seattle), is certainly likely to be irresponsible enough to handle a gun by the trigger...
And you say I am obsessed with her?
By the way - this is how we rll op here.
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She put her finger on the trigger of a loaded gun.
highly irresponsible. You will not find an educated gun owner who will defend it.
her other questions "does it kick" are stupid, but certainly not as dangerous as the trigger incident. But hey, John Kerry had his penn hunting photo op. This is hers. It is what politicians do.
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240 - at this point I think we both want her for president for different reasons.
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240 - at this point I think we both want her for president for different reasons.
what is your reason, and what is my reason?
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what is your reason, and what is my reason?
I want her for the sheer reason that about 48% of the population will go into collective Jim Jones mode. Youwant her for sheer entertainment value and the many CT's you will get to spin.
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i want "anybody but palin" to run because polls show "anybody but palin" would whoop obama. They also show "palin" would lose to obama.
Look at it as a car race. You are up against a souped up BMW (since obama does have a lot of power as incumbent who can mold events to match his agenda).
Now you can roll with your favorite old chevy pickup truck, but there's a good chance you can lose. or you can borrow your neighbor's mustang, and you will probably win.
Most people have the mental maturity to leave their chevy at home and choose the car that'll win. most people.
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LMAO!
At this point last time, Bama wasnt even being discussed for POTUS. She still has plenty of time to rehab her image and get another 8%.
Buck up and hop on board the Grizzly Express.
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At this point last time, Bama wasnt even being discussed for POTUS. She still has plenty of time to rehab her image and get another 8%.
wow, i thought he gave the 2004 opening DNC address, which rudy did for the repubs that same year. I thought most in the party knew he was a 2008 potential. he wasn't on YOUR radar, but most in the party kinda knew he'd be a threat.
Now, I don't see how she can "rehab her image" in the next 12 months before primary voters choose the candidate. Because she continually delivers more boneheaded shit, day by day.
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wow, i thought he gave the 2004 opening DNC address, which rudy did for the repubs that same year. I thought most in the party knew he was a 2008 potential. he wasn't on YOUR radar, but most in the party kinda knew he'd be a threat.
Now, I don't see how she can "rehab her image" in the next 12 months before primary voters choose the candidate. Because she continually delivers more boneheaded shit, day by day.
she went to our allies in North Korea to learn how to shoot...