Just when I was almost ready to be proud of Hillary Clinton for not stepping into the mess that has been the Jeremiah Wright story, she goes and shows why she cannot unite this country. Rather than taking the high road and not responding to what is clearly a personal decision concerning one’s faith, she just had to weigh in. Once again self preservation has overruled prudence for Mrs. Clinton. In an effort to flip the script from her lying about Bosnia, she just couldn’t help herself from criticizing Barack Obama’s decision to remain a member of his church. It is precisely this attitude of Senator Clinton that has caused her to alienate and lose the support of blacks that she once commanded. It now seems that her campaign has written off the black vote for the primaries in the hope that they can regain it if she receives the nomination. The Clinton campaign continues to play politics as usual taking the black vote for granted believing come November they will have no place else to go.
“After originally refusing to play politics with this issue, it’s disappointing to see Hillary Clinton’s campaign sink to this low in a transparent effort to distract attention away from the story she made up about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia. The truth is, Barack Obama has already spoken out against his pastor’s offensive comments and addressed the issue of race in America with a deeply personal and uncommonly honest speech. The American people deserve better than tired political games that do nothing to solve the larger challenges facing this country,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton. Pittsburgh Tribune
This strategy is dangerous and problematic for a number of reasons, while blacks may not support McCain in November that doesn’t mean they will support Clinton. Despite a record of supporting black causes if the Clinton campaign continues to attack the black community by attacking it’s institutions the Democrats could be in for a rude awakening in November. Rather than having a record turnout, I believe many blacks will remain at home than support a candidate they feel is willing to write them off in March only to come knocking in November. I can only speak from experience, but in my city we had a black Mayoral candidate who had the outgoing Mayor’s machine and supposedly the support of the black community. Support that the candidate took for granted believing that he was a shoo-in for the office, unfortunately he found out the hard way that this support was not forthcoming. He lost to an unknown city auditor because the black support he took for granted stayed home. This candidate with that support would have won in a landslide had he gotten it. If the black community will do it to one of their own make no mistake they will do it to Senator Clinton.
It is time for the Party leaders to grow some balls and step in and muzzle the Clintons. It is not like John McCain is not providing enough ammo to take aim at. But rather than attack McCain’s war stance or his economic policies that will surely lead to ruin, Mrs. Clinton would rather discuss an issue that according to our Constitution should not even be up for public debate. The personal faith of our elected officials short of human sacrifice should and has been a private matter. And according to my crack research staff Reverend Wright has never advocated the use of human sacrifices or the overthrow of the American government.
Senator Clinton’s win at all cost strategy has already begun to cause many Democratic leaders to line up behind Barack Obama, the Bill Richardson endorsement I believe is a direct consequence of this strategy. It would have to take a lot for a former member of the Clinton cabinet and a close friend to come out for Obama. Senator Clinton is surrounded by very politically astute personnel who must know that by attacking Barack Obama’s church they are in effect attacking the black Church as a whole and by transference the black community.
As a Christian it breaks my heart that in America we even have a black Church and a white Church. This arrangement goes against everything Christianity is supposed to stand for, but as a black man I also realize the importance of the black Church. The black Church has been the one constant in black America from slavery through the civil rights movement. Early on in our history in this country most of our leaders were clergymen who had the faith of their convictions to speak out against the injustice they witnessed. When the civil rights marchers needed a break from the dogs, water hoses, and the police beatings they found solace in the black Church. Is the black Church perfect? No, but they have provided support for blacks in a world that said they were not fully human and created for enslavement by their white brethren.
Taking pages from the Karl Rove election handbook may provide short-term victories, but in the long run it will end in a bitter defeat. This attack is eerily similar to the Bill Clinton attack on Sister Souljah, using another black to shore up the white bonafides. Bill Clinton compared Sister Souljah to David Duke and now Senator Clinton is comparing Reverend Wright to Don Imus. Throwing blacks under the bus seems to be a recurring theme with the Clintons.
“You know, I spoke out against Don Imus (who was fired from his radio and television shows after making racially insensitive remarks), saying that hate speech was unacceptable in any setting, and I believe that,” Clinton said. “I just think you have to speak out against that. You certainly have to do that, if not explicitly, then implicitly by getting up and moving.” Pittsburgh Tribune
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.- Martin Luther King
