I saw the very beginning of the president’s remarks on Trayvon Martin and racial matters, but parenting duties called me away. What did I miss?
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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What did I miss?
The usual suspects(Breitbart flunkies/Faux Noise .. and so on) having a complete meltdown(again!).
I know. To hear their reactions you’d think you missed the second coming of Huey Newton.
I could not have said it better
A very reasonable statement about how Barack Obama 35 years ago could well have ended up like Trayvon Martin.
This tweet opines that it was an excellent and deft bit of political proctology.
And he failed to end his statement by saying, “…and that’s why I’m nominating Ray Kelly as Secretary of Homeland Security.” We might be thanking Te-Nehisi Coates for that one.
Based on the tweets right now, it appears twitter has implemented Spit-o-Vision, because I can actually feel the saliva coming through on my smartphone.
The racial insecurity of a lot of people in this county is epic.
They rolled right from outrage at a “mexican” and “spic” like Marc Anthony singing the National Anthem at the All-Star game into this. When told that he was in fact a native born American, at least one person responded with “what is the world coming too…”
Yes, because Obama is so stupid that he needs a columnist to tell him to not nominate Kelly. The constant need for those on the left to assume that Obama is naive/stupid and needs to be told how to do his job by pundits is unbelievably offensive. Just as offensive as the racism on the right.
Rightly said, twodollars. President Obama has taken so many actions that he has said he knows will be unpopular, but are the best he can do to get things done at the time. He appreciates hearing other points of view, but it’s very clear he makes up his own mind.
Yes, because Obama is so stupid that he needs a columnist to tell him to not nominate Kelly.
So, why was he praising the bigot(Kelly) yesterday?
Because being polite = nomination? Clearly Obama should have started ranting and calling Kelly a racist fuck. That would have what a true liberal would do.
Why praise the guy? Just say: “I’ll nominate someone in due course.” Or something similar. Because Kelly is a racist bigot. He’s been loud and proud about it.
Or even “Ray Kelly is just one of several people under consideration…”
He still gets to name-drop his new buddy (I bet he and Arne Duncan will get along GREAT) but the language is still bland enough that it can be meaningless.
Why praise the guy? Just say: “I’ll nominate someone in due course.”
Because to not praise him, when the reporter brought up his name, would be an obvious snub, not just neutrality or the absence of support.
Because he was asked a question in an interview and wanted to be polite?
Polite to Schumer, too, which is called politics and still legal in all 50 states.
well, could be because he was preparing his Trayvon Martin remarks. do you really think he didn’t know how ppl would react to his Trayvon Martin remarks?
So why was Obama responding positively to Chuck Schumer’s prodding for Kelly? If not to check the the media response.
I guess that “those on the left” means that where the Obama administration is is somewhere to the right of Dwight Eisenhower.
Obama is neither stupid nor naive but the White House communications operation is notorious for using leaks and trial balloons of controversial actions to talk down “the left”.
He needs to make his nomination and stop teasing. This is a significant nomination with regard to civil rights and civil liberties in this country. His nomination of Comey to FBI is not encouraging as to the direction that he is taking.
And that could become very significant when people start demonstrating to secure their voting rights against efforts to disenfranchise them. And in the continuing battle in the states to halt the erosion of women’s healthcare and privacy rights under Roe v. Wade. And efforts to stop environmental destruction.
Because right now all these folks are being treated as if they were terrorists.
Appointing New York City’s Bull Connor would be a terrible choice for DHS.
He should appoint Craig Fugate and move on.
So, Tarheel…what’re alla you leftinesses going to do when he does nominate Ray Kelly? Are you going to abandon him?
#1-No, you are not. He has trampled on The Constitution in innumerable ways and the leftiness blogs/media are still his staunch supporters.
Plus…
#2-He doesn’t really care if you do. The minuscule number of people in the U.S. who really think about politics and society is roughly the equivalent to the same percentage of the population that only patronizes intelligently produced independent films. The RatPub/DemRat/UniParty is the Hollywood of politics. Hollywood could care less what the eggheads think about their big-grossing films. Run in the dummies, take their money and then run ’em on out again.
The same with votes.
And how do you run them in?
With media hype.
Voters and moviegoers alike.
As above, so below.
Sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell.
Nice.
AG
2016, AG?
I should live so long.
If I’m still around then, I’ll muddle through the political season pretty much like we all do. It’s the political culture that needs to change so we can start having the real conversations instead of the media-driven ones.
What happened to culture-strike, buddy?
It drowned in the bogs of mediocrity, TD,.
So it goes.
AG
We might be thanking Te-Nehisi Coates for that one.
Please.
They guy was polite when answering a question someone asked him about Kelly.
They guy was polite when answering a question someone asked him about Kelly.
The guy(Kelly) who has overseen more Stop-and-Frisk stops of PoC then there are PoC in NYC? Meaning, in the last year(2012 IIRC), on average, that every PoC has been stopped at least once.
He was also in charge of the NYPD while they were running their profoundly creepy program of spying on the Muslim community. Kelly is a horrible, horrible choice.
He’s also in deeper with the whole national state security apparatus than any other viable choice. The NYPD is now just an arm of the NSA bunch. Bet on it. He’s probably in as a result.
Watch.
AG
Yes, when asked a question about the NYPD Chief of Police, he was polite.
How this is supposed to become a “trial balloon” is not immediately apparent to me.
See my comment below.
Come on, Tarheel Dem was making a reasonable point. Coates’s column obviously isn’t the only voice the administration is hearing re: Kelly. But the column was printed in the most valuable media real estate around, therefore a lot of people read it, and it’s not inconceivable that it will factor into the decision. It was an effective piece of criticism/democratic pressure.
Without speaking for TD, I think that’s all he meant by that remark.
That “reasonable point” is based on the assumption that Obama was likely to nominate Kelly.
That assumption is based entirely on Obama being polite when asked about Kelly in an interview.
True enough. I’m very doubtful Obama would nominate Kelly given how damaging it could be to the Dem coalition. But my understanding is that Schumer is or was pushing Kelly for the position, and even if he’s not likely to prevail, Coates’s column may help the administration push back on him.
forget the Dem coalition; you really think the same President who made those remarks about Trayvon Martin would nominate Mr Stop and Frisk? on which planet do you spend most of your time?
Sometimes saying nice things about someone is a kind way of letting them know they won’t be getting the job…
Give me a break, Errol. Did you even read what I wrote? No I don’t think Obama will nominate Kelly. And obviously his remarks today underscore that. But coalition politics also demand that administration deal with the Schumers of the world who do want Kelly. That’s what the push back is about.
well my comment was more in response to Calvin Jones and Tarheel Dem but it’s not about pragmatism, it’s about conviction and vision, which imo is what Obama’s presidency is all about.
it’s not as if there were no other candidates, there are plenty of good options
That assumption is based entirely on Obama being polite when asked about Kelly in an interview.
So it would be okay if he said the same about “Bull” Connor & J. Edgar Hoover?
Setting aside the silliness of that comparison, is this theoretical taking place in 1960 or 2013?
If President Kennedy was asked in 1962 about whether J. Edgar Hoover was being considered for a cabinet post, he’d obviously offer some polite, empty words.
Also, too, read this(Digby link):
http://bit.ly/16Pka03
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg re: Ray Kelly.
Incidentally, and nobody seems to think this is interesting at all, but Ray Kelly was one of the great commissioners on his first tour, under David Dinkins, and fired by Giuliani for the usual reason of getting more positive press than the mayor. He was largely responsible for the drop in violent crime that continues today through community policing techniques. Don’t know what happened to make him a fascist, but he wasn’t born one.
Here is the full transcript.
You missed every racist in the country rushing to the intertubes and the twitters to call Barack Obama a racist.
I’m neither surprised or in shock that liberals find a way to parse the POTUS remarks I’m not even gonna respond to them.
But I will say, to the usual suspects shouting “what took so long” for President Obama to speak on verdict (btw, it’s only been 5 days people!!!). I’m betting POTUS like all of us felt the same: the first day, we were numb, by day 2 we had a simmering anger, day 3-4, juror pissed us off….Day 4-5 Trayvon’s parents spoke about their feelings. Day 5 we could talk w/o getting angry.
As for the President’s remarks, I just watched the complete statement by POTUS. It was heartfelt, personal, and without accusation and NOT divisive AT ALL. The usual racist will do what they gonna do, but that ain’t on us or POTUS…
Very fine words from the Prez. Has the reality of racial profiling ever been really acknowledged at that level before? I certainly can’t imagine any prior Prez putting it in such personal terms. That’s powerful, and it will change some people’s perspective on this issue.
Actually, does anyone have a link to a video the full set of remarks? I wasn’t able to watch it on TV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHBdZWbncXI
No, I don’t think it was a strong focus of Benjamin Harrison’s political program…
Full statement VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MHBdZWbncXI
Thanks.
It was unprecedented and also entirely superfluous.
The guy said some entirely rational, truthful, personal things, and other people will react how they will. Those who have always hated him will still hate him. Those who look to him for reassurance and support and hope will be reassured and supported and hopeful. Those who want to dirty him up lest he shine too brightly will find something weird to focus on.
In a “conversation” (or whatever) about treating black people as individuals, not a homogeneous, threatening class, it’d be nice to start with allowing Barack Obama to be a human being. Sometimes he can just talk about what’s on his mind, it’s cool.
agreed with this point completely:
But there are a lot of white people in this country who are just generally unaware of racial profiling and its impact on black Americans. Not unaware because they’re racist per se, but because they don’t know many black people and don’t hear about these things firsthand. The Prez’s remarks will change some of those folks’ perspective. So I don’t think his statement today is entirely superfluous – not at all.
Or at the very least, the ones who are open to real discussion will talk about it with their acquaintances and co-workers. I don’t talk much w/my current co-workers about race or social issues, but I do w/some of my former co-workers who I knew longer and considered friends. I’d like to think those discussion we had made an impact
I think they do. Those conversations can be awkward and uncomfortable, but I think they can make more of an impact than also anything else. That’s a form of community organizing in a way.
I think people are thinking and talking and changing pretty much all the time, prompted, unprompted, whatever. I don’t really buy into societal epiphany theories.
The President offered comfort to the grieving and his own understanding to those willing to hear him out. That seems like pretty reasonable leadership. And some will follow. But as he said about the kids “being better,” generational renewal is the way societies usually evolve. It’s all a process.
It may well be “superfluous” to you. Judging from the reactions of many others, it clearly was not (at least to them).
The reaction from the black community on air in the first half hour was remarkable. Don Lemmon/CNN called in with a voice shaking from emotion; the MSNBC Torre, Karen Finney, MHP, talked about the depression of the verdict and how the black cloud lifted somewhat with Obama’s words.
Yesterday’s discussion on Hardball with Michael Steele and a MSNBC producer, who is black, was powerful as those two related stories of being stopped and followed by police, haunted by worries for their children on the streets.
This is the story that was missing from the trial. Walking while Black, where even our President and AG have experiences of being profiled; this story just came out of the closet and it reminded me of the day Obama came out for the LGBT community. It will be a game changer.
Sometimes the most important moments in leadership are not about votes or programs or treaties or concrete achievements: They are about a rational and sensitive discussion about a difficult subject that few people understand and that now many more people will come to understand. The hurt in the black and wider community had to be acknowledged and addressed, and this the President did very effectively, without setting up some zero sum game where a gain by one community had to be a loss for another.
Those racists who condemn him for it only condemn themselves.
Well said, Frank.