Ventures into thread.
Leaves this:
Runs away.
Comes back at @funruly’s request.
Adds this.
Runs away again.
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A cardinal rule when running for any elected office, is to avoid self-inflicted political and social errors/comments, that cause potential voters to reconsider support or not support your candidacy.
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She’s white washing history here. That’s inexcusable, I think. I’m tired of politicians doing this shit. Really tired.
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Now she’s walking it back by saying she meant stem cell research. I figure there are two possibilities. Either she’s lying to save face, or she just told her speech writers to throw together some nice remarks about the Reagans and didn’t bother to have anyone fact-check it. I’m leaning towards whitewashing, but part of me wonders if any Clinton speech writers got axed this week.
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As a Hillary supporter I will admit, this has not been a good week for the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Hillary’s comments about Ronald and Nancy Reagan were uninformed and I’ll-advised. After last night’s Trump protest in Chicago; someone in the Clinton campaign should be pushing Hillary to go on the record (and issue a statement) about Donald Trump inciting violence with his inflammatory, racist and bigoted rhetoric. Hillary should issue a statement about the racist, disgusting and violent way the protesters were treated at the Trump campaign rally last night in Chicago.
Bernie Sanders is on the record, however to my knowledge, Hillary for some reason has made no comment thus far. Last night was a major event; lack of engagement and support for the protesters by Hillary could result in overall voter (and specifically minority voter) disenchantment with her campaign. .
African-American voters in the north are more radical, liberal and progressive than in the more conservative south. During the Civil Rights Era, you had the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) led by Dr. King, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), The traditional black church in the south played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement.
In the north there was support for and membership in SCLC and SNCC and the traditional black church was present–but you also had revolutionary, nationalist, liberal and progressive organizations like the Black Panther Party, the Black Power Movement, the Pan-African Movement etc…
Hillary cannot take the African-American vote for granted in the north. Bernie Sanders may find a more receptive audience to his left wing democratic socialist message in the north. A interesting comparison from my life experience is how Black Lives Matter activists sometimes sound like and are similar in zeal and ideology to the Black Panther Party (Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, Kathleen Clever, Fred Hampton), Malcolm X, Angela Davis, H.Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, the Black Power Movement, Malcolm X etc.
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You’re right, she can’t take the northern black vote for granted, but I’m sure she thinks she can win it. I’d guess that Bernie probably has more support from labor, black and white, across the country than Clinton does, simply due to the fact that President clinton signed NAFTA into law. It was yet another straw that is breaking the labor movement and it’s part of why only 7% of private workers are unionized.
I think they are influenced by them (maybe more so than the classical civil rights folks) because their analysis of the problems faced by the black community speaks to them. The panthers and post-white expulsion SNCC had a strong economic as well as racial critique. And… well, it’s hard not to be influenced by Malcolm. His story (like King’s) remains compelling and important. Most importantly, relevant to today.
(That smile, tho!)
The problem, as I see, for the left, no matter what their race, has been figuring out a way to bridge the gap between the black and white working class. We’ve seen Sanders stumble, not because he doesn’t care or isn’t interested in black liberation, but because the left has not effectively figured out how to square the problems of racism in America with the problems of class in America. That’s partly true, because, obviously, you have African Americans who aren’t working class, yet still suffer from racial injustice. As we’ve seen with middle class victims like Sandra Bland, race can make you a victim of police brutality and whatever wealth you may have won’t necessarily protect you when it’s you and the cops. That being said, there are times when some more elite African Americans have looked down and ignored the class issue or brushed it aside as unimportant. And what do you do with a white working class that isn’t always progressive on issues of race, gender, and sexuality, even if some are? Sadly, they couldn’t all be William Winipisinger. Or they could, but they just don’t want to be.
It’s a complex, complicated problem that needs the time and distance this presidential race isn’t really giving it.
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Have working class white people democratic or republican, ever been concerned about the unemployment rate, economic and social concerns of African-Americans?
There was a time when African-Americans were not welcome in unions, in many manufacturing jobs (factories and warehouses). This talk of a angry and struggling middle class is not because their is high unemployment or underemployment in the African-American community. Because of discrimination in hiring, there is now and has always been a much higher unemployment and underemployment rate in the African-American community.
Many in the angry and struggling white middle class had well paying, long term and secure jobs in manufacturing (factories and warehouses). Many are high school dropouts or only have a high school degree. They could walk down the street or go across town and work in the same jobs their grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and siblings had worked for years.
Now many of these jobs have disappeared, factories closed or jobs moved overseas. With no education to fall back on this angry and struggling white middle class find themselves in a position of having to find jobs that pay less. If anyone should be angry because of lack of employment or underemployment it is African-Americans.
The advice often given to African-Americans which can now be applied to angry and struggling white middle-class workers is, this is why it is important to go to college and get a degree to enhance your earning potential and attain some security and flexibility when seeking and attempting to always have sustainable employment.
Talk about income inequality, what is the current median income and U-3 unemployment rate for angry and struggling middle-class white Americans compared to African-Americans and other minorities like Hispanic/Latino- Americans?
Not many have, no. Some, but certainly not anywhere approaching a majority of them.
I’m well aware of that shameful history. But there were people in unions, black and white, who worked to change that. But yes, the American white working class has a history of racism. Many are still deeply racist.
I’m also well-aware of this. Do you honestly think that Clinton is going to change much? As long as she gets the black vote that she feels she’s owed because she’s a democrat, she’s not going to seriously address racism. I just think she won’t. Sanders, however, has already shown that he’s working with black activists and change policies to better address their needs and goals as a community. I think the reaction the two campaigns had to BLM is rather telling. Clinton essentially condescendingly sent them away and Sanders listened to them and changed his policy accordingly to more effectively tackle these issues.
I agree that the problems being faced by the African American community is specific and we need to address them. Part of the problem is that too many whites have not looked our history in the face and understood what racial violence/oppression has meant. We need someone who can do more than say “it’s in the past, let’s move on.” She’s paying lip service to racial justice, now, but I suspect it will go by the wayside once the election is over, if she wins. I’d also suspect that Sander’s would have a much more communicative administration and constantly be looking for issues to champion, including this one, given enough social pressure from below.
Not do I think addressing the specific problems of race means ignoring income inequality, because these are connected problems (in part, because POC face greater economic inequality than white people). Economic inequality is also used as a wedge issue to divide people who might be facing similar economic struggles, but are of different races.
It’s a complicated problem, that I think Clinton doesn’t care about, frankly speaking.
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For a lot of the US unions that was true, but they were always welcome in the IWW.
One of the IWW’s most important contributions to the labor movement and broader push towards social justice was that, when founded, it was the only American union to welcome all workers including women, immigrants, African Americans and Asians into the same organization…
One example of the union’s commitment to equality was Local 8, a longshoremen’s branch in Philadelphia, one of the largest ports in the nation in the WWI era. Led by the African American Ben Fletcher, Local 8 had over 5,000 members, the majority of whom were African American, along with more than a thousand immigrants (primarily Lithuanians and Poles), Irish Americans, and numerous others.
Admittedly the Wobblies are quite a bit into the (international) libertarian left and quite distant from US mainstream politics, so they’re neither Democratic or Republican.
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I disagree with you about Hillary, but I respect your passion and support for Bernie.
I agree with you–there is no easy solution for the racism and bigotry in America. No matter what initiatives anyone undertakes Bernie or Hillary, there will always be way to many racists and bigots in America.
I think that both Bernie and Hillary have a sincere desire to attempt to address racism and bigotry. All they can do is engage America and confront the issue head on.
One thing we do need–is to understand the importance of electing liberal and progressive politicians on all levels to pass legislation combating racism and discrimination; and elect judges on all levels to adjudicate against racist and bigoted legislation and actions.
It is imperative we elect a democrat as president, to ensure a democratic president appoints the next justice (and any future justices) to the U.S. Supreme Court, that will protect the civil and human rights of Americans.
We can work to solve racism and bigotry but we need real time politicians and judges to protect the civil rights gains and future political, civic and social challenges faced by minorities, women, the LGBTQ community etc…
If it were not for laws and judicial rulings–sexist discriminatory and racist bigots would still be lynching minorities and preventing women from voting.
Interesting union, thanks for the information clarification and correction.
That’s really hard to go along with. I just have so little faith that Hillary no longer thinks of black people in general, when she even bothers to do so, as “super-predators” who need to be “brought to heel.”
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The vast majority of African-Americans do however support Hillary Clinton.
Black Lives Matter activists are by and large not Hillary Clinton supporters, they support Bernie Sanders–that’s good at least they are engaged politically.
The good news for Hillary and not so good news for Bernie is: Black Lives Matter activists do not represent the vast majority of African-Americans or a significant portion of the African-American voting electorate.
Hillary and Bill Clinton’s record of getting things done that have helped African-Americans cannot be matched by Bernie Sanders. Wonder how many Black Lives Matter activists have benefited from the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or financial money from the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) etc etc…
Many African-Americans who don’t support Hillary have not even taken the time to investigate initiatives started by Hillary and Bill Clinton that have benefited the African-American community–versus initiatives started by Bernie Sanders that have benefited the African-American community.
Why don’t people who reference the tape of Hillary using the word “super predator” play the entire speech instead of the deliberately and specifically selected and edited short second clip of her saying “super predator” and “bring them to heel”
Where in the tape does Hillary say she is singling out (and talking about) African-American gangs specifically?
The vast majority of people in the African-American community have no sympathy for gang members who indiscriminately murder innocent women and children and wreak terror on the African-American community.
Soooooo don’t give a shit about this particular bit of character assassination. Even if true.
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Cause, we’re soooo totally used to Sanders hurling insults, right?
Oh, and misrepresenting others. He’s all over that big time.
/arsechasm
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Really what bothers me is how much the pearlclutching whine, “He criticized the Commander-in-Chief!” smacks of early Bush-era dumbassery.
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