Benefit of a Black President Discussion
posted in Social Commentary, youtube | | EMail This Post | View blog reactions | Print This PostI stated in my much debated piece Why An Obama Presidency May Be More Bad Than Good for Black People the following:
“The second fallacy in the hypothesis that Barack getting the position will really mean fundamental change is that, though Bush has tried to make it so, the presidency is not a dictatorship. It’s not as if Barack can get into office and mandate changes. The congress will still be the congress, and the system will still be the system”
Let’s just nail this point down, and understand it so we do not think fallaciously.
Everything that Bush did in the last 8 years was almost completely with the cooperation of democrats – EVERYTHING.
* The majority of dems voted for the UnPatriot Act
* The majority of dems voted to reauthorize the UnPatriot (including Obama)
* The majority of senate dems voted for the war in Iraq
* The democrat controlled congress voted to approve increased warrant-less spying: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/03/AR2007080302296.html and scholarsandrogues.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/will-the-democrats-sell-out-america-on-fisa-spy-bill-vote-again/
* The majority of senate democrats still voted to continue funding the war even though they were elected to end it
* Department of Homeland Insecurity – the Dems only voted against a particular version because they were quibbling over the hiring and firing of civil servants; but it was democrats who initially proposed the department and they supported the creation of the department; this same department who’s initial directives included having citizens spy on one another and report to the FBI.
So in as much as we have a “police state” or “dictatorship” or however most of us who are against Bush’s usurping of power want to phrase it; the democrats have been complicit in handing power to the scepter of King George the Second.
Malcolm X spoke about this con game in the Ballot or The Bullet
“In this present administration they have in the House of Representatives 257 Democrats to only 177 Republicans. They control two-thirds of the House vote. Why can’t they pass something that will help you and me? In the Senate, there are 67 senators who are of the Democratic Party. Only 33 of them are Republicans. Why, the Democrats have got the government sewed up, and you’re the one who sewed it up for them. And what have they given you for it? Four years in office, and just now getting around to some civil-rights legislation. “
Just now, after everything else is gone, out of the way, they’re going to sit down now and play with you all summer long—the same old giant con game that they call filibuster. All those are in cahoots together. Don’t you ever think they’re not in cahoots together, for the man that is heading the civil-rights filibuster is a man from Georgia named Richard Russell. When Johnson became president, the first man he asked for when he got back to Washington, D.C., was Dicky—that’s how tight they are. That’s his boy, that’s his pal, that’s his buddy. But they’re playing that old con game. One of them makes believe he’s for you, and he’s got it fixed where the other one is so tight against you, he never has to keep his promise.
Vote for whoever you want, but let us have our expectations in order. Make sure our exuberance is matched to reality based on critical thinking; and let us not be given simply to wishful thinking.
And for the record, I voted for Obama last week, so please don’t come here saying I’m telling you not to vote for the Black man (as has been accused) as I’ve never said that once anywhere.
If we could get this much exuberant for tearing down the two party system that keeps power away from the people; I’d get a whole lot more excited about the possibilities.
Listen to Malcolm deliver the full Ballot or the Bullet speech:
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