Blacksmythe

At least according to this article. Now something like this is usually leaked to the press by someone. Here I’m thinking that someone from Mayor Kilpatrick’s cabinet leaked this story to the journalist. It gets at some of the difficulties that my (helpful) critics have brought up in the wake of my last two posts on Obama. Is it possible that Obama’s race actually precludes him from making the type of aggressive moves against poverty and inequality–at least in public–that Edwards (and from what this article says, Clinton too) can make?

The concept of “deracialization” was developed by black political scientists to account for the modern wave of black elected officials. Unlike their predecessors who often ran explicitly on racial claims, they were much more likely to shy away from racial issues, and likely to shy away from policies designed explicitly to deal with racial and class based inequality. Mayor Dennis Archer of Detroit, Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly of DC, Governor L. Douglas Wilder, Representative Harold Ford, Harvey Gantt (who ran for Senate against Jesse Helms), all fit this model.

I’ve been wondering whether Obama is the newest version. He’s different than his predecessors in his background–he’s spent a significant amount of time organizing in Chicago. And he doesn’t shy away from his race at all–even though he probably could if he wanted to. He’s also different in that in at least some rhetorical contexts he does seem interested in dealing with structural issues. So those two things by themselves are enough to get his support from me in any other electoral context. And again, after the primary I would much rather work to get him elected than Clinton.

But while I think that the conversation he had with Detroit’s mayor was likely held in jest, I think Mayor Kilpatrick is right to withhold his support for Obama until he’s very clear where Obama stands. We might not have a better electoral context to deal with these issues aggressively. And if even DLC spawned Clinton is addressing these issues (where the hell the writer got this idea from isn’t clear…I’ve tripped on Obama, but can you find any issues of substance here?) then Kilpatrick’s choice shouldn’t be all that hard should it?

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“Poverty”

“Inequality”

Actually, this isn’t quite true. “Poverty” appears twice–once in reference to the Congo, and another time in reference to children without fathers in the home.

Inequality doesn’t appear at all.

I don’t plan to support Clinton, so I don’t even plan to go to her website and check…but if I were to check I’d probably see the same pattern.

Pre-emptive critiques that some may make in response:

If he talks about poverty he won’t win.

Platforms don’t matter.

Is there anyone out there better?

You are expecting too much from him.

List others that I’ve missed. If I get a chance I’ll respond in either another post, or in the comments.

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See today’s Washington Post article. There’s a whole bunch of stuff we talk about routinely in barbershops. But for some reason the only thing that comes out as “courageous” and “authentic” is the stuff that points to black people as the root of our problems. Now there’s some funny writing in this article like:

Obama, too, employs a slightly different style of speechmaking in front of black audiences, invoking, for example, a hypothetical “Cousin Pookie” in a speech in Selma, Ala., to talk about African Americans who do not vote. But while Obama has eschewed overt appeals to black voters, comparable to the way Hillary Clinton targets women with specific policy proposals, the substance of his remarks to African Americans, some Obama allies say, reflects an ability to speak about issues that a nonblack candidate probably could not have.

Earlier the writer shuts down his own argument by noting that Obama’s speechifying borrows a lot from Bill Clinton, who last I checked wasn’t black. But what jumped out at me on first reading was the comparison to Hilary. Is the author saying that Clinton HAS targeted women with specific policy proposals? If she HAS, then what we have here with Obama ISN’T comparable. Because as far as I know Obama has only targeted black people to speak tough love to them. And that’s not the type of target we need. Around now damn near everyone with a mic is blaming black people for our problems–our lack of discipline, our apathy, our language, our lack of self-love.

That’s all bs. Sounds good on paper. But it’s empirically false, and cannot serve as the basis for anything substantive and progressive politically.

John Edwards announced his candidacy in New Orleans. He’s the first major presidential candidate in several election cycles to talk about poverty and inequality as structural rather than personal failings.

So as far as I’m concerned, Obama is 0-1.  A few more pitches to go…we’ll see what we see.

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Felons who have completed their sentences will be able to register to vote in Maryland under a new law signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley yesterday.

The law, which takes effect July 1, was one of 178 measures the governor signed, including legislation to require stricter emissions limits on new cars and protect the diamondback terrapin.

Advocates say more than 50,000 Marylanders will be eligible to vote as a result of the legislation. Thirty-eight other states allow ex-convicts who have completed their sentences - including any parole or probation - to vote. But the Maryland legislation was among the most hotly debated bills in the recent General Assembly session.

“It certainly doesn’t mean the floodgates are going to open, but this underscores the full meaning of citizenship,” said Sen. Gwendolyn T. Britt, a Prince George’s County Democrat who was a sponsor of the measure. “When you have paid your debt to society … you should be free to register to vote.”

Amen.

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