Joe Wilson’s biggest allies
It’s as unfair as anything that happens in politics, but there it is. There’s a kind of perfect internet storm now, between the Serena Williams outburst, the Kanye West outburst, and the wilding episode posted on the top of Drudge today. Just as Obama surely benefited from the desire of many whites to elect a black president, so he will be harmed by widely circulated media images of blacks that reinforce negative stereotypes. Serena and West are of course very rich and talented—but gentlemanly or ladylike or gracious they surely are not. The wilding image is what every white parent who sends his child to an integrated school or lives in an integrated neighborhood most fears. It is the precisely the kind of thing that doomed David Dinkins’ mayoralty in 1993, though no New York politician was a greater gentleman.
Obama is obviously not anything like Serena, or Kanye West, or the thugs on the bus. But they have more power to bring down his presidency than all the Joe Wilsons and Glenn Becks and teabaggers in the world. For those who (I count myself) supported Obama and have hopes that he will be able to carry out at least part of his agenda, it’s a bitter recognition. But I’d be very surprised if the stories linked above didn’t have a negative impact on our president’s popularity.
It takes a healthy dose of candor to admit one’s support for Obama after the damage this man and his band of thieves have inflicted on this country in a few short months.
What part of the man’s agenda are you hoping he achieves? More wars, maybe? A larger, more intrusive welfare state? Nationalized health care? The non-sensical Cap-and-Trade disaster? Maybe you see those trillion dollar deficits as a sign of something positive. I don’t, and all of it can be laid at Obama’s doorstep.
If I wanted to destroy an economy, I’d be hard-pressed to conjure up a more effective agenda than the one Obama is forcing down our throats at breakneck speed.
Pray tell, what is “conservative” or “American” about any of this? Are you sure you’re writing for the right blog site?
This is surely a sobering thought, but I still think the greater danger is for white liberals and their black friends in the Ivy League to keep going on about how the teabaggers are all about anxiety about a non-white future.
“all of it can be laid at Obama’s doorstep”, says Steve Hogan.
That, I’m sorry to say, reflects the delusional state of much of conservatism today.
What about either Afghanistan or Iraq can be “all laid” at Obama’s doorstep? I don’t agree with his current policy in Afghanistan, but then again, it is what he said he would do and is certainly less belligerent than anything McCain would have done.
Or perhaps you are a Ron Paul guy?
“Nationalized health care”? Pretty clear that you don’t read much about what exactly is going on.
I think Wilson was talking to his constituents, who are white and angry that their president is a N…. Jon Stewart made the point when he showed a mock-up of Wilson “shouting-out” at a black church.
No one was moved either way by the “Lie!” cry of Wilson. The birthers and the anti-tax protesters (“Keep Government’s Hands Off My Medicare”) will love him even more. The middle will be horrified by the breach of decorum (and the implicit disrespect to the Government of the USA) and the left will be furious (and pleased), Wilson will be forgotten. He will be re-elected with a resounding majority (all white). And will be ineffectual in the House.
I caution those who are afraid of the growing crudity in politics. The crudity was there always, since 1789. It was just not as widely reported. I wonder at anyone who thinks thaf democracy can be other than crude and riven with anger, in the same way that the social system is which the democratic government describes in its conduct.
Wow, Obama must be a lot more brilliant than I ever gave him credit for if he’s solely responsible for the global mortgage, derivatives, banking and auto crises that happened even before he was president! Not to mention, 8 years of tax cuts during two really expensive wars.
seriously we all know only whites can be racist. Kayne stealing the show from a young girl, Serena degrading a lowly line judge, the blacks beating up a white kid while others cheered, nothing wrong with that even though it would never ever fly the other way around.
I love the Obama apologists. Because Bush started aggressive, wasteful and needless wars in the Middle East and on our economic and civil liberties here at home, the fact that Obama is continuing and extending these policies is used in his defense! Scary logic there, Whammer.
As for Obama promising to concentrate his efforts on Afghanistan during the campaign, then following through as president, only makes him honest in this regard. Honesty does not confer wisdom, and this war is about as unwise as it gets. Expand a war, kill thousands, then think up a strategy for why we’re there. Brilliant plan!
Like it or not, Obama is supposed to ensure our safety. Instead, he is further endangering this country and driving us off the cliff financially in the process. I’m supposed to watch this act of mass murder being subsidized by my taxdollars and remain silent at what’s being done in our name? Forget that.
And, yes, this is laid at his doorstep. If he gave the order today, the war would end. He hasn’t, so it won’t How is this not his responsibility? Of course, the Congress could cut off the money, but we all know that’s a pipe dream.
Regarding health care, I’ve read enough to know that I’ll be forced into an “insurance” scam that covers everything under the sun, and run by the same idiots that manage the Post Office, FEMA and Amtrak. Can you say, “Rationing”? Evidently you think this is a grand idea, Whammer. I think it’s a recipe for 3rd world status. But, hey, I must be “delusional.”
Meanwhile, keep drinking the Obama Koolaid while you can still afford it. Sycophants like you are in for a rude awakening when the real economic crisis hits the fan. Go back to sleep now, Whammer.
Lots of questions, but this short commentary certainly deserves many.
How did whites desiring a black president (the old white guilt racket) help Obama? Did he get more white votes/money/endorsements because he is half-black? The only thing I see that might be a factor is more white young campaign volunteers. Now, they did a good job, but come on, the ones that did it because of Obama’s race couldn’t have made much of a difference.
And harmed by blacks behaving badly? The racist vote will hate him even more? “More power to bring down his presidency”?!? Well, if you think Beck and the teabaggers have zero power to bring him down, they might have an iota of this strange power. But how will it happen?
Finally, just what decade do you think this is – integrated schools? When is the last time you stepped into a public school? Urban, suburban, ex-urban, rural, it doesn’t matter. Where are the non-integrated schools?
But the absolute worst is “most fears.” You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. I live in a diverse neighborhood and I send my white kid to a white-minority public school. He is in early grade school, and considering the current funding trends, I am much more scared of him landing in an overcrowded classroom with a neophyte teacher than I am of him ever getting beat up, anywhere, by anybody.
“For those who (I count myself) supported Obama and have hopes that he will be able to carry out at least part of his agenda,”
I never understood the Obamacons. If you couldn’t bring yourself to vote for McCain (and no self-respecting conservative should have) then you should have voted for Chuck Baldwin or Bob Barr. Voting or Obama was the supreme act of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
“The middle will be horrified by the breach of decorum (and the implicit disrespect to the Government of the USA)”
You keep on believing that Dennis. It’s called whistling past the grave yard. I guess you also believe there were only a few thousand marching on Washington Saturday. Wilson has become a rock star and the reprimand only increased his stature. You Dems have become completely tone deaf. You have no idea what is happening in this country. It’s all coming apart for you and all you can do is shout fringe and racism in your elitist echo chamber.
Steve Hogan,
You don’t seem to have basic reading comprehension skills. Where do I say that I think the health care plan is a great idea? I said it was not nationalized health care.
You do not seem to understand what nationalized health care is.
And I do think it is humorous that Iraq and Afghanistan are now on Obama’s doorstep.
You may be one of the 1000 people in this country who did not support the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and did not vote for either Bush, Gore, or Kerry. And you did not vote for McCain either. Most of you guys hang out either here or at antiwar.com. Actually, I don’t think there is anything wrong with that position. I wish there was more of that around, frankly.
But, if you ever voted for Bush or voted for McCain and now you are complaining that Iraq and Afghanistan are Obama’s fault, then you are a partisan moron. But I don’t know what your position was on any of that stuff, so I am not going to make assumptions. You, however, are very comfortable calling me an Obama sychophant when I disagree with your bad arguments. Whatever.
Mr McConnell,
If I understand your post correctly, you’re saying that you support Obama and his agenda, and you see race as a primary factor in the criticism of his presidency.
I assume that since you write for @TAC you consider yourself a conservative. There’s been a lot of debate on this site and others about what that means. How do you reconcile your conservatism with your support for Obama? He pledged and now he’s acting to radically change the American system and way of life to satisfy his sense of justice, and in the process he’s moving America further towards collectivism (including racial collectivism) and further towards an all-powerful central state. Is this conservative?
Also, do you think it conservative to tell black people that they need to be on their best behavior if the president is going to succeed? Will anyone criticize our elected president if black folks believe that their fate is intertwined with his and the rest of the world buys into the progressive narrative that white critics are really racists looking for confirmation of their prejudice and that they criticize Obama’s policies so they can publicly hate a black man?
“Wow, Obama must be a lot more brilliant than I ever gave him credit for if he’s solely responsible for the global mortgage, derivatives, banking and auto crises that happened even before he was president!”–F.Rossi
No, it was not him personally but pervasive leftist philosophy, of which he is a primary representative, that is at fault here. It was the community organizing ethos–Obama’s political modus operandi–that drove the mortgage meltdown and sundry economic maladies.
Responding to Jack Tracey,
I supported Obama primarily because, after Bush, I thought our foreign policy needed a dramatic reset, and because I didn’t (and don’t) want a war with Iran. I wrote about that in TAC, and you can look it up in our endorsements issue. And because on certain issues, like immigration, McCain was no more conservative than Obama–probably less so in practice. I don’t see Obama as a radical. He’s given the key financial posts in his administration to Wall Street connected neoliberals, much to the chagrin of the Left. As for black people and their behavior–I think everyone should be on their best behavior. Given the nature of things, Obama’s popularity is more affected by black people’s behavior than say Bush’s would be by white people’s behavior. That’s unfortunate, but true.
Oh boy, another one grain of sand is more than no grains of sand argument: Given white people’s behavior never affected Bush’s popularity, I guess you could say black people’s behavior affects Obama’s popularity more, but you wouldn’t be saying much.
What is this “nature of things”?
“…Where do I say that I think the health care plan is a great idea? I said it was not nationalized health care. “-whammer
There is no the plan. The House Dems have one plan and there five Dem plans in the Senate. For some reason I’ve never heard properly explained BHO never submitted his own plan to Congress.
Really, BHO’s entire speech could be called a lie, because he kept referring to a “plan” that didn’t exist.
I agree with the points McConnell made for voting for Obama. During the campaign, McCain had a pretty solid plan for reforming healthcare – starting with ending the deductions businesses receive for providing healthcare to its employees. I took a look at my policy, noted that even though I am single it is worth $10,000. McCain, given his stature in the Democrat controlled Congress, could get that policy through and more. That is one of the big reasons I voted against him.
If given the opportunity to choose an archenemy, it makes since to choose someone who has the confidence to try big things, but no track record of such endeavors working out. McCain has a strong track record, headed by McCain-Feingold, one that I don’t think helped this country at all. Obama is inspiring and intelligent, but has no background in transformative legislation. The choice of who to vote for as a conservative was easy. Obama or nothing.
If you honestly thought McCain would not have continued the wars, or bailed out the banks and the auto companies, you haven’t been paying attention.
This would be a good book for “Norwegian Shooter” to read:
http://www.amazon.com/Canarsie-Italians-Brooklyn-Against-Liberalism/dp/0674093615
“I love the Obama apologists. Because Bush started aggressive, wasteful and needless wars in the Middle East and on our economic and civil liberties here at home, the fact that Obama is continuing and extending these policies is used in his defense! Scary logic there, Whammer.” Bush put the country, and Obama, in a terrible position.
Conservatives have a short memory. The car companies were going bankrupt before Obama took office. The basic choices were bankruptcy or bailout. Either way, Obama is blamed for Bush’s fiasco.
And please. It was the community organizers exerting more control over subprime mortgages than the multi-billion dollar greedy corporate conglomerates? Who’s drinking KoolAid?
“I guess you also believe there were only a few thousand marching on Washington Saturday.” Well, yes. Even Faux News said it was “tens” of thousands, compared to the million plus present for the inauguration.
ICR, don’t bother the Swede. He’s too busy counting the number of “diverse” children in his child’s school to notice crime.
WRW,
Why the scare quote for diverse? Would you prefer heterogeneous?
The actual title for this should be “N*ggers All” or “Once a N*gger, Always a N*gger” because you have no other analysis for putting these people together with Barack Obama except for race. And to label a school bus beating (which the reporting officer has no longer stands behind his initial report which categorized it as a racial incident) as “wilding” is to really add poison to the pot.
“As for black people and their behavior” why does Barack Obama have to be responsible for the behavior of every black person in the United States? Why should these individuals behavior his reflect upon his character and conduct? How about Jimmy Connors? John McEnroe? Is he responsible for their poor performance on the court, after all, he was alive then too?
why does Barack Obama have to be responsible for the behavior of every black person in the United States?
hear, hear. But then, why does Barack Obama symbolically bear the suffering of every black American to have lived? Is that not what his political career is? Reaping white America’s deep desire for repentence engendered by a civil rights narrative grown shrill and hollow in the face of true equality?
This is a grown-up forum; let’s not pretend it wasn’t this, in the form of enough political capital to propel him from the Illinois Legislature to the presidency in months, that produced President Barack Obama. Whatever virtues and successes he shows in office, they will be the result of chance–he just happened to be as exceptional as the msm decided he should be, not long ago. Thus invested, they are pitching in to help that come about.
But the “responsible for all” fallacy is entirely consistent with the position that it is “important to have an African American president”, and the complaint I’m hearing from many that the president isn’t speaking to racial issues from the dreaded “progressive” perspective.
It’s also consistent with something else, a greater lie and a greater wrong–the notion that every white American bears a share of collective responsibility for every wrong committed to a black American, whether coming at the hands of authorities, bigots, or the imaginary demons cast in the many hoaxes perpetuated in part by the msm (quickly forgotten, when noted at all).
Note the collective desperation in the media when confronted, yet again, with the bigoted thuggery that defines popular black culture (and much behavior): combining Kanye West, Joe Wilson and Serena Williams outrages together in one “where’s the civility?” narrative; as if to render them inert. But at least they’re acknowledging these things are about race; that’s progress.