Wow, which one of us is the racist? You assume I meant black people. In fact, there was a sizable portion across the country who felt that voting for Obama would be a way to heal our racial wounds, regardless of race. The lack of black penetration by Republicans is a problem for that party. It's because they seem to look to intent rather than results. Democrats claim to care, but 40 years of well-meaning policies that haven't worked and in fact have made the plight of the black person in America worse should point to the fact that perhaps they shouldn't just give their votes to one party. If they wanted to truly exercise their power, they'd threaten to back another party. Right now, the Democrats take them for granted. Which US Senator was a Grand Wizard in the KKK? Hint: He's not a Republican. Which former US Senator called Obama, "bright, articulate and clean" because it's so surprising that a black person could speak without using Ebonics? He also said he was surprised to walk into a 7-11 and not see an Indian. Hint: He's now our Vice President. I would argue the Party that engages in identity politics is the true racist party. link? I hate to break it to you, but those people you just described make up one of the largest voting blocs in this country. It's like saying, "Well, if you take out fans of hockey, Elizabeth May would be PM." Since I don't belong to a political party, I have no idea what you're talking about.
Bush's medicare drug program and Obama's ridiculous deficit spending are putting us in so deep a hole that only a moron would contemplate adding a pathetic and money drain of a program at this time. Think about it, the medicare program is already killing our financial position. This deficit spending is going to kill more than Medicare and any proposed national health care program, it's going to kill social security, our ability to fill potholes in our roads, keep the roofs on our schools from leaking, etc. Obama's really working a miracle unthought of. Republicans tried to do it, but never could. That is, kill Social Security.
lets me work backwards here. if i was a republican, i would also try my darnedest to disassociate myself from the failed policies the repbulican party. did u know that elizabeth may is related to the bush family? as for the voting bloc of rural voters- its losing its arithmetic advantage over hispanics every day. plus, ive heard there is a real brain drain in these places where freedom and incest run abated because there simply isnt jobs for professionalss. as a consequence- their best and brightest are moving to the city. these places are simply failed societies that will perish because the locals are too stupid to evolve. i was wrong, half of the republicans are conspiracy theorists link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/02/obama-birthers-us-presidency as for black ppl voting overwhelmingly democrat- in recent history, where can u find an instance where republicans stood with black ppl? not on the civil rights bill, certainly not on affirmative action, not even on divisive issues between police officers and black men and they even have the audacity to call obama a reverse racist. republicans simply dont give a shit about minorities. take the sotomoyar confirmation hearings- her conformation was a foregone conclusion because of the democratic majority yet they still questioned her in patronizing manner; called her a reverse racist and almost all voted against her. confirming her would have earned the republicans some traction in the latino community but they managed to do the opposite. i do agree with u that well intentioned policies have failed the black community. for instance awarding single mothers at the expense of married families has contributed to the disintegration of black families. however, that trend irrespective of policy is pervasive throughout the west, just look at the divorce rates. and if republicans want the black vote- they need to engage african americans and stop pandering to rush limbaugh and his cult of domestic terrorists.
School vouchers. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/09/us/young-blacks-turn-to-school-vouchers-as-civil-rights-issue.html Young Blacks Turn To School Vouchers As Civil Rights Issue By JODI WILGOREN Published: Monday, October 9, 2000 When Cory A. Booker talks about fixing America's school system, he invokes the words of Malcolm X: by any means necessary. To Mr. Booker, 31, an African-American Democrat elected to the Newark City Council in 1998, that means lobbying state lawmakers for smaller classes and teacher testing. It means organizing book drives for the schools in his impoverished neighborhood, and arranging for an insurance company to create a community health clinic at one of them. And it also means the unbridled backing of the contentious notion of giving parents vouchers financed by taxpayers to send their children to private schools. ''It's one of the last remaining major barriers to equality of opportunity in America, the fact that we have inequality of education,'' Mr. Booker explained. ''I don't necessarily want to depend on the government to educate my children -- they haven't done a good job in doing that. Only if we return power to the parents can we find a way to fix the system.'' Mr. Booker, a Rhodes scholar who quotes Frederick Douglass and Langston Hughes in his speeches, is part of a growing cadre of young blacks who have embraced vouchers, and school choice more broadly, as a central civil rights issue for their generation. While established African-American organizations have been among the leaders of the opposition to school vouchers, arguing that they would decimate the public school system, maverick black politicians and community organizers are increasingly the public face of the pro-voucher movement financed largely by white Republican businessmen.
You asked, you got answered. Our education system was once the envy of the world, now it's not highly ranked among nations. Those measurements are fair, unlike the biased ones about health care. I've never seen anything more disgraceful than in the democratic party machine towns I lived in, where the elected officials funneled school funding away from inner city (black neighborhood) schools to suburban ones where their campaign donors live. OK, I have seen things more disgraceful from those same elected officials. Like building a ghetto/project, inviting black people to move in, then building freeways around them to keep the black people segregated and poor. Then they let the buildings run down to the point where the good people who lived there had to walk up 10 flights of stairs with their groceries since the elevators stopped working and never got repaired. The elected officials didn't care much about the lead paint peeling off the walls. And that's in Obama's home town (Chicago), a northern city. In Northern California, the divisions are both physical (freeways) and natural (the Bay). The same story is true of cities like Detroit and Philadelphia and New York City. All this started in the 1960s, too, when the Democrats supposedly became champions of those black folks. Do you at all wonder why these Democrats oppose school vouchers? They argue they don't want money going to parochial schools, yet they don't mind college grants to go to Notre Dame. They don't even consider vouchers that are good in only public schools, so those inner city kids can go to the good schools in the suburbs.
He's President though. How different would it have been if Gore beat Bush? If Nixon beat Kennedy? If Carter beat Reagan? A faction of the country will always dislike a President because their guy didn't make it. These people have absolutely every right to be upset with Obama. That's their right as an American, but they can also use their freedom in 2010 and 2012 to change what he's done. Again, I'm sure people like you, DC, and even myself have concerns about this. I'm young and having to pay for this down the road is going to be a pain in the butt especially if the system doesn't get better. However, neither of us would be acting like this if we were at a town hall. I know I wouldn't. I would hope debate can happen and I think it can assuming the right people are there. You have people shouting at Senators and Congressman at town halls. I'm supposed to believe that an independent or someone who has little to no party affiliation is behind this? I just don't believe that.
that was a tangent. the republicans dovetailing themselves to the voucher issue was a marriage of convenience not altruism for black ppl. im sure republicans are lining their pockets with private school money just like the democrats are doing the same with teacher union cash.
No more than George Soros and many multimillionaires were behind the astroturf movement that got Obama elected. And I love it that people are shouting at Senators and Congressmen for a change. After what they've done the past few years, they're lucky the masses don't march on D.C. with pitchforks and torches. They nearly destroyed the banks, killed our property values, wiped out $trillions in life savings, and are selling the nation to China as fast as they can.
Is that limited to just the Democrats? I know that's consistently happened all over Ontario, through left, right, and centrist governments.
dont give me that. moveon.org and other grassroots organizations emerged well into bush presidency and well into his well documented fuck ups. this crap has been happening to obama from day one by a well financed (i.e. steve forbes) interest groups who have preyed upon the bigoted fears of the white working class. look at the town halls- all of obama detractors are white, middle age and simple.
MoveOn.org was founded in 1998. Defending them and putting down anyone else who wants to play the game is rather hypocritical, IMO.
These town hall meetings are drawing thousands of people, their all planted? Give me a break. Support for Obama both concerning health care and just in general is diminishing rapidly. People are not happy with what is going on and this is the result. To suggest that the criticism of the health care bill at these meetings is fabricated is absolutely ridiculous.
The only thing that is ridiculous is actually believing that the entire country supports your view which is what partisan is and what these people represent. I'm not referring to all town halls. I'm referring to the crazy ones. Unfortunately the media both left and right is only covering the crazy ones. This is a 40-40-20 country. It has been for quite a while now. It just so happens that the guy in power is a democrat and that the people protesting are republicans. Just like when Bush was in power the people protesting the war were majority democrats. To suggest that these people represent the average joes of America like the Glenn Beck's and Rush Limbaugh are is ridiculous and dumbfounded.
Please show me where I've said that the entire country, or even a large majority of the country shares my point of view? I never have?
Nope. He discontinued the KIPP program in DC as he was sending his kids to Sidwell Friends. Sending his kids to DC public schools was never considered. Private school is for only for his kids, not the hoi polloi. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/DC_Parents_Lose_on_Schools_With_Obama_Win_121108.html
these left wing groups mobilized after 2003 when bush's illegitimate war was unraveling. those americans were largely ignored by the mainstream press including real patriots like cindy sheenan.
They were mobilized on 9/12, when Richard Gere started badmouthing Bush at a benefit concert, and a cop ended up telling him to kiss his irish ass. They were mobilized on 9/12 when Barbara Streisand wrote on her blog that it wasn't a good time to be attacking the president after a terrible loss of life and to give it a week's or two's rest.
