This commentary has been faxed to the White House, and to Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid.
There is a diary on the progressive political blog DailyKos since yesterday that simply is beyond the pale.
Sat Aug 13, 2011 at 04:45 PM EDT
I’m sad. Our First Black President is Being Ripped To Shreds
This diary is, at its heart, one of the most profoundly racist diaries I have ever seen on DailyKos.
In essence, this diary calls on its readers to give Obama a break because he is Black.
Nothing more, nothing less.
That is profoundly racist.
I did not vote for Obama because of the color/hue of his skin or his genetic heritage.
I vote for him, and I contributed $250 to his campaign (for us that was a LOT of money).
I had what I thought at the time was the privilege of shaking his hand when he appeared at Assembly Hall here in Bloomington, IN during the campaign. Because my staff and I had worked with Secret Service on the setup and preparations, we got to go in at the last minute but still have a spot on the cattle gates right below the podium, so I positioned myself where I knew I would get to shake his hand as he came off the stage.
One of the key lines, for me, in his standard speech, was the one about how he knew the Constitution, and intended to uphold it and the Rule of Law.
On both fronts, I consider him an abject failure.
He chose to ignore the past and the wrongs and crimes of the Bush administration.
And this country is paying the price.
He chose to put the foxes who created this economic mess in charge of the hen house.
And this country is paying the price.
He chose to squander virtual super majorities in both houses, while living some fantasy delusion that the Republicans were interested in compromise and acting in the best interest of the nation, utter delusions and belief directed towards people who have lied about him, questioned his legitimacy, deluged the nation with a constant stream of racist images and writings, and who would literally burn the nation to the ground to prevent his reelection and return themselves to power.
And this country is paying the price.
Now Obama has on his own decided to abandon the most cherished principles of the Democratic party, and throw Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid on the chopping block, for NO GOOD REASON, other than some delusional belief that that will make him look like he is willing to compromise. H*ll, we know that. He compromises before the enemy even asks him to. He does not act from a position of strength or belief in principles. He abandons the battle before it has even started.
And absolutely none of this has to do with the color of his skin.
I assume if we had just elected the first woman president, and she was having a hard time, the author of the diary on DailyKos would be posting a diary about their sad fees fees that the first woman president was being ripped to shreds.
My reaction to that diary would pretty much parallel my reaction to this diary.
Understand this. As a white born in 1946 who grew up and lived through the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama, I speak from the point of a view as a witness to and an active participant in some of the most bitter history this nation has known.
Also understand this: I DO NOT CARE WHAT COLOR OBAMA’S SKIN IS.
What I do care about is that he is acting more like a Republican than a Democrat, and that I no longer have any trust in him or belief that he will uphold or even fight for the principles of the Democratic party, or for economic or social justice or safety net principles or programs that are rooted in reality and the needs of the nation.
Instead, he has thrown his lot in with the Republicans fantasies, all of which are a total disconnect from the economic realities of what this nation needs, namely stimulus, jobs, infrastructure rebuilding, growth, protection of the safety net, and restoring taxes on the wealthy and regulating and making the corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
Instead, he is doing the exact opposite.
What does that have to do with the color of his skin??
