Thursday, February 11, 2016

Hillary Clinton And Congressional Black Caucus Tell African Americans: Having a Dream Is a Waste of Time.




If there is any constituency or group who knows what a dream is, and who knows how having a dream can make that dream real and see it become reality,  its African Americans. A little something Clinton and almost comically the Congressional Black Caucus seem to have forgotten.

Proving, like Obama has shown during his entire political life, that all that matters is politics, the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Clinton, telling African Americans in attacking Bernie Sanders and why they chose Clinton over Sanders,  having a dream is  a waste of time. 

Practically repeating Clinton's talking points against Sanders  verbatim so you know there was collusion, they said at their announcement that they were endorsing Clinton who is practical and to forget Sanders' dreams. They are, they said, pie in sky ideas that sound great, but will  never happen.

Then they made themselves look even more foolish by painting Bernie Sanders as someone who has only come to issues of race and the cause of African Americans "recently".
To the CBC,"recently" must mean 1960 when Brooklyn born 20 year old Bernie Sanders went to Chicago as a white member of CORE, The Congress of Racial Equality and was arrested trying to desegregate segregated housing. Or "recently" might mean his endorsement of and working for, Jesse Jackson's presidential bid decades before anyone ever heard the name Barrack Obama and before anyone believed that electing an African American president was even possible. Anyone except maybe Bernie Sanders.
This is how politicians, black or white, male or female, Latino or any group, makes fools of themselves. By being politicians first, liars second, and foremost, thinking they can pull the wool over people's eyes while putting politics and their own self interests first and the truth  last. And hope nobody notices.
But given the history of race in this country, the last group of people whose set of eyes you would think a politician, especially a black one would try to pull the wool over would be African Americans who learned a long time ago how and what to see through. No matter who it comes from.
The timing of the CBC endorsement was  of course calculated to come the day of the PBS debate  between Clinton and Sanders and  is designed to give her something to crow about.
At tonight's debate and in South Carolina in the future, Sanders is going to present his dream of practical idealism . And Clinton is going to say, forget it, dreams never happen.  Clinton is going to tell African Americans, forget dreams they are not reality. She is going to say having a dream is fine but it's not  realistic. Which is exactly what the Congressional Black Caucus said to African Americans today about Sanders and in endorsing Clinton.
And Clinton wonders why younger voters no matter race are supporting Sanders and not her 84-9. 

Clinton, like the Congressional Black Caucus did in their endorsement is going to tell African Americans, the same thing she's been telling everyone else :  dont waste your time having dreams or believing in them.  Forget Bernie Sanders and his pie in the sky dreams. Instead vote for me. Which is sure to be an inspiration to everyone.

The CBC cautioned against voting for a candidate who makes promises he can't keep. They must've been channeling Obama since from the time he started to run in the 2008 primaries till about 5 minutes ago Obama had not fulfilled one promise or pledge - not one - that he has ever made . And not because he couldn't but because he reneged on every one, lied about it, caved in to the opposition, capitulated, compromised or pretended he never said it. His entire presidency has been a liberal and progressive disaster. 
It doesn't come as a surprise that all of Hillary Clinton's African American endorsements are coming from establishment politicians who want to protect their turf and their prerogatives as most establishment politicians do, Democrat or Republican regardless of race and who always make themselves their first priority.
Every African American endorsement of Clinton has been just that -- establishment politicians black and white. Sanders African American endorsements so far are Cornell West the pre-eminent professor of African American studies at Princeton University, Ben Jealous the former head of the NAACP, Harry Belafonte a long time civil rights activist,  Rrp Keith Ellison the first Muslim member of congress, Sanders own press secretary an African American woman who hasn't become the spokesman for his campaign because she thinks Clinton is the better choice, and lots of young African Americans male and female who think bringing a dream into reality is the most practical thing in the world. Like those who fueled another dream back in 1968.
What very well may happen is that on election day in Nevada and South Carolina,  African Americans may go to the polls and forget Clinton,  not their dreams.  They may decide to take Bernie Sanders pie out of the sky and put it in the oven. And turn up the heat. And if they do, its over for Clinton and  the establishment backing her. In that scenario the only dream that won't become a reality is Clinton's. 

But healthcare for all, free college tuition, expanded social security, a revamped justice system and a political system that keeps big money from buying access to politicians so that the government is rigged in their favor, may all have the chance to become reality. Just like another dream once did.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

tdraicer: I see you've thrown realism out the window. Obama's approval rating among black voters remains around 90%. Black voters are vital not just to winning the Democratic nomination, but as Nate Sliver demonstrates, to winning the election in November. Those two facts explain both Hillary's embrace of Obama, and why that embrace is going to give her the nomination, and probably the WH.

Marc Rubin said...

"I see you've thrown realism out the window"

I dont know where you see that. Maybe you were squinting. The piece doesnt throw realism out the window. It's about how Clinton and the CBC are telling African Americans (and everyone else) to throw their idealism out the window. The piece suggests they would be self defeating to do so. We will see if they do. It also suggests that its a stupid argument to make for African Americans to vote for Clinton and denies history. Clinton's embrace of Obama is sheer political calculation and part of the sleazy deal she made with him.

We'll see what happens. And I wouldnt take any polls that ask African Americans if they approve of Obama on face value.