They’re only pushing personality what if i think that’s the problem nick right personality means i got to like you right right do you understand so obama got elected by black folks because we liked him i don’t need to like you to do business with you if i
Got to strike a deal with donald trump for black empowerment i’ll strike a deal with donald trump breaking news if it bleeds it leads in your news today you are now tuned in to dirty laundry media standby after eight years of inaction on any issues specifically affecting black
Americans by barack obama you would think that black people at large and black voters in particular would take a more pragmatic approach to politics from then on barack obama’s presidency in my opinion exposed the fatal flaw in black political strategy confusing likability with electability and accepting symbolism over substance
In 2008 55 of white voters cast their ballots for john mccain in 2012 59 of white voters cast their ballots for mitt romney obama captured nearly 95 of the black vote in 2008 during the first two years of his term democrats controlled both houses of congress speaking from my point of view i
Certainly didn’t expect barack obama to single-handedly change black people’s condition overnight however i did expect a very deliberate mod policy-wise to the constituency that gave him nearly all of their votes not only did he get our votes he was also the beneficiary of an explicit agreement between black leadership most
Notably al sharpton the mainstream media and the black electorate who agreed to never publicly pressure critique or condemn obama sharpton told us that having a black president is a challenge if he finds fault with mr obama he’s aiding those who want to destroy him so he’s decided not to criticize the president about
Anything even black unemployment that’s twice the national rate have you told other blacks not to criticize him publicly what i’ve told them is to be genuine there are some blacks that said he needs to go with a black agenda he needs to do this he said when he was
Running he wasn’t going to do that duh surprise but just because he didn’t campaign on improving unemployment in black areas why aren’t you out there saying we need more done what i don’t want to see is because he is black that we act like he’s not the real president
He ought to be leading the black cause or the labor court he’s the president to minimize who he is i think is an insult to the achievement of having him there al sharpton in his own words along with many others was satisfied with merely having a black face in a high place
Rather than advocate for the people of his group al sharpton thought it more prudent to protect a politician who refused to act specifically for his african-american constituents when pressed about targeting the african-american community barack advises that that’s not how america works while providing specific remedies for other groups why not target the african-american
Community why not say then this is for you this is for african-americans if if there was a banking crisis and you target money for the banks if there was a national disaster you target uh you target your money for the national for no no no that that’s not how uh that’s not how
America works we want to give those young people and young native americans like them the support they deserve we have to invest in them and believe in them and love them asked about his critics among black leadership obama downplayed the number of those who dared speak against him as
Only a handful and assured that the vast majority of black people had some universal understanding that what is good for all will be good for african americans african-american leaders have been critical of late and it’s true you said you’re the president for all people not
Just for one group if i’m a 16 year old kid on the south side of chicago okay my dad’s gone my mom’s working 10 hours a day for peanuts all i see around me is flight there are no help wanted signs and you won’t even say
Look i’m going to help you a young african american how do i feel emma that’s not first of all that’s not what people are saying what people are saying all across the country is we’re hurting and we’ve been hurting for a long time and the question is how can we make sure
That the economy is working for every single person and you know the truth of the matter is the vast majority of african americans understand that the other thing i want to make sure that you don’t just kind of slip in there is this notion that african-american leaders of late have been critical
There have been a handful of african-american leaders who’ve been critical most members of the congressional black caucus were quiet maxine waters did chime in however citing high unemployment rates among african americans she also noted that they were unsure as to what the strategy was due to obama’s silence and absence from black
Communities while he toured the country during that time distress over the dismal unemployment rate and other factors have led some african-american leaders to openly criticize the president our people are hurt the unemployment is unconscionable we don’t know what the strategy is we don’t know why on this trip that he’s
In the united states now he’s not in any black communities we don’t know that obama’s response to the criticism was direct and very condescending obama admonished the cbc and all who dared speak out ostensibly to stop grumbling and complaining and to shake it off so i don’t know about you cbc
Take off your bedroom slippers put on your marching shoes shake it off stop complaining stop grumbling stop crying one critic of note was cornell west west an ardent obama supporter and surrogate during his candidacy was also a fierce critic of obama during his presidency west was able to appreciate the
Symbolism of an obama presidency while still expecting and demanding substantive policy directly targeted to the african-american community now when you look at the speech that he gave at the uh the congressional black caucus you know offensive condescending insulting disrespectful stop oh my god can you imagine him saying
That the wall street people saying that to the catholics saying that to the gay and lesbian brothers and sisters saying back to the jewish brothers and sisters and here he comes along with this kind of disrespectful language toward the very people who have been protective of him stop complaining stop grumbling stop
Crying do you can you imagine brother barack obama going to the business roundtable and saying stop grumbling west went so far as to characterize obama’s remarks as disrespectful and that he ought to ask for forgiveness for speaking in such a condescending manner in the face of legitimate criticisms Stop complaining stop complaining and stop crying stop crying we have got 42 percent of our black children living in poverty 22 percent we talked about before people living in poverty they have a right to cry they have a right to have legitimate grievances so may i i think the
President ought to apologize i think he ought to ask for our forgiveness my dear brother barack you know how the deep love i tell my brother it was condescending it was arrogant it was insulting it was disrespectful all the suffering in black america right now 20 percent 40 of our precious babies hungry
In poverty and tell them to stop crying stop crying no no no no no no okay we always say when someone tells you who they are believe them somehow this principle was forgotten when it came to the first black president after freely giving 95 of our votes to
Obama even after the tacit agreement between black leadership and the rank and file to not criticize obama when he was looked for leadership obama decided it was best to take a defensive posture rather than a proactive one lashing out at his critics in a most unpresidential manner
Most wilted in the face of such harsh pushback from the president those who expressed dismay were quickly silenced objective journalism took a decidedly partisan tone with talking heads such as al sharpton melissa harris perry and michael eric dyson all employed by msnbc were unleashed upon all who dare to stand up to obama
This was the time to step back and take stock of the situation granted he was the first so-called black president in all of that but when you receive an abundance of support deserved or not a nod in that direction when it’s time to settle up is definitely in order
At the end of obama’s first term there should have been a reckoning the gauntlet should have been laid down before the end of his first term forcing him to push for specific policy from a democratically controlled congress or via executive order akin to his daca program
Something needed to be done in order to secure the vote for his second term if you want to pull the party the major party that is closest to the way you’re thinking to what you’re thinking you must you must show them that you’re capable of not voting for if you don’t
Show them you’re capable of not voting for them they don’t have to listen to you i promise you that i worked within the democratic party i didn’t listen or have to listen to anything on the left and while i was working in the democratic party because the left had
Nowhere to but no black people were led to believe and or deluded themselves into thinking that during his second term obama would surely look out for african americans he would finally be unleashed instead we got more of the same empty rhetoric and excuses for the next four years
Number one we have failed to publicly criticize and hold accountable the executive branch of the united states governor i.e president barack obama despite all the killings despite all the murders despite an unemployment rate and a dropout rate that is greater under a black president than it was under the
Two previous republican presidents black people have remained silent obama has ignored black folks we allowed barack obama to ride our coattails to the presidency of the united states and float through an eight-year term with no real criticism we were fine with obama just being black and that was all that we required
No policy no executive orders just be black whatever that means we laid down it’s not all his fault though we have created a context where the president can ignore black people and get away with it because we told the entire world when he was elected that
All he had to do was just be black and we were fine remember he doesn’t have to do anything here’s the problem if if we let obama leave office without any condemnation from the black community by virtue you cannot hold hillary or trump accountable for what they do not do for black
Can come peop for eight years ignore you even with police genocide and not receive any criticism again we confused likability with electability and we accepted symbolism over substance rather than using the leverage of our 95 vote and push for substantive policy we reveled in the imagery of the first
Black presidency allowing ourselves to succumb to the cult of personality politics is all about the distribution of limited resources who gets what and how much in that regard personality should not be what ultimately sells you on a politician policy which dictates whatever resources you require to address interests most vital to your
Agenda should be the motivating factor two we have to get out of this mindset nick that says i have to like you in order to vote for you you’re a businessman i’m sure you’ve done business with people you don’t like facts but it was mutually beneficial
Right right so you do it that’s how we need to approach politics you don’t exclude the republican because he’s a republican right and you don’t automatically endorse the democrat because he’s a democrat you listen to them both and you choose the one who has an agenda that is closely aligned to the
One you’re trying to push but what if they’re only pushing personality what if i mean it’s the problem right personality means i got to like you right right do you understand so obama got elected by black folks because we like them because we like them i don’t
Need to like you to do business with you if i gotta strike a deal with donald trump for black empowerment i’ll strike a deal with donald trump because what i’m not looking for is a black president or black governor or black mayor i’m looking for black power stop confusing
The personality with the power in short african americans would benefit from a more pragmatic approach to politics nothing fancy just a simple straightforward approach to the game we need to stick to the fundamentals and not worry too much about the razzle dazzle of modern day political theater
It’s certainly a circus and if you’re not careful you’ll find yourself being distracted by the clowns rather than paying attention to the remaster we’ve got to keep our eye on the ball and it’s an opportunity to advance our position and possibly score presence itself we’ve got to be prudent enough to
Act in a manner which will ultimately lead us to attain our desired ends the mantra should always be no permanent friends no permanent enemies only permanent interests when it comes to politics Thanks
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