It was a pretty straightforward political deal. The aspiring presidential candidate promised the former congressman that, if elected, she would appoint him as head of a key national policy committee. And in return, the former congressman, now the mayor of a major Democratic city, endorsed the candidate. No surprise, either, that the candidate in question was Hillary Clinton.
What was surprising, and deeply disappointing to many of his supporters and admirers, is that the congressman-turned-mayor was none other than legendary anti-war stalwart Ron Dellums.
Now the mayor of Oakland, a west coast Democratic stronghold, Dellums gave his blessing to Clinton during a hastily convened public appearance by the two at Laney College. Dellums said he decided to back Clinton "because of substance, not symbolism. She has spoken brilliantly and powerfully to the issues that are of importance to Oakland and all of urban America: crime and violence, affordable housing, global warming, and universal access to health care."
But his green lighting of Hillary, nevertheless, brimmed with symbolism - albeit unwittingly. Until he retired a decade ago, Dellums spent 27 years in Congress, serving as the undisputed most progressive member of the Democratic caucus. He was originally elected in an anti-Vietnam war groundswell and was consistently counted on to be the most reliable voice against excessive militarism.
All this making his endorsement of the most hawkish of the three major Democratic candidates more than befuddling to his legions of admirers. Off The Bus correspondent Mayhill Fowler details the political payback involved:
"First of all, the aging lion has been given the Clinton Campaign's Urban Policy Committee--translation--more federal tax dollars for Oakland should Clinton take the White House. Specifically, Clinton pledged to Dellums that she would expand mentoring and internship programs, programs that reintegrate convicts into society and alternative energy jobs programs. That's a lot of programs--does that mean a lot of earmarks? And in the language of the day, all programs will be "public-private partnerships," of course. More importantly for Dellums, whose popularity as Oakland's mayor has been declining, is the opportunity to burnish his waning political career by hitching it to a rising star."
Indeed, less than a year ago Dellums took over the mayor's chair of his crime-ridden city promising a more progressive reign than that of outgoing mayor (and now California Attorney General) Jerry Brown. Oakland is the kind of place where Greens frequently outpoll Republicans and while Brown is considered a solid liberal in the rest of the state, he became reviled by many of his original boosters for allegedly becoming too centrist. Dellums might have just taken a sharp right turn down that same path.
He might have not won the popular vote but he would have definately won the electoral vote.
He would have energized more peole. I believe there are far more Democrats than there are Republicans.
Repulblicans hijacked the Church for political reasons and it worked. People would not forget to vote if their Pastor told them to go vote for "Man O' god Bush".
That is not to say if one was not told by a Pastor that one would forget to vote. Believe me people are tired of the politics of today and if we can nominate a person like Obama he would bring this people in. People would turn out in masses and I don't have any doubts about that.
I guess all the candidates can go out and promise cabinet position to people, whether or not they mean it, just to get endorsements.
"Abu Hamed, leader of the Al Aqsa Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, explained in "Schmoozing" Clinton's repeated calls for a withdrawal from Iraq "proves that important leaders are understanding the situation differently and are understanding the price and the consequences of the American policy in Iraq and in the world."
"The Iraqi resistance is succeeding," stated Hamed. "Hillary and the Democrats call for withdrawal. Her popularity shows that the resistance is winning and that the occupation is losing. We just hope that she will go until the end and change the American policy, which is based on oppressing poor and innocent people."
The Brigades, together with the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, took responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years. The Brigades also has carried out hundreds of recent shootings and rocket attacks.
Abu Ayman, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, said he is "emboldened" by Clinton's calls for an eventual withdrawal from Iraq.
"It is clear that it is the resistance operations of the mujahideen that has brought about these calls for withdrawal," boasted Abu Ayman.
Nasser Abu Aziz, the West Bank deputy commander of the Al Aqsa Brigades, declared it is "very good" there are "voices like Hillary and others who are now attacking the Iraq invasion."
In "Schmoozing," every terrorist leader out of dozens interviewed stated they hope a Democrat becomes president in 2008. Some terror leaders explained their endorsement of Clinton is not necessarily at the expense of other Democratic presidential candidates, whose policies are not as well known to them...."
11:26pm
Burlington, VT
Yeah. It's depressing.
Patronage and the Entitlements of tokenism for the most in need versus Committement and Sacrifice for ALL.
The use of patronage and entitlements to seduce and buy votes of those in need of the opprotunity for skills, not degrading hand-outs, is the Dems version of dehumanization of the culture and society. The appeal to the "what's in it for ME", rather than what is best for us all in shared equity doesnot pull the populace together in a shared struggle of individual challenge and self-development. It creates and perpetuates civil antagonisms that produce hollow and superficial policies and programs which benefit the hucksters and promoters rather than provide a solution for those in need.
Speaking of such...
And never mind that Dellums sold-out Shirley Chisolm in 1972 to give California to McGovern. He symbolizes the image challenge of the Democrats.
Hillary with her 2008 version of Billaryism is the primary tactician of this. Edwards and Obama lead with the intangible of economic justice being the father of social injustice. Hillary with her Billaryism and the political sycophants who sign up for patronage and entitlements for those who deserve better than another form of psuedo-paternalism that enables cultural dependency that is the father of political disenfranchisment. The Democratic Party doesn't need to be known as the enablers of patroniziing entitlements that degrades and degenerates its recipients.
Why ask about black political heroes?
You may care about the issue but...
Who will actually do the job?
Who will have the clout?
So far it's LBJ & Bill.
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/NEWS05/710040378
Current Senators running for the White House and how many votes they have missed since January 8, 2007.
Of 357 votes.....
Clinton missed 32.
Obama missed 90.
McCain missed 182.
Dodd missed 97.
Biden missed 105.
Brownback missed 131.
First George McGovern, now Ron Dellums. And only days after mistress Hillary's war-mongering vote on the Iran resolution, part of an orchestrated re-run of the run-up to the Iraq war. If endorsements reflected political affinity, each would have endorsed either Dennis Kucinich or Mike Gravel.
This is all part of a strong-arm lockdown operation against the left-liberal (what Howard Dean called "the Democratic") wing of the Democratic Party.
Fortunately, endorsements don't mean much. Because when voters turn down what Barbara Ehrenreich recently called Hillary's "white noise" machine, they know that she her politics is centrist Republican (rightist on war and peace issues) and her entire political persona is pure Eva Peron-esque demagoguery.
Fortunately too, the voters decide the character of any political party. The Howard Dean of 2008 has yet to emerge. There is a good likelihood that Democrats in the early states may yet respond to Kuncinich or Gravel's (good ol') McGovern/Dellums' message of rock-solid integrity, decency and hope.
And even if they don't this cycle, the principles of the Democratic Party will endure even as its once-principled exponents compromise the Democratic Party out of existence, to be replaced by a formidable new party.
Proud former intern to Rep. Dellums (1980-81),
Eric C. Jacobson
Public Interest Lawyer
Culver City, California
In February of this year it was said in the televised discussion about State of the Black Community organized by Tarvis Smiley that most of the current members do not represent their constituents and instead just playing them. Some of these same leaders are the ones who have made careers claiming that other races are the main obstacle to the progress of blacks!! Clearly, this is now I believe the time has come to call up or write to these representatives for an explanation of why they do not recognize the potential positive impact the candidacy of Senator Obama would have on the young people – particularly black men who need more positive reinforcement given the challenges they face. To borrow from the advertisers, the positive impact of the nomination of Obama would be priceless to the Joshua-Generation.
One representative from Georgia who endorsed Obama said something that I suspect namely that he had been harassed by what he public referred to as the Arkansas Mafia for his endorsement. This phrase from an elected official of the same party stood out starkly – does any one remember it? Perhaps this explains the amount of pressure some of these black leaders are under from the Clintons,
"help a brother"
"endorse his opponent"
"leave the plantation"
We are all brothers and sisters blacks and whites
She is a fellow democrat the opponents are the republicans.
Your choosing of word reveals a resentment that is maybe justifiable but we are choosing the president of all American even the descendants of the owners of the plantation.
What has he done in the Black community or the nation in general to deserve such lofty praise? Nothing.
an item. Bush1 would be happy to see his legacy carried on with Hillary in place. I won't fall for her excellent speaking, saying the right things but never addressing the real
issues. What is her stance on immigration, how will she fix the deficit? And by voting for the
Lieberman/Kyl Amendment she has no chance by those who don't look forward to a war with Iran.
In the week we read about the millions, perhaps billions, that Blackwater/ Halliburton gang has looted from our treasury, Cooper gives us this. Longtime readers of Cooper will also notice a pattern of deep resentment aimed a black democrates; he has called Maxie Waters a "demagogue." Black conservatives are always given a thumbs up; like Bill O'Reilly, Cooper likes Blacks who think for themselves.
Don't be a sucker. Hillary has plenty of baggage, but Cooper has a lot more; write him off.