How Not to Blow It

by: The Opportunity Agenda

Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 16:00

It's hard to overstate the transformative moment that we're in as a nation and, particularly, as progressives. In just a few years, we've gone from the high point of conservative power to a stunning rejection of conservative federal leadership and the historic election of a progressive African-American president.

But the electoral sea change is just part of the extraordinary national moment. The financial meltdown and slide toward deep recession have crystallized Americans' anger over deteriorating economic security, stagnant mobility, growing inequality, and policies of isolation instead of connection. Americans are ready for a new social compact and a transformed relationship between the people and our government. They are calling for a new era of big ideas and different values than we've seen over most of the past three decades.

The electorate has shown an unprecedented willingness to overcome racial and ethnic barriers to take on daunting shared challenges. Young people, people of color, and low-income people turned out to register and vote in unprecedented numbers that bode well for a far more participatory and egalitarian democracy going forward.

Even before this year's remarkable events, opinion research showed a historic, progressive shift in Americans' views on issues that (not coincidentally) were barely mentioned in the election. Perhaps most striking is the shift on criminal justice and problems of addiction, where the U.S. public has moved broadly to support rehabilitation and treatment over incarceration and retribution, as well as assistance and integration for people emerging from prison.

But an unprecedented opportunity for progressive values and ideas is not the same as victory for a progressive social and policy vision. The stark challenges of rising inequality, faltering security, and broken systems of health care, immigration, and criminal justice are the same on November 5 as they were on November 4. What's changed is only the chance for transformative change.

History shows that progressives could easily blow this opportunity, just as conservatives blew their transformative moments after the 1994 elections and the attacks of September 11, 2001. A few principles can help progressives move from opportunity to realization in ways that profoundly benefit our country.

Constant Race-Baiting (and HRC claims that it will prove decisive) are simply factually inaccurate

by: mtayl

Tue May 13, 2008 at 22:33

Empirical evidence that Wright and tying Obama to him doesn't matter at ALL, via Ben Smith:

The AP calls a tight race for Democrat Travis Childers in Mississippi, a win for the DCCC and a symbolic win for Obama, the GOP bogeyman of choice in the conservative Mississippi district, and a very bad sign for House Republicans.

This is the reddest of red congressional districts, one that went 62%-37% for George W. Bush in 2004. If race-baiting and Wright association (via Obama association) can't hurt a candidate here, how the hell will it hurt Obama in the fall ANYWHERE else in the entire country?

The pundits should be intellectually rigorous enough to call the Wright flap DEAD, which it clearly now is.

Thank you very much.

ABC Nightline: Important Questions In the Black Community Aren't "Real"

by: David Sirota

Thu May 01, 2008 at 11:12

Sometimes racial denigration is easy to see - think white police officers in the segregation era using hoses to stop peaceful protests. Other times it is more subtle - like a few days ago on ABC's Nightline.

I don't usually watch the show, but I happened to be flipping through the channels on Tuesday, when I caught the program's predictable piece on Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Here was how correspondent David Wright (no relation to Jeremiah) concluded his piece:

DAVID WRIGHT: Many black leaders had no comment on today's developments. Obama could yet pay a price in the black community.

REVEREND AL SHARPTON: Some are going to agree. I think some are going to disagree vehemently.

DAVID WRIGHT: But the real question now is what do white voters think, especially the white voters of Indiana. They weigh in on Tuesday, and Obama's hoping there's enough time to convince them that he and his controversial pastor have gone their separate ways for good. (emphasis added)

So according to Nightline, there are questions about the painful and deep fissures the Obama-Wright issue is causing in the black community, but those aren't "real." No, "the real question is what do white voters think" - and, according to ABC, they - and only they - "weigh in on Tuesday" (apparently, Indiana's black population doesn't get to weigh in...did someone suspend the Voting Rights Act in Indiana?).

People In Glass Houses......

by: politicalinaction

Wed Mar 26, 2008 at 02:29

The democrats need to change the terms of the debate with regard to the Wright controversy. By allowing the debate to be held on the black v. white playing field, we play into The Right's hands. By allowing the debate to be held on the Patriotic v. Unpatriotic playing field, we play into The Right's hands. The debate needs to be shifted to a playing field on which we can win: Left v. Right.

I said yesterday that I thought Rush had been neutralized. I was wrong.

The Right believes that it has found Obama's Achilles heel. The drive to seer Wright's comments and image, along with his association with Obama, has been led by Fox News, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, Bill Bennett, etc. They believe they have found a winner that they can drive home into white America's conscience about Barack Obama. There is also another underlying dynamic here: Obama has a complete media blackout going with The Right. He won't talk to them, especially Fox News, and they're wholly upset by it. This allows Obama to pigeon hole any attack in the general as coming from The Right by not legitimizing them now as an actual news organization.

Democrats will make a grave mistake to try and argue the merits of this discussion up against this group of hate peddlers. It is a complex situation with a complex explanation and the American attention span will not allow us to explain. To recap:

   * Obama knew Wright had a penchant for making controversial comments, but didn't hear these until recently
   * Obama has distanced himself and repudiated the comments, but won't throw Wright under the bus
   * Obama decided not to leave the church upon hearing such remarks, and controversial remarks in the past, because he knew Wright was retiring
   * These aren't statements made by Obama, but a pastor
   * Black churches have a history much different from white churches which needs to be explained
   * Race relations come into play
   * Patriotism comes into play
   * 9/11, the AIDS virus, the KKK....all come into play

There is no way to debate this laundry list of claims that need to be repudiated. It can be done, and on the merits, I believe we are firmly on the high ground because The Right is full of hypocrites that we'll discuss at the end of this essay, but in today's media environment, there is no way to do this and have it trickle down to voters who spend a total of 5 minutes on their decision on who to vote for. People aren't as deep in the weeds on this issue as we believe, and though we write off Rush, Hannity, and Fox News as nut jobs, they have a huge audience that includes many middle of the road Americans who have yet to make up their mind.

But also, Democrats, remember that Barack Obama is your nominee. Hillary Clinton has no plausible path to the nomination. She has to tear apart the party to get it. That won't happen, no matter how damaging this story is. Obama has won, and he will continue to have enough support to maintain his pledged delegate and popular vote lead now that Michigan and Florida are out of the equation. So what you are doing is defending your democratic nominee against The Republican Attack machine.

A battle of Left v. Right is one we will easily win. What comes into play? Bush. Cheney. Iraq. The economy. Ethics. Wiretapping. Torture. Al Queda. Bin Laden. Pakistan. National Security. By moving the debate back to Democrats v. Republicans, all of the issues that we are currently winning on come back into play. What The Right is doing is tantamount to Gay Marriage on the ballot in 2004. They can't argue the issues, so they distract and distract and play on people's fears.

While I deplore going to back to the us v. them mentality, it needs to be done in the short term, and whenever they bring up social issues to divide and distract the debate.

By changing the terms of the debate back to Left v. Right, they don't have a leg to stand on. Even if the debate stays on Wright, but making it Left v. Right, they have to explain Dobson, Robertson, Larry Craig, Ted Haggard, Hagee, etc.

But also, this gives us an easy sound bite response that writes this off as just another baseless attack from The Right, which at this point is what it has become. Any logical person would say "Obama has a crazy pastor? Does he agree with what he is saying? No? He repudiated it and said his pastor was wrong for what he said and wrong for believing what he believed about the country? Did Obama say it? No? Ok."

So we need to use key words and phrases in short clearly understandable sound bite sentences that allow our listener to know what is really going on. Things like Republican Attack Machine, The Right is attacking, the Republicans are driving this, The Right wing attack machine is at it again, Fox News and The Right are at it again, etc.

By doing this over and over again over the coming days, weeks, and months whenever we hear this story being discussed, we can change this storyline from being reported as news on CNN and MSNBC, to being a Right Wing Attack which is pure Karl Rove politics that fooled us in 2000 and 2004 and how we got Iraq and this economy. The Right's genius is its ability to make an issue and their position understandable in 3 sentences or less, while the democrat flails and gets into the details. READ: John McCain saying over and over again "The surge is working". But this doesn't mean that we can't do the same thing when it suits our political purposes. This argument cannot be fought on racial lines. The Right wins this argument. They're more ruthless, and they'll pullout everything they can to stoke racial fears as they weren't going to get the black vote anyway. But patriotism is a completely different story, and I believe that falls into the arguments on Iraq, Iran, national security, our current security situation, our national standards, care for veterans, etc. and works for us nicely.

Don't fall into The Right's trap and fight on their battlefield. They'll beat us every time because they'll fight dirty. Level the playing field by making this Left v. Right and we'll destroy them in November. Don't give an inch in this debate or an ounce of credibility to the storyline their pushing.

My problem with Obama's Speech on Race

by: Tom Rinaldo

Sat Mar 22, 2008 at 20:56