"Race baiting": how it works & what is at stake (LONG analysis)

[Essene]

Let me disclose my personal POV. I'm interracial. I've been a huge Bill Clinton fan. I've always liked Hillary. I have great respect for Obama. I like Edwards too. I'm not an "obamite" but I'm now disgusted at the Clintons and fear what's coming...

The last time i was as disgusted as i am by politics was the Iraq invasion when our leadership lied. That is exactly how serious i take what's happening in the Democratic primary right now, and those making smug commentaries and apologist rants need to step back and think about this... without the team bloodsport mentality.

Historical Analogy: NYC Mayoral Race 2001 (the dem primaries)

Public Advocate Mark Green and Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer came out on top in the primaries, then went head-to-head in run-off primary.

Democratic Primary: 785,365 votes
Democratic Primary Run-off: 790,019 votes

In the days before the run-off vote, Mark Green's campaign engaged in very very nasty smearing including distributing race baiting and racist literature in several swing neighborhoods. He won in a way that shocked New Yorkers. 9/11 was already a brutal emotional ride, and this certainly was just another depressing expression of human disgrace.

Democrats had an easy win that year by all measures... and while some pretend that 9/11 caused the outcome, the truth is that the negative smearing by the smug white candidate caused dramatic drops in voter turn-out, especially by minorities (black and latino, in particular).

Mike Bloomberg (republican) won with 744,757.

Yes, that's 50k less than were voting in the dem primary (and many dems voted for Bloomberg). I assume folks understand how this correlates to the reality of 2008's democratic race... on many levels. The stakes here are a lot more than winning the primary nomination. This kind of divisiveness can spill into Congressional races and drop over-all turn-out in November.

The Clinton's are risking the entire party... and putting the black vote at the back of the bus.

How & Why "race baiting" works

A black candidate in america who claims to be victim of racism in any way short of being shot at is INEVITABLY going to be said to be "playing the race card." Don't be naive. That's how it works. If a black candidate does anything that doesn't basically equate to smiling, ignoring race and maintaining the idea of a MERITOCRACY... (s)he is doomed.

Sadly, it doesnt even require Obama himself to cry foul for him to be dragged down in the mud for "playing the race card." A few black pundits or "leaders" can cry foul on the news and it's political consequence will be the same. Thus, it's fairly easy to successfully race bait and drag black politicians into the mud.

All it requires is:

(A) An assortment of racially charged comments from Hillary or surrogates/friends. Nothing explicitly racist, but infused with enough emotion to stir up the bees nest of reaction from the black community and media. The goal being simply to turn the public's attention to Obama's race with him on the defensive and "black leaders" speaking out in outrage over defensible statements.

(B) Bait a backlash and then have Hillary standing tall with Black leaders, expressing outrage at Obama's attempt to "play the race card" even if he himself says nothing.

Even if Hillary losses in South Carolina, the media and her campaign will inevitably spin it as a "black voter" thing. In the end, whether we see it in SC or afterwards... black voter turn-out will dramatically decrease due to this alienation, disappointment and division.

What's at stake

The mainstream media is picking up on this more seriously now, as the Dems are imploding and the Republicans fuel the fires in laughter (they want to run against Hillary, especially with this baggage).

Not only is this going to turn-off minority voters from voting, but many of them may in fact turn away from the Democratic Party for the first time in their lives. If a party can tolerate and condone this type of behavior, just because it's Hillary Clinton... many voters are going to be so angry that they won't be taken for granted ever again. Hillary may be celebrating victories, but she's killing the party in the process.. and destroying the remaining faith some people have in our democracy.

If Mike Bloomberg runs (expect it) against Hillary Clinton under these conditions, you can bet that the Dems will not only be struggling for the White House seat... but the growing sense of rejection will have ripple effects on their attempt to grow control in Congress. And even if she prevailed and the Dems maintain control, it will be with the blood of their own on their hands. This goes way beyond ideological disagreement.

This indicates those in power in the Democratic establishment will sacrifice anybody... any group.

I never imagined that major Democrat (national) candidates could behave like this. Seeing Mark Green behave in similar ways in 2001 was depressing, but that was just a sniveling twit who never did much with himself besides wanting to be mayor. The depth and scale of the attacks weren't the same, either.

The Clintons race baiting a popular black candidate?

I NEVER could have imagined this... and now i see the Obama signs popping up everywhere here in Harlem. Clinton Country, where folks once joked that Bill was the first black president. He can kiss that legacy goodbye. Not only did they behave this way, but they didn't apologize.

I wouldn't be so disappointed if i didn't expect this to have such dire consequences (and the behavior on these forums just disappoint me further, seeing so many progressives pretending she isn't doing this... or making apologies for it.. or worse yet, pretending this tension was Obama's doing).


Review the quotes/facts with sources with me...

Just consider the scope and pattern of these quotes themselves. Each being very subtle and part of a conscious, wider smear campaign out of NH desperation.

Dissing MLK's legacy? Are you kidding?

Obama is the hip jive talking black candidate who can't provide (oh, and did we mention his drug use and muslim heritage, or that he's probably going to get assassinated?). This isn't funny. This is some of the most disgraceful smearing i've ever heard of in my life.

These weren't accidents. This was a very large, very systemic smear campaign with lots of race baiting.

I'm sure zealots will try to attack ME... or pretend these are all just misunderstandings or misrepresentations, but see for yourself and sincerely consider what's going on here.

### Clinton aids confirm race baiting agenda

It isnt a direct quote and it's the Guardian after-all, but it's on record. "Aides believe that, combined with a surge of support among women, Clinton's 'crying' incident, and the possible role of race in bringing white voters to the New York senator's side, they see the makings of a reconfigured strategy to carry the campaign forward." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/11/as-new-hampshire-dust-set_n_81159.html

### He's likely to get assassinated.

Somebody who introduced Hillary Clinton emphasized the comparison with JFK and how he got killed. “Some people compare one of the other candidates to John F. Kennedy. But he was assassinated." The Clinton admin distanced themselves from his comments, calling them inappropriate, but the damage was done. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/civilrights/

### He's no MLK. And dreams need a President not speeches.

She dissed MLK, suggesting REAL change only happened because of President Johnson (not MLK's dream or the civil rights movement). She then implied that he doesn't remotely compare to MLK or Kennedy. "You know, today Senator Obama used President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to criticize me. He basically compared himself to our greatest heroes because they gave great speeches." Sad. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/civilrights/

Let's look at the statements in more detail.

“Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act.” “It took a president to get it done.” (Read: it took a white president)

“You know, today Senator Obama used President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to criticize me. He basically compared himself to our greatest heroes because they gave great speeches. President Kennedy was in Congress for 14 years. He was a war hero. He was a man of great accomplishments and readiness to be president. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a movement. He was gassed. He was beaten. He was jailed. And he gave a speech that was one of the most beautifully, profoundly important speeches ever written in America, the “I have a dream” speech. And then he worked with President Johnson to get the civil rights laws passed, because the dream couldn’t be realized until finally it was legally permissible for people of all colors and backgrounds and races and ethnicities to be accepted as citizens."

Somebody remind Hillary that she supported Barry Goldwater back then... o.0

### Al qaeda will strike!!

"Look what happened in Great Britain," she said. "Tony Blair leaves, Gordon Brown comes in, the very next day, there are terrorist attacks." Sorry, but that's a disgraceful comment, directly suggesting terrorists will strike with the election of Obama. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/05/cnr.06.html

### The hip black male who can't provide

In the words of a Clinton adviser: "If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool." http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2238148,00.html

### False hope.

"An untested man who offers false hope." "We don't need to be raising the false hopes of our country about what can be delivered." Clinton herself said this. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=4088317&page=1 & http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_01/012851.php

### Obama just "shucks and jives"

Andrew Cuomo, NY Attorney General, and Clinton fan... came out swingin at Obama after NH primary. “You can’t shuck and jive at a press conference,” he added. “All those moves you can make with the press don’t work when you’re in someone’s living room.” http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0108/Dept_of_word_choice.html

### Hispanics won't vote for him

Clinton pollster Sergio Bendixen: “The Hispanic voter—and I want to say this very carefully—has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates.” http://thepage.time.com/2008/01/12/racial-tensions-a-potential-boost-for-clinton

No... no... that's not an attempt to be divisive and race bait at all.

### Obama is just poetry.

She's been stumping with comments about how he's just talking poetry and she's ready to "govern with prose." Cute. " a doer, not a talker." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080107/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_rdp

### Obama is just a fairy tale.

Bill Clinton's rant the other day that i think shocked more than a few of us. Clinton flat out called Obama a liar, said he was a fairy tale. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDx4NZr2u4

### Muslim (danger danger!).

Several Clinton campaign folks were removed over this. One may argue this absolves her from responsibility, yet anybody paying attention realizes this smear is arguably one of higher impact ones. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/10/second-clinton-volunteer-_n_76047.html

Not like Bob Kerrey and others kept this issue alive in the public dialog or anything, right? http://themoderatevoice.com/religion/islam/muslims/16573/clinton-support-bob-kerry-continues-to-raise-obama-muslim-issues/

### Drug record makes him unelectable.

Top Clinton advisor steps down after making various arguments about how Obama can't get elected due to his drug use. In the context of all the other stuff, this most certainly has racial overtones and will be taken that way by many minorities. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004077664_obama17.html


### Obama is in this only because of blind media.

Bill Clinton also suggested it was "wrong" that Obama has been able to get through 15 debates without being called a liar by the press. He implies the blind, uncritical media is the problem. "The press never reported on" yadda yadda. "Give me a break!" He thought Hillary was going to lose NH and was basically blaming the media for this "fairy tale." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDx4NZr2u4

### Obama lacks depth and reality.

"On a lot of these issues it is hard to know where he stands, and people need to ask that." "As famously was said years ago, 'Where's the beef?'" Clinton said that herself. In the context of the other smearing, this takes on racial overtones (onfortunately, because it otherwise is fair game). http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4088317&page=1

### Male chuavanism and the gender card.

Folks may reasonably disagree on the interpretation, but she's clearly playing the gender card lately - even implied that her gender alone equates to meaningful change in the White House (just imagine the outcry if Obama said that about being black). She said that in the 1/5/08 debate. Similarly, the spin out of NH is that his comment was rude and poor Hillary's being beaten up on by the boys *tear*. That's how i intepret this spin, and it seems very clear to me. And if you question her crying about her campaign hardships, she implies THAT is male chuavanism too. http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4092530 & http://bourbonroom.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/01/07/clintons-candid-assessment/

And additionally... i'd like to just focus on this clip from the NH Debate. She was attacked on the issue of likability. She joked that he's likable. He DEFENDED HER in return. She even says "i appreciate that," yet all the Clinton spin doctors (and Rove) are trying to pretend he attacked her. Watch for yourself and be honest. These 2 were just handling an obnoxious question with grace, but now the Clinton base is trying to turn this into a chuavanistic attack by him? Get real. Watch it. It was friendly. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ac7RuzYvtCw

Lying about a black man's "tone" towards a white woman is easy to get away with in 2008, I guess.

### Obama is Bush 3.0

"He’s very likable . I agree with that…. You know, in 2000 we, unfortunately, ended up with a president who people said they wanted to have a beer with." “I think it’s good to have a likeable president. But if I remember right, many people said they wanted to have a beer with George W. Bush. Maybe they should’ve left it at that – have a beer, don’t vote him in as our president.” It's a slick way to deflect the likability argument, but she even tries to imply this has policy implications, electing an inexperienced guy just because he's likable.

### Flip flopper (abortion swiftboating)

Just watch the ABC debate from 1/5/08. She repeated this charge in various ways, although in fairness she did get into specifics in a few cases (which i think is fair game if you challenge the record itself on the issues). However, for a couple months... this has been her primary charge against him. http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4092530

However, when they intentionally distorted his record on abortion to effectively swiftboat him in NH, that's really the kind of politics the democrats cannot afford in the primary. http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/NEWS01/801060396/1043

### Obama is too liberal.

"Hillary's aides point to Obama's extremely progressive record as a community organizer, state senator and candidate for Congress, his alliances with 'left-wing' intellectuals in Chicago's Hyde Park community, and his liberal voting record on criminal defendants' rights as subjects for examination." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/04/new-hampshire-will-be-key_n_79873.html

### Obama is too conservative.

They claimed he was "unwilling to take a stand on choice." His controversial gay marriage position is a legitimate issue, for sure, but they've tried to paint him as too conservative. http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2008/01/hillary_mailer_hits_obama_on_abortion.php

### Obama is soft on crime.

"Mandatory minimums take too much discretion away from judges." "Barack Obama's kind of change is where you sit down and you cut a deal with the corporate world." All the attacks on his record now are going to be cast in racial terms, unfortunately. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4088317&page=1 & http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/04/hillary-hits-obama-for

[Dogmudgeon]

1. You forgot this one ...

Obama Damps Down Racial Controversy

Looks like the outrage in this is ours alone.

--p!

[sandnsea]

6. He doesn't have a lot of choice

and he only referenced the one MLK remark, not the onslaught of racial crap out of the Clinton campaign.

[sniffa]

8. He's just shucking and jiving

[indimuse]

19. that's racist!

wink...

[sniffa]

20. Agreed.

I'm stunned to see people arguing that it isn't some days.

[Essene]

15. Correct. He must downplay it to survive... that's the point.

Unfortunately, there are more than enough others in the media and politics to take the bait.

Either way, Hillary must not be allowed to get political power this way in my view.

It's immoral and disgraceful.

[Bread and Circus]

38. Wow, that shows what a great leader Obama is. Very astute and

awesome responses on his part.:bounce:

[Essene]

39. It shows character but he really has no viable choice

If he even hints at "playing the victim" he won't be able to shed the "playing the race card" assault.

No black candidate can survive.

Sadly, he just grin and take the hits. His campaign cant even afford to get into the MLK comments and stuff. He really has to now distance himself from his own church and other stuff. It's sad.

[maddiejoan]

2. Hillary is not race baiting

you are buying into a media distortion

[sniffa]

4. No, just her campaign.

Big, big difference.

[maddiejoan]

10. not her campaign either

[Essene]

13. The facts show she is... undeniably. Sorry. Open your eyes

[maddiejoan]

24. what facts?

Nothing on your own list points to racism --and yet you use to support the position of race baiting?

[Essene]

27. HER OWN STAFF indicated they are race baiting

At least have the sincerity to read what you respond to.

There is undeniable race baiting coming out of the Clinton campaign, including the predicted follow-up once folks took the bait... tryingto suggest the Obama camp played the race case. Get real.

[TankLV]

42. really? where? and if they did - where's the comparable OUTRAGE of the obama staff at the GAY

BASHING bigot given a spotlight?

Oh right - because THERE WAS NONE - and in fact - THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO SPIN SPIN SPIN IT AWAY!!!

[Essene]

43. 1. yes, read my post

If you cannot see there was a systematic campaign to smear and race bait after looking at the facts, i consider you insincere.

[Essene]

44. 2. on the issue of affiliation with a bigot

I agree.

It's disgraceful and Obama's camp deserves criticism. However, it's not even in the same league. When Obama's openly, explicitly gay bashing systematically to alienate voters then i'd agree it's on par.

It's not tit-for-tat and while you may hold this against him (rightfully), it doesn't even remotely justify Clinton's actions.

But if your position is "screw him and the blacks because he was nice to a gay basher," then that's your right to be insane, too. I think it makes more sense to hold him to his hypocrisy.

[Joe the Revelator]

5. You're right, its not Hillary, its Bill and the rest of the campaign, that Hillary has no control...

over.

[maddiejoan]

9. No.

Her campaign is also not race baiting.

Frankly, the whole accusation based on media spin and out of context quotes to paint Clinton and her campaign as race baiters is the sickest most Rovian piece of bullshit I've ever seen.

[sniffa]

11. Let's see

The OP gives a heartfelt opinion, then goes point by point with links, and this is how you respond.

Lil Dog backers are a real gem. :thumbsup:

[maddiejoan]

21. And none of the things she links to on that long list are racist

[Essene]

26. Again, you show you didnt read a word. It isnt about being racist. It's about race baiting...

[maddiejoan]

30. I understand what race baiting is

do you?

Because nothing on your list points to anything racially oriented at all. How would such a list be used to race bait?

[Essene]

34. "nothign on your list points to anything racially oriented"? Again, you show you didnt read it

[maddiejoan]

40. really?

we could do this all day I suppose.

The fact is I did read it --and you are reaching.

[qanda]

47. You obviously don't know what it feels like to know that someone is using your race

As a tool against you and there's nothing you can do about it. Many black people are tired of these methods and will NOT vote for Clinton after this. I know because I'm one of them and my family members are right there with me.

[Essene]

50. Many whites, blacks (and other minorities) will not tolerate this nor forget

Let's be clear. This isn't just about black outrage.

And i say other minorities, because when you see race baiting on this scale... it tells everybody that people like Hillary Clinton will stab you in the back and walk on your entire race for political gain.

Sure, MANY will believe the spin that Obama's the one responsible.

But many, many, many will not believe this and will see the race baiting from Hillary's camp very clearly. This is much deeper than just racial outrage. This is about authenticity, integrity and the most basic trust that folks have for somebody like Hillary Clinton.

You cannot "undo" things like this.

[qanda]

52. I hear you and I can only speak from my perspective

I'm glad blacks aren't alone in seeing this tactic.

[Essene]

62. It's not enjoyable seeing race baiting go unnoticed. It's very painful... esp from the Clintons.

It's truly staggering.

And it's scary also seeing folks like Rangel step up to help Clinton smooth this out.

[Essene]

63. double-post n/t

[maddiejoan]

56. I'm Jewish

and I damned well DO know what race baiting is.

[Essene]

58. Then admit the facts rather than ignoring them or denying them...

But i guess you know better than Clinton staffers...

[maddiejoan]

69. Okay sheeesh

Point by Point analysis for you.

________________________________

### Clinton aids confirm race baiting agenda

It isnt a direct quote and it's the Guardian after-all, but it's on record. "Aides believe that, combined with a surge of support among women, Clinton's 'crying' incident, and the possible role of race in bringing white voters to the New York senator's side, they see the makings of a reconfigured strategy to carry the campaign forward." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/11/as-new-hampshi...

Aides say race could possibly be a factor. They don't say it will be a part of strategy. And which aides, who are they? This isn't even a direct quote

### He's likely to get assassinated.

Somebody who introduced Hillary Clinton emphasized the comparison with JFK and how he got killed. “Some people compare one of the other candidates to John F. Kennedy. But he was assassinated." The Clinton admin distanced themselves from his comments, calling them inappropriate, but the damage was done. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/civilrigh... /

stupid statements by some zealous campaigner aside, how is this racially oriented? Was JFK African American?

### He's no MLK. And dreams need a President not speeches.

She dissed MLK, suggesting REAL change only happened because of President Johnson (not MLK's dream or the civil rights movement). She then implied that he doesn't remotely compare to MLK or Kennedy. "You know, today Senator Obama used President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to criticize me. He basically compared himself to our greatest heroes because they gave great speeches." Sad. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/civilrigh... /

Let's look at the statements in more detail.

“Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act.” “It took a president to get it done.” (Read: it took a white president)

“You know, today Senator Obama used President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to criticize me. He basically compared himself to our greatest heroes because they gave great speeches. President Kennedy was in Congress for 14 years. He was a war hero. He was a man of great accomplishments and readiness to be president. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a movement. He was gassed. He was beaten. He was jailed. And he gave a speech that was one of the most beautifully, profoundly important speeches ever written in America, the “I have a dream” speech. And then he worked with President Johnson to get the civil rights laws passed, because the dream couldn’t be realized until finally it was legally permissible for people of all colors and backgrounds and races and ethnicities to be accepted as citizens."

Somebody remind Hillary that she supported Barry Goldwater back then... o.0

Aside from the fact that by this time, Hillary was not a Goldwater Girl at all, Even Obama has said this wasn't a racially constructed argument.

### Al qaeda will strike!!

"Look what happened in Great Britain," she said. "Tony Blair leaves, Gordon Brown comes in, the very next day, there are terrorist attacks." Sorry, but that's a disgraceful comment, directly suggesting terrorists will strike with the election of Obama. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/05/cnr.06.h...

This is not a racially constructed statement either, unless you are claiming Gordon Brown is African American

### The hip black male who can't provide

In the words of a Clinton adviser: "If you want Obama to be your imaginary hip black friend and you're young and you have no social needs, then he's cool." http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2238148,00.h...

One could argue, I suppose, that this is racially constructed --but was it given at a Press Conference? What was the question this advisor was answering? Who is this advisor?. I'll give this one a "shady" comment award --and put a plus one in your column

### False hope.

"An untested man who offers false hope." "We don't need to be raising the false hopes of our country about what can be delivered." Clinton herself said this. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/Story?id=408831... & http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/20...

This is not racially constructed. Are all critiques of Obama to be considered about Race? He is untested. Next.

### Obama just "shucks and jives"

Andrew Cuomo, NY Attorney General, and Clinton fan... came out swingin at Obama after NH primary. “You can’t shuck and jive at a press conference,” he added. “All those moves you can make with the press don’t work when you’re in someone’s living room.” http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0108/Dept_of_wor...

Cuomo wasn't referring to Obama. Next

### Hispanics won't vote for him

Clinton pollster Sergio Bendixen: “The Hispanic voter—and I want to say this very carefully—has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates.” http://thepage.time.com/2008/01/12/racial-tensions-a-po...

No... no... that's not an attempt to be divisive and race bait at all.

I'll give this one a nod and say it's racially divisive as a statement. plus 2 in your column

### Obama is just poetry.

She's been stumping with comments about how he's just talking poetry and she's ready to "govern with prose." Cute. " a doer, not a talker." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080107/ap_on_el_pr/democra...

This is not a racial construct.

### Obama is just a fairy tale.

Bill Clinton's rant the other day that i think shocked more than a few of us. Clinton flat out called Obama a liar, said he was a fairy tale. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDx4NZr2u4

This is not a racial construct either

### Muslim (danger danger!).

Several Clinton campaign folks were removed over this. One may argue this absolves her from responsibility, yet anybody paying attention realizes this smear is arguably one of higher impact ones. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/10/second-clinton...

This e-mail has been around for years --it did not originate with the Clinton camp, and the offenders were dismissed.

Not like Bob Kerrey and others kept this issue alive in the public dialog or anything, right? http://themoderatevoice.com/religion/islam/muslims/1657... /

Bob Kerrey has been making the same statement for quite awhile. Before he endorsed Clinton even, and he was actually praising Obama and making this a case for why he would make a great President for the USA

### Drug record makes him unelectable.


Top Clinton advisor steps down after making various arguments about how Obama can't get elected due to his drug use. In the context of all the other stuff, this most certainly has racial overtones and will be taken that way by many minorities. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/20040776...

They do present a problem, and how is this a racial construct?

### Obama is in this only because of blind media.

Bill Clinton also suggested it was "wrong" that Obama has been able to get through 15 debates without being called a liar by the press. He implies the blind, uncritical media is the problem. "The press never reported on" yadda yadda. "Give me a break!" He thought Hillary was going to lose NH and was basically blaming the media for this "fairy tale." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDx4NZr2u4

Which is arguably true, and not racial

### Obama lacks depth and reality.

"On a lot of these issues it is hard to know where he stands, and people need to ask that." "As famously was said years ago, 'Where's the beef?'" Clinton said that herself. In the context of the other smearing, this takes on racial overtones (onfortunately, because it otherwise is fair game). http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=408831...

again. How is this racial?

### Male chuavanism and the gender card.

Folks may reasonably disagree on the interpretation, but she's clearly playing the gender card lately - even implied that her gender alone equates to meaningful change in the White House (just imagine the outcry if Obama said that about being black). She said that in the 1/5/08 debate. Similarly, the spin out of NH is that his comment was rude and poor Hillary's being beaten up on by the boys *tear*. That's how i intepret this spin, and it seems very clear to me. An=d if you question her crying about her campaign hardships, she implies THAT is male chuavanism too. http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4092530 & http://bourbonroom.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/01/07/clinton... /

Obama hints at a Black President being a change constantly. His talk of Fresh Face and Historic Moments. He brings his race up with a wink and a nod constantly. To say he doesn't is disingenous at best

And additionally... i'd like to just focus on this clip from the NH Debate. She was attacked on the issue of likability. She joked that he's likable. He DEFENDED HER in return. She even says "i appreciate that," yet all the Clinton spin doctors (and Rove) are trying to pretend he attacked her. Watch for yourself and be honest. These 2 were just handling an obnoxious question with grace, but now the Clinton base is trying to turn this into a chuavanistic attack by him? Get real. Watch it. It was friendly. http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ac7RuzYvtCw

Lying about a black man's "tone" towards a white woman is easy to get away with in 2008, I guess.

This is not racial either. At best Obama voted "present" on Hillary's likability, but who cares?. How is this race-baiting?

### Obama is Bush 3.0

"He’s very likable . I agree with that…. You know, in 2000 we, unfortunately, ended up with a president who people said they wanted to have a beer with." “I think it’s good to have a likeable president. But if I remember right, many people said they wanted to have a beer with George W. Bush. Maybe they should’ve left it at that – have a beer, don’t vote him in as our president.” It's a slick way to deflect the likability argument, but she even tries to imply this has policy implications, electing an inexperienced guy just because he's likable.

How is THIS race-baiting?, is GW Bush also an African American? Again you fail to make your case

### Flip flopper (abortion swiftboating)

Just watch the ABC debate from 1/5/08. She repeated this charge in various ways, although in fairness she did get into specifics in a few cases (which i think is fair game if you challenge the record itself on the issues). However, for a couple months... this has been her primary charge against him. http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4092530

However, when they intentionally distorted his record on abortion to effectively swiftboat him in NH, that's really the kind of politics the democrats cannot afford in the primary. http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...

Yes --this is an attack. How is it race-baiting?

### Obama is too liberal.

"Hillary's aides point to Obama's extremely progressive record as a community organizer, state senator and candidate for Congress, his alliances with 'left-wing' intellectuals in Chicago's Hyde Park community, and his liberal voting record on criminal defendants' rights as subjects for examination." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/04/new-hampshire-...

Yes --this is an attack. How is it race-baiting?

### Obama is too conservative.

They claimed he was "unwilling to take a stand on choice." His controversial gay marriage position is a legitimate issue, for sure, but they've tried to paint him as too conservative. http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2008/01/hillary_mailer_hi...

Yes --this is an attack. How is it race-baiting?

### Obama is soft on crime.

"Mandatory minimums take too much discretion away from judges." "Barack Obama's kind of change is where you sit down and you cut a deal with the corporate world." All the attacks on his record now are going to be cast in racial terms, unfortunately. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=408831... & http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/04/hillary-hits-o...

Yes --this is an attack. How is it race-baiting?



------------------------------------------------------

Okay? So, basically --I give 2pts. Neither of them from Clinton or her "Camp".

[Essene]

71. I like how you dodge the MLK

This isnt analysis. This is a bunch of insincere apologist spin.

Cuomo wasn't referring to Obama with the "shuck and jive" comment? Get real.

Oh, and i love how you dodge the MLK issue entirely, only to make a vague mistruth about how she wasnt a Goldwater girl. The way you dodged that tells me you must somehow realize you're wrong.

This was a huge smear campaign with race baiting at the core.

Nobody said every point was racialized.

[maddiejoan]

72. Your command of facts

is severely limited.

I didn't dodge anything.

Hillary's MLK statement was NOT racist, and it was distorted (perhaps intetionally by the press).

Hillary shifted to being a Democrat in 1964 (Her Freshman year of college) This is a well known fact.

Cuomo's statement had zip zero nada to do with Obama, no matter how much you would like to think it did.

Your pathetic attempt at what I can only construe as an attempt to slime Hillary Clinton is a non starter.

[Essene]

76. All you do is flame and dodge.

You've said absolutely nothing constructive or sincere.

Even your attempt to "counter" point by point was completely insincere. Just stop.

[maddiejoan]

83. Nope

Your post was complete bullshit --and if anything YOU are engaged in race-baiting.

I'm calling you on it --so live with it.

[Essene]

12. Why dont you be sincere enough to read what i wrote before attacking me?

Cuz you obviously didnt.

[maddiejoan]

25. I did read it.

Would you like me to go point for point where it's all horseshit --what on your list even points to racism?

[Essene]

36. Feel free to start with the article citing a clinton aid who indicates they are intending it

[TankLV]

41. but gays are being "uppity" when they have legitimate complaints.

See how that works?!

or

"how DARE you compare GBLT "rights" to CIVIL RIGHTS! How DARE you!!!!"

bigotry is - bigotry...

[Essene]

45. It isnt the same at all. However, Obama must be held accountable on his civil rights record

And that includes his apparent disregard on the issue of gay rights.

After this episode showing Clinton's ability to even diss MLK for political gain, you'd be foolish to think she's going to be better than him at pushing ahead on progressive issues. That said, he needs to be held accountable and embarrassed consistently.

Sharing the stage with irrational bigots and gay bashers should be unacceptable to a President.

[mrdemocrat78]

3. If she wins.... I can't say that I'll vote for her anymore

I think it's absolutely disgusting. I'm not voting republican, but I don't think I can in good conscious vote for her. Not at this time, and not if she continues.

[Essene]

46. This is a problem. I feel the same.

She's my senator. I can't ever support her again after this behavior.

I refuse.

I can respect "picking the lesser evil" in terms of elections, but i'm just not going to vote for somebody who race baits, attacks MLK's legacy and then smears a young candidate based on his race. It's 2008.

[rox63]

7. This deserves a big ole K&R! n/t

[grantcart]

14. It's not race baiting

As your post indicates by a long list of non racial slimey attacks. It is some kind of narcisstic-centric view of reality. The Clintons see this party as being essentially all about them. I didn't think that before this election but Hillary and Bill has turned me 100% against them. I truly believe that the Clintons are so consumed about achieving their personal agendas that they would sabotage an Obama candidacy so that Hillary would still be able to run for president in 4 years after another failed Republican administration.

Hillary can't run as fast as Obama or jump as high so now she will do everything possible to tear him down because her message is not working. All she can do is raise doubt about her opponent. The only problem with this OP is that it is well researched and factual and right on the money. I am for Edwards but based on Hillary and Bill's "fairy tale" and "false hope" approach I will probably vote Obama in the California primary.

[Essene]

17. It is race baiting, although i respect your point about their narcissism

Sorry, but to say this isnt race baiting is to either ignore the facts or to not be sincere about them.

You called the points i raised "non-racial," which i frankly consider completely insincere. If you think suggesting that MLK's actions/speeches are BELOW those taken by Johnson isnt race baiting... i'd like to know what meds you are on. I mean... come on. Shuck and jive? Their staff have admitted this is race baiting.

That said... i think you make a good point that behind this desperate smear campaign is simply narcissism.

I dont think the Clintons just woke up one morning and decided to hurt the black community and to race bait for fun. Seeing Bill's frank discussion about Obama where he called him a "fairy tale" was eye opening, along with the story that he wept when she won NH. This is their life on the line.

I'm probably one of the only people who think she was SINCERELY crying in that video. Afterall, it was about her "hardships" on the campaign trail. The scary part is SHE WAS SINCERELY CRYING ABOUT HER POLITICAL HARDSHIPS. My god...

Indeed, they took this so personally that they got desperate. And they are smart enough (genius enough) to know how to get really nasty in very effective ways if pushed against the wall. This is their life... and they are acting like it's literally on the line.

[grantcart]

23. my point really was that is was race baiting plus

all of the other crap, not just race baiting. Your point about the crying is mine exactly. Think about it, think of all of the crap that she had to put up with for 30 years and now her pay day is being taken away. That's why I am becoming more and more convinced that for the Clintons that if they can't win they will make it impossible for any democrat to win so that she can come back in 4 years.

[Essene]

31. Gotcha. I agree. It's destructive narcissism at the core.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

16. Why don't you have the guts to admit to being a rabid partisan?

I love the bogus "disclosure" at the begining.

[Essene]

18. Attack me all you want with pretentious stuff... or stick to the topic. Your choice.

[Miss Chybil]

22. So, if anyone questions, or highlights, anything Obama has said, or voted on,

or taken a position on, they're "race-baiting?" That, in itself, sounds pretty racist to me and not a stand Obama would take.

[Essene]

28. obviously not, but feel free to attack that strawman argument

[sniffa]

29. Yes, that's exactly what's going on.

Just like no one can criticize Clinton without fear of being called sexist.

[Essene]

33. bullcrap. these smears have little to do with issues or valid criticism

i honestly have no problems with personal attacks.

in my view, those that emphasize his lack of experience are FAIR GAME when it gets rough. but the clinton camp made their smears in the context and language of a wider race baiting campaign effort.

you guys can pretend this is just about "honest criticism" but that's insincere.

[sniffa]

35. i agree with you

i'm mocking other DUers.

[Essene]

37. (lol) Yes, there's nothing to see here... move along... nobody will remember any of this...

[Quixote1818]

32. Wow, you read my mind perfectly and laid out my thoughts to perfection!

Thank you! :thumbsup: :hi:

[Essene]

57. My pleasure. I'd been putting these thoughts/sources together over several days

And the NYC story i think is vital for folks to chew on.

[robbedvoter]

48. Psst! hate to break it to ya - but the candidates asked us to cut this crap!

You think you can follow their lead?
I know, this seems to be important enough for you to spam every DU thread with, but

CUT IT OFF ALREADY!STOP BEATING A DEAD HORSE!

[Essene]

49. So, now telling the truth and holding politicians accountable is "spamming"???

How sincere.

We must "follow the lead" of the candidates by burying one of the most disgraceful events in our recent political history. Sorry, but that's not acceptable.

You can flame people and try to undermine this dialog if you insist... calling it "beating a dead horse" or "spamming" if you must, but the party's integrity and legitimacy is at stake. And with people lying, distorting the facts and pretending that history is different than it is... i think it's ABSOLUTELY VITAL that we get the facts straight and understand the stakes clearly.

The problem is not myself and those focusing on the facts.

The problem, here, are those lying about the facts and falling prey to race baiting. I am not calling the Clinton's racist. I'm not crying "poor obama" or such vicitimization pleas.

I'm calling them out on their smear campaign and race BAITING. Deal with it.

[MethuenProgressive]

51. You misrepresented just about everything you ###'d.

Excellent Swiftboat tactic. Misrepresent what was said and then rant agianst your misrepresentaion.
:swiftboat:

[Essene]

59. I cited sources, direct quotes, etc. and told people to make up their own minds. NEXT.

[Essene]

60. How is a direct quote and source a "misrepresentation"????

Obviously i have my own interpretation and made that clear.

But stop trying to MISREPRESENT MY OWN listing of the facts as "swift boating" and such. Grow up.

[Sulawesi]

53. What a great post...

I am confused by people that say you misrepresent things, when the preface the entire thing by saying this is your personal point of view. I share that point of view, and am so confused as to how people can try to de-legitimize what well-meaning people believe. Do the opponents of the perspectives on this thread see no pattern in these comments? What happened to discourse on this site?

[DaLittle Kitty]

55. DITTO! EXCELLENT POST! GO EDWARDS!

[Essene]

61. "What happened to discourse on this site?" - It vanished when folks got critical of Hillary

I was harassed all week by merely citing sources on this stuff, and had many messages deleted as "spam" or trolling jsut for simply trying to back points up by citing sources.

The amount of flaming i've received her just for listing the actions, sources and quotes has been eye opening.

[DaLittle Kitty]

54. Therre IS One Answer to All Of This And That Answer IS... John Edwards!

:)

[Essene]

64. "99 problems and a bitch aint one of them..."

Again... Obama's painted as the irresponsible, chauvinistic black male in another set of lies.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rAXAemXaivY

The New York Post said: "As Obama and his wife, Michelle, strolled triumphantly into his victory party in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 3, Jay-Z's "99 Problems" was blaring. In it, Jay raps, 'I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one.'"

I've seen no evidence, yet, of the Clinton campaign even acknowledging this bait but let's all admit that the Fox News types and GOP in general... have a stake in Obama getting torn apart on this stuff.

However, Fox includes evidence that a Clinton spokesperson commented on it as if true: "We didn't know he used that." It then goes on with a bunch of comments on the topic by this Clinton person. Read between the lines.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01142008/gossip/pagesix/hillary__barack_rap__rock_142152.htm

[VotesForWomen]

78. if true, it not 'bait,' it's mysoginist BS and could be 'bait' for hill's camp to jump on, but wisel

wisely, they did not. hillary is under the same 'obligation' to not cry sexism as obama is to not cry racism, whether it's right or not, it's reality. so far, obama's camp has not caught on to this reality.

[Essene]

81. Ya. There's no evidence this happened. The question is who started this lie.

[closeupready]

65. If I suddenly disappear from DU, it will be because I decided to support a candidate from another

party, in part because of this crap that's going on right now. I'm totally disgusted with it all.

Bloomberg is my mayor, and he's done a pretty good job, and I'd have to be persuaded not to vote for him, if he gets in it, and if things stay this slimey.

[Essene]

66. You're not alone (esp as a new yorker). All hail Zappa..

=D

I almost picked Zappa for my avatar.

[closeupready]

67. Zappa rules! (or ruled. lol)

Barf me out, totally! :D :rofl:

[Barack_America]

68. Follow the endorsements...

Politicians know these tactics are aren't fooled by them. Assuming they would not endorse someone who uses these tactics (and hopefully that is the case), the endorsements should tell us which campaign this is coming from, right?

This week, when the shit was really flying, this is who politicians endorsed:

Kerry-Obama
Johnson-Obama
Miller-Obama
Naplitano-Obama
McCaskill-Obama
Lofgren-Obama
Nelson-Obama

President of California NAACP-Clinton

Now, I now that Hillary must've received more endorsements this week, but the big endorsements went to Barack. Doesn't that tell us something about which campaign has been pushing the negativity?

(great post, Essene)

[cloudythescribbler]

70. Essene's general logic here is spot on, and ...

though it is surely to Obama's benefit (as well as the Democratic Party's) that this controversy seems to be fast disappearing from the spotlight, surely Democrats in general, specifically activist Democrats and people at the grassroots/netroots like at DU, should be very clear about the race-baiting, and about the fact that it included both HRC and Bill Clinton, as well as Andrew Cuomo. The question is not, as many would as "What did HRC say that was 'racist'?" but rather "What was the overall and self-conscious strategy of HRC herself and her campaign?". Essene has explained that.

It seems that most African Americans do not have trouble grasping this, from what I have seen, but NONblack Democrats should be aware of that kind of campaigning. While some -- from a wide range of political perspective -- might insist 'OK, so she DID do that, or let's assume arguendo that she did that; isn't it just politics?'. The same logic is applied to the lawsuit in NV (which Bill Clinton has publicly defended on its merits) geared at effectively disenfranchising Culinary Workers' Union members in NV, after MONTHS AND MONTHS of silence on the issue, filed as soon as the union endorsed Obama. 'Oh, it's just politics; get over it". Well these kinds of tactics, from a DEMOCRAT (they are routine on the part of Repukes but that's why I oppose their party, including their so-called "moderates", as against Democrats, including those like HRC who aren't exactly the greatest of progressives) are simply unacceptable. Democrats generally, and not just the 'politically correct' and African Americans generally, but the MAINSTREAM of the Democratic Party, should absolutely reject these kind of tactics as a matter of principle. Even passively accepting them is a very slippery slope, and some people have even said on DU that they wouldn't want any Democratic nominee who was too pure to 'play hardball' in this way.

WHAT A CROCK OF SHIT THE APOLOGIAS ARE! DEMOCRATS IN GENERAL SHOULD BE READILY ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE OBVIOUS RACE-BAITING AND DISENFRANCHISING TACTICS AND REJECT THEM. It seems that, especially in the era of Clintonian domination of the Democratic Party, we are asked to move the bar for the party lower and lower and lower. Pretty soon the Lieberman Democrats could very well join the remains of the GOP to defeat progressive politics as the main enemy. The main enemy of these politics is NOT the Repukes, but the Lamont Democrats and other progressives.

[Sulawesi]

74. great post

[Mike03]

73. Truly Thoughtful Analysis

I want to consider your argument a bit longer before embracing it entirely, but on the face of it, this is very convincing, very well presented.

Great work. K & R.

[Essene]

77. Ty. Just keep in mind that i do not consider this a "racist" act, but moreso political... insanity

...of the worse kind...

[Mike03]

79. I understand completely what you are saying. It makes great sense.

It's so nice to see a post here that is so well argued, supported and convincing.

Thanks a lot, because so many of the posts lately have been suggestive but vague on this issue. It's so nice to read the whole story, presented in such perceptive and honest language.

[JVS]

75. Good post

:thumbsup:

[Donna Zen]

80. Exactly

Thank you for pulling together all of the links. I didn't know the full story of the NYC mayoral race.

This is how I view what is happening, and believe me that I've given it plenty of thought.

When the Iowa shock hit the Clinton Camp with a possible second coming in NH, they turned to politics 101, define your opponent before they can define themselves. Logic tells us that there was nothing to be gained by Obama if he chose to run as a "black" candidate. Besides, after listening carefully to his message of community activism, Obama doesn't even include his race in his internal rationale. I would add that my experience with the post-boom generation, the racial group of people has diminished and in the case of liberals, vanished from the landscape. I'm not being naive. Gov. Dean gave a wonderful speech at the Yearly Kos that showed that demographic evidence proves that theory. IOW, we won. My twenty-something kid and her friends really do think differently. Well, that's the good news.

As the Clinton Camp ruffled through their focus group files, they decided to subtly and with plenty of wiggle room make Obama's race an issue. It is not that they're racists, they are just willing to touch that hot button. Of course they've stayed with their original meme of lack of experience vs 35 years. (I'm still wondering where that number came from: 35 years of what?) The other issue that had to be neutralized was the war vote. Given the right advertising, the Clintons are ready to make Mother Teresa into a serial killer. The holes in Clinton's own story regarding the war mean zip compared to drumming home the fairy tale.

I don't know how Senator Obama can deal with this. He is a powerful and charismatic speaker; however, he is up against a machine that will stop at nothing. Nothing. Yes, that includes suppressing and depressing the vote and weakening the Democratic Party. Amazing isn't it?

Great post. I expect the usual suspects to negate what you have to say, but as someone who is watching this carefully with deep sadness, I'm sorry to say you are exactly right.

[Essene]

82. One more thing about NYC and the 2001 Mike Bloomberg rise to power...

He ran as a Republican because they begged him to. He had been a democrat philanthropist his entire life.

If you ask around... you will not find many new yorkers who dislike him.

When he got into office, he promised to help the economy but told new yorkers to judge him no his EDUCATION record. He's done a fairly good job in office with nearly no scandals. Now that he's quit the GOP, he's an extremely potent threat to either party.

Even though he came into office due to race baiting in the Dem primary, mixed with shady election corruption (in the primaries especially), don't underestimate his potential candidacy. He can easily determine the election this Nov.

[Essene]

84. Truce is called... but Bill Clinton immediately breaks it with a nasty attack

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-15-bill-clinton-nevada_N.htm

This is the day the "truce" was called... yet Bill Clinton goes out and stirs up race vs gender debates.

"Hillary has an enormous amount of African American support and Barack Obama has a lot of white people for him," he said in Sparks. There's still some African Americans who support Barack, even though they like Hillary, because they think he is the first African American to have a chance to be president," Clinton said. "And there's a lot of women who are voting for Hillary, even though they like Sen. Obama, because they think it would be better if a woman broke the glass ceiling."

OK... look more closely and think about how weird that sounded... :wtf:

"There's still some African Americans who support Barack (even though they like Hillary) because they think he is the first African American to have a chance to be president"

"There's still some African Americans who support Barack (even though they like Hillary)
because they think he is the first African American to have a chance to be president."

Re-read that one more time, yes.

Blacks support Hillary, but SOME still feel the need to support Obama just cuz he's black.

Re-read it again in the original context, and notice how he's actually attacking Obama while saying that the gender issue is primary for more people (i.e. women).

Unbelievable. Flame me for pointing out the truth... but that's sad. :(