Thursday, March 17, 2005

Sell-out Democrats

now they are at Bush's mercy becuase they have yet to articulate just how they are different - if at all from - Republicans, and dont talk about saving social security or gay rights, those are not the imparitive things that will determine history. Combating the neoCons' desire for American hegemony was what the election should have been about, let those democrats go be republicans, and stop placating them for there corporate dollars, it can be won a different way. Let Lieberman and Zell go be conservative. Stop trying to playcate them, let them go.

Elijah Cummings (who i did not vote for, but is my rep) was on ESPN last night worried about steroids. That is my maryland rep, and he was among the yeas in this issue of another 80 Billion dollar spending suplemental to fund the wars and rebuildings of Iraq and Afghanistan. Why do Democrats continue to worry about Social Security? Whay can they not try and get on TV to protest the appointment of Paul Wlofowitz to head the World Bank?

Yeah I know. Cash.

I guess i just dont understand why we continue to appologize for strategic democratic failures by continuing to elect them for reasons they have no real attatchment to.

it is not different than those constantly voting for Bush and other Republicans becuase they think he will keep gays from getting married and make abortion illegal. They dont represent us, so why should we let them?

Certainly there are exceptions to this general rancor towards the Democratic Party, but they must be held accountable for running away from the anti-war wing of the party in the election and they continue to run to the middle.

Hold the Democrats accountable, start thinking independantly. Start looking for ways to activate your political power without the umbrage of an institional party. Force them to deal with the peace movement in a peaceful way.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Ex-NAACP head making Senate run

On one hand it seems he has the language down pat to be an electable legislator.

"It is with great pride and deep humility that I announce to you today my candidacy for the Senate of the United States," Mfume said at a news conference in Baltimore.

"Great pride" and "deep humility" show an advanced understanding of Washington double-speak. Kudos to you ex-Congressman, you have not lost your touch in the last decade away from the Hill.

On the other hand, as a current resident of Maryland [and one who plans on leaving before the 2006 election] I find a problem with this contradiction. Can one be both prideful and humble together? I guess this is his way of reaching out broadly across the state to every demographic.


However, he also says this:
"I can't be bought. I won't be intimidated. I don't know how to quit," Mfume said as his supporters applauded.

The way in which the balance of ignorance shifts as this process roles along will go along way in determining whether Barak Obama finds a friend in the Senate before the end of his first term. If the people of Maryland find truth in the claim that he "can't be bought", and "won't be intimidated" to be true then they get what they vote for. Furthermore, I find it difficult to believe he does not know how to quit, since he recently resigned a very public position as head of the NAACP. Again, if the people of this buy into this great for us... I like Black people... a lot.

But, the rhetoric seems to be there for him already. W.E.B. Du Bois was separated from the organization he helped to found, and that is the same NAACP Mfume recently left. If the statements above are his reasons for being elected then he seems as shallow as the career politician he aims to replace. Certainly, it is not fair for any number of reasons to compare Du Bois and Mfume, but the intellectual honesty (snobby though it may have been) of Du Bois would be an excellent quality for Mfume to find within himself in the coming months.

Hopefully, He will give the people a reason to vote for him past the blah-blah government speak he seems to have mastered in various political roles he has played in the past.

(the quotes are lifted from cnn.com)

Addendum:
Around 8pm on the same day, 630 WMAL (Washington DC) ran a report of Mfume's announcement and played this soundbyte from the same press conference, "With me, what you see is what you get". Aside from being an odd thing to play on the radio this just goes a step further underscoring the point I had made previously.