[lbo-talk] What Too Few Progressives are Prepared to Discuss

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Thu May 19 14:55:53 PDT 2011


Glen Ford has said a lot about race -- though he was never a supporter of Obama so maybe he doesn't count. Ford's view is taht Obama is a serious _problem_ for the Black left just because so many Blacks support him. But then that is only a more intense variation on the 'problem' all DP presidents & presidential candidates have always presented for leftists -- e.g. Gene McCarthy, George McGovern, etx. Those who might be really bulking up the left are always putting their hopes in one war criminal or another. At least earlier ones didn't brag about having someone murdered. They often at least pretended to not be scum.

Carrol

On 5/19/2011 3:09 PM, Somebody Somebody wrote:
> Bill Fletcher: It has been striking that many progressives, particularly those who have not only written off President Obama but also written off all those who offered critical support to the Obama campaign in 2008, have said so little about race, racism, and the discourse of right-wing populism in the context of the upcoming elections.
>
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> Somebody: I find most of this editorial disingenuous. In fact, from reading Democratic-oriented and progressive blogs it's quite apparent that most on the center-left who've been critical of Obama have simultaneously responded to the racist attacks against the President.
>
> Firedoglake, for example, the website founded by Obama critic Jane Hamsher, is at once filled with progressive critiques of the White House and Congressional Democrats *and* denunciations of Birthers and Tea Party racists.
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> Also, the impression I get from the editorial is that progressives are all white, or anyway do not significantly overlap with the Black Americans who are "murmuring" about racist Republicans. It's 2011. The U.S. is way too diverse to continue with the same tired white liberal stereotype of 60's. To state the obvious, the progressive community includes whites, blacks, liberals, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans.
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