"Unleashing a race war on President Barack Obama," By Andrew Sullivan

[jefferson_dem]

Unleashing a race war on President Barack Obama
Andrew Sullivan

<SNIP>

But there is something a little different this time — and it’s because the president is a little different this time. One of the most common signs last weekend said simply: “I want my country back”. This could be a response to the huge increase in government power under Bush and during the financial crisis, continued by Obama. Or it could be a cry of racial, cultural panic. Or, more plausibly, it could be a fusion of the two that renders the entire picture extremely volatile.

One way to mitigate this would be for Republicans to craft policies that might appeal more to blacks and Hispanics, to recruit more minorities and to embrace immigrants. This is what Bush was trying to do — and, in retrospect, seems positively liberal. But another way is to so racially polarise America that so many white votes flee from the black president that a Republican is elected by whites alone. Divide and rule is the tactic: as crude as it could be effective.

Obama understands that if he were to take this bait, and attack the racism out there, he would lose. Limbaugh understands this too — and he has a much tighter grip on the Republican base than any current politician. And so in the cultural context, Limbaugh is all about riling people up and Obama is all about calming them down. It’s a war of nerves that Obama needs to transform into something much less compelling. He has to bore his way towards acceptance.

Limbaugh, on the other hand, makes a vast fortune from such forays into the gutter and has no incentive to stop. The key for him is to generate a narrative that compounds Obama’s race with his policies. And so Obama’s policies are shredded daily — Limbaugh has the biggest single talkradio audience in America — while Limbaugh plays ditties like “Barack, the Magic Negro”, and calls the president a “Halfrican”. And this man now controls the current Republican party’s message. It is as if the party’s super-ego was removed by Dick Cheney, its ego left town with Bush, and its id is all that remains: full of sound and racial fury signifying money.

Obama, on the other hand, knows that a racially polarised America will be too distracted to address health insurance reform or climate change or the debt or the wars or anything else. And so he has to somehow plough on through the emotive racial minefield, denying the racial angle, and hoping that reason will eventually triumph over emotion. One speech, as in the Jeremiah Wright brouhaha, will not suffice any more. He’s president now, not a candidate. He has a lifetime of experience dealing with this; but it cannot be easy. And it will not be over soon.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6841197.ece

[robo50]

1. Good one, Andrew!

I hope he goes on American TV talk shows and tells it like it is!

[Parker CA]

2. Very interesting, rational, and spot-on piece. Thanks for the link! nt.

[jefferson_dem]

3. This is the most cogent, rational discussion of "the race issue" i've seen.

Props to Sullivan.

[Parker CA]

6. Big props for sure. He nails every angle better than any previous read I've seen on the situation.

[hileeopnyn8d]

4. Thanks for posting this.

The whole article was excellent.

[nevergiveup]

5. This is a must read.

Sullivan nails it.

[tishaLA]

7. Excellent article. Makes me forget how much I used to hate him

[hileeopnyn8d]

8. I was thinking the same thing. nt

[inna]

26. isn't he still a republican?

[beachmom]

33. He never was a Republican, but a right leaning Independent.

Still is, actually.

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. I once thought that even the GOP couldn't stoop this low...but this seems to be their strategy

what was once language reserved for the likes of the David Dukes of the political spectrum - is now mainstream in the today's new, modern Republican Party.

[butterfly77]

10. This is one part I disagree with...

"One way to mitigate this would be for Republicans to craft policies that might appeal more to blacks and Hispanics, to recruit more minorities and to embrace immigrants. This is what Bush was trying to do — and, in retrospect, seems positively liberal."

I don't believe that Bush was trying to appeal to blacks he tried to patronize blacks. He went into black neighborhoods and paid off the preachers. He knew that a majority of the people stranded after Katrina were black and he did nothing.

He knows there are many laws that discriminate against blacks and such as red lining and charging higher insurance rates where blacks or poor whites live,and I could go on. No,I will not stand by while some try to rehablitate or reconstruct Bush as though he was/is some wonderful man. Day by day we still continue to see the destruction of Bush policies and the republican party who continue to want more of the same.

[uponit7771]

11. Agreed, part of the GOP's foundation is fear of "them" and that's not going away for a long time

[Blue_Tires]

27. yeah, he's way off there...

to their (small) credit, there was a huge minority outreach by the GOP in the mid-90s, and even I was semi-suckered in (Remember how long they paraded J.C. Watts, Colin Powell, etc, around??)...But sometime between the Clinton impeachment, the 2000 election and 9-11, the repubs let the insane wing of the party consume them...

[uponit7771]

12. Obama can have surrogates make racism a bad thing again and then attack the GOP to it but for

...some reason the DNC is leaving the Obama admin out on it's own

[butterfly77]

13. I have been watching for a while now...

after the election I began watching the Dems and noticing how they weren't coming out against the GOP while they were attacking Obama and then we began to see that a lot of them don't like the fact that he won the presidency and a lot of them are really RepubliCONS who are in the background trying to sabatoge anything he tries to do just like the RepubliCONS who are out in the open.

[Odin2005]

14. This is exactly why it was good for Obama to downplay racism.

[noiretextatique]

15. i still can't stand sullivan

first he takes jimmy carter to task, then he basically admits he was right. and as someone else mentioned, he made the outrageous and ridiculous claim the bush was reaching out to black and latino voters. one good thing about the article, sullivan demonstrates the tortured logic about race that is very common in america. "it's not about race...oh wait, it is about race, but its not all about race." at least he is honest. he admitted being astonished when listening to obama speak about taxes...it was an "aha" moment for him, acknowledging the intelligence of a black person.

[jonnyblitz]

18. so is Bareback Andy a liberal now? I remember when he

published excerpts from "the bell curve" in The New Republic when he was an editor there in the "90's. I despised the log cabin asshole back then and now he is a favorite source amongst Obama loyalists. MOst gay lefties i know DESPISE him or they used to. Maybe he has done an arianna Huffington and changed. I generally don't pay much attention to him so I really don't know.

He was also good buddies with the nutjob Camille Paglia as well back then.

[noiretextatique]

30. why i am i not surprised that he and haglia are friends?

faux reactionary 'intellectuals' need to stick together :thumbsup:

[PM Martin]

22. Sullivan is and will always be a reactionary conservative at heart.

Sullivan only likes Obama for some strange reason, though he hates all other liberals.
As a worshiper of Reagan, Sullivan still hates Carter, even though Carter was right.


Sullivan is a still a schmuck.

[noiretextatique]

31. schmuck sums it up nicely...thanks eom

[Raineyb]

24. I'm glad it's not just me.

I started reading this article saying wtf? Because the first sentence on the screen basically calls Jimmy Carter off key for pointing out the racism involved. Then he goes out to point the racism involved. Carter was not off key. I'd have to say Sullivan was. THen he goes on to talk about the fat pig Limpballs, and the suicider Beck and how they use race. Hello! That's what Carter was talking about. In addition, Sullivan points out how Beck and Limbaugh are basically scaring up white people by trying to make it look as though now there's a black president there's no one to keep "them" (meaning us) in line. Which once again makes Carter's point. So I'm not sure how exactly Sullivan thought he was refuting anything that Carter said when he merely further made Carter's point for him. Only Sullivan managed to dance around calling them what they are where Carter plainly stated what these people are.

[noiretextatique]

32. he's such a talentless hack

i know he is the darling here because of his "support" for obama, but he's still a pea-brained, dishonest, slimy hack as far as i'n concerned. his "attack" on carter was as baseless as it was stupid.

[Indigent]

16. Obama is lying, because Andrew Sullivan says so

Or maybe he doesn't see racism as much as a factor as Sullivan does.

Wasn't Andrew Sullivan the one who suggested that Trig wasn't Palin's son?

[jefferson_dem]

19. Um...did you read the essay?

Sullivan discusses the Obama response to the "race" issue and NO...he is not lying.

[Indigent]

20. If Obama tells the truth, he loses because racism is a hot topic, Sullivan says

I read it.

Obama, on the other hand, knows that a racially polarised America will be too distracted to address health insurance reform or climate change or the debt or the wars or anything else. And so he has to somehow plough on through the emotive racial minefield, denying the racial angle, and hoping that reason will eventually triumph over emotion.

[noiretextatique]

29. you are correct

sullivan says if obama tells the truth, he will piss off some white voters. sullivan believes lying if politically correct, and he praises obama for playing the game. i understand that, however, he tasks carter to task for his honesty, and then basically agrees with him.

[hileeopnyn8d]

21. The moment you've been waiting for...

Your goal here seems to be twofold -

1) you get to call the President a liar

and

2) deny that there is any racism coming from the right-wing

[Indigent]

23. Nope. I mock you for calling a President a liar

The race-baiters say that Obama is lying about not being as outraged as they are about race. Misrepresenting my position wasn't a nice thing to do. Obama is not a liar. If I called him a liar I would be saying that Jimmy Carter was right, and I think Carter was wrong.

2) My archives prove you wrong. You always pretend that I don't talk about mandates and torture investigations in my past comments.

3) Your sole goal seems to be telling me what topics to focus on.

[Spazito]

17. Excellent commentary!

"And so in the cultural context, Limbaugh is all about riling people up and Obama is all about calming them down. It’s a war of nerves..."

I believe the President is winning this "war on nerves", his poll numbers are staying steady despite the rising voice of racism that was exhibited during July and August and continues today.

Thanks for posting this, it is much appreciated.

Recommended.

[Sky Masterson]

25. I feel compelled to post this picture again

He makes a shit-load of sense.

[wicket]

28. Great article

:thumbsup: