Pax Democratica

Originally posted at The Festering Swamp on January 14, 2008

I first posted this shortly after the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. You'll notice I made a brief mention of Barack Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright, months before the "God damn America" controversy broke. As of today, Obama appears to have the Democratic nomination in hand, but the strife between he and Hillary Clinton has taken its toll. Here's to a few more months of enduring chaos. – Mike LaRoche

As most who follow politics closely are well aware, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) have been embroiled in a bitter racial controversy since last week, sparked by Clinton's off-the-cuff remark that "Dr. King's dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964." Some so-called "black leaders" perceived that as a slap against King and the civil rights movement, and the resultant bitterness showed at an event honoring the memory of Martin Luther King. A recent poll by Rasmussen seemed to confirm a growing racial divide between supporters of Clinton and supporters of Obama.

Late Monday evening, the Clinton campaign issued a conciliatory press release, stating "We differ on a lot of things. And it is critical to have the right kind of discussion on where we stand. But when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes — President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King — Sen. Obama and I are on the same side." If a truce results, it may be reminiscent of Chiang Kai-shek's and Mao Zedong's Second United Front, without the bold fashion statements.

In any case, the whole thing reeks of excessive drama, hand-wringing, and self-congratulatory bloviating. As if to underscore the point, Der Hildebeast included this whopper in her press release:

"Our party and our nation is [sic] bigger than this. Our party has been on the front line of every civil rights movement [BS], women's rights movement [more BS], workers' rights movement [BS squared], and other movements for justice in America...

Never mind that it was actually the Republican Party that was behind the initial major strides in those areas. Or that Sen. Clinton's husband was an acolyte of such Democratic reactionaries as Orval Faubus and J. William Fulbright. Facts never get in the way of an old-fashioned Clintonista bull session.

That is not to say that Barack Obama is without blame in this controversy. On Monday, the conservative website NewsMax released a story about how Obama's pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ - the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. - recently honored Louis Farrakhan for his alleged accomplishments on behalf of black Americans. That's right, the same Louis Farrakhan who has referred to whites as "blue-eyed devils," Jews as "bloodsuckers," and the Pope as a dress-wearing "anti-Christ."

I suppose this is what is known as "the audacity of hope."

Now as someone who is white, Hispanic, and a Catholic (or to use cruder terms favored by some - a honkey, a spic, and a bead-squeezer), I find such statements curious. When asked to summarize the basic tenets of his faith, Christ said that one should love God with their whole mind, heart, and soul, and love one's neighbor as oneself. Christ said nothing about sticking it to whitey or any other racial or ethnic group. Perhaps Rev. Wright should re-read the Good Book before handing out awards to nefarious race-baiters like Calypso Louie. And maybe Sen. Obama should re-think his choice of pastor.

Better yet, sensible Democratic voters should re-think their choice of political party.