Sometimes, you all get deep without any nudging from the regular bloggers. Tonight is case in point.
Tom Daschle withdraws his name from consideration as HHS Secretary. As usual, the posters at JJP see this through a different lens.
From poster RobM on the Tuesday Open Thread.
"The problems w/ President's Obama's choice's are twofold.
1. The economic crisis which is the highest priority is taking up all the political operators time.
2. Many of the people in the vetting process either didn't do their job, missed the tax issues and/or the candidates hid the facts and/or the candidates took President Obama's call for full disclosure as DC disclosure-you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
Last and most important the whole country IMO is receiving a lesson in institutional racism. W/ these candidates it means a recognition that being on an African Americans team means you are held to a different level of scrutiny. Ask any African American how many times they have had someone Caucasian/Jewish/Hispanic run behind their back to influence how that African American treats them. It's I am on your team temporarily. If that African American calls them out on their behavior they call you sensitive, bitch, overbearing and/or have anger management issues.
So now having a African American President putting together a team, the pulling apart of it is being done by managers(Senators and House Rep) hostile to his success not only as another manger but for racial issues as well.
It is time for the president to talk about how white people need to move away from a situation that has changed."
From that, you all just went to town:
From rorysmomma
all the Obama folks should know that they are now black by association. His vetting team forgot that. If any of these people were being vetted for a white guy, it wouldn't have been an issue. They want to hold Obama to an impossible standard, and now the people that want to work in his administration have to be held to the same standard. Tom Daschle, you have officially become an honorary negro.
From rorysmomma (in case you didn't get the first point she made):
WHITE FOLKS, LEND ME YOUR EAR! IF YOU ARE IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM PLANNING TO BE AFFILIATED WITH BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, YOU BETTER BE PURER THAN THE DRIVEN SNOW. YOU ARE NOW HENCEFORTH AND FOREVER MORE BLACK BY ASSOCIATION
From Miranda
I can't lie, I won't fault him for his tears, they were genuine. How could he know? Who could have possibly prepared him for this? As one of my friends said earlier "maannnn....they done went and niggerized a perfectly good white man"...we fell out laughing, but hey..it is what it is.
From rorysmomma
Miranda, I saw this crap coming a mile away. Daschle wasn't crying about Obama, he was crying because of his loss of privilege. He actually gets to see what it feels like to be denied a job you are qualified for because of taxes. When people before him weren't nearly as qualified, but were allowed to have the job. If that doesn't make him an honorary negro, I don't know what does.
Sometimes, you all speak the truth so loud and profound, it's screaming from a computer screen. And, it's one of the reasons I enjoy blogging. The raw, honest dialogue about what's going on underneath...I can't express enough the gratitude for hitting the nail on the head.
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7 comments:
Nonsense!!
Sometimes Blacks try to find racism in everything. Typical Black Blogger stuff. And this time it has no merit. Yes there's racism....plenty to go around... but it doesn't lurk around every corner....or under every rock. This post doesn't even qualify as "a stretch". I tried to fit it into that category...but it's too far out even for that.
Will Obama be treated differently partly because he's Biracial...or "Black"...because he's "different" and we have xenophobes in Washington? Absolutely. I have stated this myself several times here.
But in this situation... You have a case of a Former Senator and Cabinet pick who didn't take care of his taxes. (Royally so). PERIOD!. No Anti-Black conspiracy here. (Good Lord people).
This is not the first Administration where someone had to withdraw their name during the vetting or Senate confirmation process for a major appointment.
When Blacks try to tie racism to everything... it just looks silly.
But I do agree...overall there will be more scrutiny. Obama himself won't be able to get away with half of what Bush or even Clinton did. But I don't think this particular situation is out of the ordinary.
Obama and his team screwed up... they didn't take care of the vetting. That's the issue here.
It was a bad choice in the first place. Now perhaps he will choose someone with actual expertise in the HHS field... perhaps a Progressive Doctor and business person... who can reshape healthcare... model our system after Canada or one of the EU systems that works fairly well. (although I know this is just wishful thinking... Obama's vision for healthcare is half assed. It's not even close to what we need).
Someone who can lower costs of drugs....push for negotiating lower prices. Hell... Howard Dean might not be a bad choice...although I doubt he would take it.
But there are more qualified people out there.... there are plenty of experts who have been advocating for a better healthcare system for years...all with either backgrounds in insurance (and who were disgusted by the system) or with expertise as Doctors or Public Health officials. I don't want to see a damn politician anywhere close to this position... they are too corrupt and too tainted. These are the same jackasses who have been taking money from the insurance and drug company lobby for decades while protecting the health industry. Are you aware of how corrupt the FDA is? The FDA is owned and controlled...lock, stock and barrel by the drug companies. It got that way because these companies bribe members of Congress into not doing proper oversight. Now we want those same members of Congress to run the governments health service? It's insanity.
And corrupt they are.... this pullout by Daschle sort of proves that whole point. It also shows how Obama got himself into this problem by not listening to his own advice (his message of "change"). This is what he gets for choosing these familiar faces. It's the same reason why the Geithner appointment was boneheaded.... this is the same guy who helped to write the TARP policy...which has allowed Fat Cat CEO's to steal my money. And he comes from Wall Street. This guys Tax rebate is more than what I earn in a year. F*ck Geithner! I get upset just thinking about that appointment.
But it's the same thing.
Obama's appointments have been hit & miss. One day he would announce incredible...damn near genius choices... like the Sec. of Energy... Sec. of Agriculture, Sec. or Veterans Affairs, and Sec. of Labor... but then he turns around and makes appointments like Sec. of Education, Sec. of State, Sec. of HHS, Sec. of Homeland Security and Sec. of Treasury...that leave you scratching your head. Boneheaded appointments. The misses have almost outweighed the hits.
But this is what he gets for not embracing his own campaign rhetoric (Change...esp. a Change in Washington DC). He railed against "the same cast of characters" during the campaign....then he tries to appoint them once he's elected. Appointing these old familiar faces is coming back to bite him... and I hope it continues to... if it will force him to make better choices.
AI,
Work with me.
Do you honestly believe that a Black man,
nominated for Secretary of the Treasury...
Which has the IRS under its umbrella...
And didn't pay back taxes..
And uttered the words ' Statute of Limitations' as to why only part of the tax bill was paid..
Would EVER have gotten out of Committee?
Be honest, AI.
Come on.
Come on now. You're Black.
You know we live under ' the letter of the law'.
You know it.
And most White folks only know it in theory.
And for the record, Geithner bothers me far more than Daschle.
I'm not crying for Daschle. I am crying about the possibilty for the setback of Universal Health Care, which was the ONLY reason Daschle was appointed to THAT position.
Geithner bothered me far more.
And the woman who owed under a thousand bucks? That she had to withdraw and Geithner got the job - REEKS.
Folks, I'm sorry but the racial reasoning thrown out here as to why "a couple" of Obama's appointments dropped out are simply w/o merit few reasons.
First, like AI stated earlier, all appointees by a president don't get approved or make it out of committee. That's just a fact.
Second, and I think most prominent, is the appointment of Eric Holder. This man made a questionable pardon that may have killed most candidates. Oh, did I mention that this brotha has the authority to go after the most powerful ppl in the country? That he can prosecute some in the previous administration? If institutional racism had a better target and easier escape path than E. Holder I've never seen it.
And again, Obama ran on a platform of TRUE change, a NEW and TRANSPARENT government that held everyone to the same standards that they expect from the citizenship. People are questioning whether that was all bulls*** w/ some of his choices.
I've experienced enough institutional racism to know what it looks like and I'm sorry brothas and sistas, this ain't it. It's a little disheartening that we're still relying on racial reasoning in discussing and debating these issues.
Co-sign with AI_well said!
But I'd also like to add:
Among the qualities I appreciate most about Obama is his willingness to ADMIT his "screw ups"_takes responsibility for "bad" choices/decisions_and then takes steps to correct them.
The man, is just a man_an Extraordinary man_but a man, nevertheless. He's never pretended to be perfect or to have all the "right" answers.
The "Change" most Americans are yearning for (and Obama promised) is going to be a long hard slog, at an incrementally slow pace that'll take YEARS of hard work spanning well beyond Obama's Presidency _IF???_we're fortunate to get decent Presidents) after Obama completes his second term (Yes, I'm going out on a limb here).
Simply put, "old habits die hard" especially among politicians, who IMO, are by nature mostly corrupt, lying-azz, opportunistic parasites without a speck of "real" vision, Honesty or integrity.
However, I believe Obama is a cut above the rest and it's Our duty (WE The People) to hold his feet to the fire_to force him (if you will) to govern at the higher standard he's set for himself and his adminstration so that he can be the kind of President he has proudly stated he desires to be.
In short: All things considered, I remain cautiously optimistic about Obama's Presidency.
I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I also think that Daschle is not a good illustration of Obama's associates being held to a higher standard because he is black.
First, Obama got elected by setting a higher standard. He gave us the impression that he would lead the attack against the profiteers of Washington, so it is reasonable that people objected to Daschle (limousine, lobbyists, and tax scofflaw).
Second, Obama was able to openly admit to having smoked marijuana, while both Clinton and W. both felt the need to deny having ever smoked. While Bush was forgiven for his excessive alcohol use, he had to present it as part of his story of Christian redemption.
I think the public's relative tolerance towards Obama's past drug use is primarily a sign of changing public attitudes, but it does indicate that many people had the opportunity to judge him harshly but didn't feel the need to.
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