Last night I wrote a diary on my view of the highly unfortunate eruption of racial politics in this primary. For the most part, it described my deep disappointment at the way the Obama campaign has pushed the race card in this campaign. Some people responded by casting doubt on my truthfulness (to put it charitably) and demanding evidence, which by itself is not unreasonable.
Original diary: http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/3/12/4584 0/3701
I don't really feel like doing a whole lot of new research, since the topic is utterly depressing, but I will copy and paste a few examples I compiled when this was last an issue in the week or so after the New Hampshire primary. (I refrained from posting it then because the candidates agreed to an informal truce, but it is sadly relevant again.)
Keep in mind that all of these examples are from just five days in January, and that they all have to do with Obama staffers or Obama himself. These aren't random supporters who are unaffiliated with the campaign.
January 9. From http://www.startribune.com/politics/1355 7751.html
"I think that Senator Clinton, obviously, is a formidable and tough candidate, and we have to make sure that we take it to them just like they take it to us," the Illinois senator said. "I come from Chicago politics. We're accustomed to rough and tumble."
January 8. From http://www.politico.com/news/stories/010 8/7788.html
A senior Obama staffer just told me the Barack Obama campaign is livid over Hillary Clinton's recent comment about Martin Luther King Jr. and what was apparently her attempt to point out the difference between dreaming and accomplishment.
Some in the Obama campaign are now outraged at what they take to be a denigration of King's accomplishments and the sacrifices made during his era.
"Go ask black people what they think of that statement," the Obama staffer told me.
"People died for the civil rights movement in this country. People marched and put their kids in front of fire hoses! They were bitten by dogs! This is the worst thing she has said in this entire campaign."
January 9. From http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2008/01/ob ama_campaign_cochair_questions_hillarys_ tears.php
"But those tears also have to be analyzed. They have to be looked at very, very carefully in light of Katrina, in light of other things that Mrs. Clinton did not cry for, particularly as we head to South Carolina where 45% of African-Americans who participate in the Democratic contest, and they see real hope in Barack Obama."
January 12. From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/12 /obama-camps-memo-on-clin_n_81205.html
"The document provides an indication that, in private, the Obama campaign is seeking to capitalize on the view - and push the narrative - that the Clintons are using race-related issues for political leverage. In public, the Obama campaign has denied that they are trying to propagate such a perception, noting that the document never was sent to the press."
January 11. From http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?u uid=6A698AA2-3048-5C12-0015C8592526ACA9
"A cross-section of voters are alarmed at the tenor of some of these statements," said Obama spokeswoman Candice Tolliver, who said that Clinton would have to decide whether she owed anyone an apology.
"There's a groundswell of reaction to these comments -- and not just these latest comments but really a pattern, or a series of comments that we've heard for several months," she said. "Folks are beginning to wonder: Is this really an isolated situation, or is there something bigger behind all of this?"
January 13. From http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0 108/Obama_Clinton_rewrites_history.html
Obama: "What we saw this morning is why the American people are tired of Washington politicians and the games they play. But Sen. Clinton made an unfortunate remark, an ill advised remark, about King and Lyndon Johnson. I didn't make the statement. I haven't remarked on it, and she I think offended some folks who felt that somehow diminished King's role in bringing about the Civil Rights Act. She is free to explain that, but the notion that somehow this is our doing is ludicrous."
It should be noted that by January 13, the conflagration was already in full force. Given an opportunity to tamp down the flames, Obama decided not to do so and (1) essentially lied about whether his campaign had anything to do with pushing the story, (2) appears to agree that the statement was offensive, and (3) invited reporters to keep the story alive.
At this point I'll defer to someone of greater moral authority than almost anyone else alive, civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis, on January 14:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/ jan-june08/race_01-14.html
I knew Martin Luther King, Jr. I marched with him. I worked with him. He played a major role in inspiring people, giving people hope.I also knew Lyndon Johnson. I was there with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on March 15, 1965, when we watched Lyndon Johnson deliver his speech in response to what was happening in Selma, when he said, "And we shall overcome."
I looked at Dr. King. He looked at me, and tears came down his eyes. And he said, "We will get the civil rights bill, the voting rights bill passed. We will march from Selma to Montgomery."
I think there's been a deliberate, systematic attempt on the part of some people in the Obama camp to really fan the flame of race and really try to distort what Senator Clinton said. I understand and I think most right-thinking people understood what she said.
Martin Luther King, Jr., created the climate, created the environment, but it took a Lyndon Johnson to get the legislation through the Congress.
No one is trying to say Dr. King did little. He did a great deal. He is not crying out from his grave in Atlanta saying, "Defend me." His legacy doesn't need any defense...
Let me say, Judy, President Clinton and Senator Clinton have a long record of working to bring people together. Long before President Clinton ever dreamed of running for president, long before Senator Clinton ever dreamed of running for president, they have a history, a very, very long history.
And no right-thinking, informed American would ever believe that President Clinton or Mrs. Clinton would do anything to use the race card...
Well, I think it did come out of the language that Mr. Obama is using, but the Obama camp is also doing something else. They're sending out memos to members of the media, trying to suggest that the Clintons are playing the race card.
I suppose if people have other examples they can add them to the comments. I may do the same, but then again, if I never hear about this topic again, it will be too soon.
Update: Just to clarify, the first comment above is not related to race. I put it there for context--stung after losing the New Hampshire primary, Obama announced he was going to run a more aggressive campaign, and that's certainly what we got.|
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