Is Cornel West Right About Obama?

About a week ago, Salon posted an controversial interview with Cornel West. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

So that’s my first question, it’s a lot of ground to cover but how do you feel things have worked out since then, both with the economy and with this president? That was a huge turning point, that moment in 2008, and my own feeling is that we didn’t turn.

No, the thing is he posed as a progressive and turned out to be counterfeit. We ended up with a Wall Street presidency, a drone presidency, a national security presidency. The torturers go free. The Wall Street executives go free. The war crimes in the Middle East, especially now in Gaza, the war criminals go free. And yet, you know, he acted as if he was both a progressive and as if he was concerned about the issues of serious injustice and inequality and it turned out that he’s just another neoliberal centrist with a smile and with a nice rhetorical flair. And that’s a very sad moment in the history of the nation because we are—we’re an empire in decline. Our culture is in increasing decay. Our school systems are in deep trouble. Our political system is dysfunctional. Our leaders are more and more bought off with legalized bribery and normalized corruption in Congress and too much of our civil life. You would think that we needed somebody—a Lincoln-like figure who could revive some democratic spirit and democratic possibility...

That’s exactly what everyone was saying at the time.

That’s right. That’s true. It was like, “We finally got somebody who can help us turn the corner.” And he posed as if he was a kind of Lincoln.

Yeah. That’s what everyone was saying.

And we ended up with a brown-faced Clinton. Another opportunist. Another neoliberal opportunist. It’s like, “Oh, no, don’t tell me that!” I tell you this, because I got hit hard years ago, but everywhere I go now, it’s “Brother West, I see what you were saying. Brother West, you were right. Your language was harsh and it was difficult to take, but you turned out to be absolutely right.” And, of course with Ferguson, you get it reconfirmed even among the people within his own circle now, you see. It’s a sad thing. It’s like you’re looking for John Coltrane and you get Kenny G in brown skin.

I support President Obama. I voted for him twice. I have written blogs and posted YouTube videos defending the President from right wing attacks. I will continue to do so.

However, I support the brother Cornel West as well. His persistent, consistent, constant and piercing criticism of President Obama is, for the most part, painfully true. Even Obama's most loyal and devoted supporters know that West's analysis is factual and true. That is evident by their utter and complete failure to provide any solid or substantive response to his interview. Instead, they desperately try to drown out his bold voice with an ocean of insults and ad hominem attacks.

West is wrong about one thing. Obama never campaigned as a true progressive. Ending poverty was not a top priority during his campaigns. He never campaigned as a black activist. He never promised to be a strong advocate for African Americans. In fact, his rise to national prominence was based, at least in part, on his post-racial rhetoric about one America. During the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama said:

"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America—there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America—there's the United States of America."

No one should be surprised when the Obama Administration and its parrots constantly repeat the silly mantra that "he is not just the President of Black America." You will never hear any other group of people embracing and repeating such a self defeating and pathetic slogan. Imagine the Jews saying Obama is not just the President of Jewish America. Imagine the LGBT community saying that Obama is not just the President of gay America. Imagine the Latino community saying that Obama is not just the President of immigrant America. Imagine white feminists saying Obama is not just the President of women. Those groups would never spout such nonsense. Unlike the black community, those groups do not surrender. They do not accept symbols over substance. They vigorously push their agenda. Unfortunately, we are pacified by symbols and gestures. We are so intoxicated and infatuated with the concept of black president that many of us have lost our minds and our principles.

Anyway, no one should be surprised by Obama's attempt to reach a grand bargain with the repugnant Republicans. During his first campaign, Obama did not promise to a strong opponent of the Republican Party's right wing agenda. Instead, he sold the American people the post-partisan pipe dream of changing the way that Washington does business. He promised to find common ground and to bridge the partisan divide. Obviously, that goal was unachievable. If it was in fact a goal, the President has failed miserably. Partisanship has never been more intense and stark than it is now. The Republican Party and the Tea Party have done everything in their power to obstruct Obama.

Moreover, no one should be surprised by Obama's stance on the crisis in Israel and Gaza. Obama never campaigned as an advocate for the Palestinian people. Like all of his predecessors, Obama bowed before the altars of AIPAC and Israel. During his first and second campaigns, Obama laced up his shoes and tap danced for them like Bojangles.

During his first campaign, Obama said that he would bomb terrorists in foreign land like Osama bin Laden without authorization from those nations. No one should be surprised by Obama continuing and expanding Bush's drone policy. Again, Obama never posed as a true progressive. Otherwise, West is correct.

Many avoid that truth by contrasting Obama and his past election opponents like Mitt Romney and John McCain. Clearly, Obama was the better choice in those elections. That is why I voted for him. Unfortunately, both parties are owned by Wall Street and AIPAC. In this two party corporate dictatorship, true progressive candidates and parties are not viable alternatives. Too often, they are unelectable. They do not have sufficient funding and resources to compete with the Democrats and the Republicans on a national level. They do not garner the same level of media attention as the corporate parties. Until that changes, we are forced to settle for people like Barack Obama.

John Brennan's Appointment Exposes the Democrats' Hypocrisy

“If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you in the night.”
Angela Y. Davis



As reported in the Washington Post,

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) forced Washington slightly off its axis Thursday after he filibustered President Obama’s pick to head the CIA. The rare “talking filibuster” generated extraordinary scrutiny of the Obama administration’s drone-strike program and revealed some surprising divisions and alliances on Capitol Hill over the president’s anti-terrorism tactics overseas.

The filibuster culminated in the Senate confirmation of John O. Brennan to be director of the CIA by a vote of 63 to 34. But it scrambled the usual partisan landscape in the Capitol, with some Republican lawmakers attacking Paul for criticizing the president, while liberals and Democrats praised him. Of the 81 votes to end the filibuster, 28 were from Republicans, 13 of whom also voted to confirm Brennan.

The filibuster began Wednesday afternoon and lasted for nearly 13 hours, ending after midnight on Thursday. Paul was demanding that the White House clarify that it would not use aerial drones on U.S. soil to kill American citizens suspected of terrorism — a point on which he felt the administration had not been sufficiently clear.

Brennan’s nomination forced the administration to be more forthcoming about its secretive drone operations, which have devastated al-Qaeda’s core leadership in Pakistan and have been expanded to target affiliated groups in Yemen and Somalia.

...Brennan, a CIA veteran and former station chief in Saudi Arabia, has served as Obama’s principal counterterrorism adviser for the past four years and one of the chief architects of the program that has emerged as the spy agency’s signature counterterrorism tactic. The Brennan nomination brought unprecedented scrutiny to the administration’s use of drones to kill terrorist suspects overseas, and in recent days critics have questioned whether it could be imported to the United States to target American terrorism suspects at home.

A still-theoretical discussion about the domestic use of armed drones emerged in recent days from congressional demands to review Justice Department legal opinions that justified the 2011 drone killing in Yemen of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen.

Brennan supported torture.  He is the architect of the drone program. For more information, read the Salon article entitled 5 Terrifying Facts About John Brennan. I am deeply disappointed that only a few progressives opposed Brennan's nomination. His appointment exposes the Democrats' hypocrisy. It is hypocritical to oppose one policy under Bush and then support the same policy under Obama. Sadly, that is exactly what some liberals have done. 

During the Bush Administration, progressives marched in the streets and on the White House demanding an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They marched against America's drone policy. Some continue to protest. Prominent Democrats, including candidate Obama, voiced opposition to the Iraq war. In fact, many progressives voted for Obama because of his opposition to the Iraq war. 

After Obama's election, most liberals became pacified and unconscious. Basically, the peace movement in America is dead. Except for a few fringe groups like Code Pink, many so-called liberals don't care about the drone program as long as Obama is the Commander-in-Chief. They don't care about the President having the power to kill Americans abroad, and possibly at home, without evidence or trial. They do not care about the government violating citizens' due process rights. They don't care about the drones killing innocent men, women and children in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and other countries around the world. They don't care about military intervention in Libya, Syria and other countries. 

Some of them attempt to promote group think by demonizing and isolating anyone who has the audacity to question Obama's kill policy and Brennan's appointment. In addition, they desperately try to change the subject by demanding that people talk about Chris Dorner, the LAPD and police brutality. Those important issues should be thoroughly discussed by the media as well. However, Obama's kill policy must be discussed as well. It cannot be ignored.

Throughout our history, African Americans have been denied due process of law. Too often, police officers kill black people without evidence or trial. Clearly, we should be the last people to support Obama's kill policy. It is sickening to see so many African Americans support this unconscionable policy. It is appalling to see so many remain silent. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., there comes a time when silence is betrayal. That time is now.

Have they forgotten about all the African American leaders summarily executed during the Cointelpro era? Have they forgotten about the killing of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Fred Hampton, Mark Clark and many others?

Today, Obama is in the White House. We may trust his judgment.  But, what about the precedent being created?  What about future presidents who may be even more militaristic?  Today, Middle Eastern, Muslim men are the target.  Tomorrow, it could be you. As Pastor Niemoller said in First They Came After the Jews,

First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Now that Brennan's appointment is a done deal, we must speak out and demand more legislative and judicial oversight of the drone program.

This article is cross-posted on Jack and Jill Politics.

Cornel West Responds to The Critics!

Watch the full episode. See more Tavis Smiley.

Recently, Cornel West sparked a firestorm of controversy by making disparaging remarks about President Barack Obama. More specifically, West described Obama as a "mascot for Wall Street". West also said that Obama's "formation is culturally white" and that Obama has a "certain fear of free black men." Listen to West's response to the controversy and tell me what you think.

What Should Progressives Do to Hold President Obama Accountable?

As far as I am concerned, voting Republican is not an option. That party is opposed to everything that I stand for. Sitting out the 2012 Presidential Election is not an option. If progressives and Democrats decide not to vote, that will only help the Republican Party win the Presidency.

Unfortunately, our options are limited. There is no viable progressive alternative to President Barack Obama. How do we hold the President accountable without empowering the opposition?

This is America: The 10-2-10 One Nation March

Yesterday, I attended the One Nation March.  Unlike the Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" March or even Rev. Al Sharpton's "Reclaim the Dream" March, this march truly reflected America's beautiful racial and ethnic diversity. There were whites, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Native Americans. Teacher unions, labor unions, civil rights groups, environmental groups, peace groups and LGBT groups joined the march.

The general theme was jobs, justice, education and peace. The main goal of the march was to motivate progressives to remain engaged in the political process. Hopefully, more people will be inspired to participate in the most important march, the march to the polls on November 2, 2010. If we do not turnout for that march, our gains such as health care reform, may be eliminated by a Republican dominated House and Senate. The President's relatively progressive agenda will be obstructed if the Republicans and their extremist Tea Party wing win control. We must fight them with every ounce of our energy.

However, voting is not the end of the process. We must continue to push the President and Congress to address problems such as unemployment, poverty and war.