Racial tensions roil Democratic race

[stephanie]

By: Ben Smith
Jan 11, 2008 03:04 PM EST
Updated: January 11, 2008 05:09 PM EST



A series of comments from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, her husband, and her supporters are spurring a racial backlash and adding a divisive edge to the presidential primary as the candidates head south to heavily African-American South Carolina.

The comments, which ranged from the New York senator appearing to diminish the role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement — an aide later said she misspoke — to Bill Clinton dismissing Sen. Barack Obama’s image in the media as a “fairy tale” — generated outrage on black radio, black blogs and cable television. And now they've drawn the attention of prominent African-American politicians.

“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?”

Clinton supporters responded to that suggestion with their own outrage.

“To say that there is a pattern of racist comments coming out of the Hillary campaign is ridiculous,” said Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. “All of the world knows the commitment of President Clinton and Sen. Clinton to civil rights issues — and not only the commitment in terms of words but in terms of deeds.”

Referring to the King quote, Sheila Jackson Lee, another Clinton supporter, said Clinton was trying to contrast King and Obama, not to diminish King: "It really is a question of focusing on the suggestion that you can inspire without deeds — what is well known to the child who studies Dr. King in school is that yes, he spoke, but he also moved people to action."

But other black Clinton supporters found themselves wincing at the Clintons’ words, if not questioning their intent.


read the rest and comments..
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7845.html

[manu1959]

i like this line.......

Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, a prominent Obama supporter, echoed those sentiments.

"It’s very unfortunate that the president would make a statement like that," he said of Bill Clinton's criticism of Obama's experience, adding that the African-American community had "saved his presidency" after the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

"They owe the African-American community — not the reverse," he said. "Maybe Hillary and Bill should get behind Sen. Barack Obama."

whitey...you owe us.....

[Yurt]

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I guess his dream was not in black and white......

[avatar4321]

glad to see they are finally being exposed for the racists they are.

[Yurt]

there is no racism.....

blacks only want a black to make a statue of MLK

imagine whites only wanting a white to make a statue.....

[Nukeman]

It's telling that later in the article this comes out.

Then, when Obama lost New Hampshire, the first question on black media outlets like "The Tom Joyner Show" was whether white racism had defeated him, and when a Clinton supporter, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, said — though not directly in connection to Obama — that politicians can’t “shuck and jive” in early-primary states, it only added fuel to the fire.

They're acusing Clinton of racially insensitive comments and yet here the "black establishment" are questioning whether his loss is because of white racism. He only lost 39-36 I would think if racism was playing a part his loss would have been greater.

I suspect libs are going to be falling all over themselves voting for him just to prove they're not racist, and blacks are going to call anyone who doesn't vote for him a racist.

[Hugh Lincoln]

whitey...you owe us.....

I agree. We owe blacks all reasonably related relocation costs for the journey back to Africa.

[NATO AIR]

The Clintons are full of it and know exactly what they're doing. This is a carefully planned series of attacks against Obama designed to get his supporters to fight back. Look at the BET founder today making foolish comments he knows damn well will piss other blacks off. They're trying to take the shine off Obama's image. They also want to ensure that Latinos continue their historical aversion to voting for black candidates. Its typical divide and conquer. Bush and Nixon have nothing on the Clintons when it comes to dirty tricks and win at any costs.

The worst part is that even if you don't like Obama, the fact that the man was able for a good while to avoid the racial crap was admirable, either for his intelligence or for his actual belief in a more color-blind America. The Clintons could never have that, and so they've pulled him into the mud with them, especially after people started getting wise to HRC using the female card with her fake tears in NH.