WHAT DO PROGRESSIVES MEAN WHEN THEY ACCUSE "RACISM"
Please understand when I write this particular blog, I have not done research as I usually do, and am expressing a purely subjective opinion and a conjecture based on what a compilation of observations. I hope merely to open a debate and dialogue on this question which I do not believe anyone has asked yet...
I have been listening to a lot of accusations being thrown out by the Progressives, Liberals, and Die -Hard Democrat pundits accusing the opposition to President Obama, his policies and the direction of the Democrat controlled Congress of "Racism". I have heard former President Jimmy Carter ( the man personally responsible for destroying any youthful tendencies of liberalism in me) spout off how he believed that the majority of the marchers in DC were motivated by racism and that many did not feel like a black man was qualified to be President of the United States. Let us forget that this man was himself truly not capable of being a president himself, and focus our attention the his claim. I am curious as to what the basis or what evidence that he has. I saw many signs at the rallies I have attended and at the rallies I have not. Not once have I seen a sign with the "N" word in it, or something akin to "see what you get when you put a black man in power" or "have we sunk so low as to reduce our standards of the presidency". No overt or covert suggestions that because we have a black man in office we are offended.
Then it hit me as I was listening to a syndicated talk radio show this afternoon, when two educated black men with diametrically opposite views of the protest were expressing their opinions as to the motivation of the protest march. One man stated that he had voted for President Obama but thought these charges were groundless rhetoric and baseless, even demeaning. The other was a civil rights attorney( with 20 years experience). He could not name persons or instances of what he believed were racism but when pressed he stated that the calling of President Obama a "communist, a socialist , a fascist" and more importantly calling him a "radical was a code word (sic: the "n" word )" was the basis of his opinion.
This conversation solidified the questions into one for me. I no longer was asking " how could they come up with such a charge? what is the evidence? Are they stupid or is this just a political ploy? The question became a search instead, as this relatively young black spokesman represented the debate itself.
What does he mean by racism? Certainly, if he goes back into the 60's several groups of black activists and even black militant groups were labeled "radical" The Black Panthers were often described as radical. Perhaps in the charged environment of the 60's some die hard racists might have hidden behind that accusation. Certainly, they black community itself was awakening as never before and acting ways it had never done.
Yet there is a fact that is overlooked by the left or perhaps deliberately ignored. The Black Panthers were radicals by their own definition, with ties to Marxism ,Black Nationalism, and even anarchy. Yet there were predominately white organizations equally extreme that were also labelled radical. The Weatherman is an example. The SDS another. Each had similar affinities to Marxism and the overthrow of the US government as then existing. What set these groups apart from the many organizations that protested and marched in those days is their fundamental belief that the US government, the system it represented, and the concepts behind our Republic were wrong, evil and in need of destruction. Much of the protesting during the Viet Nam War, from all the camps were expressions of disagreement of policy, not the fundamental nature of the US government itself.
The irony of trying to link the charge of racism to communism or socialism is that these social and political entities are egalitarian. That is, race, sex or nationalism are eliminated. All persons are viewed as equals. These societies in theory are color blind. In fact, history shows that, especially in the case of Communism, Communist countries have existed in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Every color and race have communist representatives. The same can be said of socialism. Fascism would even be more absurd in regards to merely linking it to President Obama's color. The major examples of fascism were the National Socialist Party and Mussolini's National Fascist Party. The Nazis believed to a greater degree than the Italians that blacks were subhuman and an inferior race. To say a black man resembles Hitler because of his race would be absurd to ridiculous.
The sad realization of this belief that "Radical =Racism" belies an unfortunate understanding of not only the very important definitions and connotations of the words, but a sad lacking of the understanding of why the word radical was used in the past in describing a group of black activists and militants. The word radical itself was even used by King George III to describe our founders. Each of the labels is accurate because radical is an abrupt and often unexpected departure from the norm. Even sadder is the sad lack of understanding of the political nature of the other names used. Further adding sadness, is the lack of understanding of why the communism, socialism, fascist and even radical are dangerous to our way of life and the very foundation of our country. I am saddened by the prospect that this young black man's thinking, his conduct, and his spirit is clouded by anger and perhaps his own form of racism.
To be clear on the question, it is important for the progressives to understand that we refer to the type of thinking, tactics, and politics of Saul Alinsky who wrote (strangely enough, the manifesto for these aforementioned groups) "Rules for Radicals" This book is the Bible ( asking forgiveness from the Almighty on the comparison- Alinsky dedicates his book to Lucifer....). It is very familiar to czars within President Obama's inner circle. I believe the President is very familiar with it either directly or through his associations with his friends and devotees such as William Ayers and Bernadette Dorn. Alinski's son praises our President for being a master at it.
I ask the Progressives to look up racism and then come back with examples other than the accusations of disagreement of policies and even the accusations of the President's being a communist et al. Show us the signs like the ones in Alabama in the 60's. Show us the racially provocative slurs. Show us the ethnically biased thought. Otherwise cease the ridiculous accusations of racism and get on the real debate as to whether the other terms are accurate or not. And by the way, you might do some reading on those topics before you open the debate.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
What have we learned from Tammany Hall
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM TAMMANY HALL?
With all the revelations about ACORN and peripherally SEIU, it is obvious that the legacy of Tammany Hall is not lost upon those who crave political power.
Tammany Hall, a community organization, was a thinly veiled political arm of the Tweed regime. Tweed used his power as a New York State Senator to gather contracts, projects, and enterprises for its members, often skimming huge sums of money illegally from the same to line the pockets of his cronies. In exchange, these cronies went through a series of various organizations and groups to dole out money to Tweed's constituents mostly in New York City. Many of Tweed's constituents were poor, destitute immigrants fresh from Ireland, escaping famine and the destroyed economy of their homeland. Tweed understood that by creating a welfare state for these immigrants that he could remain in power indefinitely. The more immigrants, the more votes, the bigger the large. The enforcement of his power was done both by the carrot and the stick. Tweed committed his nefarious acts by a slight of hand in the open.
The beauty of this plan is that Tweed could fund and run it without spending a dime of his own money. Public funds were plentiful and oversight was virtually non-existent. Tweed amassed huge personal wealth in a short time, set up a nearly invisible system of total corruption by spreading out his plan through an elaborate network of organizations and subordinates. Projects got completed, the immigrants got fed, housed and clothed, got to the express line of legalization, and Tweed got to stay in office so he could take care of his people. All was right with the world and who really cared?
The lesson we seem to have forgotten is that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The poor Irish Immigrants traded one form of fiefdom and slavery for another. Tweed replaced the English land holding aristocracy and the lot of the immigrants was blunted. Instead of the individuals finding their own destinies and improving their lives by exercising their opportunities in the American free market system, most were beholden to a system that deliberately restricted their growth. Tweed knew that keeping them inside his system was key to the survival of his plan. Many of the immigrants were better off than they were in Ireland, and were happy to be in a system that took care of them instead of understanding how they were being cheated of their dreams.
Perhaps the biggest casualty of the system were the dreams of the immigrants. They traded physical security for the chance to live fully and freely in an America that offered much more than they received.
The second casualty was the race card that was played throughout this tragedy. The Irish were seen as a lazy , stupid and dangerous horde that was taking away jobs from native Americans. Both sides played off this image to enhance their own agendas. Tweed used this sentiment to feed on his voters fears to let them know he understood their plight and he was there to protect them. He would guarantee them their rights to a roof over their heads, food, clothing, coal, and jobs.
The final casualty (and there are numerous others that time causes omissions), and perhaps most sadly is the obligation of the press and the government itself to investigate and to instigate oversight. Thomas Nast, a famous cartoonist for the biggest newspaper, lead a furious and detailed charge through the New York papers to have Tweed charged and Tammany Hall dismantled. Eventually he succeeded after having to wade through layers and layers of corruption. The New York legislature was so riddled with the corruption of Tweed, so many had participated, that it took years for the reform to clean house. Yet the public rallied to truth and demanded criminal charges and change. Sadly, Tammany Hall was not fully dismantled until another political machine, FDR ( and Eleanor) took them on, using the power of the Federal government reconstruction programs during the Great Depression to out Tammany Hall Tammany Hall itself....
Have we learned nothing? We have a press corps in bed with the corruption, unwilling to do its job in rallying the public for REAL CHANGE. We have an organization much more damaging and dangerous than Tammany Hall in ACORN, and it surrogate SEIU. It is national in scope, has a much larger web of affiliations and associations, and more dangerous people with different motives, and has billions allocated to it by a government either too blind, too stupid or too corrupt to do the oversight necessary to reign in this cancer. I asked my House Rep Michael Burgess a few months ago why we did not have a select panel to investigate the activities of ACORN and SEIU and he stated that the Democrats controlled the agenda and blocked the efforts.
I ask the Hon. M.Burgess again to renew his efforts. I ask him, the press, and you the reader, HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING FROM TAMMANY HALL?
Do we not have the courage and the moral commitments of our predecessors to clean up this rat's nest of corruption, crime ,and filth?
With all the revelations about ACORN and peripherally SEIU, it is obvious that the legacy of Tammany Hall is not lost upon those who crave political power.
Tammany Hall, a community organization, was a thinly veiled political arm of the Tweed regime. Tweed used his power as a New York State Senator to gather contracts, projects, and enterprises for its members, often skimming huge sums of money illegally from the same to line the pockets of his cronies. In exchange, these cronies went through a series of various organizations and groups to dole out money to Tweed's constituents mostly in New York City. Many of Tweed's constituents were poor, destitute immigrants fresh from Ireland, escaping famine and the destroyed economy of their homeland. Tweed understood that by creating a welfare state for these immigrants that he could remain in power indefinitely. The more immigrants, the more votes, the bigger the large. The enforcement of his power was done both by the carrot and the stick. Tweed committed his nefarious acts by a slight of hand in the open.
The beauty of this plan is that Tweed could fund and run it without spending a dime of his own money. Public funds were plentiful and oversight was virtually non-existent. Tweed amassed huge personal wealth in a short time, set up a nearly invisible system of total corruption by spreading out his plan through an elaborate network of organizations and subordinates. Projects got completed, the immigrants got fed, housed and clothed, got to the express line of legalization, and Tweed got to stay in office so he could take care of his people. All was right with the world and who really cared?
The lesson we seem to have forgotten is that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The poor Irish Immigrants traded one form of fiefdom and slavery for another. Tweed replaced the English land holding aristocracy and the lot of the immigrants was blunted. Instead of the individuals finding their own destinies and improving their lives by exercising their opportunities in the American free market system, most were beholden to a system that deliberately restricted their growth. Tweed knew that keeping them inside his system was key to the survival of his plan. Many of the immigrants were better off than they were in Ireland, and were happy to be in a system that took care of them instead of understanding how they were being cheated of their dreams.
Perhaps the biggest casualty of the system were the dreams of the immigrants. They traded physical security for the chance to live fully and freely in an America that offered much more than they received.
The second casualty was the race card that was played throughout this tragedy. The Irish were seen as a lazy , stupid and dangerous horde that was taking away jobs from native Americans. Both sides played off this image to enhance their own agendas. Tweed used this sentiment to feed on his voters fears to let them know he understood their plight and he was there to protect them. He would guarantee them their rights to a roof over their heads, food, clothing, coal, and jobs.
The final casualty (and there are numerous others that time causes omissions), and perhaps most sadly is the obligation of the press and the government itself to investigate and to instigate oversight. Thomas Nast, a famous cartoonist for the biggest newspaper, lead a furious and detailed charge through the New York papers to have Tweed charged and Tammany Hall dismantled. Eventually he succeeded after having to wade through layers and layers of corruption. The New York legislature was so riddled with the corruption of Tweed, so many had participated, that it took years for the reform to clean house. Yet the public rallied to truth and demanded criminal charges and change. Sadly, Tammany Hall was not fully dismantled until another political machine, FDR ( and Eleanor) took them on, using the power of the Federal government reconstruction programs during the Great Depression to out Tammany Hall Tammany Hall itself....
Have we learned nothing? We have a press corps in bed with the corruption, unwilling to do its job in rallying the public for REAL CHANGE. We have an organization much more damaging and dangerous than Tammany Hall in ACORN, and it surrogate SEIU. It is national in scope, has a much larger web of affiliations and associations, and more dangerous people with different motives, and has billions allocated to it by a government either too blind, too stupid or too corrupt to do the oversight necessary to reign in this cancer. I asked my House Rep Michael Burgess a few months ago why we did not have a select panel to investigate the activities of ACORN and SEIU and he stated that the Democrats controlled the agenda and blocked the efforts.
I ask the Hon. M.Burgess again to renew his efforts. I ask him, the press, and you the reader, HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING FROM TAMMANY HALL?
Do we not have the courage and the moral commitments of our predecessors to clean up this rat's nest of corruption, crime ,and filth?
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
IS PRESIDENT OBAMA THE NEW "BOSS TWEED"?
IS PRESIDENT OBAMA THE NEW "BOSS" TWEED?
Dear reader , this blog will be a series of blogs due to the background information that I need to help refresh or inform the reader with. I will try to keep the blog down to about three different entries, so please bear with me, and I hope that this one will be informative as well as thought provoking.
I struggled initially with the question above, as I considered "what do community organizers do"? or" have we forgotten the lessons of Tammany Hall?" or closer " Is ACORN the new Tammany Hall?" as alternative question caps. They all are covered in this blog.
Tammany Hall turned out to be a community organization in New York City that was the focus of a series of major scandals over a period of close to one hundred years. The organization itself was a very powerful political machine that tried to present itself as a philanthropic group. This weak veil as a community organization never fooled anyone halfway familiar with its structure or leaders.
The organization itself started off innocently enough, and was founded in 1789.It was named loosely after a Native American leader. I suspect it was one of those many "mysterious" men's semi secret societies that our founders had such a penchant for. Aaron Burr eventually got control of it and it began to assume its political nature.The group eventually is credited with getting him elected Vice President and perhaps even for the defeat of John Adams for a re election bid.
Eventually over time ( trying to just get the highlights here), the group became an affiliate of the Democrat party. The zenith of power came in the late 1840's and 1850's with the huge influx of Irish Catholic Immigrants into New York. During this time a man by the name of William M "Boss " Tweed used its power to get elected to the New York Senate. He was the Grand Sachem and had his ward bosses exercise strick control over the New York City Burroughs and secure the Irish support. At this time NYC was broken down into wards and districts which were tightly regulated. According to Wikipedia, this community organization had three forms of patronage 1. " "to provide the means of of physical existence, in times of emergency: food, coal, rent money, or a job". 2. " it served as a powerful intermediary between the immigrants and an unfamiliar state"3. it "served as a social integrator for immigrants" ... this led to to the questionable practice of "special and accelerated naturalization" ( for voting purposes ). The Irish in exchange always voted ( early and often) in a huge block
Over time, the Irish immigrants ,who tended to be very involved with politics prior to arrival in America, had a "propensity to use violence to control the polls". I guess thuggery and voting irregularities are not a recent happenstance...
"Boss" Tweed exercised control over huge sums of money, contracts, and projects during his tenure.During a criminal investigation laborers were found to have been paid over $30,000 for a days work for example ($30k in those days was an astronomical sum). Needless to say these contracts were awarded to friends, associates and patrons. Boss Tweed of course skimmed off huge sums for real estate, building, transportation, etc contracts. It is estimated that he may have bilked New York for as much as $200 million ( more than a billion in today's money) He eventually was ousted by reformers but the organization continued on
Eventually FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt brought down this community organization to a point it virtually disappeared, by using their own political machines and the power of the Federal Gov't to grant or withhold federal aid to NY during troubled times. Remember the Roosevelt Family was a very powerful political force very similar to the Kennedy family.
Tammany Hall draped itself as a group dedicated to helping the poor, the disenfranchised, the homeless, the immigrant and the working class, and did in fact give large sums of money in doing so. It can be argued that they represented the first welfare organization and made New York the first welfare state in American history. Their leaders stressed how they helped the community and how they were bringing all people together into the American Dream. It can be also argued that they set up a belief system in an "entitlement system" for food, housing, jobs etc.
The catch: they did it not with their money, but with the public's. Moreover, they did so strictly as a power grab and without true regard as to whether the lot of their beneficiaries ever truly improved their lot or station in life. It was a medieval feudal system that the Irish surely would have recognised in Ireland. It was about making Tammany Hall the center of power and structure in New York, circumventing all normal channels and rules of law.
(will add more in the next couple of days)
Dear reader , this blog will be a series of blogs due to the background information that I need to help refresh or inform the reader with. I will try to keep the blog down to about three different entries, so please bear with me, and I hope that this one will be informative as well as thought provoking.
I struggled initially with the question above, as I considered "what do community organizers do"? or" have we forgotten the lessons of Tammany Hall?" or closer " Is ACORN the new Tammany Hall?" as alternative question caps. They all are covered in this blog.
Tammany Hall turned out to be a community organization in New York City that was the focus of a series of major scandals over a period of close to one hundred years. The organization itself was a very powerful political machine that tried to present itself as a philanthropic group. This weak veil as a community organization never fooled anyone halfway familiar with its structure or leaders.
The organization itself started off innocently enough, and was founded in 1789.It was named loosely after a Native American leader. I suspect it was one of those many "mysterious" men's semi secret societies that our founders had such a penchant for. Aaron Burr eventually got control of it and it began to assume its political nature.The group eventually is credited with getting him elected Vice President and perhaps even for the defeat of John Adams for a re election bid.
Eventually over time ( trying to just get the highlights here), the group became an affiliate of the Democrat party. The zenith of power came in the late 1840's and 1850's with the huge influx of Irish Catholic Immigrants into New York. During this time a man by the name of William M "Boss " Tweed used its power to get elected to the New York Senate. He was the Grand Sachem and had his ward bosses exercise strick control over the New York City Burroughs and secure the Irish support. At this time NYC was broken down into wards and districts which were tightly regulated. According to Wikipedia, this community organization had three forms of patronage 1. " "to provide the means of of physical existence, in times of emergency: food, coal, rent money, or a job". 2. " it served as a powerful intermediary between the immigrants and an unfamiliar state"3. it "served as a social integrator for immigrants" ... this led to to the questionable practice of "special and accelerated naturalization" ( for voting purposes ). The Irish in exchange always voted ( early and often) in a huge block
Over time, the Irish immigrants ,who tended to be very involved with politics prior to arrival in America, had a "propensity to use violence to control the polls". I guess thuggery and voting irregularities are not a recent happenstance...
"Boss" Tweed exercised control over huge sums of money, contracts, and projects during his tenure.During a criminal investigation laborers were found to have been paid over $30,000 for a days work for example ($30k in those days was an astronomical sum). Needless to say these contracts were awarded to friends, associates and patrons. Boss Tweed of course skimmed off huge sums for real estate, building, transportation, etc contracts. It is estimated that he may have bilked New York for as much as $200 million ( more than a billion in today's money) He eventually was ousted by reformers but the organization continued on
Eventually FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt brought down this community organization to a point it virtually disappeared, by using their own political machines and the power of the Federal Gov't to grant or withhold federal aid to NY during troubled times. Remember the Roosevelt Family was a very powerful political force very similar to the Kennedy family.
Tammany Hall draped itself as a group dedicated to helping the poor, the disenfranchised, the homeless, the immigrant and the working class, and did in fact give large sums of money in doing so. It can be argued that they represented the first welfare organization and made New York the first welfare state in American history. Their leaders stressed how they helped the community and how they were bringing all people together into the American Dream. It can be also argued that they set up a belief system in an "entitlement system" for food, housing, jobs etc.
The catch: they did it not with their money, but with the public's. Moreover, they did so strictly as a power grab and without true regard as to whether the lot of their beneficiaries ever truly improved their lot or station in life. It was a medieval feudal system that the Irish surely would have recognised in Ireland. It was about making Tammany Hall the center of power and structure in New York, circumventing all normal channels and rules of law.
(will add more in the next couple of days)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)