Two Issues That Could Sink Obama's Ship: Part 2 - Reparations
Please Visit: Mark Knows It All - The Web Site
Ok, folks, here is what I want you to do. Get out your checkbook, and write a check out to “Cash” for let’s say about $1,000.00, and find yourself an African American family and give it to them. After all, it is the least you can do to pay for the suffering that your ancestors caused through slavery. Sound ridiculous, even racist? THAT…is reparations, and it is an idea that has been bandied about by the more activist segments of the black community for more than a few years. Obama, if elected President, wouldn’t do that, would he? No, well….maybe? No one knows for sure, and the Senator from Illinois hasn’t been upfront on the issue, taking a page from the Clinton playbook and parsing his words.
I predict that reparations will be THE hot button issue of the coming election, and I am not so sure it is will be Obama’s choice. In any debate with John McCain, it is the obvious question to ask. And the reason for the query will be rooted in the Reverend Wright and Father Pfleger controversies that are currently, and will continue, swirling around him. In politics, there is no free lunch. While lip service is always given to not wanting to be beholden to special interest groups, ALL POLITICIANS ARE BEHOLDEN TO SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS. It is only matter of which ones, be it a corporation, or an oil company, or the gun lobby, or the pro-choice groups, or environmental organizations. In Obama’s situation, it will be his extremely left wing friends in Chicago that have served as the base for his political ascendency.
His long time supporter and friend, Fr. Pfleger, provided the framework for the debate in Obama’s former church:
“Honestly now, to address the one who says, ‘Don’t hold me responsible for what my ancestors did.’ But you have enjoyed the benefits of what your ancestors did … and unless you are ready to give up the benefits, throw away your 401 fund, throw away your trust fund, throw away all the monies you put away into the company you walked into because your daddy and grand daddy. …Unless you are willing to give up the benefits then you must be responsible for what was done in your generation, because you are the beneficiaries of this insurance policy.”
Let’s start with Obama’s stated positions. In his 2004 Senate campaign, he said: "The legacy of slavery is immeasurable, but the best strategies for moving forward would be vigorously enforcing our anti-discrimination laws in education and job training." This was stated in opposition to his opponent, Alan Keyes, who overtly supported reparations for the descendents of slaves.
But after he was elected, Obama’s position subtly shifted. Now he says he opposes: "just signing over checks to African-Americans." Ok…what does that mean? Reparations can take several forms. In the CNN-YouTube debate, Obama said the following:
OBAMA: “I think the reparations we need right here in South Carolina is investment, for example, in our schools. I did a…
(APPLAUSE)
I did a town hall meeting in Florence, South Carolina, in an area called the corridor of shame. They’ve got buildings that students are trying to learn in that were built right after the Civil War. And we’ve got teachers who are not trained to teach the subjects they’re teaching and high dropout rates. We’ve got to understand that there are corridors of shame all across the country. And if we make the investments and understand that those are our children, that’s the kind of reparations that are really going to make a difference in America right now.”
What we have now is Obama justifying massive spending programs under the guise of reparations… and for the life of me, I can’t tell the difference. Who will be the beneficiary of these programs? Will they include poor, white Appalachian children who have not suffered immeasurably from the legacy of slavery?
More worrisome, if Obama is elected, will be Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, and Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader. Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan) has H.R 40 pending in the Congress. What would Obama do if the Democratic controlled House and Senate pass it and send it on to President Obama for signature? Will he be able to say “no”? Will he turn his back on those who are his political base? The following is from Congressman Conyers’ Web Site:
“ Over 4 million Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and its colonies from 1619 to 1865, and as a result, the United States was able to become the most prosperous country in the free world. It is undisputed that African slaves were not compensated for their labor. More unclear however, is what the effects and remnants of this relationship have had on African-Americans and our nation from the time of emancipation through today.
Mr. Conyers has requested the number of the bill, 40, as a symbol of the forty acres and a mule that the United States initially promised freed slaves. This unfulfilled promise and the serious devastation that slavery had on African-American lives has never been officially recognized by the United States Government.
Mr. Conyers legislation does four things: (1) acknowledges the fundamental injustice and inhumanity of slavery; (2) establishes a commission to study slavery and its subsequent racial and economic discrimination against freed slaves; (3) studies the impact of those forces on today's living Africa Americans; and (4) would allow the commission to make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies to redress the harm inflicted on living African-Americans.
H.R. 40 has strong grass roots support within the African-American community, as well as major civil rights organizations, religious organizations, and academic and civic groups from across the country. This support is very similar to the strong grassroots movement that proceeded another major legislative initiative, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday bill. It took 15 years for this legislation to pass. It was introduced during the Spring of 1968 and was finally enacted during the Fall of 1983. Throughout most of those 15 years, the idea of a federal holiday honoring an African-American civil rights leader was considered radical.
Like the King Holiday bill, Mr. Conyers has seen the support for H.R. 40 increase each year. There are currently 37 co-sponsors. Support also extends outside of the Congress as various city councils and other local jurisdictions have supported his bill. The city councils in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, DC, and Atlanta have passed bills supporting H.R. 40.
It is a fact that slavery flourished in the United States and constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of African slaves' lives, liberty, and cultural heritage. As a result, millions of African-Americans today continue to suffer great injustices. Our country can no longer afford to leave slavery in the past and the issue of reparations for African-Americans must be resolved.”
And then there is this from THE HILL.com (March 2007): "After waiting nearly two decades, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) is well positioned to move legislation that could lead the federal government to apologize for slavery and pay reparations. But the Judiciary Committee chairman is willing to wait two more years, when he hopes Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will be in the White House. "
The debate over reparations could prove to be Senator Obama’s Achilles heel. If you agree with the above, and believe that Obama’s supporters are justified in bringing these types of issues into the political debate at this very trying time in our history, then you are good to go. If you don’t agree with the above, one better take a good look at this guy.
I hope that Senator Obama is serious when he talks about healing America…but the definition of healing as stated by his friends is not very encouraging. I was taught to judge people by the company they keep. Maybe it’s time to get out your checkbook, after all.
Ok, folks, here is what I want you to do. Get out your checkbook, and write a check out to “Cash” for let’s say about $1,000.00, and find yourself an African American family and give it to them. After all, it is the least you can do to pay for the suffering that your ancestors caused through slavery. Sound ridiculous, even racist? THAT…is reparations, and it is an idea that has been bandied about by the more activist segments of the black community for more than a few years. Obama, if elected President, wouldn’t do that, would he? No, well….maybe? No one knows for sure, and the Senator from Illinois hasn’t been upfront on the issue, taking a page from the Clinton playbook and parsing his words.I predict that reparations will be THE hot button issue of the coming election, and I am not so sure it is will be Obama’s choice. In any debate with John McCain, it is the obvious question to ask. And the reason for the query will be rooted in the Reverend Wright and Father Pfleger controversies that are currently, and will continue, swirling around him. In politics, there is no free lunch. While lip service is always given to not wanting to be beholden to special interest groups, ALL POLITICIANS ARE BEHOLDEN TO SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS. It is only matter of which ones, be it a corporation, or an oil company, or the gun lobby, or the pro-choice groups, or environmental organizations. In Obama’s situation, it will be his extremely left wing friends in Chicago that have served as the base for his political ascendency.
His long time supporter and friend, Fr. Pfleger, provided the framework for the debate in Obama’s former church:
“Honestly now, to address the one who says, ‘Don’t hold me responsible for what my ancestors did.’ But you have enjoyed the benefits of what your ancestors did … and unless you are ready to give up the benefits, throw away your 401 fund, throw away your trust fund, throw away all the monies you put away into the company you walked into because your daddy and grand daddy. …Unless you are willing to give up the benefits then you must be responsible for what was done in your generation, because you are the beneficiaries of this insurance policy.”
Let’s start with Obama’s stated positions. In his 2004 Senate campaign, he said: "The legacy of slavery is immeasurable, but the best strategies for moving forward would be vigorously enforcing our anti-discrimination laws in education and job training." This was stated in opposition to his opponent, Alan Keyes, who overtly supported reparations for the descendents of slaves.
But after he was elected, Obama’s position subtly shifted. Now he says he opposes: "just signing over checks to African-Americans." Ok…what does that mean? Reparations can take several forms. In the CNN-YouTube debate, Obama said the following:
OBAMA: “I think the reparations we need right here in South Carolina is investment, for example, in our schools. I did a…
(APPLAUSE)
I did a town hall meeting in Florence, South Carolina, in an area called the corridor of shame. They’ve got buildings that students are trying to learn in that were built right after the Civil War. And we’ve got teachers who are not trained to teach the subjects they’re teaching and high dropout rates. We’ve got to understand that there are corridors of shame all across the country. And if we make the investments and understand that those are our children, that’s the kind of reparations that are really going to make a difference in America right now.”
What we have now is Obama justifying massive spending programs under the guise of reparations… and for the life of me, I can’t tell the difference. Who will be the beneficiary of these programs? Will they include poor, white Appalachian children who have not suffered immeasurably from the legacy of slavery?
More worrisome, if Obama is elected, will be Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, and Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader. Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan) has H.R 40 pending in the Congress. What would Obama do if the Democratic controlled House and Senate pass it and send it on to President Obama for signature? Will he be able to say “no”? Will he turn his back on those who are his political base? The following is from Congressman Conyers’ Web Site:
“ Over 4 million Africans and their descendants were enslaved in the United States and its colonies from 1619 to 1865, and as a result, the United States was able to become the most prosperous country in the free world. It is undisputed that African slaves were not compensated for their labor. More unclear however, is what the effects and remnants of this relationship have had on African-Americans and our nation from the time of emancipation through today.
Mr. Conyers has requested the number of the bill, 40, as a symbol of the forty acres and a mule that the United States initially promised freed slaves. This unfulfilled promise and the serious devastation that slavery had on African-American lives has never been officially recognized by the United States Government.
Mr. Conyers legislation does four things: (1) acknowledges the fundamental injustice and inhumanity of slavery; (2) establishes a commission to study slavery and its subsequent racial and economic discrimination against freed slaves; (3) studies the impact of those forces on today's living Africa Americans; and (4) would allow the commission to make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies to redress the harm inflicted on living African-Americans.
H.R. 40 has strong grass roots support within the African-American community, as well as major civil rights organizations, religious organizations, and academic and civic groups from across the country. This support is very similar to the strong grassroots movement that proceeded another major legislative initiative, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday bill. It took 15 years for this legislation to pass. It was introduced during the Spring of 1968 and was finally enacted during the Fall of 1983. Throughout most of those 15 years, the idea of a federal holiday honoring an African-American civil rights leader was considered radical.
Like the King Holiday bill, Mr. Conyers has seen the support for H.R. 40 increase each year. There are currently 37 co-sponsors. Support also extends outside of the Congress as various city councils and other local jurisdictions have supported his bill. The city councils in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, DC, and Atlanta have passed bills supporting H.R. 40.
It is a fact that slavery flourished in the United States and constituted an immoral and inhumane deprivation of African slaves' lives, liberty, and cultural heritage. As a result, millions of African-Americans today continue to suffer great injustices. Our country can no longer afford to leave slavery in the past and the issue of reparations for African-Americans must be resolved.”
And then there is this from THE HILL.com (March 2007): "After waiting nearly two decades, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) is well positioned to move legislation that could lead the federal government to apologize for slavery and pay reparations. But the Judiciary Committee chairman is willing to wait two more years, when he hopes Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will be in the White House. "
The debate over reparations could prove to be Senator Obama’s Achilles heel. If you agree with the above, and believe that Obama’s supporters are justified in bringing these types of issues into the political debate at this very trying time in our history, then you are good to go. If you don’t agree with the above, one better take a good look at this guy.
I hope that Senator Obama is serious when he talks about healing America…but the definition of healing as stated by his friends is not very encouraging. I was taught to judge people by the company they keep. Maybe it’s time to get out your checkbook, after all.
Comments
Rather than speculate that he might someday flip-flop on that issue, shouldn't you be more concerned about Congress? Only Congress would have the power to grant reparations, not the president, and Congress has legislation on reparations pending before it now.