MAY 4 - MAY 10, 2012
Clinton, Obama and campaign spam All indications are that Bill Clinton will be the VIP member of Team Obama. The president recently kicked off his re-election campaign with a fundraiser in my neck of the woods featuring none other than Clinton. But I pooh-pooh any impression that the two have kissed and made up since their nasty political death match during the 2008 presidential campaign, during which Clinton (as Hillary’s campaigner-in-chief ) essentially called Obama an uppity Negro, and Obama essentially called Clinton a redneck racist.
Mutual needs What is playing out between them is a political marriage of convenience. Obama needs Clinton to woo “Reagan Democrats” who favored Hillary and only voted for him begrudgingly, but whose disgruntlement with the slow economic recovery and escalating debt crisis has them thinking that Mitt Romney might be preferable to Obama for the same reasons they thought Reagan was preferable to Jimmy Carter. Obama can also use Clinton to access donors who have made the Clinton Global Initiative a multibillion-dollar cash cow. Clinton needs Obama because his re-election would give Hillary the best chance at being elected president in 2016. It’s far better to run on the coattails of an incum-
EDITORIAL
A5
VISUAL VIEWPOINT: GOVERNMENT WASTE
I’m being spammed! ANTHONY L. HALL, ESQ. FLORIDA COURIER COLUMNIST
bent Obama than to run against an incumbent Romney. (I have no doubt that despite her coy denials, Hillary plans to run again.) I also pooh-pooh the narrative being propagated by (White) Democratic pundits about Clinton spoon-feeding talking points to Obama to help him make his case for re-election. This was demonstrated in brazen fashion last week when former Clinton press secretary (and die-hard Hillary supporter) DeeDee Meyers asserted that Obama’s line about a chasm growing between ordinary Republicans and the Republican Party was “vintage Bill Clinton.” For more than a year, Obama has been arguing that the Republican Party is lurching so far to the right that Reagan himself could not win a Republican primary today. As for needing Clinton to feed Obama talking points, this narrative is ironic and laughable. Clinton could not come up with enough talking points to help his own wife defeat Obama in 2008. Clearly Obama does not need to be spoon-fed words to make his case.
Then there’s this annoying attempt to squeeze more cash out of me by inviting me to attend the fundraiser for the ‘opportunity’ to meet Obama and Clinton. The problem is that I have already donated all I intend to give to help re-elect Obama. You’d think team Obama would have some way of tracking long-established donors like me to avoid nickel-and-diming us with e-mail solicitations every week. It’s only April and I’m already treating every e-mail from Obama-Biden as SPAM. I don’t see how they expect to rekindle that 2008 fire by throwing a wet blanket on the enthusiasm of supporters like me. As for the ‘invitation’ itself, ever since working on the ClintonGore re-election campaign in 1996 – with all of the pre-Monica Lewinsky disillusionment that entailed –I’ve wanted to attend an open campaign event about as much as I’ve wanted to roll around in the mud with pigs. Adding insult to my growing disaffection, none other than Barack himself just sent me this solicitation that, frankly, I would have expected more from Ed McMahon pitching his patently rigged Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes than from a president: “Anthony, in a few days, I’ll be hitting the trail for my last campaign,” the e-mail read. “Everything we’ve accomplished in the
RJ MATSON, THE ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH
past three years – and our chance to do so much more – is on the line...Donate $190 or whatever you can before tonight’s fundraising deadline...you’ll automatically be in the running to join me and George Clooney at his place on May 10th. It’s not often I can get away from work, so I look forward to spending a fun evening in L.A. with a couple supporters like you. Thanks, Barack.” After Barack’s e-mail at 11 a.m., I received another solicitation from Ann Marie Habershaw, chief operating officer for Obama for America, at 4:46 pm. Then another from Rufus Gifford, its national finance director.
Careless and useless Don’t these campaign finance people have better things to do than sit around all day writing and sending out demonstrably useless
The war on Black women and children We are told that the Republicans are waging a war on women. It is true that they are on an endless quest to restrict access to abortion, and they want to prevent insurance companies from paying for contraception. In Wisconsin, the Republican governor recently signed legislation that repealed that state’s equal pay enforcement act. But if there is a war on women in America today, it is being directed primarily at Black women as a group and at their young children as well. Black women have been criminalized for the most minor offenses – for enrolling their children in schools outside of their home districts, and even when their children are victimized by other people.
MARGARET KIMBERLEY BLACK AGENDA REPORT
theft and spent ten days in jail for enrolling her children in a school district that was not her own. Her children lived with their grandfather in the district in question, but no matter. Ms. Williams-Bolar had to be taught a lesson and she and her father were indicted. The governor did reduce her sentence, calling it unduly harsh, but she was still convicted of a crime. In Connecticut, Tanya McDowell was sentenced to five years in jail after she used her babysitter’s address to send her son to school. A few examples Ms. McDowell was homeless and In Ohio in 2011, Kelly Williams- living in her vehicle. Only pursuBolar was convicted of felony ing criminal charges and send-
ing this mother to jail would satisfy local prosecutors. McDowell had a drug conviction as well, so the war on drugs and the war on Black women were both used against her. In Cobb County, Ga., Raquel Nelson’s son was struck and killed by a drunk driver when she crossed the street with him. Because she was crossing at the green and not in between, Nelson was charged with vehicular manslaughter even though someone else killed her child. Six-year-old Salecia Johnson was handcuffed after having a temper tantrum in her Milledgeville, Ga. school. The school called the child “violent and disruptive” and the police chief said Salecia was handcuffed to insure her own safety. Black people are punished for driving, for walking down the street, for having children, for
Students with loans deserve ‘corporate’ treatment President Obama hit a home run when he traveled to three colleges last week. He did the right thing to share his feelings on legislation that would either increase the interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans, or take money from essential women’s health programs to maintain the 3.4 percent interest rate. President Obama is reminding students that their fate is in his hands. An increase in the Stafford loan program would affect 7.4 million students. Cutting $5.6 billion from women’s health programs would affect millions of women. Pitting women’s health against lower student loan rates makes no sense. We could make headway if we treated students the same way we treat corporations. In the wake of the bank bailout, banks qualified for lowinterest and even no-interest loans. Why can’t we offer students subsidized interest rates, or even zero interest rates? In this economy, a 3.4 percent interest rate can hardly be considered low interest.
Millions affected If nothing is done, the rate can rise to 6.8 percent, and 7.4 million students will be affected. Higher interest rates for student loans are a step backwards, often discouraging students from attending or continuing college, or extending the time it takes for them to finish degrees. This is especially true
While these student took on debt knowing they’d have DR. to pay it back, what kind of JULIANNE country makes upward moMALVEAUX bility so unaffordable that students literally shackle TRICEEDNEYWIRE.COM themselves to debt so that they can have a shot at parfor Black, working class, and ticipating in our changing first-generation students. labor force? The average college graduate leaves school with Takes a toll $25,000 of student loan debt The human costs are – the average Black student high. The shattered dreams with even more. The time it are heartbreaking. I’ve seen takes to complete college has Mom and Dad borrow on inched up, partly because their home so “baby girl” can students drop out a semester go to college, only to find the or two to gather funds and amount they have is simply partly because some college not enough. I’ve seen folks have been forced to cut fac- turned away from student ulty so much that essential loan opportunities because courses are not offered fre- their credit is bad, forcing quently enough. them into higher loan opStudents are shouldering tions. I’ve seen students opt a bigger burden on their stu- to work more hours, affectdent loans. Colleges are also ing their grades but paying burdened when state legis- their bills. Some students latures apply drastic cuts to choose off-campus houshigher education budgets. ing because they think it is Many states are also ham- cheaper, only to find thempered because they, un- selves hungry and stuck with like the federal government, costly bus rides. can’t carry deficits from year We have a generation to year. It’s no secret that if shackled by debt, and legiswe invest in higher educa- lators who have only come tion now, we’ll have a stron- up with the option of throwger workforce later. ing women’s health care unHeavy student debt pre- der the bus to lower rates. We vents young people from ful- say we believe young people ly participating both in the are our future. We have a labor force and life. Many funny we of showing it. take jobs because they can make great money, eschewJulianne Malveaux is ing jobs in social work or author of “Surviving and teaching because they don’t Thriving: 365 Facts in pay enough. Many others liv- Black Economic History.” ing with Mom and Dad delay Click on this story at www. marriage and homeowner- flcourier.com to write your ship while they tackle debt. own response.
putting their children in school, for acting the way children act, and even for having children who are killed by other people. We are punished, in short, because we still exist.
Still ‘property’ This imperative is a legacy of slavery, which existed for more than 200 years after Europeans first arrived here. Slavery lasted longer than freedom has existed, and the notion that Black people are the physical property of White people has never gone away. That explains the mass incarceration state, police brutality, and all the other ills that befall us as a people. The weakest among us have always been the most prone to be victimized, and Black people arrived here as the ultimate victims – property. The level of disdain and hatred directed towards us is
e-mail solicitations? Does this obvious disorganization/carelessness reflect badly on Obama, or is it just me? It seems not only desperate but also clueless that these nincompoops would think that, after ignoring their pleas to participate in a sweepstakes for a chance to meet Obama and Bill Clinton in his own neighborhood, that any (heterosexual) man would jump at the chance to participate in one to fly way the hell to California for a chance to meet Obama and George Clooney. “Insulting” is not the word...
Anthony L. Hall is a Bahamian native with an international law practice in Washington, D.C. Read his columns and daily weblog at www.theipinionsjournal.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. intense, and these recent examples of oppression indicate that it is worsening. Mass action is the only thing that can possibly keep these forces at bay. The worst atrocities committed against Black people happen when the system doesn’t punish the perpetrators. It is vital that all of these outrages be answered for and that we make it clear we are not fooled by the presence of Black presidents or rich Black celebrities. We know that the consequences of political disengagement can be deadly. We have no option but to restart the freedom movement and never let it end. If not, Black women will be arrested as soon as they give birth. Why wait? Punish them and their children as quickly as possible.
Margaret Kimberley's column appears weekly in BlackAgendaReport.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.
Economy has dumped energy issues onto Obama’s lap Gasoline prices are on the rise – nearing $4 per gallon nationally. Deep public concern is forcing President Obama to pivot his attention back to the rising cost of energy during his presidency. In a recent speech at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland, Obama sought to dismiss former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s claim that he could bring down the cost of gasoline to $2.50 per gallon. Even though he publicly appears to embrace conservatives’ “all-of-theabove” energy strategy, President Obama still used the speech to compare his critics to the Flat Earth Society. President Obama’s deflections, and his insistence that there is no “silver bullet” for lowering gas prices, should be seen as an acknowledgment that his advisors are also looking at polls and know the overall health of the economy remains the No. 1 concern of the American people.
On wrong track Recent polls show a majority of Americans now disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy and that nearly eight out of 10 Americans feel that the nation is on the wrong track under his leadership. A midMarch New York Times/ CBS News poll found
KEVIN L. MARTIN PROJECT 21
Obama’s overall approval rating standing at 41 percent. Americans are dealing with their cost of living going up over the last three years – the price of basic goods rose 27 percent – as their wages have stagnated. And energy costs play a major factor in the nation’s economic malaise. Thus far, Obama has downplayed calls for more drilling by saying that domestic energy production is up, but the Energy Information Administration reports that production has fallen off considerably during this administration. It is production on state and private land that fuels Obama’s boast. The Institute for Energy Research issued a report showing that drilling on public lands has fallen to a nine-year low. According to the EIA, oil production on federal lands dropped 11 percent between 2010 and 2011 alone. President Obama’s energy pivot indicates that some congressional liberals are feeling the heat from voters. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for in-
stance, has stepped into the debate by publicly demanding that Saudi Arabia increase oil exports to drive down the market price for a barrel of oil.
Still the economy The president enjoyed a short reprieve lately, as public attention strayed to social issues, such as a contraception mandate on religious institutions and the phony outrage surrounding the comments of Rush Limbaugh about liberal activist Sandra Fluke. But as gas prices near $4 per gallon, many Americans resumed worrying about how they will survive the summer as experts predict a gallon may soon cost a dollar more. President Obama found a friendly crowd at Prince George’s Community College, which is in Maryland’s largest minority-majority county and is home to a large number of federal employees. Outside the beltway, however, the message is all too clear: “It’s still the economy, stupid!”
Kevin L. Martin is a member of the national advisory council of the Project 21 Black leadership network. Click on this story at www. flcourier.com to write your own response.