John Conyers vs. Barack Obama
So President Barack Obama now thinks that Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) is "demeaning" him by calling him out on issues such as health care and job creation, particularly as they impact the black community?
Good.
After the 2008 elections, I wondered how progressive black pols from majority black districts would deal with the President when time came for them to stand up for the interests of their constituents, and I think Conyers is doing a pretty good job of remaining true to what he considers to be the biggest concerns of poor and working-class Detroiters. And in truth, he's not being demeaning at all -- just brutally frank.
No, I wasn't crazy about Conyers' apparent move away from supporting single-payer health care, but he's definitely won me back over by going at Obama with both guns blazing as he has urged the President to pay closer attention to the struggles in cities like Detroit.
Now, on the flip side, I also get where Obama is coming from. He may be (part) black, but he's the President of the entire US, not just of black America. I voted for the man, and I no more expect him to harp on only "black" concerns anymore than I'd have expected Bill Clinton to just focus only on issues relevant to Irish-Americans.
Conyers, however, is in DC to represent Detroit and Detroiters--and all the issues they care about, "black" or otherwise.
But the truth is, these "black" issues -- from massive unemployment to the need for an economic bailout of "Main Street" — are, in fact, American issues. And as Americans, black folks have as much right to make demands of the President as anyone else.
What's also just as true is that the Democrats rode a huge black turnout back into the White House and to the majority of the seats in Congress. Given this, I expect black people's issues to be addressed not because Obama is black, but because blacks have been the most loyal part of his base. I don't expect -- or want -- him to pander to black voters. But I don't expect him to ignore us or give us short shrift either.
Feels good to know that, whatever else Barack Obama may say about Conyers, the Congressman from Detroit at least has the President's attention.
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1
GO Conyers All Happy Negro Presidents should be called out!!!!!!!!
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Please point out to me where in that article you referenced where Conyers criticized the prez about issues that as you say "particularly as they impact the black community?" The only mention of race related topics are about his (obviously) flawed attempts to secure reparations. That and it mentions Martin Luther King... Every other criticism is about Obama not leaning a far Left as he hoped or taking stronger action about military matters etc. Why is everything a race issue? The president doesn't share his political ideology - move along, nothing to see here. Can't we write about Kwame or something fun?
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3
Don't disagree with your premise at all. But I'd like to fine-tune the point that John Conyers is supposed to represent MICHIGAN, not just Detroit. Not saying he doesn't...just wanted to be sure that was clarified somewhere. (And it gives me one more chance to call out the value of good editorial support in journalism.
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@Dan:
I did not get the "Black" Issues either, but by what Darrell is getting out of it seems to be that inner cities being predominately black and issues that effect those demographics are being fought for in a manner that would be beneficial.
The presidents approval rating is low with many people as of late, a lot of his "promises" have been watered down by congress and he has not stayed true to his vision.
I feel that his lack of action on a majority of issues is what will bring his demise about. I had high hopes that he would bring about the "CHANGE" that he spoke of, but it seems that the "CHANGE" he was taking about was from our pockets to bail out corporate america. Not real political change, not change for the people.
Time will tell if his lame duck presidency will turn around.
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5
Obama is the ultimate hypocrite having the audacity to accept a Nobel Prize while being the Commander in Chief in 2 Global Wars!!
Obama refuses to acknowledge Black issues he has no problem lecturing Black folks on thier shortcomings but will never go into white venues of religious venues and lecture to whites, arabs, jews, asians, and others about thier moral shortcomings and failures..
Obama still thinks he is on campaigning for white votes by not acknowledging Black issues which BTW are American ISSUES!!!..Obama always panders to whites at the expense of Black voters..
It is insane to observe given our nation's ugly nasty racial legacy from slavery, segregation, separate but equal, disparate treatment, digitial divide all manner of racist contempt towards Black Americans that to finally get a person of color into the white house and have him ignore, discount Black issues is tragic and offensive,..
A black paleface in the white house is an insult to the souls of Black folks who died in our nation simply because of the hue of thier skin
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5.1
Y'know, I don't completely disagree with what you're saying. I've also been annoyed that, when speaking to black audiences, Obama seems to do more lecturing and "talking at" than he does with other audiences. He also seems to spend less time talking about real concrete policy ideas, as if it's just enough for black folks to be able to see him.
Now, I don't have a problem with anyone calling black folks on problems in our communities. But I have a big problem with someone who's afraid to spread those critiques around to everyone who deserves them.
For instance, I think about how he tucked tail and ran when he started catching hell for remarking how "bitter" white Americans in rural areas "cling to guns and religion." He was right. But he caved out of fear that he'd lose white votes. He doesn't have the same "fear" (read: respect, IMO) of black voters.
But that's not white folks' fault. That's on black voters.
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gthrasher: LOL...I'm not giving up on President Obama, nor do I think of him as a "happy Negro." But to your point, I've always said that black people would have to hold his feet to the fire same as anyone else. I'm glad Conyers is doing that.
danfromdetroit: I reference three articles. This from the third: President Obama has been taking it on the chin lately from one of his most committed constituencies -- members of the Congressional Black Caucus who now say Obama isn't considering race enough when he makes decisions on jobs, the economy, health care and other issues.
And thanks for reading and commenting, but you're gonna have to try and accept that "we" write about the issues that Darrell finds interesting, telling and pertinent. Kwame, fun? Kwame, a "non-racialized" topic? Stop it, danfromdetroit.
observr26: Allow me to "fine tune" a bit further: Conyers represents the 14th Congressional District in Michigan, not the entire state.
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D,
I respect your posture but of course I have my own and clearly Obama from my vantage point is not only a hypocrite with regard to accepting the Nobel Peace Prize while having our counry in 2 Global Wars but with regard to his deliberate disconnect from Black issues in our country which as I posted are American issues..
I will continue to call him a Happy Negro President who panders and appeases white folks at the expense of Black Americans..
I will stop referring to him as a Happy Negro President whe I see him give a lecture/sermon in front of white, jewish, arab, asian, etc venues and lectures them on absent fatherhood, morality and other related cultural shortcomings...
I wonder should I hold my breath while I wait for this 'teaching moment" from our Happy Negro President????
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7.1
gthrasher: I'm not trying to get you to stop. I'm just pointing out where I agree and where I don't.
And for the record, I also think you're on point in your critique about the Nobel Peace Prize. I think the President is a brilliant man, and I hope he succeeds at turning around this country. But I don't think he can be given a peace prize while he has to conduct two wars. Still, he didn't give it to himself, and I appreciate that he at least acknowledged the contradiction in his acceptance speech. That kind of connection with reality is one of the key things that make him different from Bush, to me.
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Gthrasher -
just trying to understand the definition of a 'Happy Negro' - and they are differentiated from a Black Man..
Happy Negro as in 'Bojangles' or 'Uncle Ben'.... or Happy Negro as in a person of mixed race of whom you do not want to confer 'Full Blackhood' upon.....?
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Kioti,
I am not a god nor part of the white race that use to confer citizenship rights on Black Folks at one time in our nation's history. I employ this shorthand name about Obama rather than go provide a long detailed narrative on how Black folks like him market themselves to white voters by negating thier Black personhood etc..
I refer to Obama aka Happy Negro in the Bojangles vain ..I also depending on the venue refer to him as a Magic Negro via the Hollywood movies which made certain Black male actors always in such a fictional profile..i.e The Blue Mile, etc
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D,
I acknowledge your talking points of course Obama could have rejected the Nobel Prize..but that requires grit and substance something hypocrites often lack..
The jury is still out for me with comparing Obama to other presidents his tenure is still quite new....We will be witnesses
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Darrell - as a journalist aka "blogger" you should know that when presenting an argument you should follow it with the appropriate reference. In the first paragraph of your commentary you said that John Conyers was calling out the President regarding "issues" in the black community. No where in that paragraph did you quote the appropriate article. If it was the third reference, include it there and not some fluff about Conyers' leftist discontent. As for my obvious joke regarding Kwame's latest disgrace to the city- if you can't recognize a sarcastic statement then internet journalism is not for you and you should "it".
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aahhhh "STOP it"
copy - paste is the devil
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gthrasher,
You certainly are entitled to your own opinion, but I think you are being too hard on the brother . . . . . .
President Obama was elected to represent all people. Too many people expected him to focus on urban issues, but the problem is people in the inner cities don't vote. If they did, you would see a much better representation in Congress.
As far as Obama "talking down" to black people, don't forget for YEARS he worked in the inner city of Chicago. Think about it, this smooth brother who could have talked himself into a six figure salary at a top law firm years ago. Yet he passed that up to work in inner city Chicago for relatively little money. He does not talk to black people any differently than Jesse Jackson. The difference is that whe Jesse talks that way, the white mainstream media ignores him and focuses on what they view are his cries of "victimization".
Now, you got a brother in the White House, you somehow expect him to be like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton instead of closer to Bill Clinton. You have got to be dreaming . . . . . . . . .
And everyone seems to forget we have twice as many conservatives than liberals. Liberals need moderates more than moderates need liberals. Obama, who has always been a liberal with a cautious has always proposed governing from the middle . . . . . . . . . .
Have I always been happy with Obama? No way. I can't stand the fact he has extended parts of the Patriot Act and has been very slow on closing down Guantanamo. But overall I think he is doing the best job he can.
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fhmadvocat:
- Fantastic comments...even the ones I don't fully agree with. Let's see if we can't further this exchange...
- I agree that Obama must be the representative for all people, not just blacks. However, I'm not sure who you really mean when you say "people in the inner cities." Places like Detroit, Atlanta, Chicago had historic turnouts for Obama, so I'm inclined to disagree with that part of what you're saying, but I'd appreciate a bit more clarification.
I also think that gthrasher's on point in that the President does sometimes "talk down," not because he's critical of black voters, but because I'm hard-pressed to see the same level of engagement on the concrete issues with black voters that he has with others. But I completely agree that people like Rev. Jackson and Louis Farrakhan are also tough on black folks, but that that part gets ignored in favor of their more "sensational" remarks. Unlike Obama, though, they do indeed engage vigorously on the issues, too. All of 'em, however, are high priests in the cult of personality.
Twice as many conservatives as liberals? Hmm, that's a disheartening thought to consider...Do you (or anyone else) have numbers on that?
Good criticisms re: the Patriot Act and Guantanamo, too. I add to that "cramdown" legislation, the Fairness Doctrine, maintaining Bush's "faith-based bribery," single-payer health care and the escalation of the war in Afghanistan.
- I don't know if I'd say he's doing the best he can, but I think we owe it to him to let his presidency play out before we abandon the man. Criticism is one thing, but I sure as heck won't jettison him after less than a year.
Again, thanks for chiming in without polluting the topic with bizarre non sequiturs. Please keep reading. And please keep commenting.
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kioti: What're your thoughts about the Conyers/Obama rift? You and gthrasher are more than welcome to have it out here, but I'd like to hear your opinions on the topic.
gthrasher: I don't think history will judge his first few months all that well, but that's my speculation. I worry that he may have squandered too much critical time to get certain thing done. But he's got a long way to go, and I'm rolling with him for now.
Oh, and I think the movie was "The Green Mile."
danfromdetroit: "Stop it" was definitely not a serious reply. Your joke was weak, but I got it. As for your thoughts on what a journalist "should know," I think you're better off hyperventilating about Conyers' political bent.
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Darrell -
My opinion is rather simple in that I believe that anyone should feel free (different from and in addition to being free) to challenge, repudiate, 'call out' or disagree with any elected official without concern for appearing 'disloyal' to whichever identity, culture, group, or affiliation that one is identified by or with - whether self designated or assigned by others.
Our social desire to 'belong' and be affiliated with groups or geo, political, occupational, or cultural sub-sets is good and healthy - yet brings with it the great and grave potential for 'Tyranny of the Group' that tend to extinguish the individuals desire or need to disagree with any part of any tenet held dear by the Group. We are all too well aware of the almost cliche-like examples: 'Blue Wall of Silence', 'Old Boy's Network', etc in which 'wagons are circled' and anyone who displays even the least bit of disagreement - or refuses to accept all without question - of the Groupthink' position or mores is placed outside of those wagons. Persons are expected to not just 'accept and embrace' - but must 'accept and embrace' ALL and EVERY point. Thus, the establishment of oxymorons - 'The Black Republican', the Police Officer who reports corruption within the ranks, the Irish member of Islam etc are nor true or natural oxymorons - rather only defined as such by 'The Group' from which such members spring.
So - my issue is not about Conyers vs. Obama - rather it is with the EXPECTATION that there should not have been an issue between them. I did not vote for either - but do recognize that each is endowed with intelligence and motivated by the desire for positive outcomes. I am troubled by Gthrasher's seeming requirement that to be 'Black Enough', you cannot - at least publically - disagree with the other member of the group you are defined by.
And - I don't really want to 'have ot out' with Gthrasher - as much as I disagree with him I am impressed by and respectful for his passion and intellect deployed in the advancement of his thoughts. Actually said, I'd most likely rather have a few cocktails with him - perhaps enough to convince me that he can, does, and will smile!
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kioti: Very cool take and one of the better comments on this or any of the recent threads, same as with fhmadvocat. I don't always think the desire to belong always plays itself out healthily in America -- especially where race is concerned -- but I don't disagree that we all tend to "circle the wagons." (Historically, black Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans and other "minorities" have done so for fear of their very lives at the hands of violent racists.)
- Thank you for adding to the discussion. And I've seen some other threads where a few commenters have had some heated disagreements about race, so I figured we were headed there. And actually that's OK with me, too. I don't mind heated differences of opinion, but I first wanted to be sure we were talking about it in the context of the post.
Certainly, the debate about whether the President is "black enough" fits, so by all means, carry on...
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I would liken President Obama to a tug of war game, He is bitterly being torn. The first "Black" President. (I say it like that because we all forget that his mother was white.)
The whole aspect of his "Blackness" should never be of any concern to the public. I should hope that the voters did not vote him into office because of it, nor should he be called out for either being "too black" or not "black enough", as if there could ever be such a thing.
Even sadder is that we would even bring it up. I also find it odd that the media often refers to The President by his last name more often the President Obama.
That to me is honestly a little disrespectful to his service to our great nation. The up play of the media to bring to front the "opposition" of Conyers vs. Obama, (read black on black) and not the other difficulties with other members of congress that are White is really just petty on the part of journalism to be honest.
There are a lot of hurdles for the first "Black" President to overcome, and even more people to please during his term. He promised great change, but change of an old system of government takes time. I think we all owe it to him to take the time to make it happen.
There are a lot of problems in this country that the president cannot solve, the big one being racism. Did any one really think that it would just disappear when President Obama was sworn into office.
I know that I, being White, was told by more then a few Black people to "watch out, we got a brother in the White House". What does that say to me, nothing really. It means more to the Black community then it does to I. Does that make me a racist or a realist.
I would like to think that the Black community that wants a better life would work for it like President Obama has, not by putting their hand out and saying or even thinking "Hey help a brother get ahead". Or even to be pressured by other black politicians to be "Blacker" so to speak.
For Conyers to act as he has by calling out the President, he will muster people to his cause, and I hope he does so in a manner that is respectful to himself as well as every one that he represents, both Black and White, Hispanic and Asian, and every one in between. To long have we all tried to live separate little lives locked into our own communities. I would like to Believe that President Obama knows this as well and will be both honest with the problems of our country , and firm in what he expects from the citizens he helps.
We have punished the President for not ending war, but to end tyranny you have to combat it, Sometimes that takes military power, and sometimes it takes education. Both work just in different ways.
When I see President Obama speak, and he address the Black community He does seem to talk down to his listeners, why might that be? That is a question that only he can answer, we can hypothesize all we like on that topic at great length, we can take all manner of statistics to reach an answer. The real question is do we really want the answer to it. Do we want to admit to society at large what the problem is and has been for a long time.
Are White people the DEVIL, evil racists, each and every one of us, keeping the Black man down out of fear? Or is the Black man a convict in the making, having babies and leaving them to fend for them selves with women with no courage to stand up and say hey this is your child, stop killing and going to prison?
I think that if we all stand back from what we all "think" and help each other out we will solve all the problems a lot sooner then our government will.
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D,
Yes you are right the movie was Green Mile..With regard to Obama it is pretty apparent to me now that he clearly has little regard for Black/American issues unlike they are weaved into the collective..Now I would not have a problem with that mental paradigm if our nation did not have the lethal legacy of raw contempt for anything Black on this soil.. The contempt of course is so deep that even the conture of our lips and texture of our hair became foils for whites to discount and demonize our very being..
Today's cowardly speech by Obama revealed to me yet again how principle and the core value of truth means nothing to Obama whereas icons like MLK, Mandela and Malcom, Parks were never willing to betray thier essence. Obama today instead of rejecting the Nobel Peace Prize actually made an twisted excuse for war and the rightous reason for a so called "just" war. Instead having a core value against WAR and willing to taken all the critics that would come his way Obama just caved in and became yet another scripted American slug president contaminated by power and mite..War between nations no diffferent than war in the hood..Obama blew it today
Obama is never going to value the very essence of Black life under the streams of white privledge and the pathologies of white supremacy we have had to endure here on this soil..Obama it is clear to me is amoral being,concerned not with core truth but the safe soil of compromise and passiveness..
With regard to group think Kioti your reading of me from my vantage point is pure white group think a script that I have heard and read before..Unlike many Black Obamrobots I am not nor have ever been his cheerleader..I do not recall ever defining 'Black Thought" in here or anywhere that I have deposited my body of work..You really misread me I exist to remove the margins on the paper not to crave out the usual figures..
Lol,LOl,Lol
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@fhmadvocal,
I am resign to the reality that Obama is at best a margainal figure a superior opportunist who leveraged the historical racial guilt andangst of the bulk of whites and all the dreams of the black electorate..
Obama is like Jackie Robinson he was not the best Black player in the hood but the selected and designated one that MLB could wrap themselves around and make history with..
Really at the end of this saga Obama is again a margainal talent and a door opener . I look forward now that the threshold was open to observe superior people of color and Black folks than the entry level type like Obama is..
Obama it is obvious now is not a game breaker, nor an icon , he is a novelty at a carnival no more no less..He does not have the core cultural dna to really elevate and soar with the giants like Mandela, MLK and company..
I know as a Black person living in a nation with such a wicked and vile legacy to finally get a person of color in the white house and to realize he is a teaser and a mixed drink when I wanted it straight with no chaser is what I will have to live with for now...
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Maybe the congressional black caucus should start criticizing its own self
December 10, 4:15 PMPublic
by Alton DrewExaminer.com
It seems that the Congressional Black Caucus has decided to stop being "on the down low", and show their player-hater colors. The Associated Press reported this morning that the CBC, a group of senators and house representatives that advocate for issues impacting blacks, are growing frustrated with what they perceive to be President Obama's lack of attention to the impact that the recession is having on blacks.
The CBC is particularly concerned with the unemployment rate among blacks as compared with the general population. While the nation's overall unemployment rate is at 10%, unemployment amongst blacks stands at 15.6%. The unemployment rate for whites, on the other hand, is 9.3%. Hispanic unemployment also exceeds the national rate at 12.7% while unemployment among Asians comes in at 7.3%. The CBC is also reportedly frustrated that blacks are apparently greater impacted by the onslaught of foreclosure versus the general population.
The cries of "kumbaya" is not surprising given the philosophical make-up of the CBC. It is 100% Democrat. More importantly, the group appears to espouse the messianic view regarding expectations from a president; that somehow the person that sits in the big chair in the Oval Office has some magic wand that can make all our problems go away. Given that Mr. Obama is the country's first black president, the expectations of deliverance are even greater.
The black electorate has bought into this nonsense for too long and Democrats in particular have been selling the "rely on government" snake-oil with the expectation that this president should start pouring out and rubbing the oil all over us. Fortunately Mr. Obama is too pragmatic a politician to go out on that limb and pull that Elmer Gantry stunt.
Maybe our so-called leaders in the congress should exercise a little more policy initiative themselves as opposed to letting us know that they have successfully memorized the lyrics to "We Shall Overcome." In short, their records on economic development and wealth creation (the lack thereof which is the primary cause for our economic malaise and immobility) is, in a word, trifling.
Take, for example, Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat from California. Ms. Waters is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and has sponsored 21 bills so far in the 111th Congress. Her only legislative success this Congress has been getting the House to pass a resolution congratulating the Los Angeles Lakers for winning last season's championship. Wow. That should go a long way to putting in place the infrastructure needed to create wealth.
Another critic of Mr. Obama, Representative Barbara Lee, Democrat from California, has sponsored 46 bills so far in the 111th Congress. Like Ms. Waters, she has sponsored no bills that reduce taxes, encourage Americans to diversify portfolios, and build the assets that would have helped us avoid the ravages of foreclosure and job loss.
Bottomline, congressional black Democrats have done no better. Arguably, being that they directly represent the very constituents that are suffering from the economic downturn, they have done worse.
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I'm all for relying on government, myself. I think that's the point of government in a democracy. The government is supposed to be ME. Nothing about that is in opposition to the idea that you should work hard to get ahead. (You need to work hard to make government work right, too.)
- But still, excellent stuff here. Nothing wrong with checking the CBC on its inaction and double-talk either. But isn't Conyers, who was called on personally by President Obama, among those who have actually been pushing hard for actions that could better conditions on the ground, health-care reform among them?
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Alton Drew's spin is classic right wing republican babble..One of the main shortcomings I have with Black Republicans and conservative themes in general is that they go in circles offering the same dogma..Especially Black talking heads for the GOP..Give me some value if you want some reaction.
Nothing ever changes..No movement just the same adverserial BS...
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Ralph Nader, during his campaign made a joke about the political system. He had said to his father, "Dad, this country needs a third party." His father replied," I would be happy with a second."
Don't be too disenfranchised with him, he is young and inexperienced, the very qualities got him so much attention during his election are the same qaulities that are proving troublesome for him now.
He campaigned as a young upstart, a maverick, someone who was not a Washington insider Fat Cat; Well, now he has to deal wtih the learning curve,. one term in the senate is not long enough to learn the ins and outs of getting what one wants. And a lot of the people he is going up against have been there for decades, and mastered the game.
The issue is not about black or white, it is about green, everyone wants thier cake, and they will distract voters from the real issues, by bringing race, religion, sex or what ever else will get peoples dandruff up by stirring the pot, while back room deals are cut.
Conyers backed off the public option too, should he turn in his card?
Lets not forget who john conyers wife is; and it seems less than coincidental that john is questioning President Obamas "blackness" when his wife is being investigated for fraud and bribery. That money Monica took didnt just disapear, John benefited from it also.
Give President Obama a little time, he was handed a god awful mess, and it isnt going to be fixed in a year, it took a few decades of bad decisions to create this mess, and we all are going to have to bite the bullet to get through it.
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[...] I'm not saying don't criticize the man. I certainly have. But really, do so many of these criticism from what many regard as respected perches have to be [...]
- <a href="http://twitter.com/TheDetroitHouse" target="_blank" class="beforetweet">TheDetroitHouse</a> After a year of learning, observing and understanding, TIME says goodbye to Detroit. Podcast: All Good Things... http://shar.es/0V3I7 - 2 years ago
- <a href="http://twitter.com/TheDetroitHouse" target="_blank" class="beforetweet">TheDetroitHouse</a> Our Donation to Detroit http://shar.es/0FX2T - 2 years ago
- <a href="http://twitter.com/TheDetroitHouse" target="_blank" class="beforetweet">TheDetroitHouse</a> Read Kristy Erdodi's "How Detroit Became My Sexy City" http://bit.ly/9zG13z - 2 years ago
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