Obama and Black Political Side Eying

I'm starting to wonder if President Obama is providing the opportunity for Blacks to look more critically at the policies of Democrats and at Democrats in general.

Don't get me wrong, I've said and I continue to maintain that Blacks know that Democrats are not the ideal political candidates for Blacks, but they are the choice, for some, as being The Devil We Know candidate. But I noticed when Obama initially was running, ordinary Blacks, and not just the public political Blacks, were asking key questions about Obama. I'm also noticing now, that while polls show Black support of Obama is strong, the more critical comments are being made concerning what Obama is NOT doing.

This is not just in the media but on a personal level. It's been about one year and people are starting to say, "When are you going to get going?" I like this, not because I am a Republican, for now anyway, but because a genuine "Come to Jesus meeting" has to occur with Blacks and the political establishment.

With younger Black Democrat politicians seeming to be more than just the "civil rights track" type of Black politician, as is seen with Obama not seemingly catering to the civil rights establishment, the shift that needs to occur is manifesting. With Blacks registering as independents instead of joining a political party, the shift that needs to occur is manifesting. If younger Black Republicans start to target the "urban areas" in other than a "stop being a victim" bomb throwing manner, then the shift that needs to occur will manifest.

Comments

[Isabel WGBH]

Are you interested in issues facing the African American community? If so, tune into the PBS show Basic Black, the longest running show addressing people of color on television. Watch TONIGHT at 7:30 p.m EST LIVE at or on channel 2 in Boston. You can also participate in a live chat at basicblack.org starting at 4 pm.

[brotherbrown]

Ordinarily, I don't mix my personal and professional life, but I want you to check this out.

CAPSBC

When the page loads, I want you to check the What's New section at the right, third link, CAPSBC Announces ARRA CSBG Delegate Agencies.

Then I'd like to delve deeply into this conversation.

[DarkStar]

OK, brotherbrown, let's start.

[brotherbrown]

I suppose the first thing I want people to know is that the Stimulus is having a positive impact in the poorest counties in the US, and I happen to live and work in one of them, San Bernardino County, CA. Foreclosures hit our county severely after a ridiculous bubble in the first half of the 00's, and the unemployment rate peaked at 15% last fall before declining somewhat since.

We have been able to get a million dollars into the hands of non-profit agencies who are on the ground helping people in greatest need, and are creating 27 jobs in our agency. I cannot predict when the economy will create more jobs than it sheds, but I see the benefit of priming the pump with federal dollars. More may be needed, and my greatest challenge in the next year is to raise private funds to sustain the momentum we have generated to date, in an era where the fallout from the Madoff scandal has severely impacted philanthropic giving.

What I would like to see, over the next year, is the US ending the war efforts, bringing the troops home and redirecting the funds toward a sort of domestic peace corp and nation-building effort. Los Angeles, which isn't even one of the older cities in the US, is beginning to see a series of water main breaks, and of course, we know many heavily traveled bridges across the US are in desperate need of repair. I believe we may be best served as a country by demolishing old abandoned housing stock and replacing a lot of it with a concept known as community land trusts, building modern, energy efficient housing stock and giving moderate- and low-income households the opportunity to own an individual housing unit while the value of the underlying land is jointly owned and managed under a 55-year (or longer) land trust.

I'm not interested in political parties one bit, have never been a member of a party and don't foresee a day when I will join one. I am interested in the political process, however, and have applied to be a Citizen Redistricting Commissioner for the State of California. I have received notification that I passed the initial screening and should be receiving an application this week. Based on the initial questionnaire, I'll be subjected to a vetting process as if I were being nominated to the Supreme Court. I hope I am successful.

My bottom line is that all the arm-chair quarterbacking is so tiresome to me at this point that I just don't want to hear it, especially from people who don't deal in reality and have no realistic, workable options.

I'm not 100% satisfied with our president's performance; probably 80%. I do not like the fact that he elected to escalate the Afghan conflict, or that he has spent so much time trying to appease and work with people who only wish to undermine him. This is politics, where he should push his agenda as the winning and majority party, but unfortunately, his strategy has led to a sort of minority rules do-nothingness that is quite unsatisfying.

[DarkStar]

BB, that's impressive. I'll handle this in chunks.

More may be needed, and my greatest challenge in the next year is to raise private funds to sustain the momentum we have generated to date, in an era where the fallout from the Madoff scandal has severely impacted philanthropic giving.

I understand where you are coming from here. Local efforts that I am aware of have been hit hard because private donations are off and a few relied too heavily on government funding and that funding has dried up. That has actually caused one group to stop going for government grants and just rely on fund raising by going to local businesses and by having "benefits" to raise money. Of course, they cut back and consolidated some things.

What I would like to see, over the next year, is the US ending the war efforts, bringing the troops home and redirecting the funds toward a sort of domestic peace corp and nation-building effort.

Any president who did what you suggested, would be irresponsible to do so. No matter what people think, this is not about Israel. This is the continuation of a religious battle. It's just has reached a fevered pitch. Packing up and going home won't get it done.

[brotherbrown]

Do you know anyone personally who was KIA in Afghanistan or Iraq? Do you know anyone who was deployed, returned home, and doesn't seem the same?

The US is not a religion-based republic, so fighting wars for religious reasons doesn't fly with me. I know I am not privy to the "inner-inner circle" or anything close to it, so maybe there is some strategic reason to continue to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, but it seems to me we haven't been told the complete truth. For example, has Bin Laden been dead for six years, as many people now believe? Wouldn't you be pissed to learn that he died that long ago, and the US has been fabricating his communications since then to maintain support for the war? That would be the height of irresponsibility.

[Theothertwofifths.blogspot.com]

brotherbrown, I'm late to the party on this thread but commend the CAPSBC efforts.

I note at your site that CSU San Bernardino is a participant with a couple of programs, and good for them. I teach at another CSU and I'm here to tell ya, the stimulus money is being used to positive effect with rapid trickle-down (unlike some previous usage of that term). In some cases stimulus money goes directly to a program of interest, in other cases the money applied elsewhere may keep you from having to cut funds from a program.

Where this might dovetail with your various concerns, beyond the stated programs at your site, is more classes being offered across the CSU this spring and next fall, and education partnerships for returning veterans, including disabled veterans. I think the latter is a bit nebulous right now, but there are real discussions going on between CSU campuses and military entities such as the Naval Postgraduate School.

--ProfGeo