Sleepycatz

Southern Strategy

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.

Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let’s address reality and the problems we’re facing in this world, you’re accused of being racist, so you have to shut up, Ferraro said. “Racism works in two different directions. I really think they’re attacking me because I’m white. How’s that?

– Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton fund raiser and supporter

This vile set of statements suggests that Hillary Clinton is now following the advice of Rush Limbaugh and employing the Southern Strategy. She seems to believe that by defining Sen. Obama as the black candidate she can marginalize him in the eyes of white voters, and continue the long tradition of gaining political power by pitting one race against another.

Clinton’s less then convincing condemnation of Ferraro, and her attempt to suggest that both campaigns are equally responsible for such disgusting remarks are tactics and rhetoric we would expect from the worst Rovian campaigns:

I do not agree with that. It is regrettable that any of our supporters on both sides, because we’ve both had that experience, say things that kind of veer off into the personal.

– Hillary Clinton

The strategy seems designed to split the traditional democratic alliances and scare the popular vote to come out en masse for Clinton in Pennsylvania. Her plan seems to revolve around gaining enough of the popular vote to force a convention showdown with Obama. With enough of the popular vote, and some sense of momentum, she may be able to get enough super-delegates to hold the nomination through a second round of voting — which would release pledged delegates from their candidates. In an extended convention battle Hillary Clinton would be able to pursue any and all delegates. At this point, this seems the only logical way for her to receive the nomination.

This strategy, however, will destroy the democratic party for years to come. It will alienate the vast number of young voters who have been inspired by Sen. Obama and will drive away grassroot supporters who will see such a nomination as a continuation of the chicanery of the last eight years. As of this evening dozens of people I’ve spoken with, most of them staunch democrats, have said they will not vote for Hillary Clinton if she is the nominee in November.

The Clinton campaign seems bent upon crippling the party for her own aggrandizement. It is this attitude of hubris which has led us to the folly of Iraq, the loss of international esteem, and the depressive state of our economy. I am sure that Hillary Clinton sees herself as the savior of both the party and the nation — so much more the pity, for her methods are doomed to destroy that which she seeks.

Freekin Sad

It is often a sad fact of life that people who shine with brilliant insight at one moment remain imprisoned by their dark prejudices throughout their lives. Such is the fate of Dr. James Watson. In 1962 Dr. Watson won the Nobel Prize for his work on the discovery of the DNA double helix, this week Dr. Watson made the claim thats dark skinned people are less intelligent then lighter skinned ones:

The 79-year-old geneticist said he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really.”. He said he hoped that everyone was equal, but countered that “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true”.

Of course Dr. Watson’s opinions have no basis in scientific reasoning or fact. But the mere notion that a Nobel accredited scientist should utter such nonsense gives credence to racist theories and policies throughout the world. Dr. Watson has never been a good spokesman for the common humanity of man. In the past, he has suggested a link between skin-tone and libido, and has suggested that a woman may wish to abort her child if it can be shown the child would be a homosexual.

It’s not clear if Dr. Watson is simply so egomaniacle that he believes his discovery of fifty years ago is the golden key to understanding all of societies problems — and that we can ignore historical and economic movements like colonialism, slavery, and genocide to explain social/economic problems among people. Or if he is simply, like so many, a prisoner to the prejudices and racism of the culture of his youth. In either case, it is sad and disturbing to see a man who pioneered our understanding of the common biology of humanity to espouse discredited and divisive 19th century views. It all seems to suggest that no matter how far we extend our intelligence we must continue to fight the ignorance of our personal prejudices.