[Masterpiece] Let’s discuss the pure political impact of the Black Lives Matter movement. Let’s leave the discussion as to whether they are justified or unjustified in their cause and in their method of protesting for other threads. It is clear that the Obama Administration, through its black leadership (Obama, Lynch, Johnson) is legitimizing and promoting the BLM movement. They have hosted BLM leadership in the Oval Office, they immediately came out and encouraged the continuation of BLM protests right after the Dallas shooting, and they are directing media attention towards the cause. We also know that in today’s hyper-polarized world, most are either for BLM or for the police – not both. The strategy that Hillary is forced to take due to a large black voter block in the Democratic Party, is to straddle the fence between both BLM and the police. This is a disastrous position for her, and I believe why she is losing so much ground so rapidly in the polls. After observing 7+ years of this Administration, they would not be taking any of these actions without making the political calculation that it helps Democrats. Or would they? Is this issue so near and dear to Obama’s heart, and his idolization of the protest movements from 50-60 years ago, that he is willing to pursue it despite the political cost? Quizás, but this would be in stark contrast to most of his other actions, which are highly politically motivated. The political calculation may be that getting blacks active in BLM and inciting racial division has the effect of turning out blacks to the polls in November. However, Obama wants to be remembered as a great man and his legacy is paramount. I think he dreams of becoming a civil rights leader after his time in office. He loves to make speeches in his righteously indignant inner city voice. He wants to return to his roots of community organizing and helping the black community, and he owes a debt of gratitude to the black voters that elected him with virtually unanimous, monolithic support. Helping the BLM movement advances those career desires. The overwhelming majority of non-black voters observe the tone and manner of BLM protests as being extremely distasteful. They also believe that the movement is founded on a false premise. Most people appreciate the police and respect them for professionally performing a very difficult job. They see black crime rates as a justifiable reason for the police to focus on heavily black population areas. The BLM activists’ blame is misplaced, and the BLM movement’s tactics are turning people off. Most voters are scared by the lawless scenes that they see at BLM protests, blocking traffic, climbing on cars, throwing rocks, etc. When you see polls like the Monmouth poll yesterday or the Quinnipiac polls today showing Trump leading in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Iowa, you have to ask whether the BLM activity last week is going to spark a white backlash against Democrats who embrace the BLM movement. Most swing states are heavily white in their demographics. The BLM ugliness has created a massive opening for Trump. Trump has now tacked to positioning himself as the “law and order candidate” – targeting “security moms”, formerly known as soccer moms. Given Trump’s deficit with women, this is a strategic move. Is Obama handing Trump the election by supporting BLM?
Well, I can't agree with a lot of the assumptions you make in setting the stage for a discussion, starting with this one, so I don't think I can have the conversation you want to have. I don't think it's true or common that you have to choose between the black community and police. The woman who was shot by Micah Johnson had plenty of pro-cop stuff to say despite protesting police violence. Conservative posters here do seem to see it this way, but among liberals and especially white liberals, there's no incongruence between the two. So, I don't see it as a problem at all for Clinton, I don't see it as an advantage for Trump in swing states, and I don't see it as self-serving for Obama.
Yup, Trader Jorge just wants us to accept his premises that are only backed by pure conjecture with no nuanced evidence. His 'premium posts' need to try harder.
[Premium Post] Hillary or the DNC did not want to touch the BLM Movement leading up to the last few months. She had the incredibly awkward meeting with them several months ago that looked forced, and then you had the BLM protesters attacking poor Bernie about a year ago... It was only until Obama legitimized them very recently -- mentioning them by name, inviting them to the Oval Office, etc -- when Hillary's campaign was forced to quasi-support them. I think if left to her own devices, she wouldn't touch the BLM movement with a 10-foot pole -- they are just too volatile and toxic in too many independent voters' minds. The rock throwing, the climbing on cars, the throwing fireworks at the police, and the black supremacy and anti-police chants are bad, bad images to juxtapose alongside a candidate for President. And of course we have learned how just how intimately involved Obama and Hillary's teams are in coordinating media coverage and managing their narratives/talking points with tv and social media outlets. There is no doubt that the directive was given from on high (White House) for ABC/CNN/NBC/MSNBC/CBS/HuffPo/WashingtonPost/Kos to get behind the BLM movement. Again, this legitimizes the movement and forces Hillary to address it. She is doing so at a great political risk, this is undeniable. But because blacks are such reliable Democratic voters -- and necessary in November -- she must get in bed with a rather unsavory, politically risky group.
I did notice Obama using his "inner city / civil rights leader wannabe voice" at times yesterday during the speech in Dallas. Sounded ridiculous.
The political impact is that Obama gets to keep up his lies. He has NEVER bothered to look at the facts of a situation before commenting to keep race relations bad. That is is his goal to drive a wedge to gain votes where possible. If he truly care about anything other than taking advantage of a situation for political gain, he would wait for the actual facts to come in BEFORE passing judgement. Just look at him passing judgment in the "gentile giant" hand up don't shoot lie and the Cambridge police acted stupidly as just a few of the examples. This idiot of a president passes judgement before knowing all of the facts to keep up his agenda of race/ gender/ wealth warfare just to get votes.
[Premium Post] Obama's approval rating is dropping fast, as is Hillary's standing in the polls. All of this is very, very bad timing with the Republican National Convention next week. Back to the original premise of this thread -- I truly believe that the BLM movement is extremely damaging to the Democratic politicians, including Barry and Hillary. It highlights the racial division in this country that has gotten worse, not better, under Obama's tenure. The scenes are just ugly -- the rock throwing, the climbing on cars, the cursing and vulgarity, the violence -- this scares voters, especially the women. For Hillary to hitch her wagon in any way to this scary movement is going to take a political toll. GOOD DAY
I'm really having a difficult time finding a quote of Obama calling Brown a 'gentle giant'. Anyone can post a link to help me?
Pay attention breh. He squeezed out more effort with MASTERPIECE. If he strained a level higher, he could get a mental hernia.
Might as well leave this here. Senator Scott speaking powerfully yesterday. I tip my hat, and I'll keep listening. I hope a lot of people listen. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senates-lone-black-gop-senator-deeply-peronsal-floor/story?id=40567390 excerpts, not necessarily in order... "just because you do not feel the pain, the anguish of another, does not mean it does not exist." "To ignore their struggles, our struggles, does not make them disappear, it simply leaves you blind and the American family very vulnerable." "I have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness and the humiliation that comes with feeling like you're being targeted for nothing more than just being yourself," Scott said to members of the upper chamber. Even as an elected official, Scott recalled being stopped by law enforcement seven times in one year. "Was I speeding sometimes? Sure," said Scott. "But the vast majority of the time, I was pulled over for nothing more than driving a new car in the wrong neighborhood or some other reason just as trivial." "I do not know many African-American men who do not have a very similar story to tell -- no matter their profession, no matter their income, no matter their disposition in life," Powerful stuff from the GOP Senator. May warrant keeping an eye on this guy.