[Marxism] Ad blasting Obama and Wright will air in NC despite McCain's alleged disapproval

[Fred Feldman]

Rev. Wright is interviewed on PBS at 8 tonight.

The advertisement, blasting two Black men as unpatriotic, has nothing to do
with race, of course. As we all know, nothing about race today has anything
to do with race and the only two real racists left on the stage are Louis
Farrakhan and Rev. Wright.

I agree with Joaquin that the new stage of the campaign is a big challenge
to the left, including Black Agenda, the Green Party, Nader etc. After all,
if white racists have a veto power over whether a Black can become president
and if they can count on support in organizing  -- open or covert -- from
the mainstream opponents of the Black candidate, then what is the character
of the US government and of the party or parties that openly or covertly
enforce the ban. What rights are really guaranteed to Black people at all?

Can we stand up for the right of a Black to stand for and become president
without facing a flood of open and concealed racial opposition? 
McCain's actions here are a cover.  He demurs while the state parties go
ahead and do the job. It looks like he'll be demurring continually this
season.

It is clear that Clinton's campaign has energized and inspired racists.
Remember the Levittown article a few weeks ago. At that time Obama's white
opponents -- including one clear-cut rightist and racist agitator -- were
denying on stacks of Bibles that their opposition had nothing to do with
race. Now some 13 percent of white voters polled say openly that race
affected their vote against Obama. (Apparently, a small percentage of whites
voted for Obama in part because he is Black, which is a good reason, not a
bad one.)

What Levittown revealed is also that organized racist opposition to Obama is
being organized in support of Clinton and, if she loses, McCain. I don't see
how she can win by the way -- if Obama is to blocked it would have to be by
a new unity candidate and I don't think Gore would be willing to pay the
political price of that role unless Obama completely caved in to him. The
Obama issue has produced a deep political gulf in the Democratic Party, one
that poses -- for the first time in decades -- the continued loyalty of the
Black base (and the Latino ultimately as well) along with all the issues
regarding the course from the Clinton years on

People who want to bust up the two party system from the left have to
recognize that issues like this are at the center of the process.  This
election is not being fought in any, way, shape or form on that basis. But
the character of the government, of the society, is being highlighted in a
new way by this.

If Obama is defeated because he is a Black man in a race that any white
Democrat would have had a chance to win, the impact on the Black community
from the poorest to the most established strata will be very, very deep.

For those who have chosen to support independent propaganda protest
campaigns, fearlessly relating to this question is absolutely central. We
have to face the fact that an advance within the bourgeois parties for
Blacks is meeting a racist counter-offensive.  If we can't take it on, our
opposition to the two-party system of war and oppression is worthless. 

In the Summer of 1964, Robin Maisel and I, close contacts of the US-SWP and
civil rights activists, went to Atlantic City and participated for a weekend
in the sit-in on the Boardwalk demanding that the Mississippi Freedom
Democratic Party be seated in the convention that was nominating Johnson and
Humphrey. We took Militants and materials from the socialist and Freedom Now
Party supporters with us and distributed them to the gathering. 

We thought the democratic rights and Black-struggle issue outweighed the
opposition to working in the Democratic Party in this instance

This was against party policy. The SWP argued for no participation since the
MFDP represented, in their opinion, a wrong direction for the freedom
struggle in Mississippi. Robin and I were opposed to the Democratic Party,
supporters of the DeBerry-Shaw campaign of the SWP, and of the efforts to
build a Freedom Now Party in the Black community.

I don't know what Robin thinks today, but I still think we were right.  I
haven't had any need to think about this little blip in our political
courses for a long time, but it seems to me that what we did is a good
indicator for the course of counter-mobilization, in propaganda and in deed,
against the racist assault on the right of Blacks to serve in any office in
the United States government.
Fred Feldman





April 24, 2008,  6:37 pm 
North Carolina G.O.P. Says an Ad Will Go On
By Michael Luo

The chairwoman of the North Carolina Republican Party pledged again today to
broadcast a television commercial that attacks Senator Barack Obama and
features a clip of his former pastor lambasting the United States.
Linda Daves, the state Republican chairwoman, issued a statement today
reiterating her intention to broadcast the commercial and thanking people
across the state and country for "overwhelming support for us" after some
media outlets reported the advertisement would be pulled.

In the commercial, a narrator says, "For 20 years, Barack Obama sat in his
pew, listening to his pastor," before a video clip that has become infamous
at this point of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who was Mr. Obama's pastor
at Trinity United Church of Christ, is played.
The narrator then declares Mr. Obama "too extreme for North Carolina" and
attacks Beverly Eaves Perdue, the lieutenant governor, and Richard H. Moore,
the state treasurer, for endorsing Mr. Obama. Both are Democrats running for
governor.

Senator John McCain implored the party on Wednesday, as did officials with
the Republican National Committee, not to broadcast the advertisement. One
of Mr. McCain's advisers, Charlie Black, told reporters today that the spot
would not be aired.
Mr. Black said in an interview he had received an e-mail message from a
national party committeewoman from North Carolina saying the commercial
would not air.
But North Carolina state party officials said it would still go on the air
statewide on Tuesday. 
"There has never been any intention to pull the ad," Ms. Daves said in her
statement today.
She said the advertisement's controversial content was fair game, arguing,
"Our aim is to tell the truth and ask difficult questions."
Here is the full statement from Ms. Daves:
"Contrary to any media reports, the 'Extreme' ad will run as scheduled next
week. There has never been any intention to pull the ad and it will air. 
The 'Extreme' ad has garnered attention around the country. I want to thank
the people across North Carolina and across the country who have shown
overwhelming support for us. Our aim is to tell the truth and ask difficult
questions. We will continue to do so. 
People here in North Carolina should know that this ad is focused on
Democrats Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue. By endorsing Barack Obama, they
allied themselves with the most liberal person in the United States Senate.
He is a candidate out of touch with the voters of North Carolina who does
not share the values of North Carolinians. By refusing to stand up and
rightfully denounce the statements made by his controversial former
associates, Perdue and Moore are giving us the impression that they share
these extreme views. The voters of North Carolina should be allowed to ask a
legitimate question of candidates in North Carolina. Who do you choose to
associate yourself with and how does that reflect on your judgment? It is
true that your character is proven by the company you keep. Those who step
forward to run for the highest post in North Carolina must show the best
judgment. Perdue and Moore have shown poor judgment in their associations
and the voters of North Carolina rightly question their actions and their
continued silence.
Democrats in North Carolina are trying to inject race into this ad. This
tactic, designed to further drive a wedge between the people of North
Carolina, is despicable and wrong. This ad has absolutely nothing to do with
race. It is completely factual and contains no information that has already
received a public airing. Let me be perfectly clear: It is entirely
inappropriate for voters to consider race when judging the quality of a
candidate running for any office. If Senator Clinton had a pastor who made
these same anti-American statements and the Democrat candidates for Governor
endorsed her, we would be running the same ad.
Finally, I want to say that the North Carolina Republican Party has had and
will continue to have a great working relationship with the RNC. We are
entirely in support of John McCain for President. I have great respect and
admiration for Senator McCain. He will be a great President when he is
elected in November. As State Party Chairman, I serve in a dual role. Not
only do I support our party's candidate for President of the United States,
I also have a duty to see that Republicans are elected across the state of
North Carolina. This ad opposes two Democrat candidates for Governor in
North Carolina. It poses a legitimate question about judgment for which the
people of North Carolina deserve an answer."