The current Democratic leadership--the deservedly maligned Reid and Pelosi--aren't skilled. They lead a Congress with more dismal approval ratings than the less deservedly maligned Bush.
So, here's the deal, Mr. President-elect. Get your peeps to do the following:
- Throw Mrs. Pelosi overboard and make the more moderate and sensible Steny Hoyer Speaker of the House. Mrs. Pelosi has got on the last nerve of the electorate. Hoyer is at least a bit of a mensch.
- Tell the world that Hillary has earned leadership of the Senate, and more quietly set aside the inept Mr. Reid.
President-elect Obama, we implore you to use your impressive gifts for communication to help all Americans understand the experience of people of color in our Republic. Take up the noble task carried out by Washington, DuBois, Wright, and Ellison of describing the human experiences of those who have been routinely dehumanized. Tell it as one who, not the descendant of plantation slaves but of free Africans, is both an insider and an outsider to the black community in the United States. Challenge that community to become the engine of its own transformation. Challenge the majority culture to listen to the experience of those who live alongside them. Appeal to the better angels of everyone's nature to make racism and its devastating effects genuinely and not just prospectively a matter of the past. Your election can be about more than marginal tax rates if you do.
We promise more helpful advice in days to follow. Keep reading, Mr. President-Elect!
11 comments:
Obama will not take your advice because he is at least as liberal as Pelosi and Reid. We can all hope that he comes to his senses when he actually gets into the oval office, but I'm not holding my breath.
What would be the advantage, for conservatives or the country in general, of having Hillary replace Reid as Senate leader?
Don't quote Tavis Smiley concerning Obama becasue he needs to shut his pie hole and stop passing out hater aid. He has lost a tremendous amount of credibility by his actions throughout Obama's campaign.
The previous post was removed by the administrator because it contained an obscenity. It also said nothing of substance, but that's hardly a surprise in light of the first observation.
CG, we don't stay up late enough to watch the esteemed Tavis Smiley as regularly as we'd like. To what behavior do you so pointedly and bitterly refer? We found his words about the President-Elect to be quite warm and fuzzy.
To answer my own question: "No advantage whatsoever. Thanks for asking."
Alas, our nation will be governed rather than ruled. OBAMA!
Actually his PBS show is not the issue. It is his running hater commentary on Obama. Tavis can't quite accept the new racial time in our humble opinion. For starters, he was ran off his regular segment on the Tom Joyner morning show for constantly holding to the Jesse "Crocodile Tears" Jackson racial identity politics. He went from one of the most popular segments to getting crucified; then he took his ball and went home. He's still an important voice, but he better recognize that there is a new Sheriff in town.
LW, the advantages of Hillary as Majority Leader are many. First off, it punishes Reid for his rampant and ineffective partisanship. Second, it makes Obama look magnanimous. Third, it puts Obama's brand on the Senate. Fourth, it gives Hillary a decent consolation prize that might keep her from making a break from Obama with an eye to '12, and all the more ungrateful if she does.
And if, like SWNID, you think that Hillary is actually a pretty effective member of the Senate for a liberal versus Reid, who has been a complete bust, it improves government.
Obviously a Republican can't be majority leader right now, so it's best to improve what can be improved.
CG, it is a new time, isn't it? Those who led the Civil Rights Movement are no longer the Leaders. But is Obama's personal experience so different from others' that he may unwittingly neglect the undone work that he is uniquely placed to do?
I don't think so. When that question arose during the primary he told his story to prove his African American bonafides and the story obviously resonated with a lot of African American voters. The old leaders are the old leaders becasue they didn't get the memo that the new conversation revolves around economic empowerment, educational advancement, and empowering the potential of the individual while at the same time remembering the past, not living in it.
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