CBC MEETING

[Smiley and West]

		It took a few months, but the Congressional Black Caucus finally had its jobs meeting at the White House. Smiley: The turnout in Black America will go down because you can’t play the history card again. West: This had everything to do with politics. He wants to consolidate the Black base.

[Suge]

I'll give the President the benefit of the doubt... let him get to his second term before you start vilifying for what he's not doing for the black community ...  He's done quite a bit (IMO) his first term... it's quite possible if he (The President)  "overtly" does things for "US"... it will be used against him come 2012.    So allow him to get to his second term first...

 

JMHO

[Kermit O]

Sorry, Suge, but your argument doesn't hold water. It's one thing to not do things "overtly", as you say, for the black community, and it's another to institute policies that do "overtly" harm the black community, which Obama has.  The assault has not been so much on black people directly, but on the poor and lower middle class, a disproportionate number of which are black.

 

How many black people benefited from the continuation of the Bush tax cuts?  How many from his carry over of the billions-dollar bailout to the "too big to fail" corporations, some of which caused the economic collapse?  How about Obama's "overt" patronizing "bootstraps"-style speech to black people, all about personal responsibility and accountability, while not extending the same expectations to the wealthy elite, who by and large he gave "handouts" to.

 

Obama, for his socially and morally bankrupt policies thus far, and for his unassailability amongst black people, is about the worst thing to happen to us in quite awhile.  He is the white establishment's Manchurian candidate, a corporate suit in blackface, and nothing more.  Actually, he is a lot more than that.  All of it worse.

[Kermit O]

The unemployment rate hovers around what now, 11-12%?  That's an arbitrary number based on the last time I checked, so it may be wrong.  But it's high, that's the point.  A number I know to be accurate, however, is the unemployment rate amongst black people against 18-24, which is around 35%.  I don't think policies that help alleviate that burden would be "overt".  They'd be "necessary".

 

How about doing anything to dismantle or offset the power of the Prison Industrial Complex, which practically feeds off of the disproportionate incrimination of black men?  How about his complete non-stance on immigration, which has led to a spreading offensive against brown folks - starting in Arizona, and expanding outward?  How about his continuation of "No Child Left Behind", a top-down, bless-the-rich, curse-the-poor, policy that continues to leave corrupt public school administrators scrambling for funding while the kids suffer - something I've seen first hand as a mentor for black high school students.

 

Man, here's a thought experiment for you to really try.  In your mind, give Obama a white-face (not too much of a stretch in my opinion), and then ask yourself if you're really satisfied with what he's been doing.  This cult of personality thing he's got going really is formidable.  I mean it's a given that black people are voting Democrat out of tradition at this point, but it's about time to stop that nonsense.  And no, I'm certainly not suggesting they switch to Republican.  Neither party is any good, and as Dr. West has said on numerous occasions, both are beholden to corporate interests.

 

Guess whose interests usually do NOT align with corporate ones?  Black people.  The Kool-Aid bowl is EMPTY.  Let's move on.

[Kermit O]

Dr. West, you talk about a sense of betrayal, but I'm not reading that from black people that I've spoken with about Obama.  People seem to be as adamantly in support of Obama as ever.  The commenter above is one example, but I bet that if I did an informal poll of folks in my neighborhood, the vast majority would say they still back him.  

 

I've had to argue with relatives about what he's DOING versus what he supposedly represents, and it's incredible how fast the conversation shuts down. Not until I pointed out that I couldn't possibly be coming at Obama from the same angle as the racist Republicans, birthers, tea party, and their ilk - was my one relative able to even consider that there might be another, valid, argument against him.

[TheTRUTH]

Right on Dr. West.. excellent analysis on the Obama Administration...  I don't know HOW anyone could argue the Truth your are telling...

[LibyaWest]

Off point but.......I read somewhere that the criticism of barrage insane o'bomber is muted because his supporters are in shock and have fallen into a deep depression.  They just can't believe how badly they had been deceived. Others I know just cover their ears like little children screaming, "Don't tell me, don't tell me!"

[Allthewaylive85]

Kermit O raises one of the most interesting statements of all. Focusing on the prison industrial complex and it disproportionate structure of minorities vs. Whites. Not to frame the debate over white vs. Black, but actually understanding that the laws that were formed, such as drug laws, were initially set up the a racial overtone set out to make a business out of lock our children behind bars for mostly non violent offenses. And created a an environment in our communities that revolve around the black market of drugs, because they did such a bang up job with our economy and sent so many jobs over seas. It's time to seriously reconsider the common stance that government should regulate personal behavior, such as drug use, and instead of treating it as a department of justice issue, it should instead be treated from a stance of more education, and looked at from the perspective of use as an over all health issue. Not a crime. I'm voting for Ron Paul because he is the only one raising this issue on behalf of the black community, regardless of how I feel about republicans. Independence and liberty is really the best chance we got at this corporate government to stop them from ruining our kids lives and limiting their futures at getting a good job because they might have smoked a joint. Marijuana never killed anybody. And I mean that in a literal sense, so why lock up our children and cut them off from a better future because they smoke it. The president himself has admitted to smoking a jay, yet he'll still lock your kids up for the very same action. That's just pointing out one of his many flaws. Don't even get me started on foreign policy.

[Grier]

This had everything to do with the campaign and his need for "Black Support".  I thought it took arrogance and a profound sense "the people are stupid" when he brought the likes of "John Holden" to Harlem, but perhaps Obama is right, folks are stupid!  And perhaps since he has made it through these years with b*******, deception, and deceit why not go for another 4 years.  Whereby the collapse of the economy should be complete and he can complete his mission of a totalitarian tyranny on the masses who trust government and the BIG LIE! 

[Zeru A Tige]

 

I Think we should understand by now president Obama's  difficulities : I believe all white cabinet membere in his Adm. not fully cooperative or willing to help him to sucess, In adition we all Blacks in general expecting him to solve our every Issues. Simply that is is not fair.  Yes !  he have a weekness in so many areas like every other perivous presidents, but he is not responsible for blacks Issues, because  he is The first BLACK prisedent. 

[Allthewaylive85]

Whoa whoa whoa, what's with all this " no man, we should give him a pass because he's the first black president" b*******? What does his white cabinet members have to do with the multiple flip flopping this cats done? If anything, I commend Mr. West for being critical of this clown. Let's ask a few questions on his ineffectiveness...or lack there of. He effectively took our country into yet another region in the middle east, stretching the countries finances further, how about instead of bombing a sovereign nation in the middle of a civil war, we worry about the poverty in our own country. Not to mention he effectively took us in under U.N. Resolution instead of consulting OUR OWN congress, then claimed the same War Powers Act that every other president exercised since it's been enacted. Just because every other president used before him, that doesn't make it justified. We had absolutely no national interest in sending our military over there. You might say, "well we needed to prevent innocent lives from being lost", but you would only make that statement if you didn't know that OUR bombs killed more innocent people than ghaddafi's "hypothetical mass slaughter" that we went in to prevent. You may also not have known, on May 1st, the same day we found out Osama had been killed, US drone attacks that were authorized by the president, killed over 40 handicapped children after we accidentally mistaked their HANDICAP SCHOOL as a "place of interest" under the assumption it was a ghadafi stronghold. And he's not just allowing the deaths of children in foreign countries to go unnoticed, try the children right here in our own country. In 2009, during the whole swine flu scare, he issued IMMUNITY to vaccine manufacturers, so if there was any adverse side effects to their product, family members who lost loved ones due to faulty vaccines, had no venue to seek justice against the pharmaceutical companies who were to blame. There's a big difference between asking for "understanding" during a time when all Americans, black & white, are seeking accountability, regardless of skin color. He's been providing cover for large financial institutions since he's been in office. Not just any financial institutions, just the ones who contributed to his campaign back in 08. It's crazy to think, members in our communities would really even be considering another 4 years. He ran on change, but just brought more government incompetence. We need to stop investing our emotional attachment to this guy because his skin color, because in all reality, that's the ONLY change he's brought. We need some one in office who isn't concerned with policing the world at the expense of the American people, some one who is serious about putting an end to these illegal wars started under bush. No incremental draw down time line, we just marched in without a declaration, we should just march right the f*** back home. Understanding the CIA's understanding of BLOWBACK, based off all the innocent people we've killed, us being over their isn't making us LESS susceptible to another terror attack, it is effectively increasing the possibility. If won't do it, we need to get someone who will. It's damn shame the first black president had to be such a damn failure. I'm highly critical of this cat, because he got my vote in 08, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let his skin color prevent me of being critical of his performance.

[Allthewaylive85]

Let's look at his economic policy as it pertains to the black community. Because if your like me, you don't like it when somebody is messing with your money. Based off his support and all endorsement of the bailouts, and federal reserve programs like Quantitative Easing, let's see what this does for the black community, and for the over all population. When ever you allow the printing of money out of thin air, you effectively rob each and every person who has dollar bills in their bank accounts and pockets, by flooding it with more dollars, you reduce the purchasing power of each individual dollar. Look at the price of gas. You think it's expensive because of scarcity? Not even close. Prices are rising because the purchasing power is being deminished through inflation. So, not only does it hurt the single black mother working two jobs, who can barely afford to make it, it further prevents those facing difficult economic situations across the board. I agree with Ron Paul, we need to end the fed, and revert back to printing our own money instead of having the federal reserve, which is just a group of private bankers, to print our money and LOAN IT TO US AT INTEREST. Since the federal reserve has been printing our money supply, the dollar has lost 94% of it's purchasing power!!! 94%!!! Now we risk not being the world reserve currency, and if that happens, you don't want to know how bad it's gonna get for ALL Americans. This clown needs to go, he doesn't even bring a sensible argument to the table when it comes to economics. His policy is to "spend our way out", spoken like a true banker puppet. If your in debt, spending your way out isn't even an option.

[James F. "Jim" Michie]

An interesting discussion, but with the African American unemployment rate at 17.3 percent, I find it inexcusable that Mr. Obama would so conspicuously delay his meeting with the CBC for too many months.  My view is that he just did not want to discuss this appalling situation in unemployment until he had no choice--and that was after he announced his candidacy for reelection.  I would have expected much more from Mr. Obama.  But then, of course, that was two-and-a-half years ago, when he made all those "promises" to America--many of them sadly broken and unfulfilled in the name of "compromise."