’)It’s pretty brazen that the party of big business so boldly tries to pretend its for regular people.
UPDATE: The Obama campaign sends out a good e-mail hitting on the elitism versus community organizers.
Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.
And it’s no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.
Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America’s promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women’s suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it’s happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.
Meanwhile, we still haven’t gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies.
Elitist, elitist.
I’ll contribute $500 to the McCain campaign if any one of the people who spoke tonight could last a week on their own in the south side of Chicago.
Community organizing is missionary work in the country of your birth. Wasn’t this what Jesus would do?
The mockery of community organizers came as a huge surprise. Here I thought Palin’s yokel charms could counter McCain’s multi-mansion Richie Rich image. It started off well and then she shifts gears abruptly and sneers at community organizers.
Call it a bad moment of mixed messaging: yet not inconsistent with an evening where we hear non-partisanship proclaimed one moment and then “our opponents” demonized the next, going so far as to reach the surreal moment where Romney apparently calls Alito’s court liberal …. whaa?!
Here’s how it breaks down for the Republican base:
Anti-abortion clinic protest organizer: Man/Woman of God.
Gun rights advocate: Patriot, Friend of the Constitution, Modern-Day Minuteman.
Anti-Tax Agitator: Friend of the Taxpayer, Good Conservative
Mayor of Town of 7,000 people, 150 caribou and one half-billion mosquitoes at $75K/year salary: Aspirant Presidential Material
Advocate for Poor Black Chicagoans in Lieu of Corporate Law Paycheck: Lazy Irresponsible Negro.
what you dont get is that community organizer is dog whistle for black activist for the ghetto, with tinge of socialism/communism, as Billmon described on GOS. This the great culture war 2.0 for 2008. Student has become the master after pat buchanan; since she was one of his supporter from 1999/2000.
Belae
And, forgive me for this small point, but couldn’t you call PTA presidents community organizers?
Unbelievable elitist and hypocritical. I think of all the attacks, that’s the one I found personally offensive was this one. As someone who has volunteered my free time for the good of my community, I find myself full of hate for this personality that I don’t even know.
Who the hell is Sarah Palin to say how I should serve my country and my fellow citizens? Who is she to belittle people that decide they want to give back?
Seriously, who is she and what glass house did she come out of?
Well, keep in mind here, the mocking of community organizers began with Giuliani’s speech, which topped all of his previous endeavours in both cynicism and divisiveness.
I don’t think that PTA presidents are paid, so I’d probably call them volunteers. That’s also my issue with the parallels that Bruce tries to draw. Except at the national level for such organizations, the “Gun Rights Advocate” has a day job. However Senator Obama did nothing but the nebulous job title of “Community Organizer”. And he ties it, along with his being a member of a presidential campaign team, to his qualifications to be president.
Even those he was supposedly organizing back in Chicago say he tried to stay in the background and “empower” them. That’s the same line a crap I’ve heard from plenty of poor leaders who try to take credit for the work that their people do in spite of them.
Those who bad mouth community organizers are the same people who do not know what it is to help others. These bashers live in their own little worlds and instead of helping others (like true Christians they say they are)they live selfish lives. Panamanian McCain and his side kick do not know what it is to be TRUE AMERICANS!
Based upon the previous post, I must say that “SFC B” is perfect fodder for Palin’s railngs. He wouldn’t know William Julius Wilson or Paolo Freire from Tom Metzger. Based upon his definition of an “empowerer”, he would probably consider John Gacy to be a community organizer for young boys.
The bottom line is: despite their foolish content, don’t think that Palin’s inane statements about community organizers fell on deaf ears. And don’t confuse deaf with ignorant.
Mitt Romney was once challenged by a Boston Globe reporter, who said that “I represent the people, governor.”
Romney gave him a quick lesson in Civics 101:
“No, I represent the people. You represent the media.”
Most people are loyal to whomever pays their paycheck. “He who takes the king’s gold plays the king’s tune.”
Mayors and other politicians represent the people who elected them, and are paid by the people. State Senator Obama and United States Senator Obama are elected and paid by the people they represent.
Who pays for community organizers? It’s almost certainly never the community that the organizers claim to represent.
When I hear “community organizer,” I think of con artists like Jesse Jackson. I think of groups like ACORN (with whom Obama worked closely when he was a “community organizer”), who keep having their people arrested and convicted of voter registration fraud. I think of people like Al Sharpton, who incited riots that led to deaths in the Freddie’s Fashion Mart scandal. I think of unrepentant former terrorist William Ayers, who funneled millions to his pet projects and cronies in an attempt to “help” Chicago schools that, in the end, did almost nothing to do just that.
We’re learning that as we look through the records of the Chicago Annenberg Trust, despite the Obama campaign’s efforts to head off that investigating BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
That’s what Palin was referring to, to those who were willing to listen.
J.
Anyone who cites Mitt Romney for knowledge is either an idiot or a fool. When you hear community organizer apparently what you do is pee in your pants because that means scary black guy. When normal people hear it they think of someone like Barack Obama who was doing crazy things like standing up for regular Americans. I know they don’t have the same skin tone as Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney, but they count too.
Oooooh, scary!
Oddly enough, Oliver, the scariest guy I cited would be William Ayers. The others are mere metaphorical bomb-throwers; he is a genuine real bomb builder. And last time I looked at a picture, racially he’s one of my peeps and not one of your bros.
Dismiss Romney all you want (and I know you want to A LOT), but he was dead right there: a Boston Globe reporter claimed to represent “the people,” but he was there as an employee of the Boston Globe (owned by the New York Times), while Romney was, at that point, the duly elected representative of “the people.”
But back to my point: would you like to talk about “community organizers” ACORN, with whom Obama worked closely back in his days as a community organizer, and whose employees and volunteers seem to have a serious predisposition towards committing voter registration fraud? They’re one of the highest-profile and largest such organization, and I think it’s long overdue for a RICO-style investigation into them.
J.
Jay, would you like to talk about “The Republican Party” with whom McCain has long-standing ties and whose members seem to have a serious predisposition towards committing acts of corruption, sexual misconduct, and most importantly, piss-poor governance?
If you’ve got the dirt on Obama signing up dead voters, please share it with us. Almost any organization has bad apples, etc. Sounds to me and most Americans like Obama did some good work on the community level when most of his Ivy law-school peers where taking the big money corporate jobs. It doesn’t make him a saint, but it sure doesn’t make him a crook either.
Like I suggested, if you’ve got a “smoking gun” please share it. Until then, this dog won’t hunt. It’s all you’ve got though, so I guess you’ll keep trying. And every one of your comments will keep me LOL’ing.
(And if Romney is such a great asset politically, why isn’t he veep-candidate for McCain? Personally, they probably hate each other, but that’s rarely a problem in presidential politics (Reagan/Bush I, Kennedy/LBJ).
Hmm, could it be that McCain couldn’t choose a more qualified veep due to the outrageous intolerance of much of the Republican base re: his Mormonism? And the fact that he used to be pro-choice? And that the Republican base will stand for no acts of heresy on the part of its political candidates, even if it means picking a veep who has obvious issues involving her personal and political life?)
On Romney, all of the above he owns even more houses than McCain: putting on the ticket only renews the life on that story and cements the image of the ticket as rich and out of touch.
Palin may be embarrassingly unqualified to be Vice President, but she at least temporarily derails that narrative (even if Noonan dismisses this cynical counter to the “political bullshit” narrative)
I would like Obama, or Oliver for that matter, to explain exactly what Barry did as a “community organizer” other than squandering $160 million of the Annenberg Foundations money?
“Jay, would you like to talk about “The Republican Party” with whom McCain has long-standing ties and whose members seem to have a serious predisposition towards committing acts of corruption, sexual misconduct, and most importantly, piss-poor governance?”
Let’s play this game again!!
Acts of corruption: William “Cold Cash” Jefferson
Sexual misconduct: Bubba Clinton, John “I Feel Pretty” Edwards
Piss-poor governance: Nancy Pelosi and the entire 110th Congress
I know it’s hard to admit that both sides of the aisle basically suck, but let’s try to be impartial.
repubs hate everyone that isn’t a millionaire. The white trash love the second gilded age as long as the Palinites attack “San Francisco values” and hope for more Matthew Shepard’s
Would all of the groups that the White House reached out to for their Faith Based Initiative count as ‘community organizers’? No snark intended here, it is a serious question.
A few years ago, the White House cited these groups ties to their local communities as reasons why they were ideally situated to respond to those in need. Is this an indication that the GOP is giving up on those groups and/or the faith based initiative?
Gov. Palins speech was edited and approved by the McCain campaign team, just like Sen. Bidens was edited and approved by the Obama campaign. So is this an indication that although they are putting a strong pro-life advocate on the ticket, that they will be cutting back on their ties to the grassroots level of faith-based organizations?
I may be reading more into this than there is, but I think that Gov. Palin is walking a fine line with that particular attack. There are community organizers that support GOP causes that may not like to be described with the broad brush that was used to bellitle Sen. Obama’s experience…
BTW, I’ll be needing a spell-check for my posts from now on…
It’s belittle – to regard or portray as less impressive or important than appearances indicate
a Boston Globe reporter claimed to represent “the people,” but he was there as an employee of the Boston Globe (owned by the New York Times), while Romney was, at that point, the duly elected representative of “the people.”
Romney is somewhat selective in which “duly elected representatives” he thinks serve the people. You heard his speech last night. He blasted practically the entire federal government (which has been in Republican control for much of the last 25 years) as “liberal” and out of touch. I guess those elected officials don’t count.
I’m with OW: idiot or fool are the most likely choices.
“Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.”
Obama was a community organizer in CHICAGO! Chicago has been run by DEMOCRATS since the beginnng of time. What failed DEMOCRATIC policies and out of touch DEMOCRATIC politicians was Obama organizing against?
crickets…
jr, you had a typo there.
“repubs hate that everyone isn’t a millionaire.”
You’re welcome…
J.
>>
Obama was a community organizer in CHICAGO! Chicago has been run by DEMOCRATS since the beginnng of time. What failed DEMOCRATIC policies and out of touch DEMOCRATIC politicians was Obama organizing against?
>>
You’re right. All Democrats have to agree with all other Democrats. All Republicans have to agree wholeheartedly with all other Republicans.
There can be NO middle ground! Middle ground bad! It disproves fallacious, misinformed, weakly construed arguments!
So you’re saying that there can’t be corrupt Democrats? Democrat is just a label. Behind that is a person, a human being with emotions and opinions and is given to *gasp* what could be seen as weakness, be it through the lure of money or other favors. And, get this: Both elected Democrats and elected Republicans have their faults!
“OMG No!” You might say. But, yes, it is OMG yes.
“So you’re saying that there can’t be corrupt Democrats?”
No. There are plenty. Kwame Kilpatrick who resigned in shsame today is a good example.
My question is what was Obama “community organizing” against? Was he succesful? CAC was a complete failure, so what “community organizing” is Obama pointing to on his resume?
I would like Obama, or Oliver for that matter, to explain exactly what Barry did as a “community organizer” other than squandering $160 million of the Annenberg Foundations money?
William, do you even try to acquaint yourself with basic facts before you post? You’re running together events that happened years apart.
Yeah, but do you do it as a career (self-interest) and as a check mark on your resume to get into a top school (ambition) or for true public interest, without demand for compensation, as all the examples cited did.
I can see it, Jesus bragging about his low salary and lousy donkey, even though he studied at the best synagogues.
Quaker,
All I know is the CAC was a failure. If Obama wants to hilight “community organizing” on his resume, I’d sure like to know what it was he did and how succesful he was at it. As a supporter of Barry’s, don’t you want to know? Or are you just emamored with his skin color?
I don’t know who said it, but it was a great quote I saw on Twitter:
“Jesus was a community organizer; Pontius Pilate was a governor.”
Except Jesus was NOT a community organizer. He did not seek to empower anyone within the earthly communities.
Take it from an agnostic: Jesus was NOT a “community organizer.”
He had NO interest in improving the way the government treats the poor; he was far, far more into direct action and ignoring the government as much as possible. “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s; render unto God that which is God’s” is not exactly in tune with “more low-income housing!”
Perhaps you ought to consult with someone who clings to their Bible and their guns to get a better perspective…
J.
“He did not seek to empower anyone within the earthly communities.”
Spending his free time with lepers, women, and Samaritans (i.e., non-Jews)? Saying “give unto the poor”? Was that just an act?
Honestly, I’m an atheist, but I obviously know a lot more about the Bible than you do. One of the reasons Jesus was killed was because he chose to spend time and preach with the “unwashed” of his time, the poor and the marginal. Why did the Pharisees dislike him? It wasn’t because he wanted to be one of them, it was because he was challenging their wealth, status, and authority. It’s because he was a radical in the truest sense of the term.
Don’t even go here. I know you like to lie, but this is an important figure in world and religious history, and you’re just speaking silliness. If he was only concerned with Heaven, so to speak, why did he take so many risks in spending time with the lower-classes of his day? Justice mattered to him. That’s why we call him “Jesus” instead of “unknown Hebrew scholar under Roman oppression.”
Wow. You guys are willing to debase one of history’s greatest figures by saying “OMG HE WUZ JUST LIKE MCCAIN AND WOULD HAVE MARRIED RICH AND HAD LIK SEVEN-TEEN MANSIONS!!!”
Jesus? Jesus. You guys really want to go there? Sad.
I just love the fact that we’re making the wingnuts argue that Jesus was a jerk.
“I just love the fact that we’re making the wingnuts argue that Jesus was a jerk.”
Exactly.
You guys are just making yourselves look ignorant about basic Christianity. Go for it!
Jesus did not seek to give any earthly power to anyone. That was the major reason why so many Jews were not accepting him as the Messiah. They expected the Messiah to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth and He would be the king.
The exact opposite happened because Jesus’ role was to give us power over death rather than over others in a political nature.
I think everyone is missing the point here. No one was mocking the role of community organizer just the notion of that experience compared with an executive (Mayor, Governor)
OBAMA’s political track record is like a book of cards. At face value his supporters try to make him look like a king…but turn the card sideways and you can see he looks pretty thin…I can’t wait to see all the Obama supporters go into emotional thearapy when McCain & Palin kick his scrawney little whiney ass come election day…Obama, probably a decent sort of fellow…but, we don’t need a president who needs on the job training.