Palin Owes Some Good People An Apology (by Jim Wallis)

[ProSense]

Friday, September 05, 2008

Palin Owes Some Good People An Apology (by Jim Wallis)

Wednesday morning I got an e-mail from a former member of our Sojourners community. Perry Perkins is now a community organizer in Louisiana with affiliates of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). "Perk," as we used to call him, reported on the enormous consequences of 2 million people being evacuated because of Hurricane Gustav, much of the state now being without power, how hard cities like Baton Rouge were hit, the tens of thousands of people in shelters and churches, and the continuing problems caused by heavy rains and flooding. Then he talked about how their community organizers were responding to all of this -- responding to hundreds of service calls, assisting local officials in evacuation plans, aiding evacuees without transportation, coordinating shelters and opening new ones, providing food, essential services, and financial aid to those in most need. Since Katrina, Perry's Louisiana interfaith organizations have played a lead role in securing millions of dollars to help thousands of families return to New Orleans and rebuild their homes and their lives.

Then Wednesday night I heard Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin say that her experience as "a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities." The convention crowd in St. Paul thought that was very funny. But it wasn't. It was actually quite insulting to the army of community organizers who work in the most challenging places across the country and have such a tremendous impact on the everyday lives of millions of people. I guess Palin and her fellow Republican delegates don't know much about that. The "actual responsibilities" of community organizers literally provide the practical support, collective strength, and hope for a better future that low-income families need to survive,

Community organizers are now most focused in the faith community, working with tens of thousands of pastors and laypeople in thousands of congregations around the country. Faith-based organizing is the critical factor in many low-income communities in the country's poorest urban and rural areas, and church leaders are often the biggest supporters of community organizers. And many of them felt deeply offended by Palin's remarks. Here are a few of their responses:

"As a lifelong Republican, the comments I heard last night about community organizing crossed the line. It is one thing to question someone's experience, another to demean the work of millions of hardworking Americans who take time to get involved in their communities. When people come together in my church hall to improve our community, they're building the Kingdom of God in San Diego. We see the fruits of community organizing in safer streets, new parks, and new affordable housing. It's the spirit of democracy for people to have a say and we need more of it," said Bishop Roy Dixon, prelate of the Southern California 4th ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ, member of the San Diego Organizing Project and former board chair of PICO National Network.

They have also pointed out how the most important victories for social justice have come more from community organizers than elected officials.

more

[Iris]

1. And aren't Republicans the one who think social problems should be handled by private organizations,

preferably churches, but still....

[wicket]

2. K & R

[Window]

3. K/R.

:kick:

[renate]

4. community-organizer-gate?

(I know, "-gate" is overused, but in this case it's so over the top it makes me giggle.)

I would absolutely love for her to try to explain to her base, let alone the rest of us, why church-based initiatives are something to laugh about.

[FrenchieCat]

5. The Ghoul too was poking fun, and the audience laughing...

it was ugly!

[Arugula Latte]

19. They are angry, hateful people, aren't they?

They funny thing is, they've had a disproportionate share of power in the last 28 years and they're still angry and spiteful and whining in spite of all the spoils they've taken from everyone else.

[Nikki Stone1]

7. No, ignorance. She doesn't know what the VP does & she doesn't know what a community organizer does

Just not terribly experienced.

[kestrel91316]

10. It's not just ignorance. It's hatred. She is a hate-filled person.

[starroute]

11. Actually, the best word might be "evil"

I don't throw around the word "evil" lightly -- I don't have John McCain's confidence that I can readily identify it when I see it.

But if "evil" means anything more than "people we don't like" it has to mean "hatred of the good."

Hating people who are different from you because you fear them is a low-level reaction but can be understood. But hating people because they are morally and ethically superior to you is beyond comprehension.

The Palin-drones hate community organizers for their service and self-sacrifice and sneer at them for not going out and getting rich instead.

They see helpless wolf pups and want to shoot them, see polar bears stranded on icebergs and pray for them to drown.

They are intoxicated with the idea of drilling in ANWR because that's a two-fer -- it kills wildlife and wounds the hearts of environmentalists at the same time.

Like the villain in some Victorian melodrama, they want to destroy, pollute, or punish whatever is good and true, for no other reason than that it is good and true.

Palin-drones are like palindromes. For them, there is no difference between forward and backward, up and down, black and white. Whatever normal, decent human beings want, they want the exact opposite. Not only are they corrupt and vicious, but they revel in their own corruption and viciousness.

What else can that be called besides evil?

[KittyWampus]

15. wow! that was one very inspired, well-written and righteous rant.

[druidity33]

17. that's poetic... nt, K&R.

[vanlassie]

58. Very true and so well said. nt

[regnaD kciN]

25. You're such an elitist...

...you need to stop looking down on real Americans -- the ones who live in small towns, go to fundamentalist churches, shop at Wal*Mart, and vote Republican.

How can you liberals be so hate-filled?

:sarcasm:

[regnaD kciN]

26. Actually...

What else can that be called besides evil?

...while I wouldn't call them "evil"* (because they're not consciously choosing to go against what they believe is good), I have absolutely no qualms about calling them "bullies."

Like most bullies, they are people who love the concept of "strength" (in the pure brute-force sense) and despise what they consider weakness. To prove to themselves that they are truly among the "strong," they have a need to step on people and things "weaker" than themselves whenever they can.

See a person poorer than yourself? Make their lives more miserable.

See an animal whose own strength cannot compete with a .22-caliber bullet? Fire away, and show off the proof of your "conquest."

See anyone you can safely beat up on, or abuse, or ridicule? Have fun!

These people may claim to be "Christians," but that's only because it's the dominant religion in the country. If the main religion of America was Judaism, they'd be among the so-called "tough Jews" (like the West Bank settler youth who go about taunting old Palestinian women in the Arab towns in the territories). If it was Islam, they'd be the Taliban. Their "devotion" comes from being a member of the "alpha religion" rather than from following any of its tenets. They claim, and really believe, to be working for "good" and fighting "evil," without ever examining what those two terms mean, except "what conventional wisdom says" versus "whatever is different."

I have no doubt that, back when they were in school, if they saw one of the weak kids being beaten up by the (acceptably strong) jocks, they would join right in...or at least hold the jock's books so they could get in their beating, then go over and stomp on the victim's glasses for good measure.

They are the face of the Republican Party.

Only the next couple of months will tell whether they are the face of America as well. :-(

---
*(at least not in public ;-) )

[BrklynLiberal]

38. Great post...

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[Dystopian]

42. wow....nice piece....

:hi:
Thank you...


peace~

[rucognizant]

59. Bravo!

[calimary]

63. Good one! The palin-o-lithics would love nothing more than to see reversals of

everything that made America really great. Our positive, hopeful, and LIBERAL values.

Jesus was a LIBERAL. It's the LIBERALS who think we really should try to help "the least of our brethren," or that the meek shall inherit the earth, or that it's the peacemakers who are blessed.

These assholes on the so-called "right" - man, I don't know.

[regnaD kciN]

24. Except she's only delivering the line...

The speechwriter who came up with it (and, based on the same sorts of jokes in Giuliani's preceding speech, it clearly must have been a coordinated effort by the Republicans as a whole) clearly knows what both a vice president and a community organizer do -- and is banking on a subtext of "community organizers are slackers working as government bureaucrats in the inner city to get _your_ tax dollars given to blacks and Latinos* who are too lazy to get jobs."

*Actually, I'm sure they use other words for them that would get one in a hell of a lot of trouble if appearing in a DU post, even as an example of what the other side thinks.

[rucognizant]

60. Scum!

And she WAS WEARING a little square box on her back during the convention. Her hair worn down in the back partially concealed it.

[Cha]

16. We've heard from the Catholic Church Community Organizers

on the South Side of Chicago who hired Obama when he just graduated from college, too..

scheming daemons (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-04-08 10:44 PM

Original message
Joe Klein has quickly become my media hero
http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/09/what_a_commu...



Slowly, slowly, I am recovering from the extremely effective bilge festival staged by the Republicans last night. And while there is much to discuss, there was one item, in particular, that has to be considered infuriating: the attack on Barack Obama's service as a community organizer by the odious Rudy Giuliani--he's come to look like a villain in a Frank Capra movie, hasn't he?--and Sarah Palin.

This morning, I received a press release from a group called Catholic Democrats about the work--the mission, the witness--that Obama performed after he got out of college. Here's the first paragraph:

"Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's acceptance speech tonight mocked her opponent's work in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She belittled Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's experience as a community organizer in Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago, work he undertook instead of pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Palin said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities." Community organizing is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching to end poverty and promote social justice. So here is what Giuliani and Palin didn't know: Obama was working for a group of churches that were concerned about their parishioners, many of whom had been laid off when the steel mills closed on the south side of Chicago. They hired Obama to help those stunned people recover and get the services they needed--job training, help with housing and so forth--from the local government. It was, dare I say it, the Lord's work--the sort of mission Jesus preached (as opposed to the war in Iraq, which Palin described as a "task from God.")"

This is what Palin and Giuliani were mocking. They were making fun of a young man's decision "to serve a cause greater than himself," in the words of John McCain. They were, therefore, mocking one of their candidate's favorite messages. Obama served the poor for three years, then went to law school. To describe this service--the first thing he did out of college, the sort of service every college-educated American should perform, in some form or other--as anything other than noble is cheap and tawdry and cynical in the extreme.

Perhaps La Pasionaria of the Northern Slope didn't know this when she read the words they gave her. But Giuliani--a profoundly lapsed Catholic, who must have met more than a few religious folk toiling in the inner cities--should have known. ("I don't even know what that is," he sneered.") What a shameful performance.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6939513

[regnaD kciN]

29. But doesn't he realize...

They were making fun of a young man's decision "to serve a cause greater than himself," in the words of John McCain.

...that, for McCain and the Republicans, that was a reference to military service? For them, it isn't "service" unless it involves "killing people weaker than yourself" (to reference my point about bullies, above).

[Marsala]

6. Palin should explain that she only meant the black community organizers in cities

That would make her even more popular with the Repukes' base.

[crazylikafox]

8. good one..

We all know that's what she meant, anyway.

[wilt the stilt]

9. Republicans don't apologize

I agree with Glenn Greenwald. They are savages.

[Beaverhausen]

12. kick

[yurbud]

13. kick

[BumRushDaShow]

14. She threw the repuke's "Faith-Based Initiatives" program right under the bus she was driving. n/t

[MadMaddie]

36. That's exactly right! The spew this crap and they never think

of the repurcusions.

This may be a huge blunder and I hope that damage continues over the next couple of months.

[jazzjunkysue]

18. What? The speechwriters never had to get food stamps from a community organizer?

If that's not a "Let them eat cake" statement by the wealthy GOP, I don't know what is.

[mamalone]

20. Jim Wallis is a good guy...

one of the best, and as a fellow follower of Jesus, he speaks for me most of the time.

[VoodooGuru]

28. I'm an atheist and I like Jim Wallis, too.

He's a stand-up guy. Even though I'm an atheist I do respect people who are sincerely motivated to do good out of religious faith.

Good writer, too.

[tomg]

53. An agnostic who couldn't

agree more. I've gotten the Sojo newsletter for a long time. He is to the Evangelical movement what Bill Moyers is to Media.

[PA Democrat]

21. Thanks for posting.

Someone should remind Ms. Palin that thanks to the community organizers within the disabilities rights movement, her infant son would not have the right to a public education.

[Hansel]

23. They also enable adults w/Downs Syndrome to live independently.

My 22 year old nephew, who is mentally disabled and is socially developed to the level of a 6 year old, lives in a house with 3 Downs Syndrome adults. Advocacy by community organizers have made this possible. Without them, these adults would be dependent upon their parents for the rest of their lives. Community organizers find homes and jobs and teach living skills to Downs Syndrome and mentally disabled adults.

The inner city organization I use to work for, Pillsbury United Neighborhood Services, had a similar program. It also had programs for seniors, jobs programs, daycare, after school programs, programs for the homeless, food shelves, teen counseling, provided health care referrals and on and on. They served mostly whites and large populations of African Americans, but also had program for Asians, American Indians, Latinos, etc.

If the name sounds familiar, it is the organization who nearly lost a school bus full of kids on the I-35 bridge when it collapsed. Remember how proud the Republicans were of that organization when they could milk that story?

She is an idiot.

[PA Democrat]

27. Good points that I forgot to mention.

I served on the board of directors of our local Arc and we operate group homes in the community, sheltered employment programs, job training programs, educational advocacy programs, and more.

I also helped found and was on the board of a charity that worked to advocate for programs for children with autism.

I know that the organizations that I've been involved in have had a tremendous positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities and their families. I'm sure that you and I could exchange many stories of the people that our organizations have helped.

Palin's son has a much brighter future because of the work of thousands of community organizers who have worked tirelessly over the years to improve the lives of people with disabilities

You are right. She's and idiot. And if she had any decency she would be ashamed of her remarks and would apologize.

:pals:

[AzDar]

22. She's scum, plain and simple.

Like most Republicans, I've come to believe...

[ellacott]

30. While Obama was a community organizer she was a beauty pageant contestant

That's a debate I would love to have.

[endthewar]

32. OMFG! I didn't realize the two concided!

:rofl:

Obama can't say it though, but maybe someone who's willing to sacrifice themselves can. :hi:

[ellacott]

35. It occured within one year of each other

She was in the Miss Alaska pageant in 1984. Obama started as a community organizer in 1985. :)

[roody]

66. Are there any photos of her in the beauty pageant?

[grannylib]

31. God bless Jim Wallis. I love "Sojourners." And that slam against

community organizers showed, once again, the lack of understanding by rePiglicans for real America, and just how damned disconnected they truly are.

[knitter4democracy]

33. Those Republicans didn't get the memo that it was racist code.

They meant black community organizers and wanted their audience to think of people like Malcom X, the Black Panthers, and all those other African Americans who scare them. They didn't mean white Christians. Too bad they couldn't really explain it better or more explicitly.

[BrklynLiberal]

40. I'll bet they DID get the meaning of her coded comment....They just didn't think

that the rest of us would get what she meant...

[knitter4democracy]

62. Not the ones with Wallis, though.

It was such a ridiculous comment. I have no idea why they attacked Obama on his first job out of college when he did so much good for everyone. Sheesh, they're stupid.

[Kolesar]

49. I doubt it...eom

[DeepModem Mom]

34. K&R

[Hekate]

37. I really love Jim Wallis. He's a real mensch, an excellent representative for the teachings of Jesus

Thanks for the post. I frequently recommend his columns to people.

Hekate

[BrklynLiberal]

39. Jim Wallis is a good man..and he makes a very important point.

I think that there were many who were turned off by the hateful remarks of the barracuda on Thursday night.

[noamnety]

41. Good line from one of the comments at the link

"Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor."

[Dystopian]

43. Excellent post. KandR. n/t

peace~

[stolivodka]

44. So much for those thousand points of light..

I guess the Republican Party really is intellectually and morally bankrupt.

[Blue State Bandit]

45. My comment to Jim Wallis' post. (One Simple Question)

Let us not forget that our second president, John Adams, and many of our Founding Fathers including John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Ben Franklin, were community organizers in a loose organization called The Sons of Liberty.

These community organizers, not unlike Barack Obama led a social movement that led to the formation of the United States.

So for anyone who would like to truly compair Obama's experience organizing a movement that has drafted him one step from the White House, I would ask one simple question:

What movement has Sarah Palin organized?

I should just post this.

[Blue State Bandit]

48. "One Simple Question" the post...

Posted on GDP.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6970888&mesg_id=6970888

[kayell]

46. "the most important victories for social justice have come more from community organizers "

Which is EXACTLY why pukes don't like community organizers and why pukes knew that Palin wasn't talking about the PTA or Church groups or puke organizations.

[urgk]

47. Let's play "Alaska has a smaller population than!"

Sarah Palin was the governor of Alaska; a point which the Republicans like to throw out as somehow indicative of her fitness to serve as the second most powerful person on the planet. But let's put that into perspective. Palin essentaly held sway over an entire state with less people than a lot of US cities. Lets name them.

Are you ready?! Let's play "Alaska has a smaller population than!"

Alaska's population of some 670,000 is LESS whan which of the folowing US Cities?

1. Charlotte, NC? YES -- (695,995)

2. Austin, TX? YES -- (743,074)

3. Columbus, OH? YES -- (747,755)

4. San Jose, CA? YES -- (939,899)

5. Dallas (1,240,499), Phoenix (1,552,259), Indianapolis (795,458), Philadelphia (1,449,634), Chicago (2,836,658), Memphis (674,028), Jacksonville (805,605), San Francisco (764,976), Detroit (916,952), San Antonio (1,328,984), Houston (2,208,180), Chicago (2,836,658) and Ft. Worth (681,818).

YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES and...YES!



Ok, let's move to Round 2 of America's favorite new game show, "Alaska has a smaller population than!"

In this round, let's try something smaller than US cities. Let's try PIECES of cities!

1. Brooklyn, NY, NY? YES -- (2,465,326)

2. Manhattan, NY, NY? YES -- (1,620,867)

3. Illinois 1st congressional district? NO! This district, one of the 40 smallest in the US geographically, only has 653,647 people, which is NEARLY the population of Alaska, but not quite.




I'm not saying that Alaska doesn't count, that experience at its helm shouldn't mean *something,* but when Sarah Palin gets smarmy and condescending to Senator Obama aout his own experience, she might do well to remember that by title, she's been the Governor of Alaska, but by sheer amount of responsibility, she's only been the Mayor.

[Bluenorthwest]

52. Alaska has a smaller population than

The audience of Tucker Carlson's cancelled cable show.

[mwb970]

50. Has there ever been such an un-American person running for high office?

Palin strikes me as opposed to every value that made America great, and in favor of every single thing that is destructive and damaging to our country, including the secession of Alaska!

This woman is no patriot, even with a gigantic flag pin on each lapel. She's a threat to the nation.

[mwooldri]

51. Made me think: "Community organisers deliver actual results". nt

[Douglas Carpenter]

54. RECOMMENDED!! LET'S HAVE MORE RECOMMENDS!!

[Douglas Carpenter]

55. kik!! THIS NEEDS LOTS AND LOTS OF RECOMMENDS!!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

56. She'll never give an apology...

She's afraid it will make her appear weak, and her illusion of strength is the ONLY thing she's got going for her. She can't afford to lose her base of supporters who think a junk yard dog would make a good VP.

[CBHagman]

57. Who was it who said...

...that the Republicans of George W. Bush's ilk are "never sorry and never wrong"? It may have been Molly Ivins, God rest her soul.

But yes, G of G, you are spot-on on the technique -- never admit to a mistake, never apologize, and moreover counterattack. That's precisely how they handled Palin's cold-hearted decisions regarding her family life and the nomination. They just brazen it out until the media meekly complies.

[NorthCarolina]

61. How about an apology from Giulianni? He was even more condescending

in his mention of community organizers. Hell, I think the entire GOP should "apologize" as from what I observed, all the conventioneers laughed along at the apparent "inside joke".

[yellowdogintexas]

65. I would hate to see what New York City would be like if there were no community organizers

faith based or not.

Take that noun verb 9/11

[kedrys]

64. K&R

I'd really like to know what Poppy B*sh thinks of Caribou Barbie crapping all over his "Thousand Points of Light" initiative...