Obama is causing that Thing to run amok.

[Poll_Blind]

  That Thing which Bill and Hillary Clinton are the most visible aspect of but which they do not control. The peristalsis of that Thing which hopes to move Clinton or McCain into the presidency. That Thing which is inadequately shorthanded into being described as "the status quo".

  One thing that this race has taught me is that the status quo has teeth, and limbs, and claws at the ends of those limbs. It can re-frame our society in a moment via our media. It can deliver cross-burning racism with the quaint tone of a Pepperidge Farm commercial. It can turn the mundane into outrage. It can spew absurdity in hopes of making us commit atrocity. And it can lactate this poison instantly from a billion glowing glass teats and speakers.

  And I would have never realized how insinuated this Thing was if it were not for Barack Obama. His mere existence- his honesty, his willingness to speak to us intelligently about serious issues is too much for that Thing to bear. It is terminally unacceptable to the status quo. It has vested so much in making Politics so abhorrent that the one tool we have for change is drummed into us as being unmentionably base.

  That's a spectacular deception. Yet so many of us believe the lie is as real as are the laws of nature.

  But Barack breaks though the lie and to those, like me, who believe his way is the real path out of these troubled times, it is nothing less than a paradigm shift which is deeply quaking American politics.

  Merely for speaking mundane truths.

  Again, think about how incredible a deception must be that plain speaking about the reality that we ourselves know to be true is political heresy.

  The collusion between the Clinton and McCain camps are proof that Obama represents something that Thing was too filled with hubris to consider a real threat- and now has to desperately play catch-up without the benefit of subtlety. And that is why we have seen people like Bill Clinton and Geraldine Ferarro and James Carville and their collective surrogates spew every conceivable bile onto Obama, largely un-rebuked by the media.

  As the fresh air of political realism blows Clinton's campaign ever closer toward the precipice of the historical footnote the attacks will grow worse and worse. The race baiting will become bolder and bolder, if that is even possible at this point without resorting to outright racial slurs. The absurd, manufactured outrages will continue.

  And now, sensing that even those things cannot cut him down, they reshape their message from the inevitable Clinton presidency to the inevitable Clinton vice-presidency. Will they squirm into a vice presidency under McCain under the guise of an ultimate unity ticket if their bid for this party's VP slot fails as well? The Thing will keep on working, doing everything it can to prevent Obama from the Oval Office. His honesty is withering to the status quo.

PB

[FrenchieCat]

1. Now that is what the American people should Fear.......

the Status Quo!

Not Barack Obama.

[crankychatter]

2. hey now

"...it can lactate this poison instantly from a billion glowing glass teats and speakers..."

you can write for ME anytime

delightful post

[Poll_Blind]

29. .

:blush: Thanks!

PB

[11 Bravo]

3. K&R for the "peristalsis" usage as well as the "glass teats" metaphor.

[Zodiak]

4. Good stuff, well-written

And I agree with just about every word of it. Loved the glass teat line.

[Poll_Blind]

8. I must admit "glass teat" is lifted from the Harlan Ellison book of the...

...same name. It's a fascinating vivisection of telivision and while it's bit dated, he touches on too many universal truths (about mass media) to let it slip into obscurity.

PB

[chill_wind]

5. Truth! And you would appreciate this essay, too (link)

(...)

"The attack on Wright is that it was set up in a way to make it look like the Reverend — a man whose entire career has been devoted to social justice — is a racist. That took a bit of maneuvering. In fact, the media, and their friends at the right-wing think tanks, had to dig through 15 years of Wright's sermons to find just the right snippets they needed to destroy Obama. Now that's determination!

Race has become one of the dominant issues on the campaign-trail. Obama is no longer just a man running for office; now he's a black man. That's how swift-boating works. Like they say in the Godfather; “It's not personal; it's just business”. The business of personal destruction.

Wright means nothing to the media or to the men behind the curtain. If he didn't provide an avenue for denigrating Obama, he'd be treated with the same indifference as the thousands of other blacks who were herded at gunpoint into the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina. Better buckle up. Obama has entered the crosshairs of America's criminal oligarchy and things are bound to get nasty."




Better Buckle Up : Obama In Crosshairs Of America's Criminal Oligarchy

Counterpunch
April 28, 2008
But Will It Topple Obama?
Jeremiah Wright Delivers the Knockout Punch
By MIKE WHITNEY

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5718959


http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney04282008.html

[Poll_Blind]

9. So true, that. I am fascinated by the invisible machine responsible, say, that...

...literally poured over everything that Wright had ever said or written or published in his church bulletin. It's astounding to me, that kind of effort for someone who is only tangentially related to Obama.

  In the same vein, Obama's every word both on and off camera (if it can be recorded) are scrutinized for any possible way to take them out of context and use them against him. The recording of Obama's "bitter" comment is a perfect example. Knowing this, it reassures me because they have to keep recycling Wright and other faux outrages because even with that level of scrutiny they can find so very little to exploit.

  That's terribly impressive, considering the microscope he's under.

PB

[Leopolds Ghost]

25. If it didn't allow denigrate Obama, Wright'd be treated w/same indifference as 1000s of other blacks

If he didn't provide an avenue for denigrating Obama, he'd be treated with the same indifference as the thousands of other blacks who were herded at gunpoint into the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.

All too true. It has become racist to point out where the real racism has gone to hide. In your living room, in your company's board room, in your auto shop, in your work place, at your watering hole, at your son's school, at your Honor Roll parent confab.

All those virulent racist scumbags who would gladly pummel you
physically into the dirt just like their daddies did to your parents
or siblings in the 60s. IF they were allowed to say what they really
think about black people BECAUSE then you and an angry electorate
of unaware, shocked liberal youth would call them on it.

AND THEY WOULD RESORT TO VIOLENCE TO DEFEND THEIR WORLDVIEW, and their newfound freedom to continue making such remarks.

The whole reason they are so "BITTER" is NOT because of economics --
they are not representative of the working class, or any interest group
-- but because they were silenced by "political correctness" in the 1970s
for fear of the new, rising tide of intolerance TOWARDS a racist mode of
discourse that they feel is necessary --to express what American freedom
and American society "really is about" -- a society where the have-nots
deserve their place in life for RACIAL and CULTURAL reasons, thereby
making rich and poor whites feel equal.

Mitigating social tensions among the "elect".

They fervently desire the freedom to express themselves
same as "the blacks and the liberals" are allowed to do.

On issues such as economics, even culture, they don't differ
all that much. It's just that they believe in social justice
only for white people -- who deserve it.

Just like all the racists who voted for Reagan in Boston because of busing.

To this day, their schools are segregated -- and they will
burn Obama in effigy if he reinstituted busing.

Obama's supposed "spiritual advisor" Wright will likewise be burned
in effigy, not because the content of his remarks is particularly racial
but because of his ACCENT and CULTURE. The affrontery that a
"proudly African American" person could be allowed to "act out"
in such a fashion -- foolishly or not.

That is a freedom only ignorant, overzealous WHITE preachers have.

Not ignorant, overzealous black guys like Wright. When he
does it, they have to make an example of him to prove a racial point.
A dogwhistle that only some people are attuned to hear.

"What Hagee said is OK -- THIS is unacceptable. Consider the SPEAKER."

[chill_wind]

30. Preachers of "uber-nationalism." THAT's why it's ok. The media uses it as a club over Americans'

heads.

"The media use every soapbox in the country to preach uber-nationalism and vilify America's critics as unpatriotic. That's why the wrath of the media has descended on Obama like a Texas hailstorm; they're afraid he doesn't understand who really runs things in America."



It's the same uber-nationalistic Christian zeal that let good little citizens in fascist Germany be the willing foot soldiers for the masters of their fascist homeland.

Imagine anyone with a prime-time MSM audience telling all that for what it is.


This was such a powerful piece to me. Another perfect point you've expanded on.

[chill_wind]

31. error- (self-delete )

eom

[juno jones]

6. Actually I liked the 'pepperige farm' line,

No matter, you are a fine writer. And you have put picture to similar thoughts that have been bubbling in my brain. Thank you.

[kwenu]

7. Ooooh. That's good.

[Uncle Joe]

10. I believe you've nailed the situation.

The corporate media has many manifestations and it's not just the news, from the morning talk shows to late night comedy and everything in between, they have all the bases and demographics covered and after decades of studying human psychology they know precisely which bell to ring in order to make any Pavlov's Dog foam at the mouth.

If they can't attack the candidate championing hope and change, they will smear his associates and then tie them together in a memory stack so if you think of one, you automatically think of the other. These are the people that brought us the Bush Presidency based on lies, these are the people that cheerleaded us to a war based on lies and hate, these are the people that now call water torture, something of which we hanged the Japanese for "enhanced interrogation".

They have outsourced their journalistic integrity to the highest bidder, betrayed the best interests of the American People and they are legion.

Thanks for the thread Poll_Blind.

[Poll_Blind]

15. Yep. This conflation of Obama and Wright or Obama and (whomever) are...

...transparently absurd- but they keep throwing them out anyway. To me, the kinds of attacks he's been a victim of have been so over-the-top lately that they reek of desperation on the part of the McClinton campaign. But there is more than just an element of it which is deeply concerning as an Obama supporter: That (like the bullshit about Obama being a Muslim) if they spread the lies enough and consistently it really will fool voters who are ignorant of the facts, for whatever reason.

  You know, speaking of the study of human psychology for political exploitation- have you ever seen the BBC program "Century of Self"? They have all 4 episodes on video.google.com. It's very interesting although you may become a little restless as it builds to it's 4th episode.

  There is some amazing footage, just from a sociological standpoint. I recommend it. It's entertaining and thought provoking and it covers the transition of psychology (albeit Freudian) to propaganda to marketing and finally to politics.

PB

[Uncle Joe]

16. Thanks for the tip I will check it out. I know Al Gore addresses the subject of

the growth of human psychology, marketing, sociology and it's magnified propaganda effects via mass one way communication forms; radio and primarily television in his book "The Assault on Reason".

Peace
UJ

[Poll_Blind]

19. Cool. BTW, if you don't have the time for all 4 episodes, just skip to the 4th....

  I'm watching it now and if you don't really plan on watching them all the 4th does enough of a recap. At about 35 minutes in it turns to the Clinton campaign. I had forgotton about this aspect of it but you'll find it both useful and a sort of harmonic reflection of what's going on now with this new Clinton campaign.

Anyway, PEACE!

PB

[Leopolds Ghost]

26. It's not just the monopolies, it's the entire culture that causes some to know when to be quiet

Television and Youtube facilitate this by enabling anything you say to be used as a weapon -- just like wiretapping. It's not just a lack of ability for politicians and activists to create spaces of their own, it is a lack of ability to tailor their message and arguments depending on who they are speaking to. Television and its online variants allow the self-appointed caretakers of the throne to create a mass living room, a virtual head of household for every American under which only one accent, only one interpretation of fact (or belief), only one political viewpoint is considered acceptable "in this house".

[Uncle Joe]

34. But that's the price of them being a monopoly, they're weaker because of it.

The mass living room leaves out many people of which the corporate media ignore or demean all in the pursuit of that goal of appealing to that bland mass. Anything with controversy is hush hush, anything requiring too much thought is "boring", anything pushing the envelope of a set of preselected ideas regarding political thought is radical. They make up for it by distracting the masses with shiny baubles of titillation drenched in superficiality.

The power they have obtained through concentration is in itself an ever-growing Achilles Heel of their journalistic capabilities, in the long term, I believe this to be a catastrophic dysfunction for our national security.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. you hit the nail (or that Thing) on the head - recommended

n/t

[stillcool]

12. like trying to stop a run-away-train...

My husband listened to Reverend Wright today and said..'Now that's the way politicians should talk'. He still watches Hardball every now and then, and I'm hoping he watches tonight. It's not always so apparent to him, how far off the mark Tweets and Company is.

[redqueen]

13. Nice!

I hope he doesn't fall for the 'Cliton as VP' bull.

[Poll_Blind]

18. I think most politically-savvy people see this as Clinton desperately scrabbling...

...for some sort of purchase as she hangs by her nails. If Obama reaches out, she'll pull him over with her if she can. I'm 100% sure Obama knows this and won't yield to the pressure that Clinton is trying to put on him, trying to avoid at all costs a possible run with McCain. But as Rice would say, "All options are on the table."

  There were more than a few times that I've actually felt sorry for Hillary Clinton. But you can only see her cycle of smear so many times before you reach the "Shit on her, she is no good, period." At least that's what I've come to. It's befuddling because I spent a hell of a lot of time defending her and Bill in the 90's.

  But remember, anyone can be just the sweetest, easy-go-lucky person in the world when things are going well. To see this naked hunger on the part of just about every one of the top-tier Clinton supporters, a hunger which will cause them to do and say anything they think will smear Obama- even if it does not strengthen Clinton's position in the telling...Well, nauseating is a pale word for it.

  Anyway, got off topic. I'm concerned about what the super delegates are dealing with now- because you know the Clinton campaign has got to be calling them like every 45 minutes and promising each one the ambassadorship to France or similar. Quid pro quo. And this is interesting because they may actually be able to buy enough of the remaining super delegates- but whole communities will be burning them in effigy if they try to overturn the will of the primary voters by buying out the "big dogs".

  Still, that doesn't mean they aren't trying to do it, 25 hours a day.

PB

[madrchsod]

14. another excellent post from a member of the democratic underground

over the years posts like yours reaffirms that this place is second to none..

if one does`t say it`s wrong then one must believe it is right....

[Bucky]

17. Seriously...

[Scurrilous]

20. K & R

:thumbsup:

[FrenchieCat]

21. Figured I'd Kick this now......

[chill_wind]

22. Kick and bookmark. n/t

[kentuck]

23. There's something going on...

that we don't know.

[Poll_Blind]

27. I get that feeling too. I'm afriad how far this will go. Remember when Aaron Brown talked...

...about "The New Normal", after 9/11? Remember when Ari Fleisher said that "Everyone needs to watch what they do and say"- and the media just accepted it? When I heard those things the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. Maybe you experienced something similar. There was the vague feeling that someone had, ahem, turned the worm for us.

  I'm starting to get the feeling that this race for the nomination may have similarly reaching implications but...I can't guess how it will end. As Stephen King would pose the question: Will the monster be bested, or will it feed? Chaos or order - which will rule this night?

PB

[Leopolds Ghost]

24. Error: You have already recommended that thread after 2 paragraphs

[leftstreet]

28. K&R

[ms liberty]

32. K&R for truth. n/t

[vaughnarceneaux]

33. Obama is causing that Thing to run amok

We need the Reverend Wright discussion. There are things we don't want to talk about but we need the discussion. Remember right after 9-11? We were supposed to watch what we say about the Pres. After all, he was our exalted leader and we were engaged in holy war. Nope, we need to discuss the faults of this country often and loudly.

[jasmine621]

35. Hmmm... I guess you slept thru '88 and '84 when Jesse Jackson

proposed and called for the same things that Obama is now saying, albeit, much more eloquently. I guess you really have to wear a three-piece suit and look like a Wall Street high-roller and speak the "king's English" before you can be taken seriously in America. Too bad for us. Obama has unloaded one piece of baggage. I guess he will be able to charm his way through pile at the end of the platform.