alternative hippopotamus

progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital

March 21, 2008

Two Wright’s Don’t Make a… Don’t Get Me Started

by AltHippo @ 10:51 pm. Filed under 2008 Elections

Let’s pretend for a second that a bar-room brawl isn’t currently underway between two leading figures in the Democratic Party. No, really, pretend.

Now, let’s take a look at these words from a random member of the clergy from a city somewhere in our fair country: (in this case I’m stealing the quote from David Neiwert)

“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people,” he said in a 2003 sermon. “God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.”

I’m pretty sure I’m right in saying that this is not crazy talk. But, it sure looks crazy if the only thing you leave in the quote is “God damn America.” Let me put it in slightly different terms. Disobeying the commandments, say by killing innocent people and by acting as if one is God, are acts damnable by God. That isn’t a controversial statement, it’s completely supported by the text of Exodus.*

It sure makes me wonder why folks didn’t provide the full quote when they were dissing Obama’s relationship with Wright. Particularly the right-wing media outlets like Fox News and MyDD.

At any rate it makes statement like this one from the blogsite This Makes WFB’s Ghost Sad particularly curious:

The fine folks over at Olbermann Watch have put together this video, contrasting Olbermann’s original nine minute rant about Clinton’s need to “reject and denounce” Geraldine Ferraro with his subsequent defense of Obama’s association with the Rev. Wright. The hypocrisy is breathtaking, even by Olbermann standards.

The line about “The hypocrisy is breathtaking” made my head cock to the side in much the same way that a dog reacts to a picture of a bowl of dog food. It’s that canine moment of contemplating how a thing can both occur in time and space and be unreal at the same time.

This is not a group of people who should use the word “hypocrisy.” Just like Karl Rove can never call a political dirty trick shockingly depraved (unless he’s trying to make a joke) the hacks, wannabees, and leftovers that make up the Corner roundtable can’t use the word hypocrisy.

*”it’s completely supported by the text of Exodus.” When I wrote this I was thinking of the 10 commandments, particularly (verses from Exodus 20:2-17):
3. Do not have any other gods before me.
13. You shall not murder.

Later I realized that this applies equally well to the story of Moses and Pharaoh.

The bigger point is that the statements that Wright made were intended for the context of both the Old Testament stories as well as the struggle in the US for class equality.

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3 Responses to “Two Wright’s Don’t Make a… Don’t Get Me Started”

  1. dcblogger Says:
    March 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 am

    I don’t see how you can call MyDD a right wing blog. Maybe you don’t share his view of the Presidential, Todd Beeton, a front pager, supports Obama, I think Singer does two.

    How many big blogs have front pagers who disagree on this primary? There is MyDD and FireDogLake, every where else it is just Obama or Clinton.

    Give Jerome some credit, he is showing real leadership.

  2. AltHippo Says:
    March 22nd, 2008 at 1:22 am

    That comment about MyDD was meant ironically, though the joke may be lost on this particular debate. I don’t think MyDD is a right wing web site. I do think that Jerome has come a long way from “Crashing the Gates” to spinning Clinton, and disrespecting both Obama and Obama supporters.

    So, I apologize for an attempted bon mot gone bad.

    As far as Jerome showing leadership, that would be very different from my perception. Leadership would be to acknowledge the strengths of Obama as a candidate, and to go on to make the case for Clinton. Here’s where Jerome completely lost me:

    But it’s even worse that, caught up in a presidential contest in which denouncing Wright has been seen only through the prism of supporting Obama, progressives have been silent about Wright’s wrong and divisive words. That’s a terrible precedent to have set.

    Pull off the blinders that have you supporting a particular candidate, while being blind to the bigger issue. If progressives are not going to have the guts to call out those who foster divisive talk, and demand their renouncement, no matter where it comes from, it’s a bigger loss than an election.

    So, Jerome is saying that our local DC grassroots groups (who have endorsed Obama) are blind, while he sees clearly. And what he sees is that myself and people like me are gutless, and will happily ignore principle if it wins them an election.

    That’s hardly leadership. It’s little more than superiority and contempt.

  3. KCinDC Says:
    March 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm

    DCBlogger, while Beeton is certainly a reasonable guy in comparison with Armstrong, I don’t think it’s accurate to say he supports Obama. He voted for Clinton.

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