Obama workers attacked, race still an issue in the election

My home state likes to think of itself as a bastion of democracy, a “nice place to raise a family.” Unfortunately, the ugly underbelly of the state rose to the occasion during this year’s Presidential primaries, giving some of Senator Barack Obama’s young campaign workers a nasty experience.

It seems that some folk are unaware that the Klan no longer has a governor in the Statehouse and black folk are actually just a part of this multicultural nation. These same folk also don’t seem to be familiar with the Golden Rule, or even the laws of assault and battery.

I’m told that a few door-to-door Obama campaigners got cursed at and even had dogs set on them, as they campaigned during the state’s primary season in early May. Ah, what a country. We have wanna be terrorists tormenting campaign staff, while we wage two foreign wars to allegedly bring democracy, justice and freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The nastiness is about to slither out from the woodwork, again. But, what’s new about that? Some have already said this election year will go down in history as a 40 year grandchild of the 1968 elections. Surely, we hope not.

While that election year brought about great change, it was so full of violence and chaos that it came close to wrecking the nation. Bobby Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated. Chicago’s homegrown Gestapo busted hippy heads at the Democratic Convention. Millions of dollars of real estate went up in flames as disenfranchised residents of the nation’s ghettos unleashed their anger and “burned the house down.”

Lincoln said, “A house divided can not stand.” And, indeed, this nation is getting mighty wobbly. The haves are distancing themselves from the have nots. The have nots are staggering under the massive burdens of astronomical fuel price increases, stagnant wages, job uncertainty, falling housing prices and catastrophic mortgage increases.

There is a lot of anger in this country. Some politicians are exploiting the uncertainty of the white blue collar demographic, which, if the truth is told, has the same problem as black blue collar and working class Hispanic, Native American, and other income-impaired groups. Namely that the cost of living has gone through the roof, jobs have been outsourced, and many politicians have long since sold out and are just paying lip service to their constituents.

Middle class, blue collar and ethnic voters in this nation, voters of all demographics need to stop and take a look at reality. And, reality is, politicians have been pandering to race and class for generations.

White politicians rode that sorry nag into office for centuries. In the Deep
South more than two generations ago, George Wallace lost his first election because he wasn’t strong enough on segregation. He never made that mistake again.

He didn’t campaign on job creation. He didn’t campaign on increasing the standard of living for his constituents. He campaigned on segregation and rode into office on his racist horse—and stayed there for decades.

Americans need to get beyond the manipulators and the closet racists, code word users, and back room alley deal makers. Black America, White America, Red and Brown America all have the same problems—our leaders have sold us out and continue to play us for fools.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Keep on fooling me and I ought to have a keeper, because I obviously am incapable of adult perception and decision making.

Author is internationally published, and writes on politics, economics and social issues.