Adolph Reed Jr. is Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

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I’ve never been an Obama supporter. I’ve known him since the very beginning of his political career, which was his campaign for the seat in my state senate district in Chicago. He struck me then as a vacuous opportunist, a good performer with an ear for how to make white liberals like him. I argued at the time that his fundamental political center of gravity, beneath an empty rhetoric of hope and change and new directions, is neoliberal.

His political repertoire has always included the repugnant stratagem of using connection with black audiences in exactly the same way Bill Clinton did—i.e., getting props both for emoting with the black crowd and talking through them to affirm a victim-blaming “tough love” message that focuses on alleged behavioral pathologies in poor black communities. Because he’s able to claim racial insider standing, he actually goes beyond Clinton and rehearses the scurrilous and ridiculous sort of narrative Bill Cosby has made infamous.

It may be instructive to look at the outfit where he did his “community organizing,” the invocation of which makes so many lefties go weak in the knees. My understanding of the group, Developing Communities Project, at the time was that it was simply a church-based social service agency. What he pushed as his main political credential then, to an audience generally familiar with that organization, was his role in a youth-oriented voter registration drive. (more…)

Pleas for Florida and Michigan by heyboy56

NEXT : OBAMA’S OCTOBER SUPRISE !!! (more…)

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We had 621 comments in the original post below — “Will Barack Throw Mama From the Train? [Update Two].” The second thread had 522 comments.

We had over 600 comments in the original post below — “Will Barack Throw Mama From the Train? [Update Two]” — and bega a new thread. We’ll wait about 10-15 minutes to close comments on the previous thread, just in case there’s a reply you may need to get in.

THIS IS THE STORY. And it is thanks to LARRY JOHNSON that we have a good shot at wresting control from the “happy world” hacks at the DNC and get people with COMMON SENSE to hire the best woman for the job of president. (more…)

I’m very upset by recent statements you have made about funding education by “postponing” elements of the space program. Let me tell you why this is a very ill-advised position.

1. It makes you look like an idiot.

If you do indeed postpone Orion by five years, you have effectively killed it. The project will lose its knowledgeable personnel, its production schedule will be canceled and there will then be no replacement for the 40 year old shuttle fleet. The Russians (and perhaps by then, the Chinese) will be the only nations with manned access to the ISS and to space.

2. It makes you look like an idiot.

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I now have it from two three four sources (three who are close to senior Republicans) that there is video dynamite–Michelle Obama railing against “whitey” at Jeremiah Wright’s church. Republicans may have a lousy record when it comes to the economy and the management of the war in Iraq, but they are hell on wheels when it comes to opposition research. Someone took the chance and started reviewing the recordings from services at Jeremiah Wright’s United Church of Christ. Holy smoke!! I am told there is a clip that is being held for the fall to drop at the appropriate time. The last thing Barack and Michelle need is a new clip that raises further questions about her judgment and temperament. Here’s what the Republicans are currently using in Tennessee:

When the ugly video tapes about Jeremiah Wright’s racist ravings first broke Barack Obama told us he could no more disown Jeremiah Wright than his own Grandmother. Well, we all know how that turned out. So will Barack stand by Michelle when the tape emerges of her verbally attacking “whitey?” Republicans, who are otherwise gloomy about prospects in November, recognize that this recording will create real problems for Barack and give them a shot at the White House. It is their October surprise.

Does Barack have an obligation to tell the Democrats, super delegates in particular, about this tape? Did Barack and his campaign do their basic homework and identify this tape as a potential problem? And, more importantly, do they have a copy? Probably better to deal with this issue before the convention rather than wait for October. What do you think?

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Two things happened:

1) Alegre received an official warning (BELOW THE FOLD), and she had to acknowledge, by clicking the buttons, that she saw the SINS ERRORS of her ways in order to be able to continue to post at MyDD.

2) Alegre’s diary was edited. This portion, she says, was removed: “At MyDD the admin. saw fit to delete all references to those 400 bloggers that may or may not be on Obama’s payroll.” [THIS IS THE FIRST TIME in any of our memories that a diary has ever been edited on ANY blog. If a diary is offensive to the admins, it is erased. BUT TO EDIT IT? WITHOUT collaboration with the author? Unbelievable behavior.]

Her experience is not unlike that of Larry Johnson’s who chose to respond this way: “Fuck KOS!.” (If you’ve never read Larry’s rant against Daily Kos, you must!)

HERE’s the screenshot of the warning that Alegre received: (more…)

I got an email from a friend and have tried to confirm this from other sources – no luck as yet but I thought I’d mention this to raise an important point gang… Rumor has it that Camp Obama’s making a huge push to make nice with Hillary’s online fans and convince us to abandon our gal before even a single vote’s been cast at the convention this summer. Some are even saying he’s gone and hired 400 bloggers. Check it out…

Source - HillBuzz

the Obama campaign has hired 400 bloggers to influence the public discourse and sway Hillary voters to “remember we are all Democrats”, to give up Clinton's cause, and to become dutiful citizens of the Obama Nation.

I don’t know if that 400 blogger bit is true but I’ve noticed a LOT of new Obama followers here on MyDD over the past few days so maybe there’s something to it. Not sure if they’re paid or if they even exist and frankly, I really don’t care. But I do care that people are calling for Hillary’s supporters to “give it up” and telling us “it’s over” when not one single vote has been cast in our party’s convention. That’s a few months off yet so why don’t we just let the rest of the states have their say, make our case to the undeclared superdelegates out there and chill?

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