Every once in a while I will find myself browsing MyDD, Hillaryis44, Taylor Marsh, etc., and get lost in anger. I forget for a few minutes that the blogosphere is not a microcosm of the country, and I wonder what has happened. Every time, I think about writing a diary about how the party seems torn apart, how racism is much more alive in the Democratic party than I thought, and how something has to be done.
Then I remember that the party as a whole is not like that. I think.
Still, I can't help but find it very disturbing that a large portion of so-called progressives can embody what I so despise about the GOP. How can they really believe the shit they are spewing? Obama is racist?
Barack Obama is the George Wallace of the Left
That tops the rec list at MyDD.
The interesting thing about the Obama and Hillary hatred on the blogs is that it seems to make us all hypocrites. I mean, I often bash Clinton because I really don't like her. The Obama-haters seem to think this is all equal. Yet time and time again we say that we don't think Hillary is racist, we just don't like her tactics. Most of us are actually quite mild about her. Take a step back and look at this campaign. She has directly insulted voters by dismissing them as unimportant. She tried to throw Farrakan and Wright at Obama. She has deserved all the hate.
Obama is not completely innocent, obviously. But most of what his critics point to are statements from his campaign, not the candidate himself. And even those are pretty mild.
Anyway, I think the worst thing about all this is how it seemed to evolve. First Obama was being sexist. That one wasn't hard for the Obama-haters. They said the "claws come out" comment was sexist and rallied around Hillary the victim of sexism.
But that wasn't enough. When South Carolina came up, and we saw the Clinton campaign use race to divide, Obama became the one using the race card.
The decision by Obama to use race against both Clintons has been
well-documented and brutally effective
The documentation?
The Obama campaigns memo that merely listed all of her campaign misstatements that had racial overtones.
That argument went on for a while, until about a week ago. Then the Obama-haters moved into the final stage: Obama the racist.
Obama didn't make a poor judgement in joining Wright's church or staying in it. No, Obama is Wright. The new line of attack paints Obama with the same brush. He is racist and is trying to win the presidency by exploiting black racism.
Because Obama's candidacy is based on his biography and race, the Left - including most liberal bloggers, The Nation magazine, George Packer of the New Yorker, MoveOn.org - have endorsed Obama for offering a "transformative" opportunity. This is simply a code word for purifying the nation by electing a black man.
I'm sure I am preaching to the choir when I point out the disgusting nature of the shit that gets written on MyDD and other places. None of this is new. But I do think its a problem.
The evolution of the Obama hate is appalling. For the last few days, many on dKos have called for us to play nice with Clinton supporters. After all, we will need them in the GE. Of course, for most this is true. Most Clinton supporters are willing to listen and I believe we can surely make peace with them for the good of the country.
But the few that continue to write and rec these hateful posts do not deserve to be treated respectfully. If they leave the party and vote for McCain, fine.