Thursday, October 13, 2011

The Obamas Subtly Begin to Play Racial Politics

by Keith Koffler on October 12, 2011, 6:01 pm

Are you a Republican? Are you a racist? Because if you ask the Obamas, the answer is that you just might be.

Ever so subtly, the Obamas – yes, her too – appear to be playing the race card. They are turning this into a “values” election, and one of the values they are suggesting, ever so subtly, that Republicans hold is a distaste for people who aren’t white.

Take the remarks made today by President Obama before the administration’s “Forum on American Latino Heritage,” a transparent attempt to placate Latino voters.

I ran for President for the same reason many people came to this country in the first place: Because I believe America should be a place where you can always make it if you try; a place where every child, no matter what they look like, where they come from, should have a chance to succeed.

I still believe in that America. I believe we can be that America again. The truth is, the problems we face today were a long time coming and solving them will take time. In a global economy, it will require us to have the best-educated workforce, the strongest commitment to research and innovation, the most reliable communications and transportation networks.

But with so many people hurting today, there are things we can do right now to make a difference. There are things we should do right now to put more people back to work and to restore a sense of security and fairness that’s been missing for too long.

So that’s why I put forward the American Jobs Act. That’s why I sent Congress a jobs bill made up of the kinds of proposals that, traditionally, Democrats and Republicans have supported. Independent economists who do this for a living have said the American Jobs Act would lead to more growth and nearly 2 million jobs next year. No other jobs plan has that kind of support from actual economists — no plan from Congress, no plan from anybody.

But apparently, none of this matters to Republicans in the Senate.

If Obama “believes” in an America where children should have a chance to succeed “no matter what they look like,” and we are no long “that America,” then who changed it? The implication is clear that it happened under George W. Bush.

To use this viewpoint as the set up for Republican opposition to Obama’s jobs legislation completes the thought: We are becoming a racist society in which the color of your skin can hold you back, and Republicans not only are at fault but are resisting Obama’s noble attempt to correct this.

That this message was delivered to an Hispanic audience makes it all the more transparent.

Mrs. Obama was working of the same script Tuesday night during a fundraiser in Washington.

Who are we? Will we be a country that tells folks who’ve done everything right, but are struggling a little bit — will we tell them, tough luck, you’re on your own? Who are we? Or will we honor that fundamental American belief that I am my brother’s keeper, that I am my sister’s keeper — (applause) — and if one of us is hurting, then all of us are hurting? Who are we? (Applause.)

Will we be a country where opportunity is limited to just the few at the top? Or will we give every child — every child — a chance to succeed, no matter where she’s from, or what she looks like, or how much money her parents are? Who are we? That’s what’s at stake here.

Who are we indeed. Are we Republicans, who would deny a child because she is from somewhere else – i.e. a Latina – or because of “what she looks like?” Is that who you are?

If you are a Republican, the Obamas think so.

No comments:

Post a Comment