I have been troubled by Hillary Clinton’s campaign tactics for a while now, and I have had a hard time understanding how her supporters could defend them as an acceptable political strategy against a fellow Democrat.  I am especially disturbed that her supporters can tolerate the intensifying racial attacks against Barack Obama.  I wish that all Democrats would step back and see how the divisive attacks against Obama really benefit the Republican Party and the conservative agenda that has moved this country in such a dangerous direction. 

Throughout the campaign, Obama has been targeted by the media with racist and inflammatory claims of being a Muslim, a terrorist, a traitor, or some variation on this theme.  Even if you are a Clinton supporter and feel that she has been harshly treated by the media and her opponents, the nature of the attacks on Obama have been fundamentally more damaging and dangerous, especially in  post-9/11 America.  While it is true that Hillary must contend with the sexist attitudes that still exist in our society, Obama must contend not only with the racism that is part of our country’s legacy but now the all-out media blitz that has turned the primary into a white vs black referendum.

While the origins of the most egregious attacks may not be known (although some may have their suspicions), it is clear that the attacks have been perpetuated and amplified with alarming intensity by right-wing media groups aligned with the Republican party and conservative business interests.  Unfortunately, the increasingly tabloid nature of cable news has led to a bandwagon effect where every network jumps in with the same non-stop coverage.  This is especially true in the case of Rev. Wright and the sensationalizing of his remarks and his relationship with Barack Obama.  Now some people may feel justified in condemning Wright and thereby condemn Obama for his long-standing association with his minister, but they should not turn a blind eye to the racist, hateful motivations for the attacks in the first place. If it were truly about the beliefs of religious leaders associated with the candidates, there would be equal coverage about Hillary Clinton’s relationship with Doug Coe and The Family and John McCain’s embrace of John Hagee.  In reality, the attacks on Wright and Obama are not about religious views or church affiliations but about making white voters uncomfortable and even frightened by a black culture that they do not understand.

It is a shame that there has been no effort to place the religious philosophy of Liberation Theology espoused by Rev. Wright into a larger historical context so that the white community could understand it better.  In fact, Liberation Theology is not unique to the Black Church, although it probably has its own version, but is also practiced in the Catholic Church as a philosophy for bringing justice to the poor and oppressed.  It is especially strong in Latin America where the indigenous people have been exploited and persecuted by military dictatorships (who are often supported by the US Government), and it is not uncommon for Catholic priests and nuns to be tortured and murdered by paramilitary death squads.  Given the history of slavery in our own country, it us not surprising that Black Churches and their spiritual leaders would play an important role in the ongoing struggle for justice by African Americans. Their efforts should be respected by the Democratic Party and its members rather than feared and attacked as the Republican Party and other right-wing groups are attempting to do through the assault on Rev. Wright and the Trinity United Church of Christ.

Of course, this strategy has paid off and the persistence of the Wright coverage and the other racist attacks on Obama has had a noticeable effect on the attitudes of that ever-critical lower-income white voter that Hillary is targeting (and that the Republicans often win).  These voters have been told for months that Obama is a dangerous black man with dangerous friends and especially a scary black pastor.  Unfortunately, these messages are all too effective at tapping into the racial distrust that is lurking just below the surface of many white people.

But what is the foundation for this fear of black people by so many white people?  If anything, history shows that it is black people who have every reason to be fearful and distrustful of white people.  Even after slavery was abolished after a 250-year span, generation after generation of African Americans has had to endure the discrimination and degradation inflicted on them by white society.  Especially in the South, African Americans have been the victims of terrorists who still operate today such as the KKK and other white supremacist groups and individuals (consider recent events such as the dragging death of James Byrd).  Yet how did the African American community deal with their struggle for civil rights? With unbelievable courage, dignity, and humanity.  They organized and boycotted and marched and lobbied until white America was forced to take notice.  Did they resort to widespread violence and retaliation against white people?  No.

Regardless, many white people are still afraid of black people because the media and right-wing political leaders have told them for so long that they should be through propaganda tactics (such as the Willie Horton ad) and selective media coverage that often dehumanizes black people as violent criminals.  An especially influential source of such fear-mongering is the Republican Party, especially now that it has absorbed all of the former Dixiecrats. In fact, some Republican leaders in Southern states still proudly display the Confederation flag that not only stands for slavery in many peoples’ eyes but also the violent attempt to secede from the Union.  So who are the “traitors” and the ones who do not love America?  African Americans, who have spoken out against oppression and injustice in this country?  Or the right-wing Republican leaders and their media mouthpieces like Sean Hannity, who associate with white supremacist hatemongers?  It is worth noting that white supremacists and religious fanatics have not only targeted blacks and other minorities but they have also carried out the greatest acts of domestic terrorism in the country including the Oklahoma City bombing and the Atlanta Olympics bombing.

In spite of these facts, the media reveals its hypocrisy when it puts a magnifying glass on Rev. Wright and Obama while allowing bigots like Sean Hannity, Joe Scarborough, and Pat Buchanan to judge and condemn them as racist and un-American!  And it’s not just Wright that they fixate on.  Obama has been declared guilty by association for sitting on a board with William Ayers, a former member of the Weatherman whose related activities occurred when Obama was just a child.  In contrast, the media not only overlooks John McCain’s numerous gaffes and his own associations with radical religious figures but even makes excuses and provides explanations on his behalf!  Similarly during the previous presidential elections, the media seemed to accept that George W. Bush’s lost years in his 20s and 30s due to alcohol and drug abuse could be wiped cleaned simply because he was “born again”.   So who does the media portray as less trustworthy to the American people?  A black man who joins a respected African American church and by all accounts has led an honest, compassionate, and faithful life? Or a white man whose spiritual conversion occurred during a single encounter with a counterculture evangelical preacher and who has since heard voices from God that tell him what to do?

Sadly, the right-wing media has fabricated issues to exaggerate a racial divide in the country that serves the interests of the right-wing political establishment. However, there doesn’t have to be a racial divide in this country, even in Southern and Appalachian regions where Obama has had his biggest problem with white voters.  For example, I attended a rally and march in 1998 in Nelsonville Ohio that was led by Jesse Jackson and Jerry Falwell to address the persistent problems of poverty in Appalachia.  A number of white labor leaders talked about how Jackson had been such a true and loyal friend of union workers over the years, and even Falwell said that he and Jackson had a long-standing mutual respect.  It saddens me to see that the good works of black religious leaders like Jackson and Wright are often ignored while their isolated comments are selectively distorted and misinterpreted so shamefully to further divide the electorate.

This is representative of the larger, more insidious process by which our history continues to be rewritten by politicians and the media in such a way to allow white America to forget our country’s historical acts of aggression against African Americans (and Native Americans and Japanese Americans and …) and to even view the very victims of such aggression as being somehow responsible for their own plight. As such, it is easy to use propaganda to convince people that they should fear and hate any group that has grievances with them.  The Bush administration was doing nothing new when it used fear and bigotry after 9/11 to get the American people to support the Iraq War (although it is telling that African Americans as a group were strongly against it).  The same tactic has been used in this country in the past against immigrant groups and in particular by leaders in the South who exploited racial fear and hate to get white people to accept Jim Crow laws as necessary for their own well being.  This fear tactic is still being used today to disenfranchise African Americans but now it occurs through incarceration as evidenced by the disproportionate number of African Americans in prison and the disproportionately harsh sentences imposed on them.

In order to move forward with respect to our national problem with race, we must stop rewriting history to downplay or even deny the brutalities and injustices committed against African Americans.  While it is true that African Americans must help themselves, as many would argue, it is dangerous to make such arguments without acknowledging the systematic disadvantages that have been perpetuated at every level by their earlier discrimination.  This only creates the impression that in some way African Americans are inferior or lazy or want preferential treatment.  This problem is not unique to African Americans. For example, women face similar problems is overcoming gender-based discrimination.  As one example, arguments continue to be made about the innate inferiority of women in the areas of science and math (most recently and perhaps most famously by Harvard University President Lawrence Summers) by selectively pointing to their continued problems while ignoring the barriers that continue to thwart their progress.  Sadly, this argument is also being used by many of our current political leaders with regards to the Iraq War by claiming that the Iraqi people need to take control of their own problems rather than rely on the US for support, while completely ignoring how the utter devastation of the country’s infrastructure by the US invasion and the ensuing anarchy and internal terrorism has made it impossible for them to succeed.  We must stop blaming victims for their own plight without being honest about the responsibility we hold for their problems.

It is time for Democrats to show their appreciation for the unrivaled loyalty of African Americans to the party and to reject the the racist campaign tactics that are polarizing the country.  Do we want the Democratic Party to pander to conservative white voters and alienate the loyal African American constituency, possibly for years to come, for some short-term political gains?   If so, then the Democratic party would not only lose African American support but also the support of progressive and independent-minded voters who will either not participate or will join 3rd parties.  Being short-sighted for political gain is very dangerous and can lead to irreversible changes in our social and political fabric. This time, we must not fall for the divide-and-conquer tactics of the Republican Party and its supporters that have hurt progressive movements for so long.