From: chriswa@microsoft.com (Chris Waldron)
Subject: Re: Clinton's support by Blacks... low.
Date: 23 Jul 92 23:37:53 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation
Distribution: usa


In article <1992Jul22.134908.9927@athena.cs.uga.edu> heath@athena.cs.uga.edu
(Terrance Heath) writes:

>   My question is this : Can Ron Daniels win? I know it seems a
>bit mercenary, but I can't see wasting my vote on a candidate that
>isn't likely to win.  When I'm not 100% satisfied with political
>candidates (BTW I am completely satisfied with Clinton) then I choose
>the lesser of two evils and cast my vote.
>   I've often thought, as a member of antoher minority, that a
>little political planning among minority groups would be a good thing.
>In races where one or both candidates are likely to depend on minority
>votes (the Democrats are depending on combined voting by women and
>minorities, for example), that the concept of "creating political
>debts" would be a good idea. A minority group of voters my not
>comprise enough votes to insure a win for a candidate, but it may
>carry enough votes to help put a candidate over the top when combined
>with other votes. Thus a candidate who gets elected will realize
>he/she ows his/her election, at least in part, to minority
>communitites, and will likely pay more attention to the issues of
>those communities if he/she wants to be reelected.
>   So, I'm more interested in creating political debts than in
>voting for the perfect candidate whom I know is going to loose whether
>I vote for him or not.
>
>--
>"Black men loving black men is THE revolutionary act!"
>           -Joseph Beam_
>Terrance Heath
>heath@athena.cs.uga.edu

    I've followed Bill Clinton's candidacy on C-SPAN prior to Clinton's
announcement to run.  C-SPAN also aired the Democratic Leadership Conference
meeting in Cleveland last year.  Actually, early in the campaign season I
was a staunch Clinton supporter, however, as I followed the campaign, I've
noticed the various chameleon roles he played.  This is someone without
convictions and thus someone who will not make for good leadership.

    Clinton is a media-made candidate.  His appeal is his "electablity"
factor.  But what does that really mean?  It means that he is a young
southern white-male with a centrist agenda designed to lure the back the
Reagan Democrats and not offend the establishment or the non-Orwellean
definition of the phase "special interest".  Clinton's agenda is to appeal to
this narrow base and in no way reach out to the 91,000,000 people who did not
vote in 1988 -- politics as usual.

    With Clinton, I'm sorry to say, that ma$$ media's indoctrination of
the special-interest agenda has been accomplished.  All we have are choices
between special-interest candidates.  Clinton has a poor record on the
environment; tainted by the S&L scandal; no civil rights law and restrictive
laws for homosexuals remains on the Arkansas books yet Clinton was a 4 term
governor; supports the marginalization of welfare and affirmative action
rhetoric; yet is protrayed as a having a "good" record in those areas, or
as pragmatic, or a "tough" decision maker.

    How can Clinton, dodge the Vietnam draft then in turn support the Gulf
War, which in turn left about 200,000 innocent Iraqi people dead, and unknown
number of our own war dead?  You may want to recall that Neil Bush was the
major news story prior to the Gulf War.  And lately -- CNN especially --
there are overtures of going back to finish the job.  Al Gore was selected,
in part, because he is a Vietnam vet and also supported the Gulf War.  This
all to answer the false ma$$ media baiting that the Democrats are "soft on
Defense."  Clinton support of the death penalty to answer the false ma$$
media baiting that the Democrats are "soft on crime".  The public "dissing"
of Jackson and the unions to answer the false ma$$ media baiting that the
Democrats are "too liberal".  Hell the Democrats supported the Reagan agenda.
Reagan could not have double defense spending, cut human service spending,
triple the deficit and debt, deregulated the S&L's and airlines (which BTW
began with Carter), create the greatest wealth disparity this country has
ever seen during the post WWII war years without the aid of the Democrats.
Who stood by quitely while Reagan campaign on racist themes with the blessing
of ma$$ media.  Ron Daniels speech clearly enumerates the severe problems
with Clinton's record.

    The progressive agenda is NOT a black agenda; nor a minority agenda; it
is a PEOPLE'S/PUBLIC INTEREST agenda.  Progressive politics has been
backpeddling for the last quarter of a century.  Liberals have gradually
moved rightward due to the conservative leadership of Nixon, Ford, Carter,
Reagan, and Bush and ma$$ media resonance of the conservative agenda --
you hear it enough times it must be TRUE!

    NOTE:   I also recommend that you to read the July/August '92 edition of
            EXTRA! A publication of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting)
            They have devoted their entire issue to racism in the media.

    However, the greatest harm to progressives are the masqueraders.  Clinton
is one of them.  The Progressive Policy Institute are a think tank full of
them.  They both support this centerist/special-interest agenda while they
peddle their so-called "pragmatism" to "caution" the people not to push their
interest too-hard/too-fast.  Thus Clinton's and the Democrats conservative
position on health-care -- "Play-or-pay".

    Before you vote for Clinton or Bush, for that matter, I ask you to
analyse what makes a great leader.  You may disagree, but Reagan was a GREAT
leader.  In my view a great leader has convictions and stand for something
that he/she believes in.  Then ask yourself whether you believe in what they
stand for.

    To answer your question Ron Daniels CANNOT win UNLESS he has support and
that's the CATCH-22.  I have "thrown-away" my vote, voting for the lesser
of two evils since 1976.  The people have compromised too much and has gained
too little -- especally African Americans.

ChrisWa.


Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american