One of Obama's Real Problems: Jeremiah Wright

The racist rhetoric espoused by Senator Barack Obama’s pastor of twenty years and spiritual mentor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, has finally come under the large-scale scrutiny that it deserves. Wright, the retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, is overt in his condemnation of all things American and white.

The juxtaposition of Wright's words of condemnation for a largely Christian America spoken under a banner containing the name Christ is jarring. Wright’s version of Christ offers not redemption but damnation; damnation of America for her crimes—real and perceived—and damnation for whites as a collective. Rev. Wright’s statements are so inflammatory that one wonders whether he would siphon all of the Caucasian DNA out from himself if he could, to borrow a concept from Malcolm X.

Anyway, since there are so many blogs and news outlets covering this I’ll just point to those which I think provide unique insight to the issues. But first...

Why did it take so long for the MSM and other observers to give this very important issue the scrutiny it deserves? There are two reasons.

1. The race-baiting of the Clintons coupled with the accusations of race baiting by Obama supporters, and,

2. The wild goose chases regarding Obama’s Kenyan Luo heritage, his visit there, his relationship to Raila Odinga, the mind-bogglingly distorted analyses of the origins of the conflict in that country, the ahistorical analyses of how mixed-raced persons have been identified in this country and the Obama-as-Muslim whisper campaign.

Under these headings have all too many commentators been willing to conjure and/or twist facts in order to further the aim of discrediting Obama. They wanted to get to the finish line without running the entire race. (I’ve seen authors write treatise after treatise on the Kenya situation, each postulating that it was some sort of Islam-Christianity death struggle, often accompanied by external scholarly or journalistic links which refuted what was being described. And forget about a link to an actual Kenyan blogger or news source; not unless the source served to affirm the pre-formulated conclusion, which amounted to--never.)

Basically, some of you Cried Wolf on some of Obama’s issues and, in the process, hindered the publicizing of real problems with an Obama candidacy. People get tired of separating the wheat from the chaff. Just be glad that this latest and very real Wolf is egotistical enough to sell his Wolf Tickets on camera.

Now on to Wright. From a 2006 speech at Howard University, here are the basics.

"We've got more black men in prison than there are in college," … "Racism is alive and well. Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run. No black man will ever be considered for president, no matter how hard you run Jesse [Jackson] and no black woman can ever be considered for anything outside what she can give with her body."[SNIP]

"America is still the No. 1 killer in the world. . . . We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns, and the training of professional killers . . . We bombed Cambodia, Iraq and Nicaragua, killing women and children while trying to get public opinion turned against Castro and Ghadhafi . . . We put [Nelson] Mandela in prison and supported apartheid the whole 27 years he was there. We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God." [SNIP]

"We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic. . . . We care nothing about human life if the end justifies the means. . . ." [SNIP]

"We started the AIDS virus . . . We are only able to maintain our level of living by making sure that Third World people live in grinding poverty. . . ."

(That Wright used the pronoun ‘we’ instead of ‘they’ is about the only positive aspect of any of this.)

Shrunken down: Michael Bowen gives an excellent analogy on how some black people have dealt psychologically with racism and the symbolic role that Wright may play for Obama in this area.

If Mitt Romney’s Mormonism was an issue, is Barack Obama’s affiliation with this church and this pastor an issue? Or so asks Kathryn Jean Lopez.

Shay Riley has been to Obama’s church:

I found the church promoted a political agenda - it is definitely a Pan-Africanist church, which in itself is good although that church promotes a socialist version of Pan-Africanism that I don't support - to the exclusion of a spiritual one rooted in biblical teachings. Or as one of my uncles says, Trinity United Church of Christ is an Afrocentric and not a Christocentric (or even an Afrocentric-Christocentric) church. That fact will not help countering the claim that Sen. Obama is "an undercover Muslim" bent on destroying America from within by joining with anti-American forces.

Wright’s rhetoric has inspired Protein Wisdom’s Dan Collins to wax poetic.

Tom Maguire (via Thomas Lifson): “[W]hen does the reconciliation begin? Barack's wife is angry, his minister is foaming, yet we are supposed to elect Barack as Mr. Sunshine and Unity. Why aren't the people closest to him sunny and united?”

Ever the one to dig a little deeper is the Anchoress:

What is going on here is a profound slight-of-hand, or an illusionist’s expert misdirection. You are being told to think you’re seeing one thing, when you’re actually seeing another. Except for the fact that whoever released these tapes has played it, this sermon would not be an example of a “race card” being thrown. It’s a victim card. This is about the Primacy of Victimhood over all else. [SNIP]

[W]hile the victim card appeals to emotions, it tends to noisily set off rage in those who listen and perceive themselves as being identified as the “enemy.” So everyone gets emotional, everyone starts yelling, and no one is listening or making any sense.

The victim card is an odd card to play in a presidential race; victimhood in and of itself seems like a strange theme for either presidential candidate to embrace. “Vote for me; I’m the bigger victim and this qualifies me to…” what, exactly, lead the wailing?

Why can't Obama really distance himself from Wright and TUCC? It'd be like cutting off his arm.

No one - unless they are a brain-dead moron - would sit five minutes under Wright’s racist and anti-American rantings without walking out. Barak has sat there for twenty years. That’s...complicity.

There may be more.

(Thanks to Instapundit, to Hot Air and to Memeorandum)

UPDATE: A 'lanche is always good to come home to. Let's see what's up in the comments.

UPDATE: Say what?

Indeed, it is a lack of understanding of the black church that contributes to the blogosphere’s and MSM’s mistaking Rev. Wright for a hate-monger.

(Emphasis mine.)

This was no mistake, Mr. Miniter, and Wright's assertions come from no church that I recognize. And by the way, there is no "black church." There is only the Church.

What about the 9/11 and HIV stuff?

There isn’t any video of Rev. Wright’s sermons on those topics [sic], but I am prepared to believe he said something along those lines. More than a third of politically active blacks believe that the HIV virus is man-made and most likely spread by the CIA, surveys show. That’s obvious nonsense, but it tells us more about the state of the black community that about Rev. Wright. He is simply echoing their paranoia. Should have risen above it and said the problems of AIDS and drug abuse are self-inflicted? Should he have called on his flock to heal itself through self-discipline and encouraged them every step of the way? Yes. But his church is not the only weak institution in this country, the only citadel that refuses impart hard truths and love toughly. [SNIP]

So don’t blame Rev. Wright. He is simply the victim of ideological disease, doing the best that he can to help others in his somewhat incapacitated state.

A commenter at Pajamas Media answers this nonsense quite effectively:

Your apologia is almost as contemptible as Rev. Wright's comments. So the po' darkies are too (oppressed? weak? slow?) to rise above this kind of garbage? [SNIP]

Giving blacks like Rev. Wright a pass is just another form of bigotry.

That pass is equivalent to treating blacks like children. I, for one, have had enough of it.

Comments

[Dan Collins]

Best round-up so far.

You da man, woman.

[docweasel]

I am really enjoying all these rightblogs, including many who, in hatred for McCain, jumped on the Romney bandwagon, are suddenly deciding that religion IS a fair target for judging a candidate. Because when we at docweaselblog pointed out, time and time again, that not only was Romney a member of a "religion" with racist, sexist and horribly intolerant and slanderous teachings about Catholics, blacks, Jews, and non-Mormons in general, we were called anti-Mormon bigots, informed that religion was not a determinate factor in choosing a candidate, and any criticism of Romney's religion's teachings or even details was out of line.

So, just so I know this new-found condemnation of Obama isn't just hypocrisy on Baldilocks' part, please link me to your posts where you condemn Romney for the racist and intolerant excesses of the LDS. Because he's sat there for a lot longer than the 20 years for which you condemn Obama. He's been a friggin' 3rd generation ELDER in the LDS for 40+ years.

What say you, furrybritches?

[Harry-weasel]

"What say you, furrybritches?"
---

Hmmmm, ........... barf?

How about, what are furrybritches?

Or, can I have a pair?

[Lily]

Docweasel: I believe the LDS religion has worked to overcome their racist past. Rev. Wright was preaching this hate just a few months ago. Also, this is not really about religion. Its about a presidential candidate with a hateful, anti-American spiritual advisor.

[docweasel]

They have, huh? So did they rewrite the passages of the Book of Mormon, which you purport to believe literally, condemning the Catholic Church as an abomination? Do they not still teach that almost all Protestant and Catholic churches were created by, and are run by, Satan, and are a force of evil in the world today? Or that dark skin is a curse of God? Because the Book of Mormon I own, which I purchased just to check this stuff out, DOES still have this.

Now you can rant on with justifications and rationalizations, but the REAL point is, when Romney was being pelted with this stuff, people like you said it was out of bounds. Romney himself went on TeeVee to whinge that it was unfair to make him defend his theology and the teachings of his church, and that you can take apart any religion and post the inflammatory part.

My point is, you are doing the same God damn thing you condemned those "anti-mormon bigots" for doing. You don't know Obama's religion. You are referencing cherry picked quotes and saying he needs to distance himself from his religion.

If that's not hypocrisy in the highest sense, then what is? Would you like to defend every line in the Book of Mormon, or have it demanded you condemn your own church and distance yourself from it?

Furry britches is a Steven King reference. Look it up or something.

[docweasel]

Also, that's YOUR judgement that he has a hateful spiritual advisor. If you are indeed a Mormon, I think YOU have a hateful spiritual cult.

Its all about judgement. Which Jesus explicitly said Ye Shall not Do.

This is why religious people are fucked up. What the hell gives you the right to judge Mr. Wright, while at the same time no one has the right to judge the hateful, intolerant Mormons?

[Paul L. Quandt]

So, do two wrongs make a Wright?

[Morgan]

@docweasel

Just wondering why you'd think it's legit to equate hundred-year-old writings to months-old sermons?

Romney's religious beliefs would have affected me NADA on this planet. He can go to whatever galaxy he wants after he kicks off-- but while he's here, on Earth, if he's part of a group that thinks the US created AIDS, or that we're the number one killer in the world, or was speaking out against our support of Israel, then so long, Mitt. Those things have nothing to do with a religious text, they are political speech, and they are totally valid for criticism.

Also how many Mormon spiritual advisers did Mitt have on his campaign? If they were part of his campaign I'd say their sermons wer legit targets too.

[baldilocks]

Hey Doc! Who are you talking to?

[Sandy P]

I watched Inside Edition today which showed the outside of Pastor's home and snippets in the church.

His Home looks largish sitting on a nice piece of property and his church doesn't look so small, either.

Just how much money is pouring thru that church?

He's not living in poverty by a long shot, so America just might have given him a life not available in other parts of the world.

[Pablo]

docweasel, are you having trouble distinguishing between race and religion? That seems a persistent problem on the left.

[docweasel]

You're bashing his religion over race. What's the difference?

And don't make assumptions about people. I'm a lifelong Republican and I back McCain, and I have since last summer.

Having trouble distinguishing between what is real and what your own prejudices are seems to be a persistent problem with your mouth.

[baldilocks]

:::cue Twilight Zone music:::

[Jack Okie]

docweasel:

The bashing is directed (appropriately) at Rev. Wright, and Obama's affiliation with Wright over 20 years. Unless Obama worships Rev. Wright, no one is bashing his religion.

Having trouble distinguishing between what is said and what your own prejudices are seems to be a persistent problem with your brain.

[Beth]

Forget docweasel--he's made it his life's mission to carpet-bomb the entire internets with anti-Mormon screeds. I've seen him in the comments to almost every Wright post I've read today saying basically the same thing.

(BTW, Doc, I was never on the Romney bandwagon, but it wasn't about his religion.)

Juliette:

I’ve seen hysterical, paranoid, attention whores write treatise after treatise on the Kenya situation, each postulating that it was some sort of Islam-Christianity death struggle, often accompanied by external scholarly or journalistic links which refuted what was being described.

Fixed. ;)

Anyway, I linked to you, but Typepad apparently hates Wordpress. :)

I've been waiting for this to finally break, and you're right--the idiotarian noise has gotten in the way of a clear examination.

[baldilocks]

Heh.

[Chuck Pelto]

TO: Baldilocks, et al.
RE: Wright Was Wrong

I've had misgivings about Obama's religious background for quite some time. Not merely his contact/education/relationship with Islam but also his 'christian' background as well.

I believe I picked up on Rev. Wright from WorldNetDaily about a year ago.

Why it's taken the rest of the world so long to catch up speaks volumes.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Welcome to the party, pal! -- Bruce Willis, in Die Hard]

[Paul A'Barge]

"Why did it take so long for the MSM and other observers to give this very important issue the scrutiny it deserves? There are two reasons ..."

What about MSM complicity in that the MSM want Obama to become US President? Not complicity as in "let's have secret meetings and work out a strategy" but complicity as in "wink, wink, nudge, nudge".

[Paul A'Barge]

I had not read your blog in a while. I now realize how much I miss it.

[rhodeymark]

Posted at Miniter's:
"This makes me sentimental for the deceased Bishop Gilbert Patterson of Memphis. I, as a middle class white guy, used to love watching the sermons he delivered to his church. The dude was righteous, and made *everyone* feel uplifted after he was done. Do not equate Wright with "the black church" - his poison is his own. I agree vociferously that steeping the Obama children in this rhetoric is shameful. Mildly akin to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade doing childrens television in Gaza. Young hearts and minds are at stake."

[Rise_Up]

docweasil..please don't drive,walk,or post while under the influence of noncomprehension.

[DarkStar]

I found docweasil's comparison to LDS and Wright to be on point.

I've met, and worked with, Mormons and to the person, they have been VERY nice people.

I couldn't, and still can't reconcile their actions to what is contained in the Book of Mormons.

Romney had to directly address it, and did, and got caught in a lie. It's now Obama's turn and he's not be direct.

[fred dickey]

I have become an "Obamican" (A Republican for Obama), but I realize these latest Rev. Wright revelations have cooked him. He sat there and listened to this tripe for 20 years, and now he has to answer for it. It's a very legitimate issue. Too bad.

[docweasel]

Thank you Dark Star. At least one person can read.

I love how you morons above like "beth" condemn me for being a judgmental Mormon hating bigot while in the same breath judge Obama by his religion and purport to know his entire mind by cherry picking passages his minister has used.

THIS IS THE ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF WHAT IM SAYING, you dense bastards. You're doing exactly what you are accusing me of. So if I am guilty of "carpet bombing" anti-Mormon rhetoric, why are you assholes not guilty of carpet bombing anti-Wright rhetoric? Its that very hypocrisy I'm on about and you guys are reinforcing it by your very comments.

Some people are too stupid to even try to reason with.

[docweasel]

Thank you Dark Star. At least one person can read.

I love how you morons above like "beth" condemn me for being a judgmental Mormon hating bigot while in the same breath judge Obama by his religion and purport to know his entire mind by cherry picking passages his minister has used.

THIS IS THE ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF WHAT IM SAYING, you dense bastards. You're doing exactly what you are accusing me of. So if I am guilty of "carpet bombing" anti-Mormon rhetoric, why are you assholes not guilty of carpet bombing anti-Wright rhetoric? Its that very hypocrisy I'm on about and you guys are reinforcing it by your very comments.

Some people are too stupid to even try to reason with.

[DarkStar]

It's now Obama's turn and he's not be direct.

Should be, "It's now Obama's turn and he's not being direct."

[Peg C.]

I know libs who despise Romney as a result of overt bigotry against Mormons, and they plan to vote for Obama. I'm wondering if they are on suicide watch since yesterday because if I were still a Dem I certainly would be. (Personally I thrive on the misery of Dems.)

Bob Beckel, Alan Colmes and others were shrieking maniacally last night on Fox about McCain's spiritual advisor being anti-Islam. Uh, SO WHAT? I have serious problems with anyone spreading anti-American vitriol. I have no problems with anti-Islamofascism. Racism is in the Book of Mormon? Hatred and the order to destroy Infidels are in the Quran! I know who my enemies are. I'll vote for the guy who will fight them. 'Nuff said.

This uproar is about anti-American ideology, which Obama by his 20-year support absolutely is party to. This is not about religion per se. Mark Levin is right: Obama is NOT QUALIFIED to be president by virtue of his execrable judgment.

Thanks for an excellent wrap-up, Juliette.

[rhomp2002]

I wonder if Doc Weasel is speaking out against Harry Reid and his election to the senate and as Majority Leader of the Senate. After all he is a Mormon also and has to lead the legislative branch when it comes to federal policy.

Now we will hear how Harry is not running for president. He is, however, one of the most powerful men in DC and has done nothing to renounce his Mormonism.

[baldilocks]

My guess is 'no.'

[Beth]

Doc,
First of all, I look at a person's political ideology first and foremost. I vehemently disagree with Obama politically. With Romney, I have strong disagreements as well, but not on most things. Those disagreements are why I opposed him, although I'm a Reagan Republican (11th Commandment) and didn't openly campaign against him. I almost never do that.

Why is his Mormonism not such a big deal to other right-wingers? Probably because all the things you say about LDS are unknown to us. If it's as bad as you say it is, then why wasn't it all over the news? YES, LDS has an ugly history, but there's absolutely no evidence showing Romney subscribes to that ugliness. I personally think Mormonism is a made-up, weird religion, but so what? I don't like Islam either, but I'd vote for the right Republican Muslim--but not if he or she went to a mosque that was about hatred. If Romney attended a Mormon church that was about hate, I'd have the same criticism. I just never saw any evidence of such a thing. Furthermore, he certainly didn't bring any Mormon theology into his governance. I daresay gay marriage isn't one of their tenets. Likewise, he didn't try to ban caffeine or any other stuff they believe.

Obama's church is leftist to the core, and his record is consistent with it--although I don't think his politics are derived from his religion any more than I think Romney's are from LDS. This whole issue is about revealing the fact that Obama isn't the moderate "uniter" he claims to be, or the empty vessel into which everyone can pour their utopian fantasies.

Show me evidence of Romney's pastor being a racist or anything else like that. Pro-polygamy. Whatever. If you can, I'll agree with you, but I suspect you can't--if such evidence existed, I'm quite sure Huckabee's or someone else's campaign would have used it.

There's not a whole lot of point in the exercise anyway, though, because he's NOT RUNNING.

Here's a tip for you: if you expect anyone to listen to you, cut the insults and hysterical rhetoric. Right now, you just look like a deranged zealot not worthy of serious consideration.

[AH·C]

Beth, well said. Excellent post, Baldi.

Check out the TUCC Bulletin for tomorrow's sermon--"Lenten Hope". In light of "Audacity To Hope" and the whole sham that is Black Liberation Theology, between the lines, the unwritten portion is bound to be interesting come service time. However, I can't stand to listen to Pastor Wrong speak for more than a couple minutes and will have to leave that to others with more fortitude than I.

Furthermore, the following points goes a long way to enabling us to judge the tree for its fruit - bitter & rotten.
(FYI Docweasel, the Bible gives us the right, no requires us, to judge, especially false teachers and prophets)
-- the greater weight given to community-ism over spirituality
-- boycott Walmart & Sam's Club? Ironic since shopping there would allow the poor to keep more of their limited incomes for other things. Also explains where the city gets its mandate for keeping Walmart out of town.
-- Fasting for spiritual power over the attacks on the church & pastor. Heh. Luke 6:45-47 comes to mind.
-- Kwame Nkrumah Academy. I dunno, but seems to me that communist NK is the epitome of a tragically wrong role model for Chicago kids to look up to. What's wrong with Fredrick Douglass, Booker, G.W. Carver or even MLK? Uncle Rudus/Toms all? Better a failed African than a successful Black American?
-- Finally, for all the talk about Pastor Wrong being retired, he's still listed as Senior Pastor and dominates.

BTW, for all the heat BHO's had, funny that the church still touts Farahkhan on its Trumpet newsletter.

[AH·C]

One more thing. Usually in a Church Bookstore, one would expect to find inspirational, devotional and doctrinal material, not socialist and/or racist material. Works by the likes of W.E.B. DuBois, E. Dyson, R. Robinson & C. West are the things that should make one go hmmm while standing there in the House of God.

If nothing else, it explains Wright's weird interview on FOX. His world view is shaped not by the Bible, but writers like the above.