My sincere apologies for not writing for three weeks, especially since the big primary in Pennsylvania. But as I was trying to craft this piece, Rev. Jeremiah Wright reappeared, basically saying Obama was being a politician and did not mean what he said, i.e., Obama actually believes the U.S. was at fault for 9-11 and believes America has been so unjust to black Americans that they should tell God to damn America rather than bless it.
Well, that kind of threw off my initial topic.
Yet, rather than toss out everything I had written, I realized the Wright issue fit well into the larger narrative of recent events.
Essentially I was planning to write about how Obama’s ‘bitter and cling’ statement made him vulnerable to the Achilles Heel of most Democratic Presidential candidates – elitism.
Since then, Clinton, the media, and Rev. Wright have expounded on this theme, raising the spectre of elitism ever higher and helped destroy the Obama ‘magic’ that always wins states in which he gets to heavily campaign. His lead is shrinking in North Carolina and Hillary is pulling away in Indiana. Is Barack’s mojo gone? And if it is gone now, can he get it back?
Here is how he can.
The Elitism Problem
Elitism has been a devastating charge against many a Democrat. In fact, it is the base of all cultural hot button issues that conservatives use against liberals. If Clinton can use this to good effect against Obama, he is in trouble, and even more so if he makes it to the general election against McCain. Obama must address the cultural issue head on, and by extension, the elitism ‘problem’. Not just for his sake, but for all Democrats.
To make matters worse, Obama was right when he claimed people fall back on cultural issues when things get tough. Matt Taibi of Rolling Stone referred to this as the “frustration of diminished expectations” on Real Time with Bill Maher a few weeks back. People circle the wagons around what the can control when things get tough, and what they control are their cultural values.
Right now we have a period of diminished expectations, and people are so disheartened they do not think the government can help their plight, and many will likely vote on silly issues like gun control, gay marriage, or that Obama’s middle name is Hussein.
Addressing Elitism
As I said in my earlier post, Obama has to tell the public that voting on cultural issues is a vote against their self-interest. Voting to protect gun rights will not bring manufacturing jobs back, nor will it create new ones. Cultural issues detract from real economic issues, and despite the fact that your economic situation sucks, you should not let the government off the hook by voting on some cultural issue that will not make your life better or worse no matter what happens with it. Banning gay marriage will not reduce the price of gasoline or improve your life in any way. Period.
Democrats can bowl, drink shots and beer, or go hunting. But no amount of photo ops will erase the ‘elitism’ charge. And no Democrat will ever be able to shoot anyone in the face and look cool. Only Dick Cheney can do that. Dems will never be plebeian enough for the majority of hunting, beer drinking, bowling Americans. So they should not try to be.
Instead, progressives need to call people out on their natural, but ineffective tendency to vote issues like religion and guns instead of on their economic self-interest. If you expect nothing from the government, you get nothing from the government. Only by demanding the government address real issues like foreign policy, the economy, health care, and education will your life improve.
Of course, progressives need to carefully state this fact. People get very emotional if you criticize their lifestyle choice or religion. Obama can get around this as only he can - make a great speech.
I want to reiterate that cultural issues often create racism, or worse, create a convenient excuse for racist feelings. Thus, by taking the tone of his speech on race in reaction to the Rev. Wright scandal, Obama can blend the two together to talk about the need to face the harsh, uncomfortable realities of racism and culture wars in this country and how we can start a dialogue to move forward.
Rather than accuse, he should talk in terms of ‘we’ or ‘us’ as he often does. Make people feel included in this ‘moving forward’. Also, he should show the public how the Republicans have been using them all these years promising to ban abortion or gay marriage but never doing anything about it, meanwhile promoting economic policies that hurt them. In other words, put the blame on the Republicans, not the public for falling prey to their cultural identity politics.
Lastly, he needs to keep pounding this theme. After his great speech on race after the first Wright controversy, he dropped the issue. He should have known better, particularly since the media missed the point of the speech. By continuing to give it in various forms, sooner or later the media would have caught on, and the narrative would have been changed.
Altering people’s tendency to turn to their culture and faith in tough times, and their propensity to think of Democrats as elitists will not change with one speech. In fact, Obama could almost make this the centerpiece of his campaign. People love him since he is offering a fresh perspective on politics and working together. He needs to bring that perspective to cultural and values issues.
Conclusion
Today’s harsh economic realities, global warming, pollution, collapsing health care system, and intractable war in Iraq have diminished our expectations. And it is frustrating. But now is not the time to fall back into our safety zones. Voting for or against someone based on whether you like their cultural ‘values’ is a fools errand, and Obama has to make that clear.
Government needs to work, not share cultural values. Government has to address real issues that affect all Americans and the whole world, not promote various religious or cultural viewpoints.
And until Democrats can persuasively make that argument, and not shy away from it, Republicans will be able to distract the public from real issues by charging Democrats with ‘elitism’ and cultural disdain. Obama in particular has to make this argument now or he could be sunk, not to mention the fact that the Democratic Party might lose another Presidential election if they do not tame this horse. All progressives need to take on this task if they ever want to see real progress in this country.
The charge of elitism is a problem. Seems like Obama’s big night tonight may have mitigated that charge somewhat.
Hope Dems as a group focus on this issue. It’s a shame many Americans fall for this nonsense.
Left by Fred on May 7th, 2008