When someone runs for office and fails to address the most pressing needs of his own neighborhood or his own culture how can I trust that he has the empathy to understand some white upper middle class woman in the suburbs? Why do people like Oprah and Bill Cosby of all people have more insight into the issues of inner city youth and black men in America then either candidate? Why has the board become so "violent"?
* At least a third of all homeless men are African-American.
* African-Americans make up 12 percent of the general population, but they account for almost half of the prison population.
* According to the U.S. Justice Department, 28 percent of black men born today will go to prison in their lifetimes.
* Black youth are six times more likely to die of homicide than white youth and seven times more likely to commit a homicide.
* Homicide is the leading cause of death among African-American males ages 15 to 29.
Why are 70% of all black children born to single women? Is that a problem? Can our society survive when 1 in 3 black men will go to prison? What is happening to children in this country? How can we compete internationally if we can't afford to invest in our schools? Why aren't we taking about those issues on the board?
Poverty affects all ages, but an astonishing 48% percent of its victims are children:
* About 15 million children -- one out of every four -- live below the official poverty line.
* 22% of Americans under the age of 18 -- and 25% under age 12 -- are hungry or at the risk of being hungry.
* Everyday 2,660 children are born into poverty; 27 die because of it.
* Children and families are the fastest growing group in the homeless population, representing 40%.
Obama was elected from one of the poorest districts in Chicago. Where is the vision for his own community? Where is the solution? Blacks are supporting him in record numbers so what is his plan to address the very real problem's in their community?
Can an ivy league lawyer really ever understand the challenges of an inner city black man? Can an Ivy League Lawyer understand the challenges of a working mom? How can either of them address sensitive issues if we attack their children, their sex lives, their faith?
Obama has never been in the shoes of the people who support him and to a large degree neither has Hillary. She does perhaps the challenges of woman who stepped back from her career to raise her child, and I am quite sure she understands how politics is done.
On the main boards I have never seen such a litany of vicious and personal attacks against a candidate or her supporters. Few seem to be based on her qualifications or his. Granted this might be because he have a sitting President who still isn't qualified to be one. We seem to live in a realty show world and people are willing to elect a National spokesmodel and not a CEO of a country that has serious challenges from over-seas. Which candidate is best qualified to negotiate with China in a few years when they call up and tell us they aren't sending the ships any longer?
People seem surprised that politics is dirty? That both candidates are the product of media campaigns. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that people are attacking Chelsea's looks with impunity or don't realize that most of O's talks are lifted. It saddens me though to see how easily people are pushed over the edge. That people are imploding when either Senator would be better than McBush. That they mouth the very same arguments against both candidates that I imagine they use on right wing tak radio.
We all hope that if Senator Clinton becomes President that issues that affect children will get more attention but the reality is that the vast majority of Congress is male. In order to survive and be successful she has obviously had to develop a thick skin.
The promise of Obama was that he could reach across the aisle by using the power of the public to influence policy. Do you think R senators and representatives would respond to attacks like you have thrown at Senator Clinton? Is this what it would look like? Is this bi-partisian? Obama was was already running a negative campaign in Ohio but his supporters weren't until he lost a couple of delegates.
It is sad to see the people on Kos who support him seem to have imploded in the last few days. Nothing has changed really so relax. The Edwards people didn't do that when he lost. In past elections the Deaniacs didn't go after Kerry like that did they? Has DK become a one candidate forum devoid of real discourse and solutions? Does name calling help anyone? male or female, white or black or Hispanic? Democratic, Independent (me) or Republican? Is this the model that you want us to support?
Is this really the way that a community changes the game? Is this how you support a candidate who is trying to show us a new way of solving problems? If you want to change the rules of the game, change the players and change the outcome you have to be able to look beyond the personal and attack the process that discourages people, that attacks innocent children, that fails to address the issues facing our country as a whole. You are playing into the R's hands.. Congratulations.
So I continue to believe in my fellow kosacks, I remind myself that passion lies beneath the personal attacks and refuse to attack back. I hope for a better forum, a neighborhood and a community where people have the right to support someone without feeling like they might get attacked but encouraged to explore alternative ideas. Where people get their spirit uplifted when they post their thoughts or take a minority opinion. I trust that those with more experience then me will show the way and turn this around.