Last night I got ready to turn off MSNBC after watching Keith Olbermann, but left it on because my husband wanted to watch Verdict with Dan Abrams, a program I personally can’t stand. Abrams had a "panel" of analysts on, discussing in heated rhetoric the upcoming Bill Moyer’s interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
The most fervent attacker of Rev. Wright was the African-American commentator Joe Watkins, who I haven’t really paid much attention to. He was practically frothing at the mouth, attempting to put words into Jeremiah Wright’s mouth and reading "meaning" into his statements to Moyer’s, egged on by Abrams. The only person disagreeing with him was Lawrence O’Donnell.
Half asleep, I woke up when my husband poked me in the ribs and said, "who the hell is this black guy (referring to Rev. Joe) and where the hell do they find these Uncle Tom assh***s?" I replied sleepily " I dunno, probably from under the same rock they found Clarence Thomas", and tried to go back to sleep. But my husband continued..."the guy says he is from Philadelphia" wondering if I, or my family had ever heard of him. My husband, aware that my part of my family has been in Philly since the 1700’s seems to think that I should know every African-American who claims Philly as home. I grumbled ..."never heard of the dude", put my pillow over my head, and went to sleep.
But this morning I remembered it, just couldn’t remember the guy’s last name. So I started my day out in search of the bonafides of Rev. Joe. While I was at it, I also began to think about how the "face" of television news commentary has changed in the last few years but the substance remains much the same. The new strategy is to find a person of color to become an attack dog against anyone of color who is progressive. Can’t be accused of racism if it is a "black person" saying it. What a joke. But I digress.
Just who is this "analyst" and what is his agenda? How does it mesh with the TM meme or narrative of attacking Barack Obama via Rev. Wright and his comments?
Surprise surprise!
Here are some bios found online for Joe Watkins:
Joe Watkins, Pastor of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church
Joe Watkins, pastor of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church—the oldest African American church in Philadelphia, PA, is also a CNN commentator and radio talk show host. He shared from his heart with Praise host Clifton Davis.
Hmmm – interesting but wholly false. The oldest independent African-American denomination is the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, founded in 1787
As a former Lutheran, found this interesting so headed over to a Lutheran church database and looked up his decidedly obscure congregation:
Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church Synod: Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod
Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church
3008 W Diamond St Philadelphia, PA 19121 Phone: (215) 235-7542
Pastor(s) and Called Lay Staff
Membership:
Baptized 90
Confirmed 70
Average Attendance 85
Interesting. A man with a miniscule congregation, an off-brand within the supposed Black Church, used to attack a church and pastor of a successful ministry like the UCC Trinity church of Rev. Wright. Hmmm. Not penis envy but pastoral envy perhaps?
More importantly he is a man with connections to Bush.
Joe Watkins is the Director of Hill Solutions, LLC a firm that consults the government and businesses on how to do business. Before entering the financial services industry, he ran his own strategic advisory consulting firm in Philadelphia. He opened the firm in 1991 after serving as associate director in the Office of Public Liaison at the White House under President George H. W. Bush. Joe was introduced to politics in 1981 when he joined the staff of newly elected U.S. Senator Dan Quayle as the Assistant State Director. In 1984, he was tapped to run for the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 10th congressional district but was defeated in the general election by the incumbent. He returned to Pennsylvania and served as an assistant to the President of the University of Pennsylvania until his enlistment in the 1988 Bush Campaign and his subsequent transition to the Bush White House.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from the Princeton Theological Seminary. Joe and his wife have lived in the city of Philadelphia for 30 years.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Some of you who are more knowledgeable about the backgrounds of those who are now cast as tv political pundits may have already been aware of this.
My guess is the average viewer like my DH and I are not. "It takes a black pastor to attack a black pastor" seems to be the modus operandi here. Esteemed he isn’t, nor does he inherit the mantle of historic black Phlly congregations like Mother Bethel AME, or Salem Baptist Church of Jenkintown, or First African Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.
Time to take the gloves off folks. To challenge the new African-American talking heads, who though brought to us in living color are simply the same old right wing establishment types, decked out in black-face.
I like Oreos with milk, not Oreos with my media.