Owning King

Yesterday's Boondocks
What so disturbed me about Kate O' Beirne's filthy comments is that is part of a conservative shell game to claim the legacy of Martin Luther King, by denuding every bit of the radical nature of his message and tying it to some bland form of equality.
One would need either a strong stomach or short memory to see Sonny Perdue and Poppy Bush talking about King's legacy and not snicker.
Perdue's Voter ID law is designed to disenfranchise blacks and George Bush ran heel and toe with the segs as much as he could.
The GOP flipped out last week when a study showed that they were the party of racists. They were claiming it was politizied science, which is comical considering NASA was in an uproar because some 24 year old lackey was telling scientists what to talk about.
That church was filled with the leadership of black America and John McWhorter wouldn't be allowed to park cars. TD Jakes time on the podium was short and easily forgotten There was no seat for Michael Steele. They were neither invited or welcomed, much less be allowed to profane her memory. There was no room for them in face of her legacy.
Now, why does the GOP so desperately want to hijack the memory and legacy of King, with old segs like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell now tormenting gays as they once tormented blacks. Why do they embrace the damaged and offer them up as leaders? Former criminals and self-hating blacks, people unworthy to represent a dog pound.
Because being the white people's party is a losing proposition. Ken Mehlman knows his party must look like America or die. And it look like anything but.
So they make nods to a multicultural America, talk about a color blind America, but they will not sacrifice a thing which will place minority concerns over white. Otherwise, Tom Tancredo would have been rejected as a racist.
So, they have to pretend to be open to all.
Here's an example of the openess of the GOP:
Judge says GOP broke its promise
BY SHARON COOLIDGE AND DAN HORN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
When Judge John West walked into a meeting of Hamilton County Republicans three weeks ago, he hoped they would endorse him for a seat on one of the county's most powerful courts.
West believed he had been promised the seat and thought the move made sense: He would get his dream job, while the GOP would send a respected judge and the first African-American to the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals.
Party leaders had other ideas.
They picked someone else to run for the seat, setting off a fight over race, power and politics that is rare in a Republican Party that has dominated Hamilton County's courts for decades.
The dispute between party officials and West, 63, a Common Pleas judge, has prompted some black Republicans to question how the GOP leadership makes decisions.
It's also stirring up old criticism that neither Republicans nor Democrats do enough to promote diversity in the courts.
"The courts should be representative of the community," West said. "This offends me a great deal, not just as a judge, but as a citizen."
West is one of three black judges on the 22-member Common Pleas court and, if elected, would have been the first on the six-member appeals court.
The percentage of black judges on Common Pleas court is about 14 percent compared with Hamilton County's African-American population of about 24 percent.
West said he doesn't believe he was passed over by the party because of his race.
But he and his supporters say the party missed an opportunity to promote a qualified judge who also would have diversified the court.
"You wonder what you have to do to move to another level," said Judge John Burlew, a black Republican who serves on the Municipal Court. "The people who make these decisions have to ask what it is that these judges haven't done to move on."
Did he really think they would knock one of their boys out for him?
He may pretend it's not about race, but he's still there, supporting the GOP, right? He accepts the insult and keeps marching.
Why?
Because they have to do nothing for him, but talk a good game.
O'Beirne's filthy mouth spews like an untreated gutter and she thinks people take her seriously. As if the open racism of the National Review is some hidden secret. Tweety may be an idiot, but the rest of us aren't.
There is a reason Coretta Scott King was given a sendoff to rival that of any queen, why an aging Oliver Tambo's wife, former head of the military wing of the ANC, came thousands of miles topay tribute, why Edgar J. Hoover was shrunk after his efforts to blackmail King became known, why every black person of note and half of Atlanta came to pay tribute.
It was about her strength of character and moral bearing.
The interrelated reality of our legislative concerns also applies to the struggle against homophobia. We need the Employee Non-Discrimination Act to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender. But to create a society free from bigotry, as well as violence, we also need to protect and strengthen affirmative action. In addition, we need more funding for diversity education, so young people are inoculated against the toxic viruses of racism, sexism and homophobia before they enter the workforce.
It is particularly sad to me when I hear black people making homophobic comments or undermining the human rights of people because of their sexual orientation. One young man was recently beaten with a baseball bat at Morehouse college, allegedly as result of another student's homophobia. If this can happen in Martin Luther King, Jr's alma mater, which takes justifiable pride in preparing students for leadership in all areas, it can happen anywhere.
African Americans have suffered for too long because of prejudice and bigotry to be parroting the rhetoric of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups who bash people because of their sexual orientation. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are entitled to the same respect and dignity as every other citizen.
The civil and human rights movement that I believe in thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion. All of us who oppose discrimination and support equal rights should stand together to resist every attempt to restrict civil and human rights in this country.
She saw what so many others did not, that the struggle for human rights didn't exclude people. And while Jakes and the rest of the Bush-grovelling homophobes take the easy way out, Mrs. King chose to stand with those they despised.
And that is why the GOP must try to capture and neuter the legagy of the Kings, because, even in death, it remains something they cannot defeat
posted by Steve @ 12:50:00 PM