How leftist is the Obama administration? Try off the charts. Of course there is the man himself, Barack Obama telling us in one of his books that communist Frank Marshall Davis was a huge influence in his life. But then we have some of the people working for him. First we have Van Jones, a self-admitted communist, leaving his position after the heat became too great. Then we have Valerie Jarrett, the woman who hired Van Jones after all the "exciting" work he had done in Oakland; you don't think she didn't know his background? She reveled in it. Then we have Obama's communications director Anita Dunn, who gave a high school commencement speech where she had some awfully nice things to say about one of the most notorious mass murderers in world history, Mao Tse-Tung. After all, his philosophy is one that Ms. Dunn looks to most:
God in Heaven, how have we gotten here?
Good Day to You, Sir
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." --Thomas Jefferson
32 comments:
The Revolution is being televised.
George
Praising Mao with a cross behind you and having the audacity in a church to say that you ought not to be defined by others- guess that leaves Jesus out of the equation.
How easy it is to romanticize communism when you've never lived under it.
George
"Barack Obama telling us in one of his books that communist Frank Marshall Davis was a huge influence in his life"?
This statement is misleading for two reasons: Obama never indicated Davis was a huge influence, only that he gave him ethnic advice. Secondly, there is no evidence that Obama even know of Davis's CPUSA involvement from decades earlier.
I should not be surprised that so many journalists are agreeing with Dunn about her use of irony. I'm sorry, but I did not see an ounce of irony present. I heard a history lesson, and then an exhortation to appreciate Mao's idea of "fighting your own fight". Does Ms. Dunn, if she is telling the truth, really believe that high school students understood her use of irony? I work with high school students, and I can tell that they would have taken her seriously.
George
Actually, on a global scale, the Obama administration is pretty right wing. He would, for instance, struggle to get elected in the UK as an MP, since he does not support a comprehensive, free at the p[oint of need health service.
The Obama admin is right-wing to the rest of the world? Or is it just right-wing to you?
If you don't think Obama supports the kind of so-called health care you describe, then you haven't done your homework. There is what Obama would like, and then there is what Obama can get. Two different things.
K,
Yes, I'm sure Davis never mentioned his communist philosophy to Obama in all the times they interacted.
And Bill Ayers was "just a guy" in Obama's neighborhood, and Obama wasn't in church when Rev. Wright gave his America-hating, racist rants.
Typical.
To the rest of the world. Compare him to ANY western democracy. And no, he never once suggested an UNIVERSAL healthcare system. Ever. Never happened.
http://www.breitbart.tv/obama-in-03-id-like-to-see-a-single-payer-health-care-plan/
Donalbain, it is best to not speak and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
Single Payer != Universal.
I'm sorry, your nonsensical response has left me perplexed. Do please explain what you are trying to convey.
!= is a symbol used in logic and computing to denote "does not equal" or "is not the same as". So, what he suggested in that clip was not the same as a universal healthcare system.
Now, if only there was a network of computers that stupid people could use to look up symbols they dont understand.
That's pretty funny, seeing as how if you watch the clip he calls for, and I quote, a "single payer UNIVERSAL" health care system.
So, you said that Obama never called for a UNIVERSAL health care system, and there he is, with the word "UNIVERSAL" coming right out of his mouth. If you are going to keep moving the goal posts, then this exchange is over. Face it, once again, you are incorrect and don't know what the hell you are talking about. Of course, I would expect that you are pretty used to that by now.
CHANMAN POSTED "Yes, I'm sure Davis never mentioned his communist philosophy to Obama in all the times they interacted.
RESPONSE: What primary source evidence do you have that Davis even had a "communist philosophy"? Much of Davis's writing is freely available online. I challenge you to produce any quotation indicating that Davis wanted communism for the United States. As they say on CSI: "Follow the evidence."
BTW: Although Wright's rants were undoubtedly anti-Zionist and race-baiting, please provide any quotes that actually meet the definition of "racism" (i.e., supporting racial discrimination or racial superiority). Farrakhan, on the other hand, meets the definition of "racist." Is this guilt-by-association?
I trust you are aware of the difference between race-baiting and racism. Unfounded accusations of racism, such as Wright's claim regarding the origin of AIDS, are race-baiting, not racism.
"The way to combat noxious ideas is with other ideas. The way to combat falsehoods is with truth."
- William O. Douglas
Well, seeing as how Davis always denied being a communist, I highly doubt that he would be stupid enough to give an outright endorsement of communism in his writings.
I did find this ode to the Soviet Red Army that Davis wrote:
“Show the marveling multitudes
Americans, British, all your allied brothers
How strong you are
How great you are
How your young tree of new unity
Planted twenty-five years ago
Bears today the golden fruit of victory!”
Wow, that is beautiful. Gotta love that tree of Soviet unity... that killed and enslaved hundreds of millions of people.
However, I had a ball perusing Davis' FBI file, where his involvement with the Communist Party USA is quite eye-opening. Thank you for giving me a nudge in that direction. Of course, I'm sure you will dismiss it all as falsehoods and innuendo, so I question why I am even wasting my time with you.
Read it yourself, but seeing as how it didn't take long during my search to come across your real name and your seeming obsession with all this, I will guess that you already have read the FBI file, right?
As for the good Rev. Wright, it appears you have already tried to poison the well by dismissing any evidence of his racism that I present as "race-baiting."
So, the best smell test is to reverse the races. What if I started a church that I proclaimed as "unashamedly white"? How about if I - as a white guy - said that black and white students learn with different parts of their brains, as Rev Wright has suggested? Boy, that would go over well at my next faculty meeting.
Oh, and we can't forget about Rev Wright's "Black Value System", because if I had a "White Value System", that wouldn't at all be considered racist. If I told my black students that I adhere to a "White Value System", they would think that is really cool!
Since you didn't even take the time to deny that the good Reverend hates our country, I will take it that we can at least agree on something.
Rather than making up self-serving definitions for terms such as "racist" and "mentor," can we agree to use standard English definitions? Otherwise, we fall into the quagmire of rhetorical deception highlighted in the story of Alice's adventures in "Through The Looking-Glass":
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone. "It means just what I choose it to mean - neither more or less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all."
- Lewis Carroll
English author & recreational mathematician (1832 - 1898)
I'm glad you brought up the poem, because it is another piece in AIM's web of lies ("Obama's Red Mentor Praised Red Army" at http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obamas-red-mentor-praised-red-army/). This is a double deception because it contains a half-truth built on the falsehood of mentorship.
It is a half-truth because Cliff Kincaid neglects to mention that during WWII many Americans, including President Roosevelt, praised the Red Army. The Soviet Union was our ALLY (see http://books.google.com/books?id=kjDwCkg1HB8C&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=fdr+praise+red+army&source=bl&ots=ooSzuhMGDr&sig=1v2SJsWam4pjFWNqC0BuGduOIAY&hl=en&ei=ilksSpvUN5ayMJ2_5dsJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6). Praising your allies is the NORM for leaders during wartime!
(A half-truth comes in several forms, and is a deceptive statement that includes some element of truth. The purpose and or consequence of a half truth is to make something that is really only a belief appear to be knowledge, or a truthful statement to represent the whole truth, or possibly lead to a false conclusion.)
The AIM disinformation campaign consisted of a series of small lies fabricated to support the big lie that "His values, passed on to Obama, were those of a communist agent who pledged allegiance to Stalin" (see http://www.aim.org/aim-column/media-excuse-obamas-false-advertising). A painstakingly documented analysis of Kincaid's falsehoods is posted as "specific misrepresentation" at http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/Kaleokualoha/gGxdvX. I invite any person of integrity to refute my evidence against his body of lies. If he had authentic evidence of Davis's radical influence, he would not need to fabricate such evidence.
If intellectual engagement and sincere substantive discussions are the goals of your blog, I welcome the opportunity to pursue the truth through cordial debate with you and your readers. If, on the other hand, your blog is designed to squelch dissent through ad hominem attacks and moderator censorship, then I understand your familiar position. Thanks!
BTW: As a retired Air Force Intelligence Officer with specific training in Deception Analysis by the C.I.A. in 1989, I am researching political disinformation. I am familiar with disinformation campaigns, including Pope Gregory's misrepresentation of Mary Magdalene, Russian and German misrepresentation of Judaism, Operation Fortitude protecting the D-Day invasion, Operation Left Hook protecting the coalition drive into Kuwait, and the misrepresentation of the Iraqi threat this century. This disinformation campaign fits the pattern epitomized by "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," where a target is smeared through deliberate misrepresentation. Relying on unsubstantiated claims of mentorship to implicate Obama makes no more sense than relying on Curveball's unsubstantiated claims of mobile weapons labs to implicate Iraq.
"Truth is generally the best vindication against slander."
- Abraham Lincoln
I just read your verbose response, and in all that bluster, something very important is missing. Not once did you mention the FBI file on Frank Marshall Davis, which provides exhaustive evidence that not only was he a communist, but he was a member of the Communist Party USA. The last time I check, Cliff Kincaid did not write FMD's FBI file.
It appears you really like quotes. Here's one for you:
"You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts."
That pretty much settles it for me. So you keep going on blustering, and I will stick to the - what did you call it? - primary sources which show Frank Marshall Davis to be exactly who I have said he was: a communist.
Best of Luck, dude.
Uh - Davis's CPUSA membership is not a point of contention, but the only empirical evidence of such was provided by Professor Edgar Tidwell. Let's not confuse speculation, such as that from his FBI file, with primary source evidence.
The main point of contention is Davis's influence on Obama, not his CPUSA involvement years earlier.
Although “I'm hardly interested in proving my research to Kincaid or any of those whose work is a travesty to scholarship," University of Kansas Professor Edgar Tidwell, whom AIM's Cliff Kincaid cites as "an expert on the life and writings of Davis," dismisses misrepresentation of Davis's influence in one simple paragraph:
"Although my research indicates that Davis joined the CPUSA as a "closet member" during World War II, there is no evidence that he was a Stalinist, or even a Party member before WWII. Further, to those attempting to make the specious stand for the concrete, there is no evidence that he instructed Barack Obama in communist ideology. Frank Marshall Davis did NOT believe in overthrowing the USA. He was committed to what the nation professed to be. For him, communism was primarily an intellectual vehicle to achieve a political end-a possible tool for gaining the constitutional freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL Americans" (see http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/Kaleokualoha ).
"Have patience awhile; slanders are not long-lived. Truth is the child of time; erelong she shall appear to vindicate thee."
- Immanuel Kant
OK Karma Khameleon, you said:
"For him, communism was primarily an intellectual vehicle to achieve a political end-a possible tool for gaining the constitutional freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL Americans."
and
"The main point of contention is Davis's influence on Obama, not his CPUSA involvement years earlier."
So after all our back and forth in which you insisted that Frank Marshall Davis isn't a communist and told me to be a CSI and "follow the evidence", which I did, you finally admit that Frank Marshall Davis WAS a communist and a member of CPUSA; he just wasn't one of those mean communists who want to overthrow our government. Sorry, but there is no other kind. To install a communist government in the USofA would be to overthrow everything about our government that was put in place via our Constitution.
Well Mr. intelligence officer, you certainly are good at deception. And just like another commenter on this site (this one across the Atlantic instead across the Pacific like yourself) when you begin to lose the game, you simply move the goalposts. That's when I hang it up because further debate is useless.
One last quote of my own for you:
"When you are digging yourself into a hole, the best thing you can do is to stop digging."
--Chanman (and a whole lot of other people)
". . . you insisted that Frank Marshall Davis isn't a communist. . ."
Please, Please, PLEASE quote my statement insisting that he wasn't a communist. Please, please, PLEASE!
You have QUITE the imagination!!
Uh, right here:
"What primary source evidence do you have that Davis even had a "communist philosophy"? Much of Davis's writing is freely available online. I challenge you to produce any quotation indicating that Davis wanted communism for the United States."
So, you wanted me to prove something with which you agreed? You're more dense than I thought. Keep digging, Mr. intelligence officer.
Jump to conclusions much? The quotation did NOT insist that he wasn't a communist. It ASKED what evidence you have that he had a "communist philosophy." There was no insistence, or even an assertion one way or another regarding the possibility of his "communist philosophy." A question is not a statement of fact. To recap:
1. I never insisted that he wasn't a communist. If you disagree, please quote where I insisted that he wasn't a communist.
2. I never agreed that he had a communist philosophy. If you disagree, please quote where I agreed that he had a communist philosophy.
But I won't hold your feet to the fire on this one. Jumping to conclusions is very common. People joined the CPUSA without internalizing a "communist philosophy," just as people join other organizations without internalizing their values.
Frank Marshall Davis rejected collectivism. He was a capitalist. He owned two paper companies, and sold advertising specialties, in Hawaii. He joined the CPUSA because of the professional and social opportunities it presented. He joined the CPUSA during WWII, just as the United States joined the Soviet Union during WWII, not because they shared the delusion of a communist utopia. Each was a marriage of convenience. He joined because membership had its privileges, such as professional and social opportunities. He considered membership in the CPUSA as a "vehicle and tool" because, according to "The New Red Negro" (cited by AIM's Cliff Kincaid as a source):
"ONLY the Communist left had any significant institutional impact on African-American writing during the 1930s and 1940s. This support was crucial as the institutions that had maintained the New Negro Renaissance faded. And for better or for worse, the leading CPUSA functionaries involved in "Negro work" took a direct interest in African-American cultural production in a manner that was unusual, if not unique.
Vilifying a writer for continuing to publish in CPUSA-supported publications, when they provided his only significant institutional support, is completely unfair. Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Frank Marshall Davis all took advantage of this institutional support.
"A huge proportion of African-American poets (and writers and intellectuals generally) remained engaged with the Communist Left and cultural institutions from at least the early 1930's until at least the early 1950's. With the partial exception of the period from the German invasion of the Soviet Union to the end of the Second World War, the CPUSA placed the issue of race and the fight against Jim Crow near the center of all its work." – “The New Red Negro”
The bottom line is that communist ties were common for African-American poets and civil right activists during that period. Such ties did not mean that they internalized Marxist values, much less Stalinist values, even if they were aware of the distinction. To them, the CPUSA provided safe harbor from the ravages of Jim Crow America.
For those who question whether anyone would join the CPUSA without internalizing collectivist values, examples abound in more recent developments. Russians and Chinese joined their respective Communist parties because membership was important to professional advancement. Mikhail Gorbachev rejected these values in dismantling the Soviet Union. Leaders of the PRC's capitalist boom are nevertheless pro forma Party members. According to CNBC's "The People's Republic of Profit," the PRC now has over 100 billionaires - second only to the United States. Some Communist Party members are VERY successful capitalists!
Even today people join some organizations, such as churches and the YMCA, without internalizing their core values because membership has its advantages. I believe everyone will agree that many so-called "Christians" have not internalized Christian values. Some could argue that Stalinism perverted the core values of Marxism, just as the Spanish Inquisition and pedophile priests perverted the core values of Christianity.
Chanman: What a beautiful sunny day.
Kahanmooka: Prove it.
Chanman: Huh?
Khanamooka: Show me proof that its a sunny day.
Chanman: Ok, the sun is in the sky, and I have a NWS report saying that it is sunny today.
Khanamooka: Well of course its sunny today. I never said it wasn't.
Chanman: But you just told me to prove that it was sunny. Why would you ask me to prove it if you didn't believe it?
Khanamooka: You are being deceived!
Chanman: I have an idea: Why don't you go get some sun?
The bottom line is that he was a "Communist" because he joined the "CPUSA." He did not, however, have any "communist philosophy" because he never believed in collectivism. There is no evidence that he taught communism to Obama. He joined the party because membership had its privileges.
"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."
-Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642)
Well of course. People often join the communist party without having a communist philosophy. (Sarcasm off)
You are beginning to bore the hell out of me. I think it's time you got out of your mom's basement, go outside, and enjoy some of that lovely Hawaii sunshine.
If you examine his writings, you will find NO "communist philosophy." If they existed, they would have been widely quoted by now. The accusations of Davis indoctrinating Obama are unfounded speculation.
I know that he didn't indoctrinate Obama for another reason: Ten years earlier, Frank Marshall Davis didn't even indoctrinate me, his son.
Excuse me, Mr. K: uh, yeah, I think maybe he did.
Holy crap! This just gets better and better.
In the immortal words of Number 2 in the Prisoner, Kaleokualoha is being "unmutual". Time to send Rover after him.
Cliff Kincaid and his colleagues have accused Frank Marshall Davis (1905-1987) of being a Stalinist, a lifetime member of the Communist Party, and “Obama’s Communist Mentor.” Kincaid heads “Accuracy In Media” (A.I.M.), an organization dedicated to “fairness, balance and accuracy in news reporting.” Kincaid and his colleagues are all honorable men.
Having asked Kincaid to substantiate some of his accusations, and having received no reply, one can only conclude that Kincaid must be preoccupied with more important questions, because Kincaid is an honorable man.
Although the ironically named “Accuracy In Media” has yet to substantiate that Davis actually mentored Obama (a claim specifically rejected by the Obama campaign), such a relationship could have provided a bi-racial teenager with the key to success in mainstream America. To minimize criticism and maximize their potential, bi-racial African-Americans must walk a narrow identity path between group expectations. Davis was uniquely qualified to show the way. He may have significantly facilitated Obama’s vision of an inclusive society.
Davis may have advised Obama that to succeed in mainstream America, African-Americans must consider worst-case scenarios without wearing a chip on their shoulders, even though this normally requires judgment borne through actual experience. They must learn to give others (such as Cliff Kincaid) the benefit of the doubt. Success within mainstream America requires that abusive behavior should be attributed to bias only when there is no other plausible explanation.
Growing up in explicitly racist America, Davis learned never to immediately trust anybody white, but professional and personal familiarity nevertheless produced many warm interracial relationships. While one could plausibly argue that such stereotype activation is inherently racist, the recent expansion of “racist” to include such thought processes (as opposed to differential treatment) renders virtually everyone similarly culpable.
Although his experience with Jim Crow may have “incurably” limited his expectations of contemporary America, he shared Dr. King’s dream of a color-blind society. He unequivocally rejected racism, and worked tirelessly in support of equal rights for all Americans. He recognized that although victims of racism may have a reason to hate their oppressors, such reasons do not become rights – a distinction often lost on his critics. Collective responsibility is a double-edged sword.
Davis’s crusty radicalism may have perfectly counterbalanced Hawaii’s laid-back lifestyle for an African-American teenager destined for greatness. He provided coherent insight on African-American history, politics, and culture vis-à-vis mainstream America. Davis recognized the folly of cultural nationalism, including Black Separatist movements, long before meeting Obama. Obama’s grandfather may not have recognized the true value of his gift.
Although he may have used CPUSA periodicals as a publishing tool in the 1930’s and 1940’s, along with contemporaries Richard Wright and Langston Hughes, he rejected communist ideology in general and specifically attacked Stalin. He supported a fully integrated mixed economy, because neither laissez–faire capitalism nor collectivism provide the greatest benefit for the greatest number. He also had a libertarian streak that may have made Ron Paul proud.
(continued)
Davis retired from activism by the 1970’s. His civil rights agenda had become the law of the land. He wrote little. Even if he had remained prolific, the burgeoning black publishing world obviated CPUSA periodical support for African-American writers. Further, the barbarity of communist regimes discredited the CPUSA and Marxist ideology. Newly divorced, he entered his golden years with glee.
As an honorable man, Kincaid must be unaware that by the 1970’s, the twin forces of Hawaiian and hippie cultures had mellowed Davis to the point that “Stalinist” charges are especially absurd. By the early 1970’s, Davis had become a virtual teddy bear, a permanent fixture of the Koa Cottages in the “Waikiki Jungle,” noted for its counterculture residents. Davis was known as a kindly old man, usually sitting on his porch a few steps from Kuhio Avenue, waving at all that passed. Although he had little money, he was always willing to share with those in deeper need.
As an honorable man, Cliff Kincaid must also be unaware that his portrayal of a raving Stalinist could not be further from the truth. Davis deeply loved the United States, despite his occasional flirtation with radical ideology. He recognized, perhaps belatedly, that the United States offers a unique combination of economic opportunity and personal freedom, thus providing sufficient strength and moral authority to champion human rights worldwide. If he HAD been so lucky, Barack Obama could not have found a finer mentor anywhere.
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