The culture of victimhood

By Mustang Bobby

One of my favorite episodes from the late and lamented comic strip Calvin and Hobbes shows Calvin, the six-year-old Everyman, exclaiming, "Nothing that happens is my fault! My family is dysfunctional and my parents won't empower me! Consequently, I'm not self-actualized! My behavior is addictive functioning in a disease process of toxic codependency! I need holistic healing and wellness before I'll accept any responsibility for my actions!"

Hobbes replies, "One of us needs to stick his head in a bucket of ice water."

Calvin marches on, proclaiming, "I love the culture of victimhood."

This seems to have been the mantra of the conservative movement and the Republican party in particular in 2008, and it will likely continue on as the Bush administration whimpers to an end. Everything bad that happened on their watch wasn't their fault. No one could have predicted that Osama bin Laden would fly planes into skyscrapers. No one could have predicted that a major hurricane would strike the Gulf Coast and break the levees. No one foresaw that there would be a terrible backlash of terrorism and hatred against Americans unilaterally attacking and invading a sovereign country ruled by a braggart dictator, and that invading said country would need a lot more than just a few thousand troops. No one could have predicted that the housing bubble and the E-Z credit market would burst because of lax regulation and insider connections on Wall Street and bring down major brokerage houses and threaten the existence of the last major manufacturing companies in the United States. And no one could have predicted that putting politics ahead of competency would give us a government of loyalists who couldn't run a business on their own but voted the right way in 2000.

Except, in every case, a lot of people did predict that all of those things would happen, and some of them lost their jobs for having the temerity to point it out.

This is not altogether a surprise from the party that calls on everyone else to show personal responsibility -- wags their finger and shakes their jowls at everyone else for their moral and political failings -- yet populates the prisons with their own senators on the take. It's not that the Democrats or anyone else doesn't have these failings, too, but at least they don't go around raising money on someone else's hypocrisy. And for a party that calls itself the bastions of more freedom and limited government, they certainly seem to have a list of exceptions that include women controlling their uterus, same-sex couples wishing to get married or adopt children, or failing banks that need a hand-out so they can still have their big Christmas party blow-out and year-end bonuses.

And yet when they're held to account for it, they're the victims here. Alberto Gonzales says he is just as much a victim of terrorism as everyone else and honestly can't understand what he did to earn him so much scorn. Vice President Dick Cheney has no idea why his poll numbers are so low, but then, he says he doesn't care about things like that. White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley can't understand why America couldn't see what a likable and compassionate person George W. Bush really is.

Since nothing that happens is their fault, it has to be someone else's, right? Blame the media for not seeing the wonderfulness of George W. Bush. Blame them for not seeing the mavericky goodness of John McCain. Blame them for not following up on the truth behind Barack Obama's birth certificate or that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's outbursts were just a clever cover-up for Mr. Obama's true Muslim beliefs. Blame the media and the moon and the stars for causing the financial markets to melt down just as John McCain was pulling ahead in the polls in September, and blame David Letterman for making him look like a panic-striken ditherer. Blame the voters for being too stupid to see through the charade of celebrity, and that all that "no-drama Obama" was really a clever plot by the hysterical lefty blogosphere to make him appear that he's calm and in control. But he smokes! That's a sure sign he's weak!

The Religious Right deserves their own pew for wailing about being the victims. They spew hatred and bigotry about gays and lesbians, equate same-sex marriage with criminal acts, pour millions of dollars into a campaign of misinformation and demagoguery to revoke a right granted by the Supreme Court of California, and then get all weepy and whiny when -- too late -- the provoked gay community fights back. The intolerant have the chutzpah to claim they're the victims of religious bigotry. My, my.

People who are capable of adult behavior and mature thought processes would take the lessons that were taught them and learn from them. But apparently that's not the way it works for the conservative mind. No, the way to really get back into the good graces of the American people is to proclaim that what we really need is more finger-pointing, more demonizing, more race-baiting -- "Barack the Magic Negro" is just the curtain-raiser. We need more of Sarah Palin, more of Joe the Plumber, more union-busting, more poor people going to the emergency rooms for their health care, and more smiting down of the queers by the hand of God to really teach this country a lesson.

In one respect, I hope they cling to this mantra of victimhood because it really does make it easy to mock them and dismiss them as the infantile alibiers that they have become. As Paul Krugman notes,

Will the Republicans eventually stage a comeback? Yes, of course. But barring some huge missteps by Mr. Obama, that will not happen until they stop whining and look at what really went wrong. And when they do, they will discover that they need to get in touch with the real “real America,” a country that is more diverse, more tolerant, and more demanding of effective government than is dreamt of in their political philosophy.

Maybe what they need is Calvin's holistic healing and self empowerment...but the bucket of ice water solution sounds good, too.

(Cross-posted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.)

For McCain, it may all come down to Pennsylvania

By Michael J.W. Stickings

It wasn't all that long ago -- actually, about two and a half weeks ago -- that the McCain campaign pulled out of Michigan and set its sights on three key battleground states: Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. (Although he was behind quite decisively in all three.)

Well, it now looks like it's all about Pennsylvania. As Jim Rutenberg of NYT's The Caucus is reporting, McCain is reducing his advertising in five heretofore battleground states: New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Colorado, Maine and Minnesota. The expectation is that he will "use the savings to increase his advertising in Pennsylvania and, possibly, Ohio and Florida, all of which have become that much more vital should Mr. McCain have to concede states like Colorado and Wisconsin."

It is not clear if he is actually giving up on these states, but it does seem that his new "path to victory" requires a win in Pennsylvania (where Hillary did well and where Gov. Rendell is "still a little nervous"). Nate Silver explains (drawing on Al Giordano). Basically, it's yet another Hail Mary, with McCain, who may soon bring up Jeremiah Wright as a racially-charged last-ditch smear of Obama, focusing on Appalachia and the South in hopes of winning Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina.

There are other ways for McCain to win, or for Obama to lose, as Noam Scheiber suggests, but it's pretty clear the McCain campaign has run out of ideas.

Wright around the corner

By Michael J.W. Stickings

As HuffPo is reporting, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis -- he of Fannie and Freddie lobbying infamy -- told Hugh Hewitt yesterday, in what was surely a meeting of minds for the ages, that "he is reconsidering using Barack Obama's relationship with Reverend Jeremiah Wright as a campaign issue during the election's closing weeks."

It is apparently McCain himself, taking the high road (or so goes the spin), who has rejected attacking Obama over Wright, given both the religious and racial implications, but you just knew this was coming. In desperation, and with just two weeks left, what's to stop it?

It's what McCain's people want, it's what Palin wants, it's what hardcore McCain boosters like Krazy Kristol want, and it's probably, deep down, what McCain himself wants.

And it's likely coming soon to the McCain smear campaign near you.

Will McCain-Palin follow up Ayers with Wright?

By Michael J.W. Stickings

I mentioned yesterday that, for McCain-Palin, it has now all come down to Ayers -- but that, with desperation deepening, it could be Wright again before too long.

As the WSJ is reporting, however, despite all the negativity coming out of the McCain-Palin campaign, the Wright card may not be played after all:

Top McCain campaign officials are grappling with how far to go with negative attacks on Sen. Barack Obama in the final weeks of what is turning into a come-from-behind effort.

Sen. John McCain has allowed a series of increasingly harsh broadsides in new campaign ads and in speeches by his wife, Cindy, and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin. But the Arizona Republican has rejected pleas from some advisers to launch attacks focusing on Sen. Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

*****

But Sen. McCain vetoed proposals to attack the Illinois senator for his 20 years as a member of the church led by Rev. Wright, whose harsh comments about racism in America and other issues created problems for Sen. Obama during the Democratic primary contest. Sen. Obama publicly severed ties with Rev. Wright earlier this year.

Sen. McCain has said Rev. Wright is off limits.

That decision, and the worry that the campaign could open itself to accusations of racism, has kept Rev. Wright out of their strategy.

One McCain senior adviser said the difference between Mr. Ayers and Rev. Wright isn't race, it's religion. "It's not appropriate to attack someone's faith," he said.

Of course, some Republicans -- and no doubt some inside the McCain campaign -- are pushing for the smearfest to be expanded to Wright.

Lest one be tempted to praise McCain for his decision not to go there, however, Noam Scheiber delves deeper into what might actually be motivating the campaign: "I'd say it also has to do with Sarah Palin's dubious religious associations." Needless to say, if Wright is fair game, then so are the Wasilla Assembly of God, the Wasilla Bible Church, Thomas Muthee, and Palin's Pentecostalism generally. (Noam links to this interesting piece at Time, on Palin's possible Pentecostal problem, by his wife Amy Sullivan.)

Obviously, McCain doesn't want to go there, either.

Obama: "Reverend Wright does not speak for me."

By Michael J.W. Stickings

There has been a lot of reaction today to Obama's remarks on Rev. Jeremiah Wright in response to the latter's self-promotional publicity campaign. Obama discussed his former pastor at length in his brilliant speech on race and politics, speaking highly of him even as he distanced himself from his more outrageous comments, but, given what Wright has said in recent days -- given how Wright has taken advantage of the situation to threaten Obama's campaign -- it was time to speak decisively once and for all.

Make sure to read the entire transcript of his remarks. Don't rely on the snippets upon which the news media dwell. Here's some of what he said:

Yesterday, we saw a very different vision of America. I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday.

You know, I have been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ since 1992. I have known Reverend Wright for almost 20 years. The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate and I believe that they do not portray accurately the perspective of the black church.

They certainly don't portray accurately my values and beliefs. And if Reverend Wright thinks that that's political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn't know me very well. And based on his remarks yesterday, well, I may not know him as well as I thought, either.

Now, I've already denounced the comments that had appeared in these previous sermons. As I said, I had not heard them before. And I gave him the benefit of the doubt in my speech in Philadelphia, explaining that he has done enormous good in the church. He's built a wonderful congregation. The people of Trinity are wonderful people. And what attracted me has always been their ministry's reach beyond the church walls.

But when he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS, when he suggests that Minister Farrakhan somehow represents one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st century, when he equates the United States wartime efforts with terrorism, then there are no excuses. They offend me. They rightly offend all Americans. And they should be denounced. And that's what I'm doing very clearly and unequivocally here today.

Creature: "Barack Obama did what he had to do today. He told his former reverend off (for all the world to see, no less). It was sad, actually. Though the cynical out there will still say this was all politics and posturing by Obama, I don't think it was. Not at all. Politics would have been throwing Wright aside the first time around. Instead Obama made a valiant attempt at respect. It's a shame his former pastor wasn't having any of it.

Sullivan: "Cynics may scoff -- and certainly will. They will parse every nuance and try to paint Obama as another cynical, positioning pol. I don't believe it. He has more sincerity and integrity than the vast majority of politicians, more honesty, and more resilience in a very tough spot. And today, we found that he can fight back, and take a stand, without calculation and in what is clearly a great amount of personal difficulty and political pain. It's what anyone should want in a president. It makes me want to see him succeed more than ever. It's why this country needs to see him succeed more than ever."

Obama did what he had to do, and he did it well. His opponents, including Hillary, will continue to try to take advantage of the controversy for political gain. To me, however, Obama was clear and conclusive. He is obviously a man of incredible magnanimity, but, simply put, he has had enough.

And we do indeed need him to succeed more than ever.

**********

Here's the clip:

Bill Clinton might be a boor to Hillary's campaign, but...

By Carl

At least Bill hews to rationality.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama can't even keep his pastor's mouth shut long enough to sew up the nomination:

Attacks on him are really attacks on the black church, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. said in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington on Monday

Yup, you heard it. Rev. Jeremiah Wright is now the official spokesperson for every black church in America!

So the comparisons people have drawn to Louis Farrakhan appear to be a bit more valid and what once appeared to be crazy charges regarding Farrakhan's influence on the Obama campaign suddenly seem a little, even just slightly, less crazy.

Look, there's a lot of room for discussion regarding race, religion, and the differences between white churches and black churches.

The middle of the Presidential primary season is simply neither the place nor the time for it, and I say that knowing full well that my candidate, Hillary Clinton, can sit back and watch this slow-motion train wreck unfold: the more often Rev. Wright opens his mouth, the more voters will defect from the Obama camp:

Speaking Monday, Mr. Wright said that political opponents of Senator Obama were exploiting the fact that the style of prayer and preaching in black churches was different from European church traditions — “Different, but not deficient,” he said.

Not so, Reverend Wright.

You see, when you say "Goddamn America," you're putting yourself squarely in the camp of people who would point to America as The Great Satan. And while there's some merit to those sentiments, particulary with regards to the oppression of Muslims in the Middle East, you know, it's those folks who have been targeting civilian Americans for decades now, with planes and car bombs and who knows what else is in the hopper?

In other words, Rev, you've aligned yourself with Osama Bin Laden, an image that is probably keeping Barack Obama awake at night, since he's already hamstrung by his inability to put away, once and for all, the smears of being an Islamist front candidate.

The money quote here, if course, is this:

As a result of this background and the unfamiliarity of many white people with black preaching, he said, some might find his sermons unsettling. He also noted that the widely circulated clips of his remarks were only short snippets lifted out of the context of much longer, closely reasoned arguments.

Perhaps, Reverend, if you admitted to pandering to your congregation, you might have some traction with this comment. Perhaps it is unfair for an entire country to judge your sermons based on small snippets and perhaps it's unfair to judge Obama by his association with you, altho he doesn't seem to think so.

The one thing I think we all, Clintonites as well as Obombers, can agree on is, while this might be an important discussion to have now, Reverend Wright, you're tearing apart the Democratic Party and you're tearing down the one candidate who could possibly continue this dialogue with white America.

So... go away.

(Cross-posted to Simply Left Behind.)