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Title: Is Rand Paul’s MLK Analogy Offensive? [COINTELPRO & NSA]
Source:
Slate
URL Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_ ... says_the_president.single.html
Published: Mar 1, 2014
Author: Jamelle Bouie
Post Date: 2014-07-25 14:22:57 by Deasy
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Keywords: fbi, hoover, king, domestic spying
Views: 441
Comments: 26
At times, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul can have all the tact and graciousness of an arrogant college student. He’ll talk as if no one else could have his insight or perception, leading to embarrassments like last year’s speech at Howard University, where he lectured black politics students on the civil rights record of the Republican Party. He almost put a foot in it again last week, during an address to the College Republicans at the University of California, Berkeley. “I find it ironic that the first African-American president has without compunction allowed this vast exercise of raw power by the NSA,” he said, taking a swing at Obama, “Certainly J. Edgar Hoover’s illegal spying on Martin Luther King and others in the civil rights movement should give us all pause.” It was a glib line, and the objections were what you’d expect. “Is a black president more responsible for stopping inappropriate NSA spying than a white one?,” wrote Zerlina Maxwell for the Grio, “This issue is complicated enough that it doesn’t need Senator Paul’s cheap shot on the president invoking race, when it’s not relevant.” Likewise, at Salon, Elias Isquith condemned Paul for “whitesplaining Martin Luther King, Jr. to the first African American president,” especially given Paul’s “infamous” attack on the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Maxwell and Isquith have a point, but so does Paul. It is ironic that the first African-American president has overseen a mass expansion of the government’s surveillance powers. Barack Obama is the direct product of the civil rights movement, and without its hard work and sacrifice, his rise to the White House couldn’t have happened. Obama is quick to admit this. In 2007, shortly after announcing his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he gave a speech to mark the anniversary of the march in Selma, Ala., where protesters—led by a young John Lewis—withstood the blows of segregationists. “It’s because they marched that I got the kind of education I got, that I got a law degree, and a seat in the Illinois Senate and ultimately in the United States Senate,” he told the audience. “I’m here because somebody marched for our freedom. I’m here because y’all sacrificed for me. I stand on the shoulders of giants.” He sounded a similar note last year, while commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. “Because they marched,” he said, “city councils changed and state legislatures changed, and Congress changed, and, yes, eventually, the White House changed.” We can argue all day over the goals of the civil rights movement and the extent to which its leaders fought for economic as well as social equality. There’s no question, however, of Barack Obama’s view as it relates to his life: He sees himself as the embodiment of their legacy, someone who represents the extent to which they won the battle. In which case, Paul is right. It is ironic that the first African-American president has overseen a mass expansion of the government’s surveillance powers—powers that, in an earlier form, were used to spy on almost every figure in the civil rights movement. Under the watchful eye of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover—who directed his agents to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” the activities of protest groups—COINTELPRO (short for “counter-intelligence program”) invaded the lives of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders. King, in particular, was the target of an aggressive investigation. At one point, FBI agents mailed him a recording compiled from his affairs with various women. Attached was a note: “King, there is only one thing left for you to do. There is but one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, fraudulent self is bared to the nation.” No, Obama isn’t Hoover, and—as far as we know—he hasn’t directed the NSA to harass community leaders and derail their efforts (though his Justice Department has yet to challenge the NYPD’s spying on Muslim New Yorkers). But he holds surveillance powers that go beyond anything proposed or imagined by Hoover and his allies. Powers that, had they existed in the 1960s, would have been used to attack and discredit the men and women who made Obama’s life possible. And COINTELPRO wasn’t the only government effort aimed at disrupting the movement. In Mississippi, officials shaped the State Sovereignty Commission into a massive spy organization, dedicated to the defense of Jim Crow. It infiltrated organizations like the NAACP and the Congress of Racial Equality, and claimed broad authority to arrest, detain, and keep secret files. Looking at this, it’s hard not to see similarities to the Obama administration and its continued support for mass surveillance, permanent data collection, and indefinite detention. Top Comment You don’t have to support Rand Paul or his policy agenda to see that he was right to call out the president on the tension between his position and his actions. The fight for black equality was also, explicitly, a demand for America to live up to the ideals of its Declaration and the laws of its Constitution. If Obama is going to claim the legacy of the civil rights movement—if he’s going to present himself as its inheritor—then he must also grapple with his role in expanding the same surveillance state that terrorized his forbears, and may—in the future—do the same to their descendants. To do otherwise—to ignore the deep irony of the situation—is to do himself and his legacy a disservice. Poster Comment: Elias Isquith condemned Paul for “whitesplaining Martin Luther King, Jr. to the first African American president,” especially given Paul’s “infamous” attack on the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
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#1. To: Deasy, 4 (#0)
Rand is making the fatal mistake of trying to appeal to Black democrats. He'd be wiser to work on the disgruntled political drop outs.
Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans.
Obama was elected by whites who would approve of this "controversial" remark. Another headline on Slate says that Rand is the conservative lefties fear the least.
Rand Paul is offensive.
What bothers you about him, Cyni? Looking at what Slate has had to say about him, I'm finding a lot to like.
The word conservative has lost any relevance to those with even a thumbnail of political savvy and it makes complete sense that Slate would be bewildered by it all. Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans.
Maybe they're sure that the MSM can crush him.
I'm a drop-out for any beanie-baby; until, and unless we can free ourselves from the accursed zionists, we're doomed.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
Many are Lod, and I'll make my decision come gameday.
Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans.
This is a beanie baby like no other: he's dared to question the sanctity of WWII.
Did Rand P do that? Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans.
Rand Paul and the Alternate History of World War II
LOL, does that mean the Democrats are going to stop invoking race when it's not relevant? corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus
+1. Not a fan of Rand, but I understand his strategy. This way, the MSM can't say he ignored blacks or didn't try to reach out to them.
Jamelle Bouie will be sure to report if/when that happens. Stay tuned to Slate just in case it does. (Not that it ever has, otherwise Jamelle would have mentioned it in this comprehensive article.) I especially approved of his reference to WHITESPLAINING. In case you didn't know (I didn't) that's when a white person tells a black person something. I think this article falls into the genre of BLAXSPLAINING. We're all better informed because of it.
Was it the wailing wall visit that took your respect away? What are your issues with him? I'm wary of his connections to big coal. Man's got to get a war chest somehow, though.
Given half a chance, I'd take a 2x4 to Rand Paul's head because he's such a fuck-up. He's no better than any of the other jackasses in the senate, and just as deserving of a quick assassination.
#2. To: Jethro Tull (#1)
#3. To: Deasy (#2)
#4. To: Cynicom (#3)
#5. To: Deasy (#2)
Slate says that Rand is the conservative lefties fear the least.
#6. To: Jethro Tull (#5)
#7. To: Jethro Tull (#1)
(Edited)
#8. To: Lod (#7)
#9. To: Lod, Jethro Tull (#7)
#10. To: Deasy (#9)
he's dared to question the sanctity of WWII
#11. To: Jethro Tull (#10)
Post Date: 2014-07-25 12:53:30 by Deasy
1 Comments
Jennifer Rubin, a Washington Post blogger/columnist who has never pretended to be a fan of Rand Paul, got her hands on a 2012 (vertical!) video of Rand Paul answering a question about sanctions on Iran. Paul mused a little about the mistakes America made before the outbreak of World War II. "There are times when sanctions have made it worse," Paul said. "Leading up to World War II, we cut off trade with Japan. That probably caused Japan to react angrily. We also had a blockade on Germany after World War I that probably encouraged some of their anger." Advertisement Aaron Blake reached out to Paul's spokesman (and former chief of staff) ...
#12. To: Deasy (#0)
“This issue is complicated enough that it doesn’t need Senator Paul’s cheap shot on the president invoking race, when it’s not relevant.”
#13. To: Deasy (#6)
#14. To: Dakmar, X-15, Rube Goldbereg, James Deffenbach, HOUNDDAWG (#12)
LOL, does that mean the Democrats are going to stop invoking race when it's not relevant?
#15. To: Obnoxicated (#13)
#16. To: Deasy (#14)
-Alex Kurtagic
#17. To: X-15 (#16)
Re Rand Paul, you, me and others down the social ladder. There is a video of Paul, in Senate saying..."Doctors have a RIGHT to make a good living"..... Did I mention, he hates unions because they are the ones that are entirely the blame for the current demise of this country?????
#18. To: Jethro Tull, Deasy (#5)
The word conservative has lost any relevance to those with even a thumbnail of political savvy and it makes complete sense that Slate would be bewildered by it all. That's a BIG Ten Roger, JT. The very fact that the constitution has been folded into origami toys by DOJ lawyers, and the secret Eee Light rubbed our noses in it by actually naming their immaculate conception "Homeland Security" as an invading army is assembling to deal with European Caucasian Patriot-Constitutionalists is proof that the US Congress and the White House occupants are simply main event, bread and circus distractions in a nearly borderless political playpen. We have no say in the manner in which the US is inevitably dismantled, and the average American schmoe would no more sacrifice all to strike a blow for liberty than the average FBI man a month away from retirement would. As long as the wrecking crews don't actually shoot at us through our bay windows they can stay the course as well oiled American guns repose in securely locked gun safes across the heartland. Most will see no more professional duty than the priceless Stratocasters that occupy space in the vaults of Japanese collectors; collectors who don't play a note of music, but who know good investment finds when they come on the market. Slate says that Rand is the conservative lefties fear the least.
"PTFE's (aka TEFLON) resistance to van der Waals forces means that it is the only known surface to which a gecko cannot stick."
#19. To: HOUNDDAWG, Jethro Tull (#18)
It's time for a new way of thinking about our predicament, that's for sure. The recent Patriot Information Hotline "militia" effort claiming at least moral support from Cliven Bundy wanted names and addresses. They wanted to verify non-felon status and even check social media for problems. If I didn't know better, I'd blame the fluoride in our water. I salute their efforts but question their methods.
#20. To: Deasy, HOUNDDAWG, 4 (#19)
Anyone joining this might as well bypass the Patriot Information Hotline and send their information & thoughts directly to Eric Holder. The recent Patriot Information Hotline "militia" effort claiming at least moral support from Cliven Bundy wanted names and addresses.
Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans.
#21. To: Jethro Tull, HOUNDDAWG, 4 (#20)
They were claiming to be working within the law and cooperating with border guards. It was a strange project.
#22. To: Deasy (#15)
To be prez, you gotta kiss jew ass. That's a fact. I don't trust him because he tries to be everything to everybody and it comes off as disingenuous. Try as he may, you can't please everybody. We'll have to wait and see how he does in the debates, if he makes it that far.
#23. To: Obnoxicated (#22)
Thanks, that makes sense.
#24. To: Deasy (#0)
That's different. powers that, in an earlier form, were used to spy on almost every figure in the civil rights movement.
A rainbow coalition against Jews doesn't require Whites or Pro-Whites. It can be just as brown or anti-white as you like.
#25. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#24) (Edited)
Not really. Not with a so-called egalitarian, "democratic" form of government. The US never used the data gathered to weaken the push for Civil Rights, although it was also spying on the Black Panthers and others. We didn't gain anything from the spying but we lost in the long run because every patriot movement can count on a 3:1 agent to activist ratio, from anti-globalist activists to Militia members. Many white people voted for Civil Rights candidates out of fears that were brought forward from politicians arguing that a race war was about to happen if America didn't "reform." That was also in part gathered from this "intelligence" material. Permit or advocate the government to protect you from insiders and count on powers gained to be used against you in multiples. That's different.
#26. To: Deasy (#25)
How many black people read Salon?
A rainbow coalition against Jews doesn't require Whites or Pro-Whites. It can be just as brown or anti-white as you like.
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