Obama, Bayh & Reinforcing Dishonest Storylines
One of the most infuriating behaviors among some Democrats these days is their willingness to create fake straw men that undermine progressives and reinforce false narratives about the Democratic Party? A while back, it was Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) who ran around claiming “some” Democrats are supposedly “afraid” of national security. He, of course, didn’t name any names. Why? Because they don’t exist - his whole narrative is based on a false straw man. Now, unfortunately, we see the same behavior from Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D).
The Associated Press reports that in a speech about religion, Obama said “I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people and join a serious debate about how to reconcile faith with our modern, pluralistic democracy.”
Obama, of course, is trying to portray himself as having the courage to stand up against these supposed Democrats that constitute the “we” in his rhetoric - the “we” that supposedly make this mistake of “fail
to acknowledge the power of faith.” Yet, again, he doesn’t offer any names to tell us who constitutes the “we.” Why? Because there are none. What Democrat of any prominence at all in America “fails to acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people?” I can’t think of one. It is a straw man - one that might make Obama look like a man of “courage” or “principle” - but one that dishonestly reinforces right-wing stereotypes about supposedly “godless” liberals/Democrats.
Let’s be clear: I like Obama. I’ve written in the past that I think he is one of the most talented politicians I’ve seen in my lifetime, and that I think his heart is in the right place. I also think his desire to reach out to different religious constituencies is a good idea. But individual high-profile Democrats need to stop regurgitating false right-wing storylines just to promote their own individual ambitions.
It doesn’t help the Democratic Party’s efforts to shore up its image on national security when one of its high-profile Senators like Bayh is running around the country dishonestly telling people his fellow Democrats (though unnamed) supposedly are “afraid” of national security. Similarly, it doesn’t help the Democratic Party’s efforts to better connect with evangelicals when a high-profile leader like Obama gives a speech on that very subject that implies that Democrats (again unnamed) supposedly don’t care about religion.
False, unsubstantiated storylines like these are the reason the Democratic Party as a whole has such a big image problem. If Democrats want to improve their image on national security, then they should not tell stories about strawmen or reinforce right-wing lies - they should show the country they are serious about national security by, for instance, taking a real stand on Iraq - the most pressing national security issue of the day. If Democrats want to do a better job of reaching out to religious voters, they should not tell fables about strawmen or reinforce right-wing lies about supposedly godless liberals, they should, for instance, show how spiritually immoral it is for our government to continue waging a class war on the poorest citizens in this country.
The more high-profile Democrats give credence to right-wing lies/myths, the more the party’s image problem grows. It’s time for Democratic leaders who show the country what they believe in - instead of telling the public the lies they already hear on right-wing radio.
http://davidsirota.com/index.php/2006/06/28/obama-bayh-reinforcing-dishonest-storylines/
Mods: I have written permission from Sirota to repost his blogs entries on DU in thier entirety.
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