Over @ “The Root” we’ve got an problem
April 20, 2008 by weedivine
Below is a pasted an article you can link to here. I really hope that I missed something here. My response is below.
Barack brushes his shoulder off [call]
Marc,
Did you see it? Did you see Barack brush his shoulders off?
Like every other hip-hop generation voter in America I went crazy when he did it. I almost couldn’t believe it. It was a perfect moment.
Barack’s key constituencies are tough because they are his most important assets and his most visible liabilities: African Americans and young people. Within Barack’s diverse coalition black folks, city dwellers and young voters are his steadfast allies, but his opponents consistently use race and age to label him unqualified and inexperienced.
Barack needs to keep his black, urban and young voters while adding laborers,suburbanites, seniors and rural folks into a winning coalition. Great campaigners know how to talk to multiple audiences at once. They send solidarity signals to some while allowing others to remain blissfully unaware.
W. is a master of this “dog-whistle” politics. Especially in his first term, Bush sent piercing rhetorical signals to evangelicals that the rest of the audience was completely incapable of hearing because they don’t get the reference. Think “wonder-working power” during his State of The Union address and “Dred Scott” references during his abortion answers in a debate with Kerry. These are crystal clear signals to some but mean nothing to others.
Marc, last week you said Obama would have to be more like Bush. Well, Barack gave us the dog-whistle remix this week and it was hot.
Barack is much more earnest than Bush. His coalition strategy has been explicit. Obama articulates the reasons we have shared interests and encourages us to see past difference. This is why many of us Barackers are so excited about his candidacy.
But political campaigning is not only about earnest argument. It is also about strategy. When Obama brushed his shoulders off he took the secret handshake platinum.
He displayed all the familiar self-assurance and bravado of the hip-hop emcee. The people who got-it went nuts, while those who don’t know hip-hop just thought he was being funny and confident. This moment hit YouTube and went viral in a matter of hours. It was a signal of solidarity with his base of young, urban, black and brown voters. We loved it.
Marc, if Barack is listening to Jay-Z what do you think are his favorite cuts these days? 99 Problems maybe?
Melissa
My response (via comment)
WOW. Hold on one second. I think this article is fine… up until the last paragraph. “99 problems” is reference (for those who don’t know) to a Jay- Z song.. the complete line being “I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one.” Ms. Harris- it would be an understatement to say this is offensive. Calling Hilary a bitch (it seems to be fairly obvious to whom you are referring here) is not only weak, tired,and not a political point, but sexist. Again, I’m baffled, as an Obama supporter, at the ways fellow supporters feel they have the right to attack Hilary for being a woman. Not only that, but suggesting that Obama would be listening to this song in reference to his opponent shines a terrible and insulting light on a candidate who I believe knows a thing or two about oppression, including sexism.
DId I miss some irony or satire in this post? I hope.
__________
Wasn’t it clever for her to use the same style of pop culture referencing in her article that Barack did in his speech, speaking to the “hip-hop” generation by referring to a song that only some would know ended with a stab at Hilary? Brilliant. I’m so impressed.
