As Senator Barack Obama continues pivoting away from those primary-election positions and promises that once galvanized his Democratic base, he may have a new worry looming on the horizon in the person of Cynthia McKinney. A former Georgia Congresswoman, McKinney is said to be a shoo-in as the Green Party's 2008 presidential nominee when their convention is held in Chicago, July 10-12.
Securing the Green Party's 2008 standard-bearer position would bestow on McKinney the historic title of 'first' African American woman to be on the ballot as a viable candidate of a major party for President of the United States. That title alone will not only lessen the aura surrounding Barack Obama's position as the 'first' African American male presidential nominee, but she may also siphon off just-enough left-wing, African American, and women voters, to sink both their chances for victory in the Fall.
Obama, in his quest to appeal to Reagan Republicans and Independents, is gravitating toward a more 'centrist' position of late, which is causing serious ire among many of his followers, and those who supported and believed in his pre-General election message. And McKinney, being the shrewed politician she has always been, is set to capitalize on the Obama backlash. Recently issuing the following statement, McKinney's camp unashamedly challenges progressives/liberals who are disappointed in Obama:
"There can be no effective reasoning with those African Americans who want only that a member of 'The Race' occupy the Oval Office - no matter the character and politics of that Black individual. But self-described progressives of all races cannot excuse their own docility in the face of Obama's rightward lunge - especially when there exists one last opportunity to threaten the Democratic nominee-to-be with a backlash against his betrayals of progressive principles - one last chance to affect Obama's behavior before Election Day, November 4, and beyond. Cynthia McKinney.
It's time for people claiming to be progressives who supported Obama, to accept that they were bamboozled by a champion slickster. Actually, that's putting the best face on the situation, since most of Obama's progressive credentials were simply wished into existence by folks who were tired of even pretending to fight. Obama now dares to drop all pretense of progressivism, trusting that there will be no ramifications on the Left, especially among the otherwise most dependable progressive constituency, African Americans".
It appears that, barring any unforeseen political calamity, McKinney should lock-down the Green Party nomination this week. No doubt she will immediately begin calling attention to and "disrobing" Obama's about-face on those core left-wing issues... in addition to aggressively courting the disgruntled Obama-primary-voters who voice their discontent of the presumptive Democratic nominee (daily and by the thousands) where it counts most: Bloggersville.
Will Obama be forced to scoot-back to the left and keep his base, as Arianna Huffington recommended recently on the Huffington Post site? Or will he continue down the path of appealing to the right... and land somewhere in the center before November? He needs to make that decision sooner rather than later (and perhaps before he casts his controversial FISA vote] as Cynthia McKinney––whose 'say anything' political attacks by-the-way, will make Obama wish for the days when Hillary Clinton was his competitor.
Keep an eye on McKinney. She is poised to challenge Obama for a share of his voters, and... will indeed give him a run for his money!
Vivian Berryhill, founder of a national service organization, is a renowned speaker and travels extensively throughout the United States and abroad. She has addressed audiences in Thailand, Nigeria, Honduras, Peru, Chile, and has traveled to Kenya, (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
The practical purpose and function of ALL third party/independent presidentail candidates is NOT to win the presidency, but rather to use the effort to openly and passionately attack the two-party plutocracy that has hijacked our political system and ruined our democracy.
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Joel S. Hirschhorn (141 articles, 50 quicklinks, 65 diaries, 546 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 at 12:04:13 PM
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