NOTE: Post is safe for work; links to rap lyrics contain much profanity.
A while back (in the Weekly Standard) I characterized Barack Obama's "Republicans just discovered black people!" comment as a rare misstep for a normally-savvy politician. Now it seems like the guy is trying to lose.
Apparently, he met with rapper Ludacris about "empowering the youth." "Luda" was in Illinois to promote his AIDS charity -- a welcome public-spirited move, though it's part of a trend of rappers doing good things to hide the fact they encourage misogyny, gangsterism, casual sex and anti-police sentiment for a living. (I admit I find gangster rap fun to listen to, so I should know.)
Those lyrics are the reason Obama shouldn't have done this. If he indeed decides to run for president, Republicans can shore up their base and sway some moderates by talking about the company Obama keeps.
The dude actually had a hit song with lyrics that went: "Move, b-tch, get out the way...I've been drinking...And I've been thinking of busting you / Upside your motherf---ing forehead / And if your friends jump in (oh girl) / They'll be more dead." Brilliant.
Perhaps the funniest thing is that the political calculations are all wrong. Meeting with a vile black entertainer can only increase support among (A) a subset of blacks and (B) young people. Blacks are already overwhelmingly Democrat, and young people don't vote. Not only does this alienate moderates and give conservatives ammo, it won't do much for liberal support, either.
Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
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1 comments:
Obama seems like a bright guy, but he will make mistakes, as he is relatively inexperienced. For the most part to date, the Democrats are using him, and creating as much media hype as they can about him - (he was on the tonight show just this week). Most people have no idea who is is, and nor should they, until he makes his mark and becomes known for what he has done, which as far as Senators goes, is not much. (Good block site)
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