American Morning
Avlon: 'Wingnut' liberal calls for Obama's resignation
Editor’s note: John P. Avlon is the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics and writes a weekly column for The Daily Beast. Previously, he served as Chief Speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/05/rall.tancredo.art.jpg caption="Ted Rall (L) and Tom Tancredo (R)."]
In the wingnut view of the world, there is no accusation too extreme and no problem that can’t be solved with a demand for the president’s resignation. Need new proof? Take a look at this week’s wingnuts – Tom Tancredo and Ted Rall.
The debate over the Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination took an unexpected turn this week, with Republicans on defense after accusations of racism started sounding wingnutty even to some supporters.
Tom Tancredo’s comments were case in point. The creationist former Colorado congressman and self-styled anti-illegal immigrant crusader took to the airwaves and managed to conjure up not one but two howlers in the space of days.
Judge Sotomayor is a member of the National Council of La Raza, the country’s largest Hispanic civil rights organization, which counts among its 300 major sponsors companies like Wal-Mart. Even if you disagree with their prescription for immigration reform, it sounds pretty legit, right? Not in the world according to Tom Tancredo, who took an opportunity on CNN to describe the organization as “nothing more than a ... Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses.”
KKK comparisons are just short of Nazi comparisons in the hierarchy of out-of-bounds political metaphors. The KKK is the KKK – full stop. Unless there are actual lynchings involved, it’s best to back off.
But maybe Tancredo was just having an off moment, spurred by emotional scars from the immigration debate. He quickly surrendered any benefit of the doubt when he was asked by David Shuster on MSNBC whether he thought “the Obama administration hates white people.” Tancredo couldn’t quite bring himself to sound reasonable even in the face of that logical softball, pausing for thought and then saying “I don’t know.” When incredulously pushed again, Tancredo laid his cards on the table: “I have no idea whether they hate white people or not!”
Really? This would be news to the millions of white people who voted for Obama, let alone the white members of his cabinet and staff – to say nothing of the members of his mother’s family. For all the wingnut hocus pocus during the campaign, (remember the “Obama is the anti-Christ” emails?) the closest to this conspiracy theory was the Pennsylvania McCain volunteer who carved a “B” on her face, claiming she was assaulted by a black Obama supporter. Note to Republicans: Give the obsession with race a rest.
Is the middle class dead?
From CNN's Carol Costello and Ronni Berke
Danny Borden has been a steelworker in Cleveland, Ohio, for the past 32 years. But last month, he was laid off from his job at the Arcelor Mittal plant. It wasn’t the first time he was furloughed. This time, he has a feeling he won't be going back to work.
“Angry?” he asks. “I'm very angry, you know, but I just can't let the anger get to me.” Along with his job, Borden lost his his way of life – the daily freeway drive, the banter with co-workers he’s known for decades, and of course, his economic status.
“I don't see no middle class. Is there a middle class now? I don't see it,” Borden says. “I see myself as fortunate, but I really don't see myself as middle class.”
Is Borden right? Is the middle class extinct?
“What you have is real fear,” says Paul Sracic, head of the Political Science Department at Youngstown State University. “You’re in a point of transition. The manufacturing jobs that have traditionally been here and been available to people, everyone knows they’re not going to be there anymore. I think people would be a bit more secure though if they had some confidence that something was going to be there to replace it.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1980, 21-percent of the nation's jobs were in manufacturing - the bulk of good-paying middle class jobs. Today, just 9-percent of jobs are in manufacturing. As some economists say, that puts the middle class in a massive economic black hole.
Lawrence Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute, says, “we have to start creating jobs and we have to work on creating good jobs for people so they can start earning good family paychecks and increase their consumption based on that.”
But, Borden doesn't see that happening in Cleveland. He says it will be hard for a fellow coming out of high school these days to find a job that would enable him to buy a car, a home and raise two college-bound kids.
“I hear everybody talk about jobs but where are they at? Because they're not up here, so I don't know where they would go,” Borden says.
He’s been hearing about "green jobs" replacing manufacturing jobs one day. But, those jobs pay around 12 bucks an hour-60 per cent less than what someone like Borden would make in the plant. It may be too late, he adds.
“The blue collar jobs are gone, and they’re gone overseas. And we’re giving the people that take the jobs overseas, we’re giving them tax breaks and all kinds of money to ruin America. That’s the way I look at it, so we’re rewarding everybody for taking American jobs away.”
What's on Tap – Friday June 5th, 2009
Here are the big stories on the agenda today:
- A serious setback for investigators who want answers – and families who need closure... Brazilian officials now say debris found in the Atlantic Ocean was nothing more than "sea trash." None of it, from the doomed Air France Flight 447, which dropped off the radar Monday.
- President Obama is in Germany this morning, strengthening ties on a European tour., and fresh from delivering a key speech to the Muslim world. He’s focusing on the global economy today, with a German chancellor who has very different ideas about how to get out of the financial funk.
- Trial by secrecy in North Korea. No word on the fate of two American journalists reportedly on trial for committing what North Korea calls "hostile acts". They could face ten years in a labor camp. The U.S. State Department may call on some diplomatic heavyweights to try and secure their release, including Former Vice President Al Gore.
- Making Terror Easy. We’ve known terrorists could use tools such as Google Earth to help plan attacks, but upgraded imagery is making things even easier, according to a civic activist who lives near the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor. The activist can demonstrate how improved imagery is revealing sensitive information that nuclear power plants undoubtedly don’t want disclosed – such as the location of roof-top guard shacks, ladders, entrances, gun placements, etc. The activist has asked the government to ask Google Earth and others to “fuzz” the imagery, much like they have fuzzed aerial and satellite photos of the vice president’s mansion. But he isn’t getting far. We take a look at his concerns, and whether Google Earth and others are making life too easy for terrorists.
- Just Sayin’… There is a fear the middle class is dying – or already dead. Thousands who’ve been laid off from manufacturing jobs are often forced to take lower paying jobs, making it difficult to maintain a middle class way of life. We’re “Just Sayin’” are these real fears? Is it a pipe dream to believe companies like GM and Chrysler will ever provide the numbers of jobs they used to? Or is it time for middle class, blue collar America to accept the fact their culture, their way of life is over – and it’s time to find some other way to support their way of life?
- Inside Sanjay’s O. R. CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back to give us another look at his “day job.” Dr. Gupta, as you may know, is a practicing neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery. It’s was one of the most popular segments on our show earlier this week. Don’t miss it.
Arab journalist: Muslims need to be jolted
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/04/intv.melhem.art.jpg caption= "Hisham Melhem says he would have liked President Obame to be 'more blunt' with Arab and Muslim leaders."]
President Obama spoke directly to the world's billion and a half Muslims today and his widely-anticipated speech is now being debated.
Hisham Melhem is Washington bureau chief of Al-Arabiya. He spoke to John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Thursday.
John Roberts: What did you think of the president's speech?
Hisham Melhem: I think it was very well-crafted, eloquent. He did a good job in fusing history, culture, politics, and personal narrative. And I think he boldly discussed some thorny, tough, sensitive issues that sometimes Muslim leaders and Arab leaders don't like to hear and he asked them somewhat to engage in introspection. I think he was very honest with both Israelis and Arabs. He clearly defined America's objectives in the war against al Qaeda and…he didn't talk about the war on terrorism in general.
He was thoughtful when he talked about democracy and human rights and he did not use the Messianic, metaphysical, theological language that his predecessor George Bush used to use. There were no combustible phrases like “Islamo-Fascism.” I just wish that he went a little bit further and was a bit blunter when he was addressing the Arab and Muslim leaders on the issue of democracy and human rights. You know John, Arabs always complain about Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, and for the right reasons, like everybody else. But Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib pale in comparison to what takes place within Arab and Muslim prisons. We are talking here about political repression en masse. We are talking about imprisoning activists, journalists and lawyers, not violent people. And we're talking about basic denial of basic human rights.
And if I were one of his speech writers I would have added a paragraph where the president would say “I'm doing my share to start this new beginning between us and you. You have to do your share.” And he should have been a little bit more blunt about the responsibility of Arabs and their need to engage in introspection and self-criticism the way he was doing.
Muslim activist: Obama brought us together
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/04/intv.ziada.dalia.cnn.art.jpg caption="Dalia Ziada reacts to Obama's Mideast speech from the youth perspective."]
President Obama reached out to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims this morning from Cairo, addressing relations with the west along with a good portion devoted to women's rights.
“Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons...”
Dalia Ziada is an Egyptian human rights activist and blogger, who attended President Obama’s speech in Cairo. She spoke to Carol Costello on CNN’s “American Morning” Thursday.
Carol Costello: First of all, I want to know what it was like to sit in the audience. What was the mood like?
Dalia Ziada: The hall was full of people from different walks of life. Mostly Egyptians, Muslim Brotherhood, mixed with liberals, mixed with socialists, capitalists, people from different backgrounds, religious backgrounds like Muslims, Christians, Coptics, Baha’is. Obama succeeded to do what we always fail to do, which is bringing all of us together in one whole and agreeing on certain things and certain points.
Costello: Dalia, while he was talking about women's rights, did most of the audience clap? Did just some? Did just women?
Ziada: No, all the audience clapped because he took it from a traditional point of view. You know, people will believe you more – and believed Obama, and Obama was credible more for them because he spoke, first, about tradition, about Islam. And from this, he speaks about women's rights. He refused extremism. He rejected extremism, which we all reject, but he did not reject Islam. So everyone clapped, including men who are against women’s rights or consider women's rights not something good to speak about. Everyone clapped.
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