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Roland S. Martin
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Listen to the Candidates, Not Their Associates

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It's been an interesting week watching folks analyze the outcry over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's controversial comments, especially when they try to link them to Sen. Barack Obama.

Obama's supporters say it's wrong to associate his views with those of his pastor at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ.

His opponents say that surely his views are linked with Wright's, including the pastor's praise of Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Conservative talker Sean Hannity — who incidentally many have accused of having associations with white supremacist Hal Turner, which he denies — was foaming at the mouth. He called Wright a racist and an anti-Semite and then said we all should assume Obama is also a racist and an anti-Semite.

Talk about a stretch. Frankly, it's just not plausible to suggest that you always share the same feelings or views as someone you know.

In remarks to a Pittsburgh newspaper, Sen. Hillary Clinton responded to a question about the Wright controversy by saying, "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend."

True. Very true. But there's also some reality that politicians pick and choose whom they want to be associated with.

Clinton pressed Obama during a debate this year to repudiate and denounce Farrakhan's unsolicited praise of him at an event the Nation of Islam leader organized for his group in Chicago. The moderator, NBC's Tim Russert, brought up comments made by Farrakhan 24 years ago in his question to Obama.

Fine, so what do we make of then-President Bill Clinton publicly endorsing the 1995 Million Man March? Who called for that march? Louis Farrakhan. Who was the lead organizer? Louis Farrakhan. Who was the keynote speaker? Louis Farrakhan.

After he was out of the White House, President Clinton also endorsed the Million Man March. Who called for that march? Louis Farrakhan. Who was the lead organizer? Louis Farrakhan. Who was the keynote speaker? Louis Farrakhan.

Did Sen. Clinton privately or publicly rebuke her husband for supporting a man whom she has determined to be hateful and divisive?

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a leading supporter of Hillary Clinton's, once stood on stage with Farrakhan in 1997 — at an event The New York Times said was "called to promote racial reconciliation after several recent high-profile crimes" — and praised him for his commitment to ending violence in the black community. Rendell was the mayor of Philadelphia at the time. According to the April 15, 1997, story in the Times, Farrakhan praised Rendell before 3,000 people at the anti-violence rally for ''his courage and strength to rise above emotion and differences that might be between us or our communities." According to the Times, Rendell, who is Jewish, commended the Nation of Islam for its emphasis on family values and self-sufficiency.

Must Clinton repudiate and denounce Rendell's past comments and association with Farrakhan?

Former Republican Rep. Jack Kemp is a huge supporter of Sen. John McCain's, and he also has a Farrakhan story. In 1996, when Kemp was the vice presidential running mate of Sen. Bob Dole, he told reporters that he wanted to meet with Farrakhan and praised his organization's focus on economic empowerment, family values and its pull-yourselves-up-by-the-bootstrap message — right in line with the GOP talking points. Kemp said he wanted to speak at the Million Man March. Boy, was he torn apart by Jewish critics and many in his own party. Kemp summarily criticized Farrakhan's comments about Jews and whites, but he didn't take his words back. By the way, Hannity pressed every African-American supporter about Farrakhan, but he never got in Kemp's face about his comments. I wonder why? Must McCain repudiate and denounce Kemp's past comments and association with Farrakhan?

When it comes to homosexuality, no Clinton or Obama supporter should think of criticizing the other campaign's black ministerial supporters because that means most of their own would have to be disassociated from their campaigns.

On CNN's "The Situation Room," Paul Begala mentioned "hateful" things said about gays by the Rev. James Meeks, founder and senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago and an Obama supporter. Meeks has made no bones about his firm opposition to homosexuality (and abortion), which is one of the reasons he's very close to many of the nation's white conservative pastors. (I know him well; I'm a member of Salem.)

And then there was the hoopla over gospel singer Donnie McClurkin when the Obama campaign recruited him to take part in a gospel concert tour around South Carolina. McClurkin has preached that homosexuals can be converted to heterosexuals. That set off a firestorm.

But Clinton also has issues with anti-gay pastoral supporters. The Rev. Harold Mayberry, pastor of the First African Methodist Church in Oakland, Calif., has voiced for years his opposition to homosexuality. In fact, some have said he has compared homosexuality to thievery. When Mayberry came out in support of Clinton, her campaign touted his endorsement, sans any mention of his anti-gay rants.

She also has received a $1,000 contribution from Bishop Eddie L. Long of the mega-church New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., who previously led a march in Atlanta against gay marriage.

Of course, when it comes to McCain, it's not a story when his ministerial supporters are anti-gay. It would be news if any of them actually supported homosexuality.

The bottom line: Everyone has an association that is open for scrutiny. Our real focus should be on the candidates and their views on the issues because one of them will stand before the nation and take the oath of office and swear to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States.

Roland S. Martin is an award-winning CNN contributor and the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." Please visit his Web site at www.RolandSMartin.com. To find out more about Roland S. Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.


Comments

2 Comments | Post Comment
Rev. Wright's statements are less scary to me than what is being taught in churches throughout this country, that we are living in the end times. Less scary than a President who, from what he's heard from his spiritual advisors, believes he is conducting a holy war and making decisions to bring that about. Christians, Jews, Muslims, all familiar with the prophecy of end times and Armagedon. All of them wondering if the Battle is at hand. I also think a person who "damn's" America is actually damning the leaders who have taken a great nation with great promise and led her almost to the eve of destruction. My opinion of Obama will be predicated on his ability to guide our great country and her people, not on what or who he did or did not listen to at his church. I'll be glad when all the finger pointing stops and America realizes with the one finger pointing at Barak, they've three fingers pointing at themselves.
Comment: #1
Posted by: liz
Tue Apr 1, 2008 7:54 PM
It's Coming Out/Black Theology I'm sending the word out.‏

Sent: Fri 4/25/08 12:47 AM
To: ombudskoz@ruralvotes.com

When all this comes out and the American people will find out, the Democratic National Party should be very afraid of what their public is going to think. Pelosia should be fired. I am sending all this information to any and every email address I can find to let people make up their own mind since noone wants to speak out about it. As well as people on the street.

1} Obama comes with very little experiance.
2} He does not bring anything to the table other candidate haven't already said.
3} Hello------he attends a church that teaches Black Theology, for twenty years.
4} He claims he knew nothing about these teachings of The Rev. Wright.
5} If 4 is true, I question his ability to "catch" things and pay attention.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Hey,

These are only a few of pages I've read on the {subject}. Please read at your leisure. It is interesting. It opens your eyes into this type of view.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_of_Islam Black Muslim

http://www.wfu.edu/~matthetl/perspectives/twentyseven.html Black Theology

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20080403-0732-obamaschurch.html Obams Church


http://www.tucc.org/home.htm Trinity Church Home Page




The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., a Divinity School alumnus (A.M., '75) and senior pastor at Trinity, said it is only natural that Hopkins, an academic and a member of the church, should be teaching a course at Trinity. He sees the scholar's work on black religion as an important bridge for the next generation of theologians. “His work covers what has transpired over the past 30 years in the area of black theology. The developments he covers are a ‘must' for Generation X-ers.”
You can read the story here:


http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/000316/hopkins.shtml



https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html#Intro Indonesia

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html#Intro Kenya



Indonesia is obams 'other' home town country and of course his father is kenyian. Again, interesting as it shows a 'lifelong' fundalmental belief and developement of the conditioning of obam. I am not making this stuff up. I could go on and on. Believe me.


It dosen't really mean anything except he's not being truthful.


Obama was aksed if he was a christian

His mother was an atheist: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/22/531492.aspx

This was reported by msnbc:



"My father was from Kenya,” he said, “and a lot of people in his village were Muslim. He didn't practice Islam. Truth is he wasn't very religious. He met my mother. My mother was a Christian from Kansas, and they married and then divorced. I was raised by my mother. So, I've always been a Christian. The only connection I've had to Islam is that my grandfather on my father's side came from that country. But I've never practiced Islam."

More: "For a while, I lived in Indonesia because my mother was teaching there. And that's a Muslim country. And I went to school. But I didn't practice. But what I do think it does is it gives me insight into how these folks think, and part of how I think we can create a better relationship with the Middle East and that would help make us safer is if we can understand how they think about issues."

"But I'm a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ and have been there 15 years," Obama added.

But the woman who asked the question still wasn't satisfied. She asked Obama to "define what a Christian is."

"Somebody who believes in Jesus Christ as our lord and savior," the senator responded.

"I'm so glad to hear that," she said.

Any other discussion of religion was quickly put to a close by campaign staffers, who ushered in a ruddy-cheeked little girl to talk with Obama.





This was an interview from his sister: http://www.africaresource.com/content/view/489/68/




Your mom has been described as an atheist.


I wouldn't have called her an atheist. She was an agnostic. She basically gave us all the good books — the Bible, the Hindu Upanishads and the Buddhist scripture, the Tao Te Ching — and wanted us to recognize that everyone has something beautiful to contribute.

You didn't mention the Koran in that list, although Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world.


I should have mentioned the Koran. Mom didn't really emphasize the Koran, but we read little parts of it. We did listen to morning prayers in Indonesia.

Are you worried about mentioning Islam because it has already been evoked by negative campaigners trying to tarnish your brother?

I'm not worried. I don't want to deny Islam. I think it's obviously very important that we have an understanding of Islam, a better understanding. At the same time, it has been erroneously attached to my brother. The man has been a Christian for 20 years.







This is what his mother's story is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Dunham



Dunham's best friend in high school has said that she "touted herself as an atheist, and it was something she'd read about and could argue."[5] In his 1995 memoir Dreams from My Father Barack Obama wrote, "My mother's confidence in needlepoint virtues depended on a faith I didn't possess... In a land [Indonesia] where fatalism remained a necessary tool for enduring hard-ship... she was a lonely witness for secular humanism, a soldier for New Deal, Peace Corps, position-paper liberalism."[15] In his 2006 book The Audacity of Hope Obama wrote, "I was not raised in a religious household... My mother's own experiences... only reinforced this inherited skepticism. Her memories of the Christians who populated her youth were not fond ones... And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known."[16] However, in 2007 Obama described his mother as "a Christian from Kansas." "I was raised by my mother", he continued. "So, I've always been a Christian."[17][18] Also in 2007, he said in a speech, "My mother, whose parents were nonpracticing Baptists and Methodists, was one of the most spiritual souls I ever knew. But she had a healthy skepticism of religion as an institution."[1] Maya Soetoro-Ng, when asked if her mother was an atheist, said, "I wouldn't have called her an atheist. She was an agnostic. She basically gave us all the good books—the Bible, the Hindu Upanishads and the Buddhist scripture, the Tao Te Ching—and wanted us to recognize that everyone has something beautiful to contribute."[19]

I am only pointing out deceptions.......why lie about your mother being an athiest when anyone can read this? So, what is his truth about anything?



Democratic Candidates
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Current Job/Position: Senator from New York
Hometown: Park Ridge, Ill.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 1/22/07
Profile | Finance | Tracker
Barack Obama
Current Job/Position: Senator from Illinois
Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia; Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: Statement of Candidacy 2/12/07
Profile | Finance | Tracker
What is this? It was on Washingtonpost.com.



Republican Candidates
John McCain
Current Job/Position: Senator from Arizona
Hometown: Alexandria, Va.
Status: Statement of Candidacy 11/16/06
Profile | Finance | Tracker
The only way for the democratic party to win this is too bring all this out and say that due to the fact Obama has been a loyal member to a Black Theology that teaches white hate or at the very least anit white anit American, we can only recall his nomination. That is the thing no one can argue. Racism does not belong in the WHite House and does not deserve support from the democratic party. Otherwise the blacks are going to fight because we didn't let obama in the white house for NO Good Reason or the white are going to fight because they will determine obama is a racist.

It's already not going to be pretty........The only thing that can save this situation is total and comolete honesty and the reason why the DNC has to recend Obama's nomination.

This is a National Security matter. It will devide this country. I don't want to get caught up in a racial war. PERIOD. You are all suppose to protect our National Security from foriegn and domestic threats.



Comment: #2
Posted by: Dlily
Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:04 PM
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