Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

African Socialists Heckle Obama
Townhall.com ^ | August 2, 2008 | Amanda Carpenter

Posted on 08/01/2008 10:52:58 PM PDT by Kaslin

Members of a pan-African socialist group squared off against Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during a town hall meeting Friday.

Two men unfurled a banner that said “What about the black community, Obama?” and contained the web address www.uhurunews.com, a website created by the International People’s Democratic Movement.

According to IPDM’s own webpage, www.inpdum.org, the group was founded in Obama’s home city of Chicago by the African People’s Socialist Party in 1991—the same year Obama graduated from Harvard Law and settled in the Windy City.

IPDM‘s web page criticizes Obama, GOP presidential candidate John McCain and former Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton for not speaking “a single wod [sic] about ending public policies of police containment or reparations to the African families left homeless through the sub-prime mortgage economic attack on the African community.”

At the end of his speech, Obama gave one of the IPDM members a chance to speak and ask a question. Diop Olugbulu asked Obama: “In the face of the numerous attacks that are made against the African community or the black community by the same US government that you aspire to lead - and we are talking about attacks like the sub prime mortgage that you spoke of - it wasn't just a general ambiguous kind of phenomena, a phenomena that targeted the African community and Latino community, attacks like the killing of Sean Bell by the New York police department and right here in St. Petersburg by the St. Petersburg police, and Jena 6 and Hurricane Katrina, and the list goes on. In the face of all these attacks that are clearly being made on the African community, why is it that you have not had the ability to not one time speak to the interests and even speak on the behalf of the oppressed and exploited African community or Black community in this country?”

Many members of the audience booed Olugbulu, but Obama asked them to “respect him” and said “he has a legitimate question.”

Obama reminded Olugbulu he has made many statements about the issues raised by the activist. “I passed the first racial profiling legislation in Illinois,” Obama said.

He ended by telling Olugbulu “That doesn’t mean I’m always going to say what you want me to say, which gives you the option of voting for somebody else or run for office yourself.”


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: heckler; obama

1 posted on 08/01/2008 10:52:59 PM PDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I’ll bet the farm it was staged.


2 posted on 08/01/2008 10:54:41 PM PDT by pissant (THE Conservative party: www.falconparty.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
According to IPDM’s own webpage, www.inpdum.org, the group was founded in Obama’s home city of Chicago by the African People’s Socialist Party in 1991

Then they're not exactly "African socialists," are they?

3 posted on 08/01/2008 10:57:53 PM PDT by JennysCool (A man who served his country well vs. a walking Che poster. Is it really that tough a choice?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
“In the face of the numerous attacks that are made against the African community or the black community by the same US government that you aspire to lead - and we are talking about attacks like the sub prime mortgage that you spoke of..."

Folks, this is liberalism--sub-prime mortgages are considered racist attacks.

If Obama has to cover his flank with the left to this extent, there is no way--no way--he can win.

I'm looking for two things in the coming weeks:

A wave of attempts by the MSM to appear "fair" by pushing articles like "Obama--what went wrong?" and "Can he save his campaign?" followed by a second wave of "Obama getting it together" and "Obama--the new comeback kid" articles. The MSM will try to appear "tough" on him, so Andrea Mitchell and Chrissy Matthews can cut off any debate about media love for him with "I guess you didn't see that SCATHING article in the Times" or whatever.

Secondly, I'm looking for the rise of the Deaniacs, those who thought Hillary was too conservative, demanding recognition NOW, before the election. They don't want Obama becoming "too conservative," but want him to be defiantly liberal--talking about reparations, oil companies, etc.

If all he's got is "I disagree with Bush's rebates, and MY new bold economic plan is more rebates" then people are really going to start wondering if he's capable of doing the job. And that's going to start in September, when people actually start paying attention. Right now, the election is in an important phase because come September people will be basing their selection on their peripheral following of things we look at in-depth. Impressions are more important than substance at this point because people aren't really looking into the substance, but how these two deal with conflict.

This story shows Obama isn't even able to handle the safest, most friendly of crowds.

4 posted on 08/01/2008 11:01:21 PM PDT by Darkwolf377 (American secret agent in enemy territory (Cambridge, MA))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I don’t know, I think Obama’s support in the black community just might be fading a bit. One little slip up, like firebombing an orphanage on live TV for instance, and his poll numbers among blacks might slip two, maybe three points!


5 posted on 08/01/2008 11:03:31 PM PDT by notfornothing
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pissant
"I’ll bet the farm it was staged."

No doubt.

6 posted on 08/01/2008 11:07:05 PM PDT by Eagles6 ( Typical White Guy: Christian, Constitutionalist, Heterosexual, Redneck)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

They are as African as my typical white grandmother.


7 posted on 08/02/2008 12:01:00 AM PDT by Impy (Spellcheck hates Obama, you should too.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

“Come and see the violence inherent in the system. Help! Help! I’m being repressed! “


8 posted on 08/02/2008 12:08:42 AM PDT by Jeff Chandler (I am voting for McCain because he is white.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pissant

Me too. If they are socialists like they are alledged to be; they are Obama’s friend.


9 posted on 08/02/2008 12:23:27 AM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Darkwolf377

I think you’re right. It’ll be fun to see the media panic.


10 posted on 08/02/2008 12:54:49 AM PDT by tanuki (u)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin


11 posted on 08/02/2008 6:17:39 AM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist -CTHULHU/NYARLATHOTEP'08 = Nothing LESS!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pissant
I’ll bet the farm it was staged.

If it was, Obambi did a pretty poor job using the idiot's rant to make himself look good. He did his usual, "Hold on now...uh...let's keep this polite...uh...ok...yeah...ok," routine.
12 posted on 08/02/2008 6:22:41 AM PDT by Antoninus (Every second spent bashing McCain is time that could be spent helping Conservatives downticket.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: pissant

“I’ll bet the farm it was staged.”

Probably as fake as his COLB!


13 posted on 08/02/2008 7:45:55 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Obama gets the special-ed treatment as our untouchable affirmative action candidate)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: JennysCool

Then they’re not exactly “African socialists,” are they?

That and more!...

they are Stupid “usefull idiots” of communists
saying that Whites have opressed them By Hurricane Katrina??
More Whites were displaced than Blacks by that Storm..
Its just the blacks who got the Media Press.

where the Appology from the New Black Panther Party for
Pre Judging the White Duke LaCross Students Falsely Accused by the Black Stripper???

Racist Bigots like these Comie Blacks and the New Black Panthers are a Cancer on Liberty.


14 posted on 08/02/2008 8:20:49 AM PDT by LtKerst (Lt Kerst)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Grampa Dave

LOL. indeed


15 posted on 08/02/2008 8:25:54 AM PDT by pissant (THE Conservative party: www.falconparty.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Antoninus

Well, he had to keep it real, ya know. But why on God’s green earth would socialists be protesting Obama? He’s already won every socialist organization and communist organization’s endorsement.


16 posted on 08/02/2008 8:28:48 AM PDT by pissant (THE Conservative party: www.falconparty.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: pissant
Well, he had to keep it real, ya know. But why on God’s green earth
would socialists be protesting Obama? He’s already won every socialist
organization and communist organization’s endorsement.


For some people...Obama's insufficiently socialist apparently!
17 posted on 08/02/2008 8:33:21 AM PDT by VOA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: pissant
I’ll bet the farm it was staged.

No argument here. From the same clever mentality that brought Hillary "Iron my shirt!"

18 posted on 08/02/2008 4:43:11 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Oh yes, the Uhurus.

What a collection of dirtbags, they’re a bunch of dirt poor whiners who bitch about everything you can think of. They started riots in the 90s when a cop shot a young drug dealer. The cop was on foot standing in front of the car- limo tinted windows, the driver refused to roll down the window and shut off the car. The car luched forward and the copshot him through the windshield for almost running him over in an intersection. The cop was white, the dealer was black, and the grand jury found the shooting justified, so the Uhurus had a riot. Typical.

Except for the violence, I find this group laughable.


19 posted on 08/02/2008 4:49:39 PM PDT by ovrtaxt (This election is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if McCain wins, we're still retarded.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson