March 9, 2008

VDARE: Obama's Radical Background

My new VDARE.com column takes a gander at some overlooked Obama background:

A year ago, March 1, 2007, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. made an angry appearance on the Hannity & Colmes show on FoxNews. It represents one of the few times when someone very close to the old Obama has been directly challenged. The telecast attracted little attention—the discussion quickly devolved into almost incomprehensible crosstalk—but a careful reading of the transcript reveals much about the ideological underpinnings that helped bond Obama to Wright's church for the last 20 years.

Sean Hannity began by asking Wright about the "Black Value System" espoused by Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ. Wright responded:

WRIGHT: The black value system, which was developed by the congregation, by laypersons of the congregation, 26 years ago, very similar to the gospel (INAUDIBLE) developed by laypersons in Nicaragua during the whole liberation theology movement, 26, 28, 30 years ago, yes.

What exactly was going on in Nicaragua 26 to 30 years before this debate in 2007? Well, 1977-1981 were the years of the Marxist revolution in Nicaragua. The Soviet-allied Sandinistas made use of the "liberation theology" promoted by leftist Catholic clerics of the Jesuit and the Maryknoll orders. In fact, three radical liberation theology priests served in the Sandinista cabinet. During a dramatic 1983 visit to Managua, Pope John Paul II had to speak out sharply against liberation theology. He later suspended Marxist priests serving in the Sandinista regime.

So, the black liberation theology of Obama's church is, according to Obama's minister, "very similar" to the "liberation theology" espoused by old Marxist revolutionaries in Nicaragua.

Interesting.

[More]

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer

30 comments:

mnuez said...

Steve, y'gotta be kidding.* I realize that when it comes to Democrats (or other folk you're not much fond of) you enjoy making liberal usage of conspiratorial guilt based on some six (or sixty) degrees of separation (something you radically reject when dealing with folk you're more fond of, such as Ron Paul) but this is pretty watered-down stuff. Wright does indeed appear to be quite out there and few have done as much to bring that to folks' attention as you have, but... Liberation Theology? Because the wacky Catholic Church was opposed to it??

Listen, I like JP2 quite a bit. I've humbly praised him (and defended him) on numerous occasions, but, at the end of the day, he was the World Leader of some one billion people who believe that God was born from a virgin vagina some two thousand years back and that he was then crucified - for our sins, mind you - but was (reassuringly) magically brought back to life after which he flew away into the sky. Who the fuck cares what this kook thinks is acceptable or not?

Liberation "Theology" is some heady stuff. It's steel-razor cold, down to Earth and about as rational as any "theology" could hope to be. Besmirching Obama by informing us that his 'strange old uncle' has sympathies for the Liberation Movement is really quite the stretch. Heck, even if The Obamessiah Himself were to express an understanding and appreciation of Liberation Theology it could hardly be counted as too crazy a theological view.

Steve, if your intent is to point out Obama's sympathies for some elements of Marxism then point those out and criticize such sympathies based on (what you consider to be) the ills or evils of Marxism... but criticizing Liberation Theology by pointing out how PJP2 "had to speak out sharply against" it on account of its supposed deviation from some sort of "True" theology. Who cares!

I still, abidingly, love you by the way,

mnuez
www.mnuez.blogspot.com



(* I'm responding here to your quoted selection rather than to the oeuvre of your coverage of Obama or even to the entirety of your article.)

Anonymous said...

"Who the fuck cares what this kook thinks is acceptable or not?"

Those 1 Billion do. Any many evangelical Christians do. And I do. But I guess that does not weigh in against say 12 mio. Jews, most of whom don't care much about schul anyway, does it?

Anonymous said...

Steve, from your full VDARE article this quote:

"Dr. Cone has expanded his race critique by asking pressing questions regarding the relationship of racism with not only classicism, [sic]but with sexism and ecological destruction as well.""

I just love how liberals keep pointing their fingers to Western nations when it comes to "ecological destruction". I have spent 26 years in Africa, and nowhere is the landscape, the water, the air and the infrastructure as "fucked-up" as there (I apologise for that vulgar term, but it best describes the ludicrousness of Wright’s and by extension Obama’s type of beliefs). And the more non-Western the African nation, the more "fucked-up" it is.

The old South Africa had the best quality landscape, infrastructure, water quality and air quality in Africa in comparison to it's population density. And Switzerland, which is probably the anti-thesis of Wright’s and Obama’s beliefs, is the cleanest country on earth.

This ecological argument is so incredibly out of step with reality that it must indicate the other arguments must also be bunk.

Anonymous said...

Hi Steve.
You really are obsessed with Rev Wright, aren't you? Just for comparison, suppose Kerry had run again, would you be banging on about how he was a member of a foreign-based Christian sect whose current leader is an ex-Nazi?

Anonymous said...

First let me say that I am not an Obama supporter.

Why are you so hostile to Liberation theology? Samoza and the contras were gangsters who murdered anyone who believed that the resources of Nicaragua should be much more evenly distributed.

The Regan adminstration was found guilty of war crimes in the world court for mining Nicaragua's harbors.

Do you think the creation and support of the gangster contra army was a good use of US citizen tax dollars?
The Sandanistas and Hugo Chavez pose no threat to the United States.

There was massive opposition among Americans to the Reagan policy of tortuirng Nicaragua. This is the reason why the the policy was illegaly covert for so many years. Iran-Contragate was a direct outcome of this.

Steve Sailer said...

Good points!

Why doesn't Obama make them?

Anonymous said...

mnuez:

"Liberation Theology" was Marxism disguised as Christianity. And while Marxism may appear more "rational" at first glance, it's managed to bring far more horror and death to the world in two centuries than Christianity has in two millenia.

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...

Why are you so hostile to Liberation theology? Samoza and the contras were gangsters who murdered anyone who believed that the resources of Nicaragua should be much more evenly distributed."

Perhaps because liberation theologists were water-carriers for marxism and for marxists like Castro, and Ortega. Somoza was not a good man - neither was Ortega. The enemy of a bad man is not necessarily a good man.

I could care less what central americans espouse or practice in and for their own nations, however marxism is hostile, even antithethical, to traditional american ways. It is fitting to old Senator Obama to account for his dabbling with them.

And to mnuez: if you're sticking up for liberation theology, it pretty much vitiates any claims you might make to being some kind of free-thinking independent with conservative leanings. You've pretty much just identified youself as a straight-up leftist flack.

Unknown said...

Christianity has a heavy Marxist component. The meek shall inherit the earth. We shall be all.

Guys: I agree that Steve spent too much time flogging the lib. theology thing.

The problem with Jeremiah Wright is that he's a black supremacist parading around in preacher's robes. And that Obambi is obsessed with race...race and inheritance. This will be, MUST BE, relentlessly exposed to the general public in the general election. I look forward to it.

And what about presenting Obambi to William Ayres, an unrepetant terrorist, before he ran for Illinois state senate?

Anonymous said...

mnuez,

I find your bitter assurance that you are absolutely right about everything quite amusing.

It's the sign of an educated idiot.

John Paul II was a great intellect, an astonishing moral leader and one of the most important figures in the defeat of communism.

And you've done what?

In a way, you are a Marxist, but you aren't bright enough to know it. Your belief that you have solved the mysteries of human spiritual life... and, of course, discovered that it's just a childish fraud... well that's precisely what the commies throught, too. In fact, it was the centerpiece of their crazy ideology.

You need to go back to square one, and cease admiring your intellect for a while. You are commiting the cardinal intellectual sin of the 20th century... the arrogant stupidity of the intellectuals who believed that the life of the spirit was just a fairy tale.

Remember? The intellectuals were all wrong, and that dumb sleepy Ronald Reagan was right.

Anonymous said...

"Why are you so hostile to Liberation theology? Samoza and the contras were gangsters who murdered anyone who believed that the resources of Nicaragua should be much more evenly distributed."

I know it sucks that your so butthurt over the communist defeat in central America, but hopefully you'll get over it one day. Marxists are evil, and they deserve to be killed when they try and run over peoples personal and property rights.

"Do you think the creation and support of the gangster contra army was a good use of US citizen tax dollars?
The Sandanistas and Hugo Chavez pose no threat to the United States."

Using relatively small amounts of cash to support native freedom fighters was a far better and more useful policy than invading some far off middle eastern country with a tin pot dictatorship. Quite frankly, if marxism in the Americas had been allowed to flourish during the 70's and 80's, it would have most definitely become a threat to us, especially considering the amount of illegals that pour into this country. Communists are quite fond of spreading their vile ideology outside of their borders. There's no better example than the recent dust up between Chavez and Colombia over the killing of one of Chavez's FARC buddies.

Anonymous said...

Steve

Barack Obama doesn't come close to being a marxist. Wall Street and the corporations view him as a friend of Wall Street and the Corporation. Lots of evidence for this.

Barck Obama is a problem for the same reasons that Hilary Clinton and George W Bush are problemsproblems. What all three have in common is this:support for an immigration poicy that will reduce Euro-Americans to a racial minority;2)Military interventions in the guise of humanitarian interventions to protect the rackets corporations are running around the planet.

It is a myth that Barck Obama is the peace candidate. Susan Rice his foriegn policy advisor was on the Tucker Carlson show two weeks ago and she made it very clear that the Marines will be pulled out Iraq across the border to Kuwait along with Carrier fleet rotations.A Barrack Obama adminstration like the Bush and Clinton administrations will try to force Iraq into the neoliberal pattern of economic development. It will be business as usual with president Obama. Euro-American racial and economic dispossession will continue apace.

Anonymous said...

I don't care what some political movement calls itself. If they want to refer to themselves as marxist big deal. All that matters is wheter or not these political movements pose a threat to the United States. These political movements such as Liberation Theology or Daniel Ortega and the Sandista are not a threat to America because neocon Elliot Abrams says they are a threat to America.

Interesting that I should mention the war crimanl Elliot Abrtams-to whose defense Peter Brimelow rushed to nearly two decades ago. Elliot Abrams-a well know supporter of post 1965 non-white immigration policy-is busy instigating a war with Iran which has the possibility of igniting WW111.

There is a very fat book on the crimes of Capitalists. The people murdered by Stalin and Pol Pot were never a major concern of the Cold Warriors. It was the Marxist Vietnam that intervened and kicked out mass murdering and US backed Pol Pot out of Cambodia.

Anonymous said...

anonymous -- do you realize that the soviets were fundng the Sandinistas?

Look around the world. In general, the right wing regimes that the us backed during the cold war -- though capable of brutality -- have been MUCH better for their people than the left wing regimes that were the alternative.

Compare north and south Korea, east and west Germany, chile under Pinochet vs Allende, Iran under the shah vs the ayatollah...and Nicaragua under the contras vs the Sandinistas.

Two things are true:

1) "indigenous" leftist movements were soviet funded and directed
2) Chomsky, zinn et al are directly mouthing the soviet line when they denounce the us for its actions during the cold war without mentioning the USSR or the fact that leftist takeover invariably brought far worse consequences than rightist rule

--eulerian

Anonymous said...

john of London, had Kerry titled his autobiography after his pastor then you might have somehting

Plus, there is the minor matter that wright is not "ex" anything. He's a communist, racist, AND anti-Semite.

It is amazing how anyention of the fact that communism is and was evil arouses either:

1) "it's old, you're obsessed, etc." -- voiced more frequently by the ignorant
2) "it wasn't as bad as the Nazis and what about racism, colonialism, etc." -- a more frequent line of argument from leftists who know how many the communist murdered, and are scared that they will face reprisals if the magnitude of the lie comes out. See for example Steven schwartz defending Trotsky in national review.

This for example is why Ann Coulter's Treason was so surprisingly denounced by people who often supported her. She was getting a bit...too...close. But thanks to the Internet, more and more of us know who manned the white sea labor camps.

Anyway, I bring all of this up because the fundamental fact in modernpolitical discourse is that "ex Nazi" carries far more opprobrium than even "active communist". He who contrls the past controls the future. If truth were being taught in the schools about all the fruits of communism -- and if leftists were tarred with its mass murders just as border controllers must bear the cross of the Nazis -- then any argument over whether obama's advisor is a execrable human being would have long since been settled.

--eulerian

Truth said...

"“If you haven't turned rebel by twenty you've got no heart; if you haven't turned establishment by thirty you've got no brains!”
-Kevin Spacey

Anonymous said...

A few other names to research - Frank Marshall Davis, William Ayers, Nadhmi Auchi, Raul Reyes, and Raila Amolo Odinga:

Frank Marshall Davis:

Obama’s Communist Mentor
aim.org

William Ayers:

Obama once visited '60s radicals
politico.com

Obama's Bill Ayers problem
marathonpundit.blogspot.com

Obama worked with terrorist
wnd.com

No Regrets for a Love Of Explosives; In a Memoir of Sorts, a War Protester Talks of Life With the Weathermen
By DINITIA SMITH
September 11, 2001
nytimes.com

Nadhmi Auchi:

Mansion 'mistake' piles the pressure on Barack Obama
timesonline.co.uk

Reformer: Trial Will Reveal 'Cesspool' of Obama's Allies
abcnews.go.com

Auchi connection
gertzfile.com

Raul Reyes:

Obama And FARC
ibdeditorials.com

The FARC Files
online.wsj.com

Raila Amolo Odinga:

photobucket.com

photobucket.com

Kenyan Christians could be subjected to Sharia law
christiantoday.com

Concerns Raised Over Alleged Vow to Enforce Islamic Law in Kenya
christianpost.com

Children torched in Kenya church
theaustralian.news.com.au

Odinga says Obama is his cousin
bbc.co.uk

Obama urges talks in phone call to Kenya's Odinga
brisbanetimes.com.au

Anonymous said...

Do some research and write on skeletons in McCain's closet instead. He would be MUCH more of a disaster than Obama ever would.

Anonymous said...

Liberation Theology is basically revolutionary Marxism dressed up on Catholic terms. You know, Jesuit conspiracies and all that. You want to talk about an elite cabal, the Jesuits require a postgraduate degree to even apply.

Speaking of Liberation Theology, check out the new sins. Definitely Onion-worthy.

OK, so they name the sin of hoarding wealth. True enough. But what about wasting resources? What about people who sit around on valuable goods killing (and eating?) each other instead of engaging in productive labor and commerce? Apparently not on the list, but they fall in the same category.

Anonymous said...

Another FARC piece today:

The FARC's Guardian Angel
STORY - washingtonpost.com
COMMENTS - washingtonpost.com

Anonymous said...

Interesting that all the lunatic libs have come out. Liberation Theology sucks and is a disaster because it DOES NOT WORK. It's merely an excuse for a group of thieves who should "Viva La Revolucion!" a lot to steal more. And substitutes a purely spiritual god for a god of politics and "revolucion" which ALWAYS ends up with El Jefe worth a billion dollars or more.

It's not asking much to have a candidate who's deeply spiritual beliefs are not polluted by idiotic, debased, "Volk Marxism" and a racialist view of the world being "poor" because "evil white men" oppress them or some such. Black and Brown people are perfectly capable of oppressing themselves into grinding poverty without ANY white help at all, thank you very much.

[Catholic Charities reports that at the height of Iraq violence a year ago, three times as many died in Zimbabwe per week -- from starvation.]

I certainly don't want Obama's "Global Tax on America" to give money from middle class Americans to rich African dicators to go into practice. Even if his Liberation Theology nutcase preacher likes it. *I* put Americans first. I want my President to do the same.

As far as Iran goes, they've been at war with us since 1979. I don't know what taking our Embassy people hostage (and staging mock executions and torture), blowing up our Beirut embassy, our Beirut Marine Barracks, Khobar Towers, and some low-level facilitation of 9/11 (not stamping passports of muscle hijackers), and directly killing our guys in both Iraq and Afghanistan could be but war. Iran is certainly at war with us. We ought to bomb them like Serbia plus, so they leave us alone. And knock that stuff off.

Steve -- WSJ has a P1 article on Obama's Church and an IRS investigation into it's violation of tax exempt status by politicking.

Anonymous said...

"Obambi"

I've got a better way to mock him:

Since we’re no longer allowed to use Barak [redacted] Obama’s original middle name, we need a replacement.

The first two that popped into my mind were “Mary” and “Nancy” but I’d rather not make him replace all his monogrammed hankies.

“Hillary” is much too butch for him.

But if you’ve ever seen the plurally eponymous movie, “Heather” has the perfect air of rich, spoiled, airheaded social-climbing fashion-plate.

So how about from now on, we refer to him as Barak Heather Obama?



In a few weeks, he’ll be begging people to start calling him “Hussein” again.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3/10/2008

Pay very carefull atteintion to the following.

What you are advocating-murdering people in nations you don't like because they call themselves socialist or marxist -is a war crime.
Henry Kissinger policy architiect of mass murder in Vietnam and Chile on at least one occasion was nearly picked up in England the face war crime charges at the Haigue.
Pinochet was picked up and out in jail for war crime charges. He was very lucky to get out.

Another point, the human spieces will continue to resist mass murders such as Pinochet and Samoza.

If Bush or Barack Obama or Hilarly Clinton ever attetmpted to invade Venezuela,I will assure you with 100 percent certainty, that they would face war crime charges.

Steve

We can thank Maggie Thatcher for the move towards left-wing Goverments South of the Border. Think Falklands War. It was the trigger.

Anonymous said...

Last anonymous (Steve, I guess, unless you were just addressing the blog's owner) ... could you quote this advocacy of mass murder that Anonymous displays? There are kind of a lot of Anonymouses (anonymice?) on this page.

"Another point, the human spieces will continue to resist mass murders such as Pinochet and Samoza."

I do hope humans continue to resist all mass murderers. With your people in control of the mainstream media, it's my guess that they will keep forgetting about the mass murders of Mao and Stalin. (It's a wonder they even noticed the violence of Sendero Luminoso.)

"If Bush or Barack Obama or Hilarly Clinton ever attetmpted to invade Venezuela,I will assure you with 100 percent certainty, that they would face war crime charges."

War crimes charges are levelled pretty frequently these days, and they are no less cheap than any other kind of talk. If your leftist friends in Ecuador and Venezuela invaded Colombia, would they face such charges? Probably, and it wouldn't really matter.

"We can thank Maggie Thatcher for the move towards left-wing Goverments South of the Border. Think Falklands War. It was the trigger."

Interesting that you've chosen to blame Thatcher. I tend to blame wars on the people who start them, e.g. Galtieri. But there was plenty of leftism in South America before the 1980s. Which of the Argentine political parties would you describe as conservative, anyway?

mnuez wrote: "Heck, even if The Obamessiah Himself were to express an understanding and appreciation of Liberation Theology it could hardly be counted as too crazy a theological view."

He pretty much has, with his "instrument of God / kingdom on Earth" rhetoric. Placing heaven in Heaven may nor may not be crazy ... we won't know until we are dead. Trying to create heaven on Earth with empty egalitarian rhetoric, government control of the economy, affirmative action, PC, etc., is demonstrably crazy to anyone with a familiarity with the history of those policies.

-Avid Voegelin Fan

Anonymous said...

I love this blog, but I find it kinda ironic that Obama is so criticised for being obsessed with race & inheritance by Sailer, a man obsessed with...

Anonymous said...

anon:
"We can thank Maggie Thatcher for the move towards left-wing Goverments South of the Border. Think Falklands War. It was the trigger."

Thatcher's heroic struggle against brutal fascist invaders inspired similar activity across Latin America?

Anonymous said...

somehow only right wingers can be guilty of "war crimes"

The soviet army may have raped its way across eastern Europe (google it), the Chinese govt may have carried out forced abortions on millions of citizens, the hordes of Latin America may have murdered those who worked harder than them out of greed and envy...but only the right and always the right is guilty

Pay close attention to what this Steve (in the comments) is saying. He is a perfect example of the kind of powerful brainwashing that can take place -- Hugo Chavez the victim!! -- due to the left's control of moral discourse

With this as with all other things political, it keeps coming back to biology. One cannot point out that the poor are usually poor because they are stupid and or lazy -- that they foul their own nests and bring calamity upon their own heads, yet blame others for their troubles.

Anonymous said...

"I love this blog, but I find it kinda ironic that Obama is so criticised for being obsessed with race & inheritance by Sailer, a man obsessed with..."

Steve's not running for public office (that I know of). This is his job. Politicians, so often the lowest of the low, are expected to be high-minded and overcome vices of the flesh and heredity.

Unknown said...

Before you start knocking liberation theology and the Sandinistas, why don't you provide some background on their predecessors: the ruthless U.S.-backed Somoza regime, which, among countless other atrocities, doled-out hurricane relief rations intended for free public distribution for troops to SELL. Or their right-wing militias who murdered priests and nuns. Liberation Theology is NOT Marxism disguised as Christianity. Mainstream (institutional) theology is Capitalism disguised as Christianity. Jesus was a socialist, period.
But the point is moot regardless b/c you can't hold Obama responsible for his minister's ideology.

Anonymous said...

Concerned:
Christianity has a heavy Marxist component.

You've got that exactly backwards.