More Obama talk of "redistribution of wealth"

[tracyred]

A 2001 Chicago Public Radio interview with Obama recently has come to light: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iivL4c_3pck

A partial transcription:

If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court. I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed people, so that now I would have the right to vote. I would now be able to sit at the lunch counter and order as long as I could pay for it I’d be OK. But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted and Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the Federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the Federal government or State government must do on your behalf, and that hasn’t shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendancy to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that.

Blogger Jeff Goldstein weighs in:

In Obama’s America, we’ll finally be able to break free of the “constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution” — and in so doing, achieve “social justice” through “redistributive change.”

Well, then. Fine .

But this is not the America I knew…

How anyone can say this man isn't a socialist is beyond me. I'd feel so much better if I could just bury my head in the sand.

Source

[Maddy00]

Not surprising Tracy. And I'd bet money no Obama supporters here will admit it. If that isn't a socialist ideology, then what DO you call it?

[rae]

Interesting.

[kgwife]

Originally Posted by tracyred

It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution
Source

scary!

[Laenae]

If he gets elected, the CHANGE he purports will be that of the United States of America to that of the United Socialist States of America. People -- wake up and smell the coffee before casting your vote! God help us is all I can say!

[flspots]

"...tendancy to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change."

I suppose that I am interpretting this part differently. The words are strong (coalition) but to me I read that if people themselves pull together, help each other and work together toward a common goal (i.e. poverty reduction, food distribution, kicking the elitists that rule our gov't out--something each of us has complained about one way or another) than the "redistributive change" will be in that the gov't would more reflect the needs of the masses, not the wants/controls of the few. An example would be if everyone voted for, oh, Ralph Nader instead of the parties that think they have complete rule. Granted, maybe not the best choice but the message it would send would rock the house on the hill.
Nothing wrong with "grassroots" movements. I think through all the rallies being held by both McC/P & O/B are a sign that they know it's the masses they need to appeal to these days, moreso than in the past. I happen to feel that there is going to be an uprising of the masses. I think that people overall are so angry at the way this country has gone into debt, the bailout, the tossing of money overseas when we have people hurting within our own country, the status of education that it's going to come to a head. It's going to be the Joe Dirt's working along side the Joe Money, the knocking down of barriers we don't want to admit are still there racially, gender, and socioeconomically but it could happen. I think it needs to happen. I think we need to boot the trash off the hill. No more lobbying, no more career congressmen, etc. But that won't happen unless the masses pull together. If people worked together (and sometimes if they had sense enough) on their own to resolve issues, the gov't wouldn't have a need to get involved.

[robine]

Originally Posted by Laenae

If he gets elected, the CHANGE he purports will be that of the United States of America to that of the United Socialist States of America. People -- wake up and smell the coffee before casting your vote! God help us is all I can say!

Or this:

United Socialist States of Amerika