Chad’s Morning Brief: Obama Says Racism is Deeply Rooted in the United States, Southern Democrats Continue to Disappear, and Other Top Stories
Here is Morning Brief for December 8, 2014.
Obama Talks Racism in America
Over the weekend President Obama spoke about racism in the United States in an interview with BET. According to the Washington Times, the President spoke about how racism is deeply rooted in the United States.
Addressing protests over minorities killed by police officers, President Obama said racism is “deeply rooted” in the U.S. and that activists should keep pressing steadily in their demands for reform.
“This is something that is deeply rooted in our society, it’s deeply rooted in our history,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with BET, a portion of which was released Sunday. “When you’re dealing with something as deeply rooted as racism or bias … you’ve got to have vigilance but you have to recognize that it’s going to take some time, and you just have to be steady so you don’t give up when we don’t get all the way there.”
Mr. Obama held meetings at the White House last week with young civil-rights activists who are protesting the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer last August in Ferguson, Missouri.
And on Thursday, after a grand jury in New York refused to indict a white police officer for the choke-hold death of a black man, the president he wants to ensure that law-enforcement officials “are serving everybody equally.”
Demonstrators protested across the nation again Saturday night, in locations including New York City; Seattle; Portland, Oregon; Davidson, North Carolina; and Tampa.
“This isn’t going to be solved overnight,” Mr. Obama said in the BET interview, adding that America has made progress on civil rights over the past 50 years and that he believes the nation will eventually solve its problems with racism.
“As painful as these incidents are, we can’t equate what is happening now to what was happening 50 years ago,” the president said. “If you talk to your grandparents, parents, uncles, they’ll tell you that things are better — not good, in some cases, but better. We have to be persistent, because typically progress is in steps. It’s in increments.”
President Obama talking about how racist we are as a nation is pathetic. Let's not forget that he was elected twice by this supposedly racist country. There is no evidence that race even played a part in Ferguson or New York. Once again, it is the President playing up the race card.
Last of the Senate's Southern Democrats Ousted
There was no drama on Saturday as Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana lost her runoff election according to the AP.
With nearly all votes counted, unofficial returns showed Cassidy with a commanding victory in Saturday's runoff as he ousted the last of the Senate's Deep South Democrats. In the South, Democrats will be left without a single U.S. senator or governor across nine states stretching from the Carolinas to Texas.
Cassidy, after a campaign spent largely linking Landrieu to Obama, called his win more of the same message American voters sent nationally on Nov. 4 as Republicans scored big gains in both chambers of Congress.
"This victory happened because people in Louisiana voted for a government that serves us, that does not tell us what to do," Cassidy said in Baton Rouge, the state capital.
He did not mention Obama or offer any specifics about his agenda in the Senate, but said in his victory speech that voters have demanded "a conservative direction" on health care, budgets and energy policy.
Following Cassidy's victory, Republicans will hold 54 seats when the Senate convenes in January, nine more than they have now.
Republican victories in two Louisiana House districts on Saturday - including the seat Cassidy now holds - ensure at least 246 seats, compared to 188 for Democrats, the largest GOP advantage since the Truman administration after World War II. An Arizona recount leaves one House race still outstanding.
Landrieu narrowly led a Nov. 4 Senate primary ballot that included eight candidates from all parties. But at 42 percent, she fell well below her marks in previous races and was sent into a one-month runoff campaign that Republicans dominated over the air waves.
The GOP sweep also denied former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards a political comeback at age 87; the colorful politician who had served four terms as governor in the past had sought a return to public office after eight years in federal prison on corruption charges.
Landrieu hugged tearful supporters and sought to strike an upbeat chord Saturday night after her defeat. Her defeat was also a blow for one of Louisiana's most famous political families, leaving her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, to carry the banner.
"We may not have won tonight, but we have certainly won some extraordinary victories," she told supporters, citing her role in directing additional oil and gas royalties to Louisiana and securing federal aid after multiple hurricanes and the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill.
"It's been a fight worth waging," she said in New Orleans. She also said she was "proud" of her efforts to expand health care access, though she didn't specifically mention the Affordable Care Act.
The Louisiana race mirrored contests in other states this election season, with Landrieu, 59, joining Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan and Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor in defeat. Democrats ceded seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia after incumbents opted not to run again.
You can read the full story by clicking on the link above.
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