A Plan to Save the Presidential Candidacy of Sen. Obama

Political commentator and social activist, Dick Gregory, will be the keynote speaker at the United African Movement’s weekly forum on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Elks Plaza, 1068 Harriet Tubman (Fulton Street) in Brooklyn. He hails from Chicago, the hometown of presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama and Dick, as usual, has some interesting perspectives.
Moreover, Blacks are witnessing the discounting or wholesale write-off of their vote. This pattern emerged, overtly, in 2000 when Gov. George W. Bush stole the presidential election by disenfranchising Black voters in Florida.
Presidential candidate, Al Gore refused to raise this issue in Bush v. Gore. This allowed the U.S. Supreme Court to get a pass on the most offensive political issue in 2000. Black leaders were even afraid to submit an amicus curiae brief. Civil rights litigation seeking intervention was out of the question.
History is about to repeat itself in 2008 except that the weapon is the white primary under the guise of super delegates who will behave like the Electoral College despite the sentiments of the voters. In short, Sen. Obama will win the pledged delegates but Sen. Hillary Clinton will walk off the stages with the roses.
This heist will occur if Blacks stick to the usual pattern of listening to the rhetoric of Black selected leaders until it is too late to plan a counteroffensive. “ If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” In 2006, we witnessed this pattern in the 11th Congressional District in New York.
Black leaders sought to lull Blacks to sleep while Councilman David Yassky was attempting to get away with the loot. At the last minute, a grassroots effort with UAM in the vanguard erupted putting Ollie McClean on the ballot as a third party candidate. To checkmate McClean, party bosses had to shift their support to Councilperson Yvette Clarke. The rest is history. This is political chess.
Another grassroots effort has to emerge to save Sen. Obama’s presidential candidacy. The trap has been laid. It includes Florida, Michigan and super delegates. Since 1877, Florida has played a major role in disenfranchising Blacks and manipulating the results of the presidential sweepstakes. Have Blacks learned enough by 2008 to prevent history from repeating itself?
A nationwide plan to save the Black vote will be unveiled on March 12 at the Elks Plaza. It is rooted in Dick Gregory’s Write Me In! Gregory was a write-in candidate in 1968 and is credited with tipping the presidential vote. The key state was New Jersey.
There was a tremendous amount of political turbulence in 1968. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. was organizing the Poor People’s campaign before he was assassinated in Memphis. Sen. Bobby Kennedy, a presidential candidate, was assassinated in June. The Democratic National Convention convened in Chicago.
The Kerner Commission published its report. Blacks insisted on calling themselves “Black” rather than “Negro.” Cong. Adam Powell called for a “Black Revolution” Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute in Mexico City at the 1968 Olympics.