By John Marciano Santa Monica
Presidential candidate Barack Obama appeared at a campaign rally in the Crenshaw district in South Los Angeles, where he generated “enthusiasm from a diverse crowd” and invoked “the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.” He then went to another part of town, where he “collected more than $1 million in checks” at a Beverly Hills party thrown by Hollywood moguls David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg (Los Angeles Times, Feb. 21).
A predominantly African-American community of some 26,000 people, Crenshaw struggles with all the ills of urban America — crime, poverty, environmental pollution and unemployment. The good people there are trying to survive in hard times.
If Obama has to choose between supporting them or the Hollywood Three above, which side will he take?
Despite his inflated rhetoric, Obama will not defend the people of Crenshaw and other poorer areas from the class and racist assaults they face each day. He can cite Dr. King all he wants; unlike King, however, he will never lead a “Poor People’s Campaign” or confront militarism, racism and economic exploitation.
With 26,000 people, Crenshaw’s share of the cost of the U.S.-Iraq War will be about $43 million once Congress votes another $100 billion this coming month. Obama will vote yes, as he has on every previous funding bill for the slaughter. The final cost of the war may reach $2 trillion; Crenshaw’s share will be some $173 million.
As Dr. King reminded us, every dollar that goes for war and militarism robs a community of needed funds to address the serious ills listed above. Obama is not interested in addressing those ills, however, since he craves the support of wealthy and powerful corporate interests who feed at the trough of war.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 23, 2007. Read the original PDF.