Playing to the rights crowd

Yesterday’s big political rally in Selma, Alabama was partly an annual observance of a civil rights landmark, and largely a political opportunity for the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns.

On the 42nd anniversary of the famous “Bloody Sunday” attempted civil rights march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., two of the Democratic candidates for president marched together across the bridge. Each of them claimed their candidacy grew out of that event.

How so?

The march was a turning point in the civil rights movement. It led to passage of the Voting Rights Act and also to passage of the Affirmative Action Act.

Since the Affirmative Action Act included white women, as well as African American men and women, it paved the way for Clinton to have a meaningful career as a lawyer and ultimately run successfully for political office.

The legacy of Selma is bearing fruit in the 2008 presidential election campaign that sees, for the first time, an African American candidate and a female candidate who both have a serious chance of winning the Democratic nomination and ultimately the U.S. presidency.

And both candidates are campaigning hard for the crucial black votes.

Funny, how candidates ‘find’ causes or religion at opportune times. Hillary got worked up in her speech about standing on the shoulders of those who came before, and Obama likened himself to Joshua as the ‘new generation’ leader to replace Moses and take the people into the promised land….

My favorite line of the day came from Rev. Al Sharpton, about the fact that he’s been at this event every year for decades, but it was nice to see the presidential candidates make an appearance this year.

Clinton and Obama spoke on similar themes.

“Poverty and growing inequality matter. Health care matters. The people of the Gulf Coast matter. Our soldiers matter. Our future matters,” Clinton said, according to the New York Times.

Therefore….what?

“We’ve got to stay awake, we’ve got to stay awake because we have a march to finish,” she said, “a march towards one America.”

Obama spoke at the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church…”We’re in the presence today of giants whose shoulders we stand on,” he said, according to New York Times reports. “People who battled on behalf not just of African-Americans but on behalf of all Americans, who battled for America’s soul, that shed blood, that endured taunts and torment.”

He spoke on the themes of fixing health insurance, helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina, ending disparity in treatment of individuals because of their race or gender and ending poverty.

“We’ve got too many children in poverty in this country,” Obama said, according to CNN reports, “and everybody should be ashamed.” 

Poverty matters to everyone, doesn’t it? Who is not for ending poverty? But who is ashamed enough of the black genocide happening in abortion clinics around the country, which is the greatest poverty of all?