03.14.08 Briefing • Steve Elliott, Grassfire.org • Subscribe here • RSS
Inside Jeremiah Wright: Obama's Controversial Pastor
Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh picked up on a story that Sean Hannity had promoted on Wednesday by playing clips from sermons given by Jeremiah Wright, the controversial pastor of Barack Obama
My goal with this post is to provide you with some resource materials on Wright and his role in Obama's life. The controversy centers around Wright's church's black-centric views and specific statements by Wright -- as well as Obama's unwillingness to specifically reject or distance himself from Wright. And he will have trouble downplaying the role Wright has played in his life considering that Obama credits Wright for the central theme and title of his book, "The Audacity of Hope."
"Jesus was a black man... Hillary ain't never been called a nigger" Here is the YouTube video of the quote featured by Rush and Sean in which Wright says, among other things: "Jesus was a poor black man... who lived in a culture that was controlled by rich white people"... "Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich, white people. Hillary can never know that Hillary aint never been called a nigger."
I created a .mp3 audio file of this portion of Wright's message that you can download here and listen on your computer or iPod. As Glenn Beck pointed out last night, this sermon is more than a month old and yet the liberal media has not been willing to make this a campaign issues. Compare that to the treatment Mitt Romney received on his Mormon faith.
"Not 'God Bless America.' 'God Damn America" On Wednesday, ABC's Good Morning America ran a feature on Wright, which included these quotes: (2003): "The [American] government gives [American blacks] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America'? No, no, no. Not 'God Bless America.' 'God Damn America.' That's in the Bible for killing innocent people. 'God Damn America' for treating its citizens as less than human."
First sermon after 9/11/01; "We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki and we nuked far more than the thousands of New York. and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africa and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought back into our own front yard. America's chickens are coming home to roost."
Also after 9/11: “[W]hite America got a wake-up call. . . . White America and the Western world came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded into the woodwork or just ‘disappeared’ as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns.” (source)
I seem to recall Republican candidates getting much grief for associating with the likes of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson when Falwell and Robertson connected America's sins to the attacks of 9/11. Imagine if a G.O.P. candidate had gotten saved through Falwell and had attended his church for 20 years? I'm pretty sure that Falwell's preaching record pales in comparison to that of what we are learning about Wright. But is there any chance such a person would be allowed by the liberal elites to get so close to the White House?
Trinity Church "not controversial"? Obama, who has been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years, says of his church: "I don't think that my church is particularly controversial" (ABC GMA 3/13/08) and his camp said "Senator Obama does not think of the pastor of his church in political terms. He`s like a family member, and there are things that he says with which Senator Obama deeply disagrees." But is that enough,given what his pastor has said and what his church believes?
What does Trinity stand for? From its website, Trinity is a... "congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian... Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization."
Just imagine for a moment if a white presidential candidate attended a church that outlined its mission like this (swapping out "white" for "black"): We are a congregation which is Unashamedly White and Unapologetically Christian... Our roots in the White religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an European people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother of western civilization, the cradle of Christianity."
The Trinity website also outlines a "10-point Vision" which includes: 4. A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA 7. A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AMERICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA 8. A congregation committed to LIBERATION. 9. A congregation committed to RESTORATION. 10. A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY. (emphasis in the original)
Source of anti-American backdrop? I am very involved in my church and have been engaged with the same church for about as long as Obama has been connected to Wright and Trinity. Even though I am extremely committed to my church, I would argue that Obama's understanding of Christianity is likely even more framed by Trinity than mine is by the Chesapeake Vineyard. That's because Obama basically became a Christian through Wright's ministry. So to say that Wright and Trinity have only influenced Obama on good points is not intellectually honest. And for Obama to now, after sitting in this church for 20 years, say he "deeply disagrees" with Wright should not be acceptable to the voting electorate. As Beck said:
Senator Obama, if you wanted to denounce the reverend`s hate speech, you wanted to do that, you shouldn`t have done it today. You should have done it 20 years ago. You sat in this man`s pew for two decades, a man who praised Farrakhan. And I`m sorry, I believe it`s too late to separate yourself from him now. You can`t have it both ways. After all, you`re running for president.
Also, it is fair to "connect the dots" between Wright's racist, hate-filled rhetoric to Michelle Obama's disturbing anti-American comments. This from my 3/6/08 briefing, Michelle said: "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country." Michelle Obama was quoted this week in New Yorker magazine saying America is "just downright mean" and "guided by fear," and warned "don't get sick in America." Meanwhile, on Tuesday night her husband shouted "Si Se Puede!" (the Latino rally cry "Yes We Can") and called out America's "bullying" foreign policy (video). Of course, we're supposed to give Barack a free pass and Michelle a free pass for their comments.
Other News... Senators Continue Earmarks Fraud Finally, yesterday in a late night vote the SEnate decided to continue its fraud on the U.S. taxpayer known as Earmarks. Earmarking allows Congressmen to funnel billions of our tax dollars into their pet projects and to their preferred friends -- all without public debate or even a recorded vote. The moratorium Grassfire team members supported was defeated 71-29. Unfortunately, the Earmarkers intentionally delayed the vote in an effort to bury the story and give them some cover for their cowardice. This isn't the end of this fight. In fact, Grassfire is launching an aggressive grassroots effort to expose the 71 who betrayed the American taxpayer last night. Stay tuned.
I think "stuff" is about to hit the fan over this preacher even tho main stream media has ignored it. And I am glad to see OBama will finally have to answer some "real" questions on his way to winning this popularity contest
Here is the first anti-America/hate America/blame America/govt.-is-supposed-to-cure-all-of-your-ills video that I ever saw with Dr. Jeremiah Wright speaking. Now, there was/is(?) some controversy about this video that it is not Dr. Jeremiah Wright but a TUCC guest pastor named Granderson Wright. I firmly believe it is not Granderson Wright because I have listened carefully to both men's tones, inflections, accent, speed and style of their speech, etc. and every comparison favors Dr. Jeremiah Wright. You can be the judge by comparing the Granderson Wright video and Dr. Jeremiah Wright video below to other known Dr. Jeremiah Wright videos. Another foul-language-from-the-pulpit warning though:one of the worst parts of the Dr. Jeremiah Wright video is the awful climax.
Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh picked up on a story that Sean Hannity had promoted on Wednesday by playing clips from sermons given by Jeremiah Wright, the controversial pastor of Barack Obama
