This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:
I warn you, this is hard to follow. I’m not even sure I have the sequence down. But as with many fights in which accusations of racism are thrown around loosely, I’m not sure the precise sequence matters. And toss Twitter into the mix, and it becomes near impossible to unravel.
What does matter is that there is a massive fissure in the Democratic Base (more on that later) in which Joan Walsh, one of the Grande Dames of the Professional Left stands accused of racism and white privilege after a comment over who is Obama’s “base.”
The history is laid out in almost incomprehensible posts at The Angry Black Lady, The Extreme Liberal, and Salon.com.
For simplicity sake, some background is summarized at The Atlantic, Joan Walsh Sparks Twitter Brawl Over Obama And Race:
The Players: Joan Walsh, Salon.com editor-at-large; numerous outraged Twitterers
Opening Serve: Joan Walsh commented on the state of American progressivism in a Salon article this week, in which she wrote, “I deeply resent people who insist that white progressives who criticize Obama are deluding themselves that they’re his ‘base,’ when his ‘base’ is actually not white progressives, but people of color.”
Return Volley: A tweeter by the name of Truthrose1 took offense to Walsh’s comment and wrote, “@joanwalsh read your article, I resent white progressives who pretend they are the base of the Dem party and ignore AA’s, we are even,” sparking a back and forth between Walsh, Truthrose1, and several others that continues to drag on. Walsh attempted to defend herself by noting, “Not saying white progressives are THE base; opposite. But I resent African Americans who say THEY are THE BASE. Wrong,” but Truthrose1 shot back instantly with the comment, among others, of “PBO is not your lap dog, thank god Gibbs called out the liars in the progressive media, u have done nothing but act like baggers.”
I’ll admit, it’s hard to follow all this, as is the case with most Twitter wars, but I repeat myself.
What is clear is that there is a growing fissure in the Democratic “base” over criticism by the (mostly White) Professional Left, as reflected in this Twitter exchange:
And this one:
And this one:
And this one:
And this one:
And this one:
Even Jane Hamsher’s name was dragged into this, showing there is a deep resentment not only towards Walsh, but also another Grande Dame of the Professional Left:
Who won, who lost? I have no idea, but a fairly extensive list of the tweets involved is at Chirpstory.
Bring plenty of popcorn, and tell me the ending, I don’t mind a spoiler.
Update: Until the Twitter war above, I had never heard the term “Firebagger.”
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