It's the Membership, Stupid

Does Presidential candidate Barack Whose-middle-name-cannot-be-spoken Obama, and his pride-deficient wife Michelle, like America?

It's a reasonable question. Color me jingoistic, but I actually consider it a core qualification for running for the office of President of the United States of America that you actually like America. It may not be worded that literally in the Constitution - right there with being a natural born citizen and at least 35 years old - but, still...

It's a fair question, when you match up the Obama's actions and words with the radicalized America-hating rantings of B.H. Obama's close friend, advisor, and "mentor" Rev. Wright. (go see the "God Damn America" video, if it's still up).

The Rev. Wright has established his 35 year ministry in Obama's church in Chicago on, among other things, African nationalism, black victimization, white oppression, and "black liberation theology". That last one being a marxist, leftist, and highly-separationist worldview. Many of us following Obama for the past year are well aware of the nature of Obama's church. But seeing the string of video excerpts from his controversial sermons is still chilling.

Obama responded this weekend to the damaging videos by condemning the statements "on those videos" and by removing Rev. Wright from his campaign team. Obama categorically stated that none of the statements were made in his presence, while he was physically "in the pew". Obama is, of course, lying blatantly. It is inconceivable that none of this incendiary rhetoric was used in the sermons that Obama sat through in 20 years of membership at Trinity. He is not being truthful.

The MSM is predictably either ignoring the story entirely, as 2 of the 3 networks are doing, or try to shift our attention question by dually raising the moral equivalence argument and the guilt by association argument:

Moral equivalence being: why sure this looks bad, but what about John McCain getting endorsements from controversial pastors John Hagee and Rob Parsley?

gba being: why sure the Rev. Wright's statements are radical and undefendable, but we don't believe in guilt-by-association so you can't tie Obama to Wright.

The glaring flaw in these two arguments is the qualitative distinctiveness - and they must not teach distinctions in J-school - of the Obama / Wright relationship by virtue of Obama's 20-year membership in Wright's church. IT'S THE MEMBERSHIP, STUPID!

If you have ever joined a church, as I have - particularly an evangelical Protestant church, as I have - then you understand the particular nature of this association and why it is so important in this story. When you join a church you act in a willful, volitional, affirmative way to associate yourself with the teachings of that church - which is often significantly embodied personally in the Pastor. When you sit under a pastor's preaching - whose job it is to influence you deeply in thought and deed - your worldview is affected.

So, if you sit under a pastor's leadership, teaching, and preaching for twenty years you are announcing a strong influential association. And if you sit under the leadership, teaching, and preaching of a virulently racist America-hating anti-semite for 20 years, then you have some explaining to do.

So, when you review Michelle Obama's puzzling proclamation recently - that for the first time in her adult life she was proud of America - in light of her placing herself and her children under the influence of a radicalized America-hating firebreather and it makes perfect sense.

And, when you review Barack Hussein Obama's pointed refusal to wear a flag pin on his lapel or place his hand over his heart during the national anthem in the light of his 20-year association with his vulgar America-hating mentor it makes perfect sense.

So, here's what we know. We know that the spiritual leader of Barack and Michelle Obama's church is a radical, marxist, racist, vulgar, America-hater. We know that while Barack disavows a few particular statements that Rev. Wright made on the shock videos, he doesn't consider his church to be "particularly controversial". And we know that both Obamas seem to have a puzzling lack of pride in the country.

Barack Obama, you are entitled to attend any church - and associate yourself with any radical - you prefer. No question. It's a free country.

You are just not entitled to my vote for President of the United States of America.