Obama for Che Guevara?

[stephanie]

By Humberto Fontova
FrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Those Che Guevara posters recently spotted in Obama's Houston campaign offices were not hung by a young volunteer who dug the cool looking dude's awesome guitar licks for the Smashing Pumpkins, nor by an older one who thought she remembered the groovy guy with the beret "hangin" with Wavy Gravy at Woodstock.

The campaign volunteer who hung the Che poster is named Maria Isabel (second photo above) and according to the Lone Star Times, she hung similar banners from her balcony at home. Apparently she's no "low-level" volunteer either. She serves as a campaign 'precinct captain" and the co-chair of the Houston Obama Leadership Team.

Most interestingly, she is a middle-aged woman who was born in Cuba and lived there as a child during a period when Che Guevara was Cuba's chief executioner and second in command. At the time Cuba had the highest political incarceration and execution rate on earth, far surpassing that of their Soviet mentors and suitors. Pictures have surfaced (see Babalu blog.com) of Maria Isabel at several Obama campaign functions; arm in arm with Barack, in a bear hug with Michelle Obama, and apparently, very heavily involved in the Obama campaign.

Naturally, regarding the Che banner incident, the Obama campaign had nothing to fear from the mainstream media, even though conservative sites and talk radio spread the story.

Finally, there emerged a formal disavowal, of sorts. "We were disappointed to see this picture," read the terse campaign statement, "because it is both offensive to many Cuban-Americans -- and Americans of all backgrounds -- and because it does not reflect Senator Obama's views." Not a hint that the campaign honchos or candidates themselves found Guevara "offensive."

Michelle Obama's recent speech at UCLA might provide a clue on the lame tone of the Obama campaign's response. In fact, her rhetoric rings with an express socialism that calls for a more perfect individual and champions Obama as a social redeemer:

read the rest and pictures and comments..
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=F5EBBE20-0A17-44CE-8ADD-801A912C1374

[gabosaurus]

The right-wing bloggers are hilarious at times...

[theHawk]

I don't know why it is that airhead liberals think Che is "cool". The asshole said if he was in control of the nukes during the Cuban Missile crisis that he would of fired them off on American cities. One would think all Americans would know what a shitbag Che Guevara was, but apparently there are alot of Dems that admire him. I think its just natural for socialists liberals to admire communists and marxists.

[manu1959]

The right-wing bloggers are hilarious at times...

yes prtty funny a campaign advisor and potential white house / cabinet member endorses a revolutionary.....

[hjmick]

yes prtty funny a campaign advisor and potential white house / cabinet member endorses a revolutionary.....

...Murderer and torturer...

[diuretic]

Che is a hero in Cuba. Everywhere you go you see his image. Ordinary people have photos of him. That is a fact. What he was to you is an opinion. You're entitled to your opinion. :coffee:

[bullypulpit]

The right wing-nuts paint with a pretty broad brush. But that's nothing unusual for them. Find something, whether it has any bearing on their target at all...Barak Obama in this case...and create a tempest in a teapot over nothing.

Such is the case here. "A tale told by an idiot...Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." These words remain relevant nearly 500 years later...A sad commentary on the conservative movement in this country. Go to William F. Buckley's grave and listen. You'll hear the sound of him spinning at a high rate of speed.

[diuretic]

I've felt a sense of frustration at times in reading posts that won't come right out and make a solid statement but drop hints, make snide references, pull in opinion pieces from the dark side of the moon and so on. I've wondered why the frustration. I know what it was now.

I've spent years and years in a job where evidence is front and centre, where opinions are only valuable if they're given by subject-matter experts. Don't get me wrong, I like exchanging opinions, that's all I'm doing when I post on something about which I don't have any particular expertise (unless I'm pointing out facts for which I can produce evidence).

I've worked it out. The tactic is writ large in the keruffle over Obama's middle name. It's not about facts, it's not even about strongly held opinions, it's about suggestion. That's why it was like chasing spilled mercury over the lab class workbench sometimes, I just didn't get that it was suggestion.

[Dilloduck]

I've felt a sense of frustration at times in reading posts that won't come right out and make a solid statement but drop hints, make snide references, pull in opinion pieces from the dark side of the moon and so on. I've wondered why the frustration. I know what it was now.

I've spent years and years in a job where evidence is front and centre, where opinions are only valuable if they're given by subject-matter experts. Don't get me wrong, I like exchanging opinions, that's all I'm doing when I post on something about which I don't have any particular expertise (unless I'm pointing out facts for which I can produce evidence).

I've worked it out. The tactic is writ large in the keruffle over Obama's middle name. It's not about facts, it's not even about strongly held opinions, it's about suggestion. That's why it was like chasing spilled mercury over the lab class workbench sometimes, I just didn't get that it was suggestion.

Welcome to American politics---it's all an advertising campaign. Opinions are more important than the truth.

[stephanie]

The right wing-nuts paint with a pretty broad brush. But that's nothing unusual for them. Find something, whether it has any bearing on their target at all...Barak Obama in this case...and create a tempest in a teapot over nothing.

Such is the case here. "A tale told by an idiot...Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." These words remain relevant nearly 500 years later...A sad commentary on the conservative movement in this country. Go to William F. Buckley's grave and listen. You'll hear the sound of him spinning at a high rate of speed.

You wouldn't be talking about stuff like this, would you...:laugh2:
http://debatepolicy.com/showthread.php?p=211926#post211926

I think we have a right to question what type of politics Obambam will bring into the white house...and to me he is a Socialist...

[Hagbard Celine]

I don't know why it is that airhead liberals think Che is "cool". The asshole said if he was in control of the nukes during the Cuban Missile crisis that he would of fired them off on American cities. One would think all Americans would know what a shitbag Che Guevara was, but apparently there are alot of Dems that admire him. I think its just natural for socialists liberals to admire communists and marxists.

It's not that they think Che is cool per se. Che's face is the symbol of modern revolution. His personal politics are inconsequential to the overall meme. People should probably be more mindful of history when using symbology they don't completely understand, but the fact that hillbillies fly the Confederate battle flag while chanting "U.S.A! U.S.A!" is just another example of proof that the masses never really do.

[diuretic]

Welcome to American politics---it's all an advertising campaign. Opinions are more important than the truth.

I'm slow, but I got there :o

[diuretic]

It's not that they think Che is cool per se. Che's face is the symbol of modern revolution. His personal politics are inconsequential to the overall meme. People should probably be more mindful of history when using symbology they don't completely understand, but the fact that hillbillies fly the Confederate battle flag while chanting "U.S.A! U.S.A!" is just another example of proof that the masses never really do.

The famous photo of Che was taken while he was helping out at a disaster even in Havana at the port I think. I seem to remember that a ship had exploded or something similar. Che was in there helping out. Maybe some of the power of that particular image lays in that for the Cuban people.

More interestingly is the fact that in some houses you'll see pictures or even a bust of Jose Marti, which might mean the Cuban people admire anyone who was in the struggle for independence. Maybe because Che was with Castro and others in the fight against Batista to rescue them from another colonising power even if it was colonisation by proxy.

People have a powerful desire for independence from colonialism - but what the heck am I doing telling Americans that? You already know all about it from your own history. Your Che is George Washington, he is your revolutionary hero I think. It's the same impulse.

In Cuba you'll see buildings named after revolutionary heroes - Commandante this and Commandante that. They even have a small town named after Celia Sanchez. And I believe you have a town named after George Washington :)

[theHawk]

It's not that they think Che is cool per se. Che's face is the symbol of modern revolution. His personal politics are inconsequential to the overall meme. People should probably be more mindful of history when using symbology they don't completely understand, but the fact that hillbillies fly the Confederate battle flag while chanting "U.S.A! U.S.A!" is just another example of proof that the masses never really do.

"His personal politics are inconsequential"? Are you kidding me? They like him because he was a flamming marxist. His ideas are nearly identical to socialism.