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Clinton Supporter Who Slammed Obama on Race, Drugs Has Not-So-Progressive History

After Hillary Clinton supporter Bob Johnson argued at a Clinton rally that Barack Obama has no standing on the issue of race because he was a teenager doing drugs "in the neighborhood" back when the Clintons were working on issues important to minorities, no one asked this question: What on earth is Hillary Clinton doing using Johnson, the founder of BET, as a campaign surrogate?

According to a 2001 profile in the New Republic, "Johnson is not a man with a deep sense of social obligation." He has a long history of teaming with the Bush Administration to fight against progressive goals (many of which would benefit the African-American community) in order to further his own financial ends. A few years ago, for example, he got a group of rich African-Americans together to falsify evidence and argue in favor of eliminating the death tax, a key Bush Administration goal. "As Robert Johnson of Black Entertainment Television argues," said President Bush, "the death tax and double taxation weighs heavily on minorities." This, of course, is false, and both Bush and Johnson knew it. The death tax only hits those who have large estates to leave to their children, a population far more white than black.

Johnson has engaged in union-busting. "On one occasion he laid off or reduced the hours of BET workers who joined an electricians' union, an action that a federal judge subsequently ruled illegal," writes Jonathan Chait in TNR.

And he fought for President Bush's Social Security privatization plan. Johnson served on the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. From that post, he argued that blacks don't receive as much from the current Social Security system than whites because they are more likely to die before retirement age. That argument is specious for two reasons. I'll let Chait explain:

First, Social Security does more than pay benefits to retirees. It also gives benefits to the families of workers who die or are disabled at a young age. Since black workers are more likely to suffer workplace injuries, they benefit disproportionately from this part of the program. And the more Social Security tax dollars are drained away into private accounts--as Bush proposes to do--the less that is available for survivors' benefits.

Second, Social Security's retirement benefits are progressive: They offer a higher rate of return to lower-paid workers. Since black workers, on average, earn less than the population at large, they benefit from this redistribution. This more than makes up for any loss they suffer from dying younger. On the whole, then, Social Security redistributes money from whites to blacks. Most plans for private accounts do not. As with the estate tax, Johnson has his racial analysis backward.

Johnson also has a long history of refusing to give back to the black community, while shamelessly using his race to further his own ends (i.e. make more money). The TNR profile is worth reading in full. Hopefully someone in the Clinton campaign will do so, and reconsider their connection to Johnson.

Comments

please be advised that Mr. Bob Johnson, founder of BET, does not speak for african-americans as a whole.

Yes, former president Bill Clinton's did not forget about us and others like us in his policy making during his presidency. And in return we stood strong with the Clintons through the years including the Monica Lewinsky fire storm. We crowned him the "first black president". He set up his office in our beloved Harlem. But, We as a people do not owe the Clinton's anything else. And perhaps their time has pass.

There will be those few like Clarence Thomas and Bob Johnson out there and will always be. But the Clarence Thomas and Bob Johnson of America did nothing for African-American as a people but pimp what they could get making themselves rich. And, would have keep our people in chains while they continued to work for the master in the "big House" -- if they had their way. Thank you.
Respectfully submitted. Donna Dixson

Posted by: Donna Dixson on 01/14/08 at 11:12 AM Respond

Don't criticize the Black man for acting like a White man(or a Mexican for the matter.)
This is racist to assume that some how just because somebody is Black, that they have to be a racist and do something for "their " people. This is America. Equal opportunity to make something of YOURSELF. The Clinton's use the Black folk for their own selfish agenda. That is the way of the world.

Posted by: Sarah Jackson on 01/14/08 at 11:42 AM Respond

My problem with Johnson isn't that he's black, or that anyone thinks he acts white. The problem is that he acts dishonestly. Hillary has a long pattern of associating with ethically-challenged rich people, and there she does it again. If the other candidates turn out to also have associates with people in the "ethically-challenged rich people" demographic, I'll be just as hard on them.

Posted by: Eric Ferguson on 01/14/08 at 11:53 AM Respond

Bob Johnson has done nothing but pimp the black community for his own best interests - and trust me there are many in the Black community that are well aware of Johnson and his motives.

"Whose Your Caddy" was his most recent movie venture which only serves to further promote negative stereotypes.

Bob is simply the "caddy" for White politicians game - and Hiliary will lose more Black support after her "caddy's" remarks hinting at Obama's drug use today.

Great article!

Posted by: Sue on 01/14/08 at 12:32 PM Respond

Jonathan, great article! I criticized your earlier post about Johnson's comments, which you can read or not, but based on their capacity for amplifying the effect of Clinton's smear tactic.
This post, however, tells the more compelling story beneath, of a hypocrite using his ethnicity to appear to speak for black Americans, while selling them out.
Sarah - About defending Johnson because 'that's just the way things are' - get real! Scum is scum, sure, but this is more complex than that. Johnson isn't invited into forums like that just because he's rich - he gets invited in because he's rich and black. From there he and his cohorts are using it to their advantage. Shame on you for playing apologist to such a jerk!

Posted by: Paul Miller on 01/14/08 at 1:03 PM Respond

This is exactly the type of behavior and ugliness that we want out of politics when choosing a candidate. Because Obama is setting an example and inspiring people to hope and expect something different from "politics as usual" he is coming under a lot of heat. The Clintons are using the same type of fear tactics that this current adminstration has used; it looks the same, it sounds the same, it is the same! Business as usual with the Clintons; a push for change with Obama. Maybe he should cry...that seems to work.

Posted by: sjimason on 01/14/08 at 2:10 PM Respond

How many of you people posting on MotherJones.com work for Hillary Clinton? I would love to know.

Posted by: Ames Tiedeman on 01/14/08 at 2:15 PM Respond

"The TNR profile is worth reading in full. Hopefully someone in the Clinton campaign will do so, and reconsider their connection to Johnson."

Oh, I'm sure Hillary's people read the profile in full. They just know the rest of America won't.

Posted by: Paul on 01/14/08 at 2:28 PM Respond

shame on you bob johnson, you were just wrong. It is so sad that you are black.

Posted by: l. morgan on 01/14/08 at 4:03 PM Respond

I don't understand your comment in this context, Ames Tedious Man. No one here was defending her, so what's up?

Posted by: Paul Miller on 01/14/08 at 4:16 PM Respond

i think it is disingenious and feculent for a man (Johnson) to say he has a problem with a person history of drug use who made billions of of videos of young black men talkin about kiling and drug dealing...just another factor I believe that is leading to the fall of America.... poor mr or mrs next president

Posted by: rawdawgbuffalo on 01/14/08 at 5:14 PM Respond

Hillary is using the neocon tactic of using African Americans to do the dirty work against their own community as a way to dodge the racist label while harming blacks. Clarence Thomas is perhaps the best example.

Posted by: AlexLawyer on 01/14/08 at 6:47 PM Respond

Hillary Clinton has it in bag. Great read http://p100.ezboard.com/fgunsofthemoviesfrm7

Posted by: Jeremiah Hinkle on 01/14/08 at 6:48 PM Respond

hey Bob, Get a life. We all know money can't buy happiness. And Bob, do you remember the cigar incident in the Clinton whitehouse? Does the name Monica ring a bell? Guess that slipped your mind.

Posted by: dianne on 01/14/08 at 9:23 PM Respond

shame on you bob go to hell.

Posted by: marko on 01/14/08 at 11:36 PM Respond

Bob Johson should read the speech given by William Lynch to the Virginia Slave owners in the 1700's. Bob, John Lewis, and Adrew Young are great examples of the how slave conditioning still works today. "Let's make sure they fight amonst themselves" Pit the old __ against the young ___ .

Posted by: Kapman on 01/15/08 at 1:31 PM Respond

thanks a lot bob.

Posted by: betopan on 08/22/08 at 7:36 AM Respond