Politics

PBS Host Cornel West: President Obama Is a ‘Rockefeller Republican In Blackface’

PBS Host Cornel West: President Obama Is a Rockefeller Republican In Blackface

Princeton University Professor Dr. Cornel West (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Author, PBS host and self-proclaimed “democratic intellectual” Cornel West isn’t as happy about President Barack Obama’s re-election as you might think. In an interview with “Democracy Now” last week, West called Obama a “Rockefeller Republican in blackface” who is uncommitted to helping the nation’s impoverished.

West said Obama has not been the progressive leader that he advertised himself to be. He also blasted a number MSNBC hosts for selling their “souls” to blindly support Obama in exchange for “insider access.”

“I think that it’s morally obscene and spiritually profane to spend $6 billion on an election, $2 billion on a presidential election, and not have any serious discussion — Poverty, trade unions being pushed against the wall dealing with stagnating and declining wages when profits are still up and the 1 percent are doing very well, no talk about drones dropping bombs on innocent people,” said West.

“So we end up with such a narrow truncated of political discourse,” he added.

West complained that issues like climate change were overlooked during the election discussion.

“It’s very sad. I mean, I’m glad there was not a right-wing takeover, but we end up with a Republican, a Rockefeller Republican in blackface, with Barack Obama. So that our struggle with regard to poverty intensifies,” he said.

“That’s a pretty rough assessment of President Obama,” host Amy Goodwin responded.

But West didn’t walk his statement back at all. “Oh, that’s what we have. Richard Nixon is to the left of him on health care. Richard Nixon’s to the left of him on guaranteed income and the same policies in terms of imperial foreign policy.”

Watch the clip below via DemocracyNow/Mediaite:

Setting his sights on MSNBC, West said the network is comprised of “apologists” for the Obama administration. He jabbed at MSNBC hosts Mike Dyson, Melissa Harris-Perry and even Rev. Al Sharpton in his scathing review.

“I love Brother Mike Dyson too but we’re living in a society where everybody is up for sale. Everything is up for sale. And he and Brother Sharpton and Sister Melissa and others, they have sold their souls for a mess of Obama pottage,” West explained.

“And we invite them back to the black prophetic tradition after Obama leaves. But at the moment, they want insider access, and they want to tell those kind of lies. They want to turn their back to poor and working people, and it’s a sad thing.”

 

Featured image via AFP/Getty

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Comments (105)

  • blackfeather
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:40pm

    ..yet another black hack.

    Report this comment

    blackfeather  
  • ResistSocialism
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:39pm

    The wisdom is overwhelming. I will try and digest this enlightening information.

    Report this comment

    ResistSocialism  
    • toiletclogga
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 7:57pm

      Imagine how nasty this MFer’s breath is! Those yeller teeth haven’t seen a brush in years. Liberals fear the hygene products, most notably toothpaster and deodorant. Stink lip West!

      Report this comment

      toiletclogga  
  • pfarm
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:38pm

    I don’t know how he can say that when Obama is giving away the store

    Report this comment

    pfarm  
  • Dushman Kush
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:33pm

    This may not be one of Comrade Cornel’s best analogies…..Let’s hope he doesn’t get our Esteemed Brother The Honorable Louis Farrakhan stirred up again. Both of these fine leaders are aware of American Madeleine Albright’s comment that ” 500,000 dead Iraqi children is good.” All of the Comrades want this killing madness slowed down a bit…Long Live Comrade West !!!

    Report this comment

    Dushman Kush  
  • p51d007
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:32pm

    Total waste of good air….
    Here’s a guy who probably has been “in college” since arriving there at age 18, and has never had
    a REAL JOB outside academia.

    Report this comment

    p51d007  
  • Triple7
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:30pm

    West’s Marxism only pertains to those of his color. He is nothing more than a bigoted Marxist. In his world white Marxists need not apply.

    Report this comment

    Triple7  
  • Mopar 1969
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:29pm

    He sure looks like “Grady” from Sandford and son.

    Report this comment

    Mopar 1969  
  • Rock_Paper_Bullets
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:26pm

    Just what exactly is “black prophetic tradition” anyways?!? OH, one more thing, Mr. West…what exactly is YOUR annual income???

    Report this comment

    Rock_Paper_Bullets  
    • txannie
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 9:44pm

      I think it means that black people think all white people are going to hell…just ask the reverand praying with obama.

      Report this comment

      txannie  
  • FaithfulFriend
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:26pm

    Angry black men always say stuff like this. Especially when their uniform of choice contains a tie.

    Report this comment

    FaithfulFriend  
  • jmmjr49er
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:24pm

    That man is dope!

    Report this comment

    jmmjr49er  
  • Lloyd Drako
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:22pm

    Gotta agree with Brother Cornel about “insider access.” Didja see NBC’s hype about its peek inside the Situation Room? OMG, the Situation Room! It’s a room! It has a long table, lots of chairs, a coffee maker, lights in the ceiling! There are flat-screen TVs on the walls!

    Report this comment

    Lloyd Drako  
  • AbrahamsSheepdog
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:13pm

    A lib making some sense, my jaw is on the floor. Lib making sense, christie is judas, elmo +little boys… what is wrong with this lying mixed up world?

    Report this comment

    AbrahamsSheepdog  
  • doomytram
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:08pm

    Cornell wants anyone of color to have a new escalade to drive to the food desert and get all free food steaks, lobsters, cake, pie, etc. etc.. Cornell wanted Obozo to do straight up flat reparations to repair economy. Obozo’s re-distribution isn’t enough for Cornell. Instead of Stimulus every Black American could have received 15 million dollars for their reparations.

    Report this comment

    doomytram  
    • chips1
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 9:14pm

      That means we have to invent more sports. It’s their only way to success.

      Report this comment

      chips1  
  • thegreatcarnac
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:07pm

    West is east…….far east. Why are almost all blacks communists are leaning communist?

    Report this comment

    thegreatcarnac  
  • Thornyrose13
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:03pm

    I appreciate Mr. West spelling out the agenda he and other true believers wish to implement. Unfortunately, their teleprompter dependent manikin is now in a position to pander to his true constituency without the constraints put on him during the first term. Though both he and they had best remember, there are limits to his power. Violate those limits at their own peril.

    Report this comment

    Thornyrose13  
  • ThoreauHD
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:03pm

    Rockefeller was a Capitalist. Please try again.

    Report this comment

    ThoreauHD  
    • aconstitutionalistlivesinbrooklyn
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:37pm

      Nelson Rockefeller was a crony capitalist like his father and he would find much to like in Barack Obama’s policies. Professor West is right in his assessment of Obama’s performance in terms of how Obama let down the poor, but used them to attain his political goals. Obama did the same thing in Chicago and continued his ways in the White House; using government funds to finance his cronies who in turn support him.

      Report this comment

      aconstitutionalistlivesinbrooklyn  
    • soybomb315_II
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 7:13pm

      At least there are some people around here who can tell the difference between free market and crony capitalism

      Report this comment

      soybomb315_II  
    • OperationNorthwoods
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 8:55pm

      Rockefeller was involved in promoting eugenics and globalism. That’s what he did with his money and it is still what his family does with their money. Go to their foundation website and look at who they give grants to.

      “The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.”
      ― David Rockefeller, Memoirs

      Report this comment

      OperationNorthwoods  
  • soybomb315_II
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:02pm

    Did you catch how they are saying there is not much difference between Obama and republicans? That’s exactly what we have been trying to tell you for months. You have to step back and look at results and policies – and when you do, you will be shocked.

    Report this comment

    soybomb315_II  
    • 2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:19pm

      If Cornel West had a son, he would look and sound like SOYBURGER.

      Report this comment

      2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT  
    • usedCZARsalesman
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:25pm

      SOY…Have you ever noticed that the ONLY people you ever agree with on here are the liberals? Just something to think about

      Report this comment

      usedCZARsalesman  
    • WAKEUPUSA2012
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:29pm

      Im not a liberal you two facisit pigs.

      Report this comment

      WAKEUPUSA2012  
    • 2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:53pm

      SOYBURGER, is WAKEUPUSA2012 a more whiny version of yourself?

      Report this comment

      2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT  
    • soybomb315_II
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:58pm

      I think used is very counfused about what a liberal is. I guess he only thinks there are republicans and liberals in this country. Usedcar better start getting informed before it is too late

      Report this comment

      soybomb315_II  
    • justangry
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 6:37pm

      @usedCZARsalesman, He seems to be a principled constituitonalist/libertarian to me. Social conservatives often think we sound liberal, but the term social conservative is a misnomer. Social reformers or progressives is more accurate. I didn’t see a difference between the two either. They’re both Keynesian economists. John Maynard Keynes was a Fabian Socialist. Both are Living Constitution guys, which is a warped liberal interpretation of the Constitution. Both technocrats, warmongers, internationalists and police statists. Romney was basically running on a platform that he could make our socialist system work better instead of scrapping it. I mean philosophically Romney is more a fascist and Obama a socialist, but in reality their policies wouldn’t vary all that much. They did disagree on gay marriage, domestic energy, the ACA and abortion (depending on who / when Romney was addressing) but both of their stances were unconstitutional as per the 10th amendment and progressive. Seriously, what differences did you see among them?

      Report this comment

      justangry  
    • usedCZARsalesman
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 8:59pm

      SOY, I am just as “informed” as you and probably much more so. I was simply giving you food for thought as I’ve watched you bash your fellow conservatives for the better part of a year and the ONLY people you EVER agree with are other 3rd parties and liberals. I will say it never gets old you guys believing you are so much smarter than the rest of us. You always act like you the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree but the cord is rarely even plugged in.

      Notice how I didn’t attack you at all in that post, just tried to give you food for thought, and you all started jumping me as a group? (Also much like liberals).

      JUST, so your saying that people who support America’s morality are also progressives? It is blatantly obvious that the farther we turn from God the worse off we become as a nation! I actually think everything except abortion should be a state by state issue. If my state allows gay marriage or DOESN’T want legal pot, I’ll move to another one. Abortion is 100% murder of a child and that should be fought tooth and nail, period.

      Report this comment

      usedCZARsalesman  
    • soybomb315_II
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 9:09pm

      @Used
      Yes, it may seem like we are always at odds….Considering theblaze audience, it is clear why. We are trying to wake up as many republicans as possible to the notion that the republican party has been corrupted. If this were MSNBC, i would be singing a different tune (different audience).

      Besides, you should not want to be in some sort of republican bubble – it is good to hear other ideas and experience other people

      Report this comment

      soybomb315_II  
    • justangry
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 10:00pm

      @usedCZARsalesman, Yup that’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s religious altruism. All tyrannical governments have been based on some form of altruism. Are you not wanting to return to God and morality for the good of society at the expense of individual freedom? Is that not the very essence of collectivism? To place the society above the individual? It’s also a violation of the 10th amendment (progressive). And the only way to get what you want is to EXPAND the government. (again progressive). The only job of the federal government is to protect our rights/freedom, which they’re doing a very poor job of. Also to maintain the military. That’s it. Spreading morality is the responsibility of the churches and individuals that feel it’s necessary and should only be achieved by way of sharing ideas, not through force/theft of a inexpedient and corrupt central government.

      Report this comment

      justangry  
    • usedCZARsalesman
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 11:15pm

      SOY…I’m a socially conservative libertarian, NOT republican, so I live in no such bubble…like I was saying, lets work on out common view points until we eliminate the liberal progressive cancer that is destroying this nation FIRST, then get more specific on policy.

      JUST…what individual liberty am I trying to take away? Marriage (a term INVENTED by the Christian church that meant a union under God between one man and one woman) is not a right of any kind and I said the states should decide and leave the federal goverent out of it. Abortion is murder so if you think stopping murderr is an infringement of rights then you are an anarchist

      Report this comment

      usedCZARsalesman  
    • justangry
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 11:57pm

      @usedCZARsalesman, There’s nothing in the Constitution authorizing the federal government to be in the marriage business. Making that a priority for a presidential candidate detracts from the rights the government has taken away already and violates my 10th amendment right. Same with abortion. States have always been responsible for violent crimes, why should abortion be any different? If the federal government made it illegal who would enforce it? Where would they get the money to enforce it? What kind of bureaucracy would need to be created to track women and doctors to ensure they weren’t violating the law? Would people’s 4th amendment rights be violated to prevent it? Same with drugs. Where in the Constitution is ATF, the DEA, FBI even authorized? How much money (property) is stolen from tax payers to not only fund them, but the prisons, court costs, etc. You can apply the same questions to any vice social conservatives care about. For the record, personally I agree with you all practically all this stuff. I just don’t think it’s the federal government’s job to worry about it. If handled at the state level, the states would have to be cautious to work within a budget rather than just printing money to pay for it. When the fed does that they’re stealing our wealth through currency debasement.

      Report this comment

      justangry  
    • usedCZARsalesman
      Posted on November 13, 2012 at 1:53pm

      JUST…I do believe states have the right to decide 90% of this on their own, like drugs, gays, healthcare…but your abortion argument makes no sense. What if New York decides that sex with 12 year olds is legal? Does te federal government not have a responsibility to oversee the protection of the innocent? Abortion is murdering a child, that is a violation of our Constitutionally protected right to life! That isn’t up for vote and is NOT up to the states

      Report this comment

      usedCZARsalesman  
    • justangry
      Posted on November 13, 2012 at 5:21pm

      @usedCZARsalesman, Your hypothetical would never happen, so I’m not even going to consider it.

      As for you argument on abortion, keep in mind I agree with you personally. I believe a child’s life starts at conception. The problem is there are many out there that don’t agree with us including the SCOTUS. The founders didn’t imagine abortion, however they did imagine we’d face problems that they didn’t, which is why they gave us the amendment process. Amending the Constitution is the only way to solve the issue without being a progressive is all I’m saying. Now you can be a progressive on just that one issue if you like and I’d understand why feel that way. Roe v. Wade was a progressive and activist decision as well. The problem I see with your position is that everyone has an issue they care deeply about that they’d make just one exception for justifying improperly changing the Constitution to address. And that’s precisely what’s happened for the past century. You haven’t addressed how to enforce it without violating the heck out of the 4th amendment and creating another large bureaucracy & goon squad.

      Report this comment

      justangry  
  • Chromo200
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:01pm

    West is a distraction … I bet he voted for Obama. What West is saying we all knew this but his lack of guts of saying this before the election and standing up and telling the black community the truth he is just another ivy league schmuck.

    West is doing this to deflect the news away from Obama and Benghazi and the possible fraud in the election. He wants to be a target and let Obama go on his merry way.

    Report this comment

    Chromo200  
  • justangry
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:00pm

    Wow, Buckwheat doesn’t think Obama is Marxist enough. That’s pretty scary.

    Report this comment

    justangry  
    • DEMOCRATS.ARE.EVIL
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:06pm

      This is Cornel West’s juvenile attempt to help us feel more comfortable with Obama.

      Report this comment

      DEMOCRATS.ARE.EVIL  
    • soybomb315_II
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:13pm

      Is Obama just like republican leaders, or are republican leaders just like Obama?

      Report this comment

      soybomb315_II  
    • 2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:22pm

      SOYBURGER, your mancrush on Gary Johnson is seriously clouding your reasoning.

      Report this comment

      2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT  
    • soybomb315_II
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:57pm

      i love liberty – what can i say

      Report this comment

      soybomb315_II  
    • barber2
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 6:06pm

      Interesting that all of the hate speech of the Black Muslims from the 60s against the “white devil, ” the west, and capitalism is the same stuff we are now hearing from the ” regular ” (?) / Middle Eastern Muslims.

      Report this comment

      barber2  
  • 2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:00pm

    If Don King and Chris Rock had a love child, it would look like Cornel West.

    Report this comment

    2MINUTESTOMIDNIGHT  
    • TSUNAMI_22
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:08pm

      Oh-Tay !!!

      Report this comment

      TSUNAMI_22  
    • biohazard23
      Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:08pm

      No it wouldn’t. It would have been aborted.

      Oh, wait… You know something? Maybe this… No, never mind. My comment would have been very cruel. I’ll keep that one to myself….

      Report this comment

       
  • 3Tesla
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 4:59pm

    This guy would be considered a leftist wacko in Moscow.

    Report this comment

    3Tesla  
  • Cavallo
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 4:56pm

    West also doesn’t understand that members of the Politburo never stand in lines with the peasants that they rule.

    Report this comment

    Cavallo  
  • 1TrueOne55
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 4:56pm

    Its the way of Elitists in Politics.

    Report this comment

    1TrueOne55  
  • Cavallo
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 4:53pm

    You’re not okay with PBS unless you have molested your first underage boy.

    Report this comment

    Cavallo  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on November 12, 2012 at 4:52pm

    And cornell west, you are an ah!

    Report this comment

    kickagrandma  

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