Democrats like Barron have a profound utility for their party, making it appear roomy enough to accommodate radical anti-war and anti-colonial voices [voices, not actual actions or concrete accomplishments in these areas]; no need to waste time building independent workers and Black movements or fighting for workers power when the Democrats can clearly provide a bully pulpit for Charles Barron, right?
I wonder if he has made any statements on Obama's drone kill list? The fact that he is running as a candidate of the blood-drenched imperialist Democratic Party speaks volumes in and of itself.
Jay
06/16/2012
A Candidate Known for His Unconventional Views
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
June 15, 2012
New York City Councilman Charles Barron has won prominent political endorsements in his race for Congress this year, but he has a history of attracting attention with fiery speeches and unconventional political views. Some examples:
DECEMBER 2001: Days before he began his first term in the New York City Council, Mr. Barron, a Democrat, called for the city to replace a portrait of Thomas Jefferson in City Hall with a bust of Malcolm X. "The man is a pedophile," Mr. Barron said of the nation's third president. "He raped his slave Sally Hemings; whether it was consensual or not is irrelevant." The comment led to a storm of criticism and propelled Mr. Barron onto the national stage, leading to several appearances with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
JUNE 2002: Mr. Barron sponsored a Council resolution calling for clemency for several "political prisoners," including Anthony Bottom, now known as Jalil Abdul Muntaqim, who was convicted in 1971 of killing two police offers in Harlem. His bill provoked a raucous argument in the Council and prompted the mayor to write a letter opposing the release.
AUGUST 2002: At a speech in Washington calling on the federal government to pay slavery reparations, Mr. Barron declared: "I want to go up to the closest white person and say, 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing,' and then slap him just for my mental health."
SEPTEMBER 2002: Mr. Barron invited Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, to visit City Hall. Calling the occasion "a festive event," Mr. Barron clasped hands with Mr. Mugabe as the men ascended the building's steps. Later, Mr. Mugabe, accused by Amnesty International of crimes against his citizens, delivered a speech inside the Council chamber, which was largely empty because many lawmakers chose to boycott the appearance. Mr. Mugabe is "a dynamic, bold African man willing to stand up to the world for his people," Mr. Barron said at the time.
JUNE 2007: A top aide to Mr. Barron, Viola Plummer, was fired by the Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, after Ms. Plummer used the word "assassination" in criticizing another member of the Council. Mr. Barron insisted that his aide remain on staff, paid her salary with his own funds, and accused Ms. Quinn of improperly overreaching. "I'm thinking of making a citizen's arrest," he said, referring to Ms. Quinn.
JULY 2009: In an interview with The New York Amsterdam News, Mr. Barron referred to Gaza as "a virtual death camp, the same kind of conditions the Nazis imposed on the Jews."
DECEMBER 2009: Mr. Barron, speaking at a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new City University building near the World Trade Center site, complained that he had not been given proper credit for his work on the project. A university trustee shouted, "You're a disgrace!" prompting the two men to begin yelling at each other. Mr. Barron called the trustee "a sickening racist" and urged him to "shut up." A group of nearby children was escorted away.
NOVEMBER 2011: At a speech in Brooklyn declaring his candidacy for Congress, Mr. Barron said, "Robert Mugabe is my hero, and guess what, so is Muammar Qaddafi!" If elected, he promised, he would retain his views in Washington. "I'll sit and meet with everybody," he said, "go to everybody's office, and I don't care what they say, I'm still not saluting the flag." Mr. Barron also offered an unapologetic acknowledgment for his foreign policy views. "They told me, when I get up here, 'Don't say nothing about foreign policy, Charles, because they going to use that one against you,' " he said, before adding: "Use it!"
MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
June 15, 2012
New York City Councilman Charles Barron has won prominent political endorsements in his race for Congress this year, but he has a history of attracting attention with fiery speeches and unconventional political views. Some examples:
DECEMBER 2001: Days before he began his first term in the New York City Council, Mr. Barron, a Democrat, called for the city to replace a portrait of Thomas Jefferson in City Hall with a bust of Malcolm X. "The man is a pedophile," Mr. Barron said of the nation's third president. "He raped his slave Sally Hemings; whether it was consensual or not is irrelevant." The comment led to a storm of criticism and propelled Mr. Barron onto the national stage, leading to several appearances with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
JUNE 2002: Mr. Barron sponsored a Council resolution calling for clemency for several "political prisoners," including Anthony Bottom, now known as Jalil Abdul Muntaqim, who was convicted in 1971 of killing two police offers in Harlem. His bill provoked a raucous argument in the Council and prompted the mayor to write a letter opposing the release.
AUGUST 2002: At a speech in Washington calling on the federal government to pay slavery reparations, Mr. Barron declared: "I want to go up to the closest white person and say, 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing,' and then slap him just for my mental health."
SEPTEMBER 2002: Mr. Barron invited Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, to visit City Hall. Calling the occasion "a festive event," Mr. Barron clasped hands with Mr. Mugabe as the men ascended the building's steps. Later, Mr. Mugabe, accused by Amnesty International of crimes against his citizens, delivered a speech inside the Council chamber, which was largely empty because many lawmakers chose to boycott the appearance. Mr. Mugabe is "a dynamic, bold African man willing to stand up to the world for his people," Mr. Barron said at the time.
JUNE 2007: A top aide to Mr. Barron, Viola Plummer, was fired by the Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, after Ms. Plummer used the word "assassination" in criticizing another member of the Council. Mr. Barron insisted that his aide remain on staff, paid her salary with his own funds, and accused Ms. Quinn of improperly overreaching. "I'm thinking of making a citizen's arrest," he said, referring to Ms. Quinn.
JULY 2009: In an interview with The New York Amsterdam News, Mr. Barron referred to Gaza as "a virtual death camp, the same kind of conditions the Nazis imposed on the Jews."
DECEMBER 2009: Mr. Barron, speaking at a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new City University building near the World Trade Center site, complained that he had not been given proper credit for his work on the project. A university trustee shouted, "You're a disgrace!" prompting the two men to begin yelling at each other. Mr. Barron called the trustee "a sickening racist" and urged him to "shut up." A group of nearby children was escorted away.
NOVEMBER 2011: At a speech in Brooklyn declaring his candidacy for Congress, Mr. Barron said, "Robert Mugabe is my hero, and guess what, so is Muammar Qaddafi!" If elected, he promised, he would retain his views in Washington. "I'll sit and meet with everybody," he said, "go to everybody's office, and I don't care what they say, I'm still not saluting the flag." Mr. Barron also offered an unapologetic acknowledgment for his foreign policy views. "They told me, when I get up here, 'Don't say nothing about foreign policy, Charles, because they going to use that one against you,' " he said, before adding: "Use it!"
MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/nyregion/charles-barron-a-councilman-known-for-his-unconventional-views.html?_r=1
Someone like Charles Barron getting into office would be a real victory.
ReplyDeleteHe is an genuine anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist and Black revolutionary.
I don't care what party he runs as a member of.
This New York Times article, to me, reads like an unending list of reasons to vote for him.
I'm sure the Times meant for it to shock the readers, that why they never bothered to explain why he likes Mugabe of Gadaffi, just hoping to leave the impression that he is crazy.
This racist attack in the New York Times, the "liberal" paper, shows how terrified they are of him taking office.
The bourgeoisie is united against this democrat.
Freedom Party still exists, by the way, it is just less active at this moment.