CONDI GETS KICKED TO THE CURB

CONDI GETS KICKED TO THE CURB

By Mumia Abu-Jamal

[Col. Writ. 4/4/04]

Like a light bulb going on in the brain, the Bush Regime has found the perfect foil for the growing controversy over the Richard Clarke remarks to the 911 Commission. After days of claiming executive privilege, the White House has suddenly decided that one such executive doesn't really need that privilege, and before the week is out Dr. Condoleeza Rice, the President's National Security Advisor, will give sworn testimony before the commission.

The turnaround on this high legal issue seems to reflect the nature of American politics; when in doubt, sacrifice.

This writer was reminded of the early days of the Bush Administration, when a reporter had the nerve to ask President George W. Bush about his civil rights platform. Bush smiled wryly, and said, almost dismissively, that his civil rights program can be seen in the appointment of Gen. Colin Powell as Secretary of State, and the naming of Dr. Rice as the National Security Advisor -- both first in those roles in American history.

I remember being struck by his hailing of their appointments as 'civil rights' programs, when it really was nothing of the kind. It was the naming of two well-heeled Blacks from the economic and political elite, to positions of further power.

Powell, as a head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces, could go no higher in rank. Dr. Rice, as a Provost at tony Stanford University, and a board member of the Chevron Oil Corporation, was also at the top of her game.

While this was the capstone of their careers, it said little about the well-being of everyday, average African-Americans, who struggled with rents, jobs, child care, and the ever-present fears of brutal police violence. It said still less about the millions of poor people consigned to hopeless lives in American ghettoes, where schools are but training grounds for penitentiaries, and jobs are illusions.

Yet, the White House crumbles on principle, which sends Condoleeza Rice before the Commission before earlier, vociferous legal objections, has its echo in previous administrations.

Remember the play-naming of Law Professor Lani Guinier to the U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division by then-president Bill Clinton? I say play-naming because, despite the fact she was a personal friend of Bill and Hillary since law school, at the first sign of sniping from right- wing conservatives in Congress, this brilliant, extremely qualified law professor was jettisoned. She was sacrificed, and tossed, unceremoniously, back into the near oblivion of anonymity. She was immensely lucky that she had tenure!

American politics, right or left, is predicated on the sacrifice of Black aspirants, whether they consider themselves liberal or conservative. That's because the bottom rung of the ladder of U.S. politics remains white supremacy, the assumption of white worth, and Black worthless- ness. And Black political appointees, be they former U.N. Ambassador Andy Young, or former Clinton Surgeon-General Joyceline Elders, must be careful to not upset the apple-cart of white supremacy, or they're outta here! They were all given the bum's rush when they spoke out of turn, when they dared to express their own minds.

As for Condoleeza, while it's somewhat early to make a safe prediction, if the heat gets heavy, and heads have to roll to protect Prince George, hers will be among the first. Neither her political registration, her extensive knowledge of Sovietology, or her dress size matters one whit. It's about political sacrifice, and right now, she's beginning to look like another hunk of steak to slap on the 'barby.' In an election year, she is as expendable as say, a soldier in Iraq.

The Administration that sent hundreds to their deaths in a bogus war, which ignored the wishes of millions who hit the streets in protest, will not lose much sleep over her. This looks like the beginning of Condi being kicked to the curb.