tavis smiley at Brave New Films

Tavis Smiley Interviews Don Siegelman (part 2)

2008-06-07T03:32:38Z

2 of 2. April 22, 2008.

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Tavis Smiley Interviews Don Siegelman

2008-06-07T03:32:38Z

See Part 2 of this interview here.

April 22, 2008

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Tavis Smiley & Pras on "Skid Row" - Part 1

2008-10-07T22:21:09Z

Watch this great interview Tavis Smiley did on PBS with Pras Michel about the documentary, "Skid Row" This is a two part interview and is continued on Part 2.

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Why Barack Obama should attend the Black State of the Union

2008-06-12T03:29:59Z

Tavis Smiley hosts and annual event called the Black State of the Union. The 2008 version will be on February 23rd in New Orleans, LA.

Last year, a big question around this event was whether or not Barack Obama was going to attend the event. He did not, but he was doing something that was much bigger: deciding to and formally announcing his run for the Presidency. Now, one year later, in the midst of a very competitive primary season, Obama faces the same question: will he go? Should he go?

Obama is not attending. Tavis Smiley is on record saying that he's cool with that. Roland Martin at Essence Magazine thinks this was the right decision. His primary argument is that Obama must "look forward, not in the past" and that Obama "can't be defined as the Black candidate." He thinks that Obama should send his wife Michelle, and continue campaigning in Texas and Idaho.

I think that's a terrible move and completely wrong, and here's why.

Barack and Michelle Obama should both attend the Black State of the Union event. Any criticism of their attendance of this day, arguably the most important discussion of the state of this country's Black affairs, would not only by unfounded and irresponsible, but easily refutable.

Hillary flirts with the possibility of a "Dream Ticket"

2008-04-20T00:32:09Z

Will there eventually be a "Dream Ticket" consisting of Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama? Hillary teases us a little:

Sen. Hillary Clinton was interviewed on the Tavis Smiley Show and guess what -- she's talking up the Clinton/Obama "dream ticket."
Doing that allows her to convey to voters that maybe they don't have to choose between her and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois. Maybe they can have them both!

Don't toy with us like that! Not unless you mean it...

“I think last night on the stage seeing the two of us was just so exciting for so many people,” she tells Smiley. “I can’t tell you how many calls and e-mails I’ve gotten from people who never cared about politics that much but they are just thrilled at that.”

No, no, don't start with the flowers and candy. Not that! I can't take it. I just can't take it! You know I can't resist, you know how weak I am... Now, come give us a kiss...

Clinton supporters are playing up this "dream ticket." Obama supporters are not.

Wow. Talk about a cold shower.

Make no mistake -- the smiles, hugs, and chivalry on display for voters last night belie an intense dislike the two candidates have for one another.

But..but... it all seemed so....sincere. I sensed a connection. I felt a bond.

Obama resents the race-baiting campaigning the Clintons have engaged in.
The Clintons see Obama as standing in her way, and belittling their legacy.

But you make such a handsome couple!

Enemies have joined together before -- witness JFK and VP LBJ.

Yes! Yes! Opposites attract! There's a kind of irresistible lure...of a winning ticket...just waiting... sooo tempting...

But, as Donna Brazile says, this isn't a dream ticket -- it's a fantasy ticket.
"There is blood on the ground," Brazile says.

::Loud needle scratching across a record:: Silence.

Thanks. Thanks for messing with my most excellent daydream. And just when it was getting good.

Clips from the show will be available HERE.

Pat Buchanan on Snubbing Minority Voters

2008-06-16T09:32:38Z

Meet the Press, September 30 2007

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Where's Rudy...With Bo Derek Of Course!

2008-03-22T21:54:35Z

When Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York City, racial polarization was sadly his forte. After an unnarmed, African-American off-duty security guard named Patrick Dorismund was shot by the police, after refusing to buy drugs from undercover officers, Giuliani didn't call for an investigation.

He instead unsealed Dorismund's juvenile record to disclose, perhaps illegally, that he had been arrested at age 13. He also gratuitously insulted the victim to the press, telling New Yorkers that Dorisumund was "no altar boy" (in fact he had been an altar boy).

Well some habits just die hard.

Giuliani, along with the other three "top tier" GOP presidential candidates, refused to appear in a debate hosted by Tavis Smiley, at historically black Morgan State University in Baltimore, to talk about issues important to the African-American community.

Of these four GOPers auditioning for the Strom Thurmond Award For Racial Reconciliation, perhaps the most insulting explanation for a non-appearance was provided by Giuliani, who was too busy accepting the endorsement of former California Governor Pete Wilson in the Sunhine State to attend (and raising $2300 a pop from the likes of screen legend Bo Derek!).

Wilson, of course, is the man largely responsible for turning the GOP toward immigrant-bashing with his support of Proposition 187 in Calofornia in 1994, which would have denied non-U.S. citizens living here basic services such as schooling and access to emergency medical treatment.

He also enthusiastically joined the anti-affirmative action brigade, setting his party back among both African American and Hispanic voters in California a generation, and effectively turning the home of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan into a blue state.

Giuliani could not have provided a better statement of what he stands for in his quest to become President.

Rudy skips minority debate to fundraise with Bo Derek

2008-07-09T14:52:03Z

We can imagine how busy Rudy is. Running for president while distorting your record on 9/11, takes a lot of time and energy. So I can't say we were surprised to learn that Rudy (plus Romney, Thompson and McCain) was too busy to attend Thursday night's debate on minority issues hosted by Tavis Smiley.

But where was Rudy going? John Ehrenfeld, a BNF field producer, volunteered to track him down. Turned out he would be right here in Southern California accepting an endorsement from widely discredited Pete Wilson, who's known for exploiting racial division for votes, and pushing the horrible proposition 187. Then off to a $2300-a-plate fundraiser at the Biltmore Four Seasons in Santa Barbara with Bo Derek.

John attended the "open to anyone" endorsement announcement, but was quickly escorted out when they learned he was from Brave New Films! (Read John's blog about the whole event) Quietly though, Phillip snuck through and got the full deal on tape. Always send two people!

So watch the WHERE'S RUDY video, and if you have any ideas for what Rudy's excuse should have been, post a comment below.

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Republicans At The Tavis Smiley Debate

2008-06-16T09:34:54Z

Here are the Republicans, unlike Rudy, John, Mitt and Fred who had the courge to actually show up in a room that had black people in it.

I know, risky maneuver.

Actually, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul gave some pretty sane answers to the drug war question. Although it's pretty scary when a Mike Huckabee, a Baptist Preacher who doesn't believe in evolution, starts sounding like a moderate.

It should remind you that to be a good Republican today is to have reached the point of needing a good therapist.

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Republicans Hate The Needy And Minorities Part II - No Debates With African Americans Within 100 Square Feet

2008-01-12T20:23:07Z

Bob Herbert, NY Times Columnist, hits the nail on the head, in discussing how the GOP has been the party of hating black people for 40 years now. This refusal to debate at an African-American forum is only the latest example:

Enough is enough. Last week the Republicans showed once again just how anti-black their party really is.
The G.O.P. has spent the last 40 years insulting, disenfranchising and otherwise stomping on the interests of black Americans. Last week, the residents of Washington, D.C., with its majority black population, came remarkably close to realizing a goal they have sought for decades - a voting member of Congress to represent them.
A majority in Congress favored the move, and the House had already approved it. But the Republican minority in the Senate - with the enthusiastic support of President Bush - rose up on Tuesday and said: "No way, baby."
At least 57 senators favored the bill, a solid majority. But the Republicans prevented a key motion on the measure from receiving the 60 votes necessary to move it forward in the Senate. The bill died.
At the same time that the Republicans were killing Congressional representation for D.C. residents, the major G.O.P. candidates for president were offering a collective slap in the face to black voters nationally by refusing to participate in a long-scheduled, nationally televised debate focusing on issues important to minorities.

As former GOP vice-presidential candidate Jack Kemp said so well, soon the GOP can hold their meetings at a country club and stop with all the pretending.

Sorry, I cannot attend your Black/Hispanic / Colored People's forum -I'm over Booked

2008-01-12T20:21:18Z

I remember it like yesterday when George W. trotted out his “Latin” nephew, George Prescott Bush, during his first run for presidency to help him swing the young Latino vote. Never before had we heard of this nephew, but soon everyone thought, who is this dashing young handsome Latin Ben Affleck? He’s a Bush? Well…if George W. has Latinos in his family he can’t be all bad.

By 2004 the war against the Axis of Evil had begun and the administration had enough of the country frighten by terror alerts that it didn’t really need G. Prescott that time around. I mean, how often do you actually want to remind those vigilantes at the border that you have a brown nephew?

So maybe that explains why the Republican presidential candidates for 2008 could care less about how they appear to black and Latino voters. I cannot believe they don’t see how enormously racist that is to not be able to find time in their schedule for these forums and debates. Maybe they figure we’re all going to vote for Obama anyway? Maybe they figure we’re not going to vote at all? Either way it’s hugely insulting and NEWT GINGRICH agrees! You know, if Newt Gingrich is concerned about appearing racist, there’s a problem.

It would be AWESOME to have one of these guys are president and know that they don't give a damn what I think.

So Long, White Boy

2008-01-12T20:21:06Z

Read this piece by Tom Schaller at Salon. It should make for an interesting discussion.

The simplest explanation for Bubba's absence to date is that none of the 2008 Democratic presidential contenders provides an obvious home for his vote. Despite accusations that Hillary Clinton is prone to dropping her "g's" when talking to rural or Southern audiences, it's difficult to imagine the former first lady making overt appeals to a group that regards her with something verging on rabid disgust. Barack Obama? The former Chicago street activist is not easily mistaken for a good ole boy. Ditto for Christopher Dodd, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich and Bill Richardson.
But the underlying reason may be demographics. In 1952, according to calculations performed by Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz for Salon, white males were nearly half the American electorate. Thanks to the recent growth in the Latino population, however, the white male share is now dropping about a percentage point a year, accelerating a decline that began with the increased enfranchisement of African-Americans in the civil rights era. In next year's election, white males may account for fewer than one out of three voters. Bubba is no longer a kingmaker.

I feel bad for the GOP though. As they skip debates with Tavis Smiley and fulminate over immigration, they are making sure that the growing proportion of non-white voters will want nothing to do with them. And that brings a tear to my eye.

It's tough being a racist these days.

Cornel West agrees with me: Republican party is on its way down the toilet

2008-01-12T20:21:06Z

We already knew that the Republicans were stiffing Tavis Smiley's All-American Presidential Forums. Cornell West, in his own measured way, says that this will eventually destroy the Republican party:

...either the Republican Party wisely embraces people of color, or it chooses to be a losing political party in the future.

I agree, but I also think that their party is pretty much already destroyed. The problem is that Democrats in Congress don't seem to think so, and they're still scared of the GOP.

They just can't help themselves.

2008-01-12T20:20:20Z

Smiley warns GOP contenders about political consequences of skipping minority debate
"Three of the four leading Republican presidential candidates turned down invitations to a PBS debate this month at a historically black college in Baltimore, leading moderator Tavis Smiley on Thursday to accuse them of ignoring minority voters," Jill writes this morning in USA TODAY.
Arizona Sen. John McCain, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney have all declined to participate in the Sept. 27 debate at Morgan State University.
"No one should be elected president of this country in 2008 if they think that along the way they can ignore people of color," said Smiley, host of radio and TV talk shows. "If you want to be president of all America, you need to speak to all Americans."
All eight Democrats participated in their PBS debate at Howard University back in June.
(snip)
Our friend Jonathan Martin at The Politico writes that Thompson has made it clear he likely won't be at the PBS either. "I don't want to show up some place by myself," Thompson said.

Not only are they dissing the Hispanic vote, they are just flagrantly ignoring the African American voters? If the Dems don't win by a landslide in '08 it will be our own fault because the GOPers are just clueless as to what America looks like these days.

Republican front-runners don’t want to meet with Tavis Smiley

2008-01-12T20:19:38Z

Apparently, Republican front-runners Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani declined to participate in Tavis Smiley's All-American Presidential Forums. Undeclared-but-likely-Republican-candidate Fred Thopson has not committed fully.

A question for all of my Black republican friends: why are your beloved republicans so against talking to Black folks face-to-face? Probably because they only do hand-picked audiences.

More from the release below. Also at The SuperSpade.

Norm Coleman Hypocrite Al Franken

2008-06-09T03:29:58Z

Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota questioned today about the possibility of an Al Franken challenge in 2008 went to the old hypocrite card. But, that's par for the course for Coleman - who won the seat after the great Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash - who despite holding himself out as a moderate not only votes with Bush at every opportunity but serves as his little [female dog] too. George Galloway coming to town, still Coleman on him. Michael Brown revealing the President lied about Katrina, stick Coleman on the case. He also had one of the cushiest jobs in the Senate ever as Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. With Coleman's record, I'd be worried about Al Franken too.

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Rep. Waxman On Missing Billions in Iraq

2008-06-09T03:30:54Z

Representative Henry Waxman, the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, talks to Tavis Smiley about who won (Haliburton, Bechtel) and who lost (Iraqis and Americans) in Iraq.

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