Obama, Neoliberalism, and the 2012 Election

Abstract

On May 9, 2012 President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage. It was the first time a sitting president in the United States had made such a declaration. His new stance in support of same-sex marriage marked an evolution in President Obama's position. The President's new stand on same-sex marriage also re-ignited a debate or complaint heard repeatedly in black communities regarding the administration's willingness to respond to other marginal communities, especially the gay and lesbian community, while largely ignoring the specific or targeted needs of black people, in particular those most vulnerable in black communities. In this article, I argue that the nature or character of the demands emanating from each community has played a significant role in the perceived accountability of the administration. Specifically, much of what the Obama administration has provided to other marginal communities, in particular the most visible policy wins of the gay and lesbian agenda, are policies and programs that are deeply rooted in and preserve the structural legitimacy and order of neoliberalism. These policies are markedly different from the type of policy interventions called for from many in black communities, interventions that challenge the logic of neoliberalism and demand a significant shift in resources.

Keywords:

• Black politics
• Neoliberalism
• racialized state

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Beth Richie and Tyrone Foreman for taking the time to read this article and provide insightful comments. The author takes full responsibility for all mistakes.

Notes

Dan Merica. “Black Pastors Group Launches Anti-Obama Campaign Around Gay-Marriage,” CNN Belief Blog, July 31, 2012, http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/31/black-pastors-group-launches-anti-obama-campaign-around-gay-marriage/ (accessed August 4, 2012).

Frederick Harris, “Still Waiting for our First Black President,” Washington Post Opinions, June 1, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/still-waiting-for-our-first-black-president/2012/06/01/gJQARsT16U_story.html (accessed August 4, 2012).

See also Adolph Reed Jr., “Obama No,” The Progressive, May 2008, http://www.progressive.org/mag_reed0508/ (accessed August 4, 2012); Cathy J. Cohen. Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010).

By neoliberalism I mean a commitment to increasing privatization of the public sphere joined with policies that allow for greater market expansion and freedom while reducing the resources and reach of the welfare apparatus, and allowing for the growth of state functions in areas that further the interests of American elites at home and abroad. See for example, David Harvey, A Brief History of Neoliberalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/obama-supports-gay-marriage-discusses-north-carolina-ban-16317627 (accessed August 4, 2012).

Adolph Reed Jr., “Obama No,” The Progressive, May 2008, http://www.progressive.org/mag_reed0508/ (accessed August 4, 2012).

Cohen, Democracy Remixed.

David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on Racial Neoliberalism (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008).

Goldberg, The Threat of Race, Malden, MA.

Michael C. Dawson, Not in Our Lifetimes: The Future of Black Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011).