A Conversation with Donna Brazile...

The Black Cultural Programming Committee, along with the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy and the Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated presented Donna Brazile to the University Center auditorium this evening, Monday, October 19th. The Louisiana native is the former campaign manager for Al Gore's 2000 Presidential campaign and served as a delegate for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Ms. Brazile gave an inspirational speech that not only gave insight to her own background, but also on many of the current political issues. She began by declaring that "We have much unfinished business--" this one statement summing up the thrust of her lecture.

Being that this is her second visit to Knoxville, she told the audience how much she enjoyed watching the sun rise in the Smokies, and hoped that she could "stay long enough to see both the sun rise and set." Moving on, she goes more into depth about these particular themes in American politics: the responsibility of the individual, the current accomplishments of President Barack Obama, and the need to listen to the other person's point of view--even if you do not agree with it. The individual American citizen, according to Brazile, isn't to wait for someone else to "save you," but rather to "be the leader" you want to see and "work to bring about the change you wanted to achieve." On the topic of Barack Obama, Brazile elaborates on the President's career thus far, commenting that his "honeymoon" was over quickly because he had so much work to embark upon. This "work" includes the recent banning of torture, the closing of the secret CIA camps, and the overturning the gag rule prohibiting non governmental organizations from receiving U.S. funds if they provide abortions or lobby for abortion rights in their own country (TIME, 2009). On the issue concerning the controversy over Obama's receiving of the Nobel Peace Prize, Brazile offered this thoughtful comment: "The Nobel Prize was given not to a man, but to a movement."

While on the issue of healthcare, Brazile touches on her background to show how lack of access of healthcare caused her mother's death. For her mother, raising nine children, professional healthcare was not always a realistic option. The healthcare plan for those in Brazile's mother's generation was that of "do what you can," which may or may not be enough. Brazile implies that healthcare is a responsibility of the country, that it is more of a question of what is right and wrong than expense. She went on to point out that "complaints" arise whenever legislation is created to help others, compared to the lack of dissent with the former administration's policy of funding wars that ran up the deficit. A notable phrase of Brazile's summed up her sentiments exactly on the issue--"we need to come up with policies that leave no on behind"--an obvious allusion to certain "no child left behind."

One key characteristic of Brazile's speaking style were her usage of cooking terminology to illustrate her points. In one example using "ingredients," she illiterates the missing key ingredient of politics in the U.S.--the ability to sit down and have a conversation without attacking one another. As U.S. citizens--and everyday people--we need to "become more open to people we disagree with." Again, she referred back to a more moral base in politics--not conservatives, not liberals, not right and left, "just wrong and right."

Other notable comments made by Donna Brazile were:
"Don't get consumed by negativity"
"If you don't vote, don't complain!"
"Don't complain unless you are willing to take a stand."

Some of the questions that were asked of Brazile were (including partial answers):
"Why did you refer to Barack Obama as the first biracial president?"
--"Because he is--he is representative of the American experience."

"How do you feel about disenfranchising the voters of ford and michigan during the Democratic Primaries?"
--"I have no regrets. You do not change the rules in the middle of the game, they are there for a reason. It sets a bad precedent."

"How did you become involved with politics?"
The day after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, she woke up and decided to become involved in politics. Her first experience involved helping a local activists get a playground in the neighborhood. She went door to door asking residents if they were registered to vote." Today, she has been involved with the American political system for forty years.