Can’t Brooke the Stonewalling

Brooke was not “the first African American ever elected to the Senate”. That distinction belongs to Hiram Rhodes Revels, elected in 1870 from Mississippi. It’s true that the white supremacist rhetoric designed to expunge Reconstruction from US historical memory has ensured that the black congressmen from that era have been utterly forgotten (Revels wasn’t even the only black Senator in the 19th century, and there were around 20 US Representatives). But we should fight against that erasure, not contribute to it.
So my take on this photo is that the modern era–symbolized by Brooke, Reid and McConnell–is trying to wrap itself in the mantle of Lincoln and in the process betraying everything that Lincoln stood for. This is instrumental to the current GOP’s efforts to present itself as the party of Lincoln (a denial of history of stunning proportions) and to the administration’s occasional complicity in depictions of Obama as the “new” Lincoln (not, perhaps, equally sinister, but certainly ridiculous).

PS I suppose one could quibble that Rhodes wasn’t “elected” in the sense that he wasn’t elected in a state-wide popular vote. But he was elected, by the legislature of the state of Mississippi, which was the standard means by which Senators were elected until the 17th Amendment.

i don’t have anything especially juicy or smart, but i will play Captain Obvious just to get the ball rolling, if that’s ok…
1) Pelosi and the female police officer flanking Obama… gives a kind of mirror image or twin effect, where Pelosi’s role as peacekeeper / arbitrator / official is silently emphasized. this was the most powerful part of the image for me — what i noticed first, and what stayed with me.
2) verticals behind Lincoln parallel vertical flag stripes behind Obama… again a kind of twinning or association.
3) Brooke sitting directly beneath Lincoln… literally at his feet. Lincoln’s gesture appears as if he is offering something to Brooke (opportunity?) or offering up Brooke himself.
4) no seated audience directly in front of presidential podium. not sure if this is just protocol, but here it gives a sort of ‘parting of the red sea’ effect, or at the very least, a sense of rising above — but without stepping on or trodding down, so to speak.
5) god, what an unfortunate moment for Pelosi, expression-wise. she looks hopped up on goofballs and unable to control her glee. i’m sorry to say it but she looks like a caricature of the whole Obama-worshipper meme popularized by conservatives. plays right into the hands of someone like that Serr8d character… some photo editor out there must not be too keen on the speaker of the house.
6) meanwhile, McConnell’s face bears that horrible fake politician smile. at least Pelosi’s goofy grin looks sincere. McConnell just looks like he’s brewing snake oil internally.

PPS Sorry–make that Revels, not Rhodes in the second post. See how forgotten these guys are? Even I can’t keep track of them

Thanks for this very important context. I changed the copy in the post to reflect “the modern era.”

We are also sliding over the point that Sen. Brooke was a REPUBLICAN in 1967, the era of Nixon. The Republican party was still allowing its heritage as the party of Civil Rights to continue to exist, before the takeover of the GOP by racist southern and western Democrats.

From left to right: Pelosi looks thrilled and she should. Obama appears on message. The capitol security officer may be the most interesting figure in this image. Hard working and female with unknown origin; I assume she’s not a commie muslim foreign agent. Then theres the empty chair next to her. I assume that’s the public option chair. Then beyond that void we find Harry Reid, who some are convinced has less backbone then the empty chair. Apparently Brooke at 90 gave McCon the stink eye. Good for him! Is it my imagination or does Lincoln seem like he’s enjoying this display. It’s like he can’t even look the Republican in the eye?

The empty chair isn’t symbolic; it’s Obama’s chair. He’s not sitting in it at the moment because he’s speaking. But as soon as he yields the podium to someone else, he sits down in that chair.

Very true. A Massachusetts Republican in the late 1960s was a species of politician that just doesn’t exist anymore. Brooke has no more in common with McConnell than he does with 1960s Democrat Strom Thurmond.
Agree with Jason (below) that there’s something interesting about the security officer. She’s not the typical Secret Service detail we’re used to seeing. I think the uniform, with that huge insignia on the hat, is US Capitol Police. Maybe it’s just the arms-almost-akimbo posture, but she looks so much more substantial than anyone else in the picture, even more substantial than Lincoln who looks like a floating ghost. She’s definitely the center of gravity here.

Once you see the crucifix behind Obama, it’s very clear. All he’d need to do is raise his arms and the image would be complete.

I wonder if this association with Jesus is entirely unconscious. We generally associate the Lincoln Memorial with the abolitionist song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which explicitly refers to Jesus:
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
While God is marching on.

I had no idea Brooke was still alive. I encountered him in about 1963 when he sat on a panel with the Rev. James Bevel who would now be considered a civil rights agitator of ill-repute — sort of an Al Sharpton. It was a different time.

Brooke is only one of several Republican senators of his era that I cannot imagine serving in the current caucus led by McConnell: Charles Percy, Jacob Javets, Bill Brock, Charles Matthias, Richard Schweikart, Howard Baker. What would any of those have in common with the 2007 GOP?