"15% of any group will sell them out for their own advancement."
This is what my law school mentor Professor Jane Larson once said to me when I was frustrated with the Camille Paglias of the world. (What kind of career would she have had without feminism to critique?)
I forget who she was quoting as she always gave attribution when it was to be given.  So this is how I understand the discussion on Andrew Sullivan’s blog about the Black Establishment’s relationship with Obama.
Doesn’t “establishment” = selling someone out?
To become successful without becoming “establishment,” I think you’d have to remain open to change, the success of others and supporting ideas over ones individual power. The very hope behind the support of an Obama or Huckabee is the voice not just against establishment but for fluidity of *relevance.* Politics is starting to speed up, not quite as fast as web design. But if a relevant focal point than Obama or Huckabee comes along, the non-purchased (eg marketed to) support will shift there. Just cause you can blow up doesn’t mean you stay relevant. just ask  theglobe.com .     Â
