So President Bush managed to garner 11 percent of the “black vote”, up from 8 percent from four years ago. My opinion? I think it’s a good sign. While Bush didn’t need black voters to win this election, I’m sure he appreciates it nonetheless.
I’m not really excited about it or interested in trying to convince blacks to vote for Republicans. I wrote on the blog a few months ago that doing so just doesn’t appeal to me anymore. Perhaps running this blog and dealing with irate black liberals has jaded me on the process. All that nonsensical tripe about voter disenfranchisement! Downright embarrassing.
I’ll direct you to an op-ed written by Stefani Carter, a law and graduate student at Harvard. She takes a somewhat subdued approach in this USAToday piece:
President Bush won four more years after an election marked by serious divisions, real choices and record turnout. The president and first lady likely have a long thank-you list to compile. Unfortunately, blacks — who gave Bush just 11% of their votes — won’t make that list.As a young black person, I long for the day when conservative policymakers like Bush will be able to make true inroads in the African-American community. Democrats have long taken the black vote for granted, talking the good talk, yet failing to offer meaningful reform in their communities.
While I certainly understand her concern, I’m more interested in the 11 percent. I know all about the 89 percent. I was once part of a group that really believes liberal policies are in the best interest of blacks even though I saw the destruction with my eyes every day. Carter continues:
Take Booker T. Washington. He described a conservative as one who owned his own land and raised his own crops. His definition of conservatism asserted that all people, blacks included, could stand on their own two feet. But today, people don’t think of Washington when they think of a conservative. They think of Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond, unconventional conservatives who antagonized the black community.
She is correct. Black liberals perceive Republicans as the party of racist white men. But do they drill through the surface to get to policy, such as school choice and tax breaks and less government regulation of small businesses?
No. They see bigoted whites and token blacks. We now have a black Secretary of State, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and National Security Advisor. That’s nothing to sneeze at. There’s even talk of Clarence Thomas being nominated to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but because these folks have “betrayed their people” they don’t count toward black advancement.
Carter reminds me of myself two years ago when I began writing about these issues. She concludes:
You don’t lose your blackness, or reject it, when you vote conservative. You simply believe that liberal policies have failed people too often.
This simple statement sums up many of my frustrations in dealing with Democrat-voting blacks. Most don’t even want to hear you out. All they want is a person, not ideas, to attack.
I don’t want to be a pessimist, but I hold out little hope that blacks will actual vote according to conservative leanings I know some of them have. You’d be hard-pressed to find a black person who doesn’t think black kids in inner cities should have the opportunity to escape their desolate schools (academically and physically), for example, but will they vote for the Republican offering a way of escape? I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Why won’t they vote for the politician advocating self-improvement? Look, don’t ask me. I don’t know and at this point, I almost don’t care.
I will do my part on this blog and through other writing to articulate why conservative policies are better for America, but at this point I’m more focused on people’s spiritual condition.
Addendum: The mention of Jesse Helms triggered a memory. When I was working on the Hill for a Democratic senator about six years ago, I attended two Bible studies. One was held every Friday at lunch time by former Senate chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie. The another, hosted by a Senate staffer for a small group, was held every Tuesday at noon in Jesse Helms’s office. I thought that was important to note.
Addendum II: FYI, I’m not giving up on politics. This blog will continue to offer political commentary from a Christian worldview.
Update: Blacks Bond Over Bush (reg. may be req.):
Talk about shattering stereotypes.Two middle-age African American women in a Camden hair salon just realized they’re both Republicans.
Normally, Stephanie Holmes and Neicy Tribbett talk about everything as Stephanie works an auburn weave into Neicy’s formerly blond hair.
But this fall, each kept quiet about her conservative conversion.
That is, until I showed up at the beauty shop Friday to ask about God and government.
“I didn’t know you voted for Bush,” Neicy gasps.
“I didn’t know you did, either,” Stephanie says with a giggle.
“I’ve never, ever done anything like this before,” she adds. “And I’m 42.”
Praise the Lord, and the President….
Stephanie realized how appalling her decision seemed to other African Americans the day she mentioned it to a friend while shopping at Pathmark.
“People stopped in their tracks,” she said. “They looked at me like I was crazy.”
I can relate to “the look.” The ones I get are usually tinged with a good helping of disgust. I don’t care. Their loss is my gain!
Update II: Do you remember when Republican Trent Lott was forced out of leadership for saying something sort of stupid (given our PC culture) about Republican Strom Thurmond, but Democrat Chris Dodd got a pass for saying something really stupid about former KKK Democrat Robert Byrd?
I wrote Two Old Men, Two Different Standards in April.
Update III (11/9): Michelle Malkin on the “Hispanic vote.”
Non-blogging Barbra Streisand tries to sound patriotic by quoting Thomas Jefferson, a dead white slave-owning male.
Update IV: There’s a controversial law review article out or on its way about race preferences in law school admissions. Power Line and Discriminations blogged about it, and the article’s author will be guest-blogging on Volokh Conspiracy.
Michael King: “One other point that [Star] Parker makes that I wholeheartedly agree with is that the GOP must maintain an open line of communication with blacks.”
Here’s another inane “Jim Crow” voter intimidation article.
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 68 comments }
I have been a silent reader of your blog for a while now, but felt compelled to comment. I appreciate this piece. I was the president of the conservative organization on my campus several, several years ago while still a college student. I was also the student government chair of Multicultural Affairs. I was told countless times that the two could not and should not mix, but I didn’t feel that way, and still do not. I felt that my political views could in no way affect the way that I dealt with the enhancement of the cultural affairs and opportunities on my small, affluent liberal campus. I feel compelled to mention that I am a white woman who held both positions, which garnered a fair amount of controversey, as well, but I was so motivated to make a difference and bridge gaps that were so apparent. Thank you for your wonderfully written blog!
LaShawn, I agree with your focus on “people’s spiritual condition.” The more I ponder on the “moral divide” our nation is facing, the more I believe the best way to bridge that divide is by Christians living as “salt and light” and spreading Christ’s love on a one-on-one basis. By showing the world that conservative Christians are not wacked-out freaks who hate everyone. My prayer: “O Lord, let your light shine on others through me.”
Welcome to the blog, Danielle! What I really want for the Republican party is to maintain integrity and not seek after “multicultural” this or “diverse” that. If the policies of ownership and personal responsibility don’t appeal to certain people, they should stick with Dems rather than trying to change conservatives.
Cindy – This is something I no longer wish to struggle with. I want to give in to God’s will for me, at least what I think it is, and concentrate on what’s more important. Thanks for reading!
When I look at this situation I am continually astounded by how the Democrats have enthralled the black vote. As I understand it, the Democratic Party was the main stumbling block for the Civil Rights legislation that was finally passed in the 60’s. Before then the south was all democrat and those democrats fought tooth and nail to stop the Civil Rights movement. It took the Republicans to actually make it happen. Sure LBJ was a democrat, but there is no way he would have ever passed the legislation with only his party’s support. Now blacks take out every thing that is wrong in their community as being some grand scheme by the Republicans as wanting to “keep them down.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
LaShawn points out the number of blacks appointed to higher offices in this administration. This country has never had a black 3rd in line for the Presidency. Just think about it, if the President were (God forbid) assassinated and Vice-president Cheny went into cardiac arrest; Colin Powell would become our first black President. No democrat has ever placed a black that high in his administration. I am sure that President Bush did not choose Mr. Powell for his skin color, but because he knew Mr. Powell was right for the job. In fact, if President Bush was asked, he would most likely say skin color did not enter his mind when he choose Colon Powell for Secretary of State. Mr. Powell has done a terrific job. Yet, I read that he is looked at as a laky in parts of the black community. When I look at Mr. Powell, I see a man who has done a great job, not someone who is black and got his job because of his skin color. Who is being narrow-minded democrats or simple little conservative me?
Something has to be done to crack through the shell to black voters; I just don’t know what. It just seems odd Republicans still do better with gay voters when it’s practically in their platform “we hate gays.”
It’s refreshing to see someone who thinks with her mind rather than with her ethnic group.
Frank J. – I do believe this is the first time you’ve commented on the blog. Welcome! I’m still laughing about your Bush endorsement drawing.
Colin Powell is 4th in line behind the Vice President, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, then the Secretary of State.
I had to look it up.
Order of Presidential Succession: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0101032.html
Here’s a thought…J. C. Watts for president. Could that ever happen?
By the way, I cannot imagine the color of a man or woman’s skin influencing my voting for him/her, for whatever office, in the slightest degree. Perish the thought.
What I find most appealing about the conservative agenda versus that of the Democratic party is the fact that conservatives are more closely aligned with Biblical principles than are the Democrats. Ironically, even though these people (mostly whites) seem to have a better grasp of the Scriptures, they have not learned to translate the teaching of Christ, (love thy neighbor…) into action. In my experiences, white people still look at me as though I am less of a person based on the color of my skin. I have found, regardless of your educational background, social status or whatever, Black people are not regarded on an equal playing field (with either party). During the campaign, President Bush acknowledge there is lots of work to be done to bridge the racial divide in this country. I wonder when, where and by what means?
Lashawn, I share the same cynicism or pessimism that you do, though we both try to hold out hope….it’s not workin, sister. Long & short, I think blacks like us have seen it, heard it, and are so far past being disgusted of it……..what are we left with? Cold, hard, sad but true, facts.
The black electorate may well be damaged beyond repair, just as immature & narrow-minded as a group of FORMERLY oppressed people can be. What’s to indicate anything else? The votes don’t lie, not to mention, the Jews can’t even touch us, as nonsensical as even their voting patterns are.
11 percent? That’s 2-3 more than 2000. We’re so pitiful, then again……no wonder we vote 85-90% for the people that feed our self-pity. John McWhorter never made more sense than in the aftermath of that skull-dragging the democrats just got.
On the other hand, Booker has a LA Times exit poll that hints at 14%, which was my bottom #, thus a # I can live with it (I was thinking 14-18%). But even 14’s measly, only with a lower case.
So in the same fashion as you (I think), I could not care any less than I do about how blacks vote. Black folks wanna act like their african, fine, be african. Never been; never will be.
But whatever you do, Lashawn, don’t hold your breath.
Was surfing the web looking for a conservative black voice from a Chrisitian prospective and found yours. I was desperate to find like minded individuals that both support our President and share a Christian world view.
Unfortunately many of us African Americans have what I call a “herd” mentality in that we follow the herd of blacks that blindly support the Democrat party because of tradition. It sickens me when I talk to my friends and colleagues who are college educated blacks but are not informed about politics or feel some sense of guilt because they have achieved a level of success that “Pooky” from the block didn’t and feel as though by voting Democratic the programs the Dems will implement will fix “Pooky’s” problems.
Here’s the kicker..those same friends and colleagues often profess to know the Lord yet will vote for a candidate who opposses what the Holy Bible teaches us about social issues, but feel the economic impact of the programs will somehow outweight everything else. As if to say the end justify the means. We just don’t get it! Keep it up sister. God Bless
D.Dean
Kansas City, Missouri
Hold up! Hold up! We have to keep spreading the word ‘don’t get weary in well doing’!
there are folks out there that need to hear the message we have!
Apply S-curve economics to it (please look it up on the web)
Also, read the book ‘Tipping Points’.
Every movement starts out with the innovators! Then things reach critical mass and BLAM! The numbers go through the roof!
Keep the faith folks! If we don’t who will?
LaShawn,
Your blog is refreshing because of the uncompromised Christian flavor of it. Perhaps the Democrats have pulled the biggest con job in history. Did you know that the 15th Amendment (granting voting rights to all) was opposed by 97% of the Democrats and supported by 98% of the Republicans? As someone pointed out, the guys with the fire hoses (as in the anti Bush ads) in the 50s were all Democrats. Democrat statements are openly racist if you listen carefully. Remember the “blacks are too dumb to use these machines” argument about “voter disenfranchisement?”
Why would anyone want the unlimited right to murder a pre-born infant or (as Barbara Boxer would like it) up to the age of one year old? Why would anyone want to legalize gay marriage? And no, I don’t think being gay is like being black (another liberal argument). You can look at a baby and determine if the child is white, black, yellow, or some shade in between. You don’t say “Oh what a cute homosexual child” You say “oh what a cute little boy (or little girl)”.
Gays can already “enjoy” their lifestyle as long as they live. It seems that the Democrats have abandoned any core values. I’m rambling. I apologize. When you consider the concerted effort by Hollywood and the “Old Media” and Michael MoveOn.org, millions spent by George Soros, etc., it is amazing that the president had such a clear victory. Just imagin if CBS had been half as interested in listening to 250 American veterans as they were in listening to one person with a vendetta and forged documents. Just imagine if the Associated Press had sued John Kerry to sign the DD Form 180 and make his military records (which he made the centerpiece of his campaign) public. President Bush never made any claims about his service in the ANG. Yet his were the records that AP wanted to get out. And then they refused to listen to how the guard system works and kept asking really stupid questions without bothering to listen to the answers. Just imagine if they were half as excited about our current economic growth as they were when Clinton was up for reelection (and today’s numbers are better for growth and low inflation).
Have enjoyed reading your blog and getting your perspective on political issues. It’s a shame you’ll be dropping that and focusing just on the religion thing. I can understand burnout and the feeling of being overwhelmed by the size of the problems in the black community. I’ll miss your wonderful insights into politics.
LaShawn-
I’ve given this issue some serious thought, and have come to the conclusion that it is no more your responsibility to convince blacks to vote for Republicans than anyone else’s.
Even though your faith and message helped convince my wife to vote for Bush, it was wrong for me to assume that just because you are a black female, that she would be more inclined to listen to you.
That would be equal to saying that I would more inclined to listen to Michael Moore because he is a “white man of size” like myself.
As a former resident of House District 4 in Oklahoma, I can truly endorse Watts. I went door-to-door at OU when he ran for State Corporation Commission, and even had his campaign sign in my dorm window (It was a really cheesy one that had a light bulb on it, to play off his name.) I met he and his family at a Furrs cafeteria, and he was very engaging and likeable. I think he is electable, and his race is not the reason for that, it is his character.
Anyway, I don’t think you should feel any burden to convert black liberals, other than to just keep sharing your faith, and putting your thoughts into the arena of ideas so that they can be judged fairly. Your sphere of influence is not limited to the black community, yours is a strong, dedicated voice for your race- the human race. Amen for that.
La Shawn, Weren’t you saying that Bush would get 15%? CLOSE!!!!
Oh no, no, no! I’m not giving up political talk! I’m no longer interested in trying to convince people to vote for conservatives, that’s all. This blog with continue to be a mixture of politics and faith.
Dear LaShawn,
The problem with counting the “black vote” is that areas that are middle class or upper class are not counted. We are taking the “liberal” media figures. The vote is secret! and I only know that ballot contains location. I have voted in five different states over 40 years. Machine voting is not perfect. I have waited in line and gone through quickly. The time of day often determines the length of the line! If it has gone from 7 to 11 percent that is big increase.
JMB
I’m posting to leave an unmitigated mash note for you, La Shawn. I found your blog a short time ago and it’s instantly become the highlight of my time on the computer. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the time you take to construct such thoughtful and intelligent posts. It is no exaggeration to say that you do my soul a world of good, and you make me hopeful for the future.
LaShawn,
We have 2 years to let the conservatives make a difference with their mandate. Leading up to the midterm election and the next presidential, the republican party and folks like you need to show the black community that they are benefiting from conservative policies. Pointing out how much the decades of socialistic policies have hurt only seems to invite knee jerk reactions…
Home ownership, school vouchers, faith based initiatives, all good conservative values that are much inline with many in the black community… I only wish I knew the right way to get the word out, without the messenger being shot by the likes of Mfume and Bond.
Maybe Bush could appoint an unofficial outreach czar… or a travelling roadshow of sorts… if the dems can preach from the pulpit about what the republicans will do if elected, why can’t we preach about what we are doing, and will do?
La Shawn,
Thanks for your post. Very timely for me personally. I’ll continue to focus on letting my light shine for the Lord among both the 89% and the 11%. After all, it’s a persons “soul-cial” condition that’s the most important, rather than “social.”
James – You’re right. That is a big increase. I guess it hasn’t sunk in yet.
Michelle – Thank you. I found your link in my referrers log this morning and I went to your site. I meant to read your posts but kept gazing at your precious baby’s sweet face. I’ll visit again and read this time!
Wuzzy – I hear you. I plan to keep doing what I’m doing and try to do it even better. I just get frustrated with grown, educated folks who think they’re stuck in the Jim Crow era, while they come and go as they please and may do, without restraint from anyone, whatever they set their minds to. What an insult to those who came before us. And the liberals’ temper tantrums about the re-election of Bush aren’t helping. I’ll snap out of it. There are some nasty people out there.
Dave – Hi!
What exactly is “black advancement” to the Left? Is it more
illiteracy, more out-of-wedlock births? Is it less and less
control of ones own resources, less culpability for immoral
and criminal behavior?
If black and white liberals want to vote themselves into socialist slavery, they deserve it. But they want to take us with them, and that’s unacceptable.
By the way, ever notice that liberals hate capialism but love money.
LaShawn,
I think it would do me (and perhaps others) good if you would address Brenda Berry-Rucker’s comment as I feel the same way. I would like to feel welcomed and I tend to have a conservative lean in my thought processes, however I don’t feel comfortable calling myself a Republican. Quite frankly, their PR sucks and maybe that’s what the Democrats have done a better job of..in terms of spinning the party’s platforms to black folk in general.
I’ve been to the Bush website and checked off mentally to myself that I agree with X point and so on. But I’m not going to lie, it was off putting to me to see him denounce affirmative action on MLK’s birthday. The timing was terrible and I think some black folks took affront to it, even if amongst themselves they may have agreed in some ways with his mindset.
I’m not saying I want to be pandered to, because I don’t. But tossing a bunch of stats at people just makes their eyes glaze over. I want someone to not be scared to come into a black neighborhood or sorority meeting or professional organization and fully be ready to engage folks on how being conservative and joining the party is beneficial. So I guess I agree with SCSIWuzzy’s comments. If P. Diddy can start Citizen Change, then why can’t the Republicans do something along the same lines in order to educate people..without the Vote or Die threats however.
Tiffany, you bring up a good point about engaging people. I guess I’m looking at things from my own personal journey to conservatism. Because I didn’t need much prodding (it happened naturally, it seemed), I suppose I expect others to “get it” and stop voting for liberals.
While I can certainly relate to what Brenda says about some whites’ attitudes, a big part of me doesn’t really care what they may be thinking about me at a given moment (that they’re better than I am, etc.).
What does “bridging the racial divide” look like? That’s an important question. I confess I don’t know what it means. I don’t want to be talked down to or pandered to or treated differently because I’m black, so any efforts on the part of whites – liberals or conservatives – to fashion a unique message to me as a black person is abhorrent. Others may not mind. I wouldn’t like the Republican party doing that. But then again, I don’t run it and I’m not a member. I dusted off my voter registration card last Monday night and was proud to see the “No Party” affiliation on it.
Now, perhaps there’s a way to be subtle about it, but adopting liberal techiniques of the social program push or harping on America’s sins against blacks bore me to tears. What can conservatives do? A question for the ages! I’ll have to think about that.
Some whites may have legitimate reasons for not wanting to go to certain places. For instance, Bush knew the dinosaurs of the NAACP hated him. Julian Bond likened him to a member of the Taliban. I wouldn’t go anywhere near Bond. I think Bush had the right idea by snubbing that decaying institution. But there are many others to reach. My focus is not so much on the 60s-style, outdated “reaching out” to blacks as a group. I’m interested in individuals. What does that outreach look like and will people see it as beneficial? I’ll get back to this topic as I formulate my thoughts.
Thanks for bringing it up. Food for thought…
LaShawn,
That’s why I like you, your posts are the best!
I am probably at wits end in regards to convincing blacks that there is another way. I have posted several times about my frustration in regards to our blind following of the Liberals. I don’t say Democrats, because I believe that it is the Liberal thought process that is harming us the most. The entitlement mindset.
I read an interesting article this weekend that blasted the Libs on how blacks have been jaded by their (Libs) continued promises with nothing to show for it.
Tiffany, I would say that the Democrats have a much better mindset that gears it toward demogoguing the issues and portraying the RNC as the boogeyman. That’s my one knock on the Republicans, we can never show ourselves to seem to be truly interested in the affairs of blacks. The preception is that we don’t care what happens to the black community. As for the percentage of blacks voting for Republicans, eleven percent in my estimation is pitiful. Imagine if we were in the forty percent range? Yet, my question would be to anyone, if blacks were to market their vote to the highest bidder, what would it cost that particular party that won? Hmmmm? If we are truly conservative, do we want to auction off our votes in return for what?
The Republicans of past aren’t the Republicans of current.
The Democrats of past aren’t the Democrats of current. Though, they definitely do their dirt, like not supporting McCall in New York.
The Republicans of anti-slavery days would not implement The Southern Strategy which targeted white Southerns at the expense of Blacks.
How you can blame Blacks for the SUCCESS of the Republican strategy, is still amazing to me.
La Shawn, having heard some of the discussions about “faulty” polling and exit polling designed and manipulated by DNCMSM to psyche up the Dems and out the Reps, I feel that the 11% is too low. I therefore proclaim that I “won” my wager of 13% from your original blog earlier this summer. I therefore won’t have to eat my hat
As far as I know Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond didn’t wear white sheets like Robert Byrd. Why is it Klan members get a pass from blacks like the young Harvard student but Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond (who antagonized black communities as opposed to belonging to theKKK) don’t? Robert Byrd who still uses the “N” word is a prominent DEMOCRAT and he gets a pass?
Sue – Don’t forget that after Trent Lott was forced out for saying something stupid, a Democrat’s remarks about Byrd were ignored by the media. Different standards. That reminds me. I blogged about this. Watch for Update II.
Ummmm…. Jesse Helms became a house hold name in N.C. because of his television editorials strongly supporting segregation.
Next, Trent Lott’s ties to the Council of Conservative Citizens, a group that the Conservative PAC called racist, happened years ago. Armstrong Williams wrote a scathing piece about it. Nothing happened.
Last, here’s a quote from Michael Steele:
True, our party sometimes has messed up. In 1964, for instance, with Barry Goldwater and the Southern strategy. But Goldwater was not a racist; the problem was the nature of the strategy. To pursue the Southern strategy the party of Lincoln abandoned the very people who had embraced the GOP to assure abolition and who had helped to build it into a profound moral force.
That quote appeared in Insight Magazine. I have the URL if you want it, but I remember that LaShawn doesn’t want links.
But has anyone argued that Jesse Helms wasn’t a segregationist? I don’t think so. The Steele quote is interesting, but he doesn’t speak for me.
Dark Star, duly noted.
What’s amazing to me is that Joe Lieberman, sKerry, Byrd and Zell Miller as recently as the last election stood together in the DNC brotherhood.
Flash forward to the 2004 DNC; Zell bailed, Joe’s “right wing”, Byrd’s centrist and sKerry’s yellow-bellied leftist snake.
The GOP likewise has its spectrum of actors good to bad depending on one’s worldview.
Yet you’re constanting resurrecting the spectre of the so called southern-strategy as if that is grounds for a permanent ban of black support. Please. Bush ain’t got nuthin to do with SS. Move on, Bro.
It’s a fact of life that in the dawning of the new millenia, the DNC is still all about the decades old Black Strategy, ie keeping Sambo down on the plantation. In other words, meet the new Bossman, same as the old Bossman. Whereas the old boss brokered in physical chains of bondage, the new relies on economical & educational bondage. That’s the greater evil than any lapse of momentary reason exhibited by ye olde publicans of the 60s.
Well put, Andy. Ditto.
Yet you’re constanting resurrecting the spectre of the so called southern-strategy as if that is grounds for a permanent ban of black support. Please. Bush ain’t got nuthin to do with SS. Move on, Bro.
As long as people say they don’t understand why Blacks vote Republican, and as long as people selectively remember history, I’m going to bring it up.
The fact is, only now are SOME Republicans trying to target Blacks.
If Jesse Jackson, tomorrow, said he’s seen the error of his ways and is now a conservative, none of you would believe him. The same holds true concerning Republicans.
Lastly, there are white and Black Republicans who are able to get a sizable percentage of Black votes. But the Republican party, in general, doesn’t listen to them. Those successes are ignored.
Why?
LaShawn, Michael Steele may not speak for you, but is it right to ignore what he says?
Frankly, he’s approaching it the right way.
Why is it that Republicans claim they preach self responsibilty, but they deny their responsibility in this case?
As I said before, DS, I don’t agree with skin color targeting. And why do you accuse us of having selective memories because we don’t agree with your assessment? I can acknowledge that both parties did some screwy things and still believe one is better than the other.
Notwithstanding your obsession with SS, I don’t think that’s the reason blacks don’t vote for Repubs. Blacks tend to dig that socialist rap. Hopefully, Bush won’t try to “reach out” in this way. My disappointment would be bitter and deep.
And what responsiblity do I have and to whom? I missed the point.
I think a major problem in the black community is “group think” or the “slave mentality.” If Massa say he gwan take car ‘o us, then hes gwan takes care ‘o us…Massa been good to us!
The Democrat work by making small groups believe that they have special or different interests or priorities than the rest of the country. Doesn’t everyone care about their safety? Their security? They’re children’s education? Their financiial stability?? I bristle everytime I read an article or hear a commentator talking about black issues…as if we don’t care about the regular things going on in the country like normal people…we’re all living in the projects with our kids, no babies’ daddies, no jobs. living on welfare and blaming the white people/goverment/society for all our ills…just waiting to finally be rescued by the Democrats…after only forty plus years of waiting.
But I’m the one who’s brainwashed, forgotten who I am, yada yada yada
I’m not a member of any political party, but will NEVER be part of a party with insults my intelligence, treats me as a dependent, helpless child or assauges its inappropriate guilt by giving handouts.
PurpleMD
…lone, single, conservative, Christian Black female physician in the San Francisco Bay area…
I am not normally a glass-half-full sort of person, but I figure that getting 11 percent of the black vote is at least 37.5 percent better than getting 8 percent (of a smaller number of votes!) four years ago. Progress is being made.
Tiffany,
Be encouraged. There is a place that represents people unafraid to come together and harmoniously engage as “ordinary folk”, of all skin colors. It’s a church that professes and lives Jesus Christ as Lord. God will lead you to the right one, just ask Him. I’m experiencing this first-hand and it’s been forever life changing.
For me, political parties, worldly ideologies, etc. don’t represent the true nature of “ordinary folk.”
Hello commenters! If your comment doesn’t show up, it’s stuck in spam filter for some reason. I suggest you select and copy the text before posting and resubmit (slighly rephrasing) if it gets stuck.
Commenters,
Than my question still remains unanswered. Assuming that blacks marketed their vote to the “highest bidder” since we say that we are being taken for granted by the DNC(which I agree)than what would the RNC have to offer? Not that I want anything,I vote Repub, but what would be the results of strengthening our hand?
I read Carter’s article this morning. My fellow conservative friend had the USA today and was quite impressed with her article. He didn’t know much about Booker T. Washington and the political history behind our conservative culture and idealogy. But he is becoming more and more interested each day. I think the more coverage of Black conservatives in our media will give other Blacks the urge to learn about politics for themselves, rather than just accept the liberal lies that are thrown down their throat. Well, keep up the good work young soldier!!!!
God Bless
Hey LaShawn,
We can find out some definite wills in our life from God in scripture.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
God Bless
Mr. Dominic,
In my view, I don’t think there is a direct answer to your question. My wife (black) and I (white) choose to currently vote Republican because we feel it most closely aligns with our belief system. And we vote because so many have sacrified their lives for us to have that privilege.
I wouldn’t expect that the average Black American voter considers they are “marketing” their vote when they enter the booth. I perceive, that as an 89% majority they faithfully follow the long-standing “reverend” leadership that has a “vested” interest in the “benefits they enjoy” that go with DNC loyalty.
Blacks tend to dig that socialist rap.
When you take economic status into account, there really is nothing to support the idea that Blacks in the U.S. are more “socialist” than the general U.S. population.
Notwithstanding your obsession with SS, I don’t think that’s the reason blacks don’t vote for Repubs.
I never wrote it was THE reason but it does play a part.
And what responsiblity do I have and to whom? I missed the point.
If you don’t believe you have a responsibility, then you don’t. But I think I have a responsibility to challenge the negative lies and myths about the Black community. I do so because I’ve seen how Black children internalize these destructive elements. And the destruction, in my view, comes from the “left” and the “right.”
I think a major problem in the black community is “group think” or the “slave mentality.” If Massa say he gwan take car ‘o us, then hes gwan takes care ‘o us…Massa been good to us
Group think is a myth. The definition of group think that is operation is this: If Blacks think/vote like a group of Democrats, it’s group think. But if Blacks think/vote like a group of Republicans, it’s free thinking.
It’s only group think because you don’t like the way it goes.
I perceive, that as an 89% majority they faithfully follow the long-standing “reverend” leadership that has a “vested” interest in the “benefits they enjoy” that go with DNC loyalty.
In other words, you think 89% of Blacks are children. Yet, you ignore that Black voters, ignoring the “reverend leadership” didn’t go for Al Sharpton. You ignore that Blacks, ignoring the “reverend leadership”, support vouchers. You ignore that Blacks, ignoring the “reverend leadership”, have not been joinging the NAACP. You ignore that Blacks, ignoring the “reverend leadership” don’t support gay marriage.
Any pol going to a Black group and talking the garbage spouted about “massa,” is going to catch a hard time. And for good reason. It’s the same reason a person going to a Christian group and calling them “holy rollers” or “Bible thumpers” would get a hard time.
I hope that LaShawn let’s this URL through. This is where my politics lie. It’s quotes from Usenet, from as early as 1996.
http://www.visioncircle.org/archive/002924.html
That is for those of you who assume I’m in the Democrat camp. If you take the time to read it, who is the one with limited thinking?
11% is better than 8%. I think Republicans are winning new voters over by not trying to win over an entire “group”. This is true of Asian, Latin, African-Americans, and white democrats. I think the Dems still try to win over groups by trying to pander to them as a whole. I think electing and nominating more Republican minority candidates will be the real key. The first female president will not be a liberal white democratic woman whose feet are still stuck in the 60s, it will be a conservative minority woman and she will garner 60% or more of the popular vote
DarkStar,
While I have read a number of your posts across the blogosphere and have disagreed with you. I do say that you have some merit in your statements. Nevertheless, I do have some disagreements again with you. Group think is a strong force in the political lives of blacks. How is it that when I tell someone that I vote as a conservative to another black, that I get the typical responses?
“what, you vote for Bush/Republicans/Conservatives”?
“How can a black vote for……”?
“No real black would vote for…”?
These statements and many more are just the tip of what many of us have heard. Explain how the mindset is geared in such a way that thirty million blacks can ALL have the same reactions! DS, you seem to be fairly intelligent,throw aside any bias that you might have towards Repubs and tell me that knowing the history of the two parties, the Democrats have done more harm to blacks; politically and in regards to civil rights? How can you say that there is no group think? It has been drilled into the heads of blacks for decades that the Repub party is the home of the “Klan”. Using that as a voting strategy is no less devious as say your attack on the Southern Strategy of Nixon. I grew up with the idea that all Repubs?Conservaties were racists. Look at what Bond,Jackson,Sharpton,Watters,McKinney,etc say anytime a policy is set in motion that they want to politicize. Can we say, race card?
Group think is alive and well in the black community.
I can assure you DarkStar, “ignoring” Black people on any level and considering them children never occurs with me. Those are your words, not mine. It sounds like your description of Black voters who “ignore the reverend leadership” are voting anything but within the 89%, as I believe Mr. Dominic is describing from his own experiences.
As long as blacks continue to check their consciences at the voting booth door, they will never vote Republican. It’s my opinion that blacks care more about “pocketbook” issues like jobs and healthcare more so than values issues like preserving life and strengthening the traditional institutions of marriage. Democrats have a built-in advantage on these bread and butter issues because it dovetails very well with their socialism platform of government spending as the panacea for all that ails society.
I was very disappointed in the low turnout among blacks for the president especially since he appealed to their so-called “cultural conservatism”. Is there any other group with such a monolithic voting habit as blacks? About 25% of gays voted for the president even though he wants to define marriage as between a man and a women. It is sad that blacks have so marginalized themselves from the mainstream of society that they are now taken for granted by the Democrats.
In the meantime, the Republicans have turned their attention, and understandably so, to gaining a foothold in the growing Hispanic community which will soon eclipse blacks at dominant minority in the United States. I fear that blacks have become irrelevant to politicians as a realistically persuadable political demographic.
Just a random thought. I saw on the Travel channel a bridge that goes over the Niagara falls. It’s the bridge that Harriet Tubman used to take slaves over to escape into Canada. Apparently, the bridge was skinny and swayed alot and some people fell to their deaths trying to cross it. Harriet Tubman brought a gun with her just in case someone decided going to back to their master was better than crossing the bridge, if you get my point.
La Shawn, would you say this bridge can make for a good analogy for black people becoming Republicans or Independents? lol I think it would do a person some good to go there for a visit. Not only could it be fun, but it could help a person to realize that they are not bound to any person other than themselves, and certainly not to any political party.
You have a wonderful Blog and I like your mind too.
Thanks, Dan!
Tom B.,
Your comment was so insulting on so many levels that I’m nearly speechless. However, I will say this: I DOUBT the majority of black folk would rather have orgies in the streets than be able to support their families and be able to go to the doctor when they get sick.
One of the “moral” values I was taught was to be tolerant. The other was to help those in need when you can.
Obviously, you know nothing about either.
RepJ, thanks for the UR reminder. I had all but forgotten that the UR ran that way. Wow, I can see how that story would make vivid how perilous escaping was. Die by Massa’s side or risk death in more ways than one, with the final leg being a matter of mind over sheer fright.
Dominic, Dave in AZ, PurpleMD, Tom B. Good points. Amen
Don’t know if anyone has mentioned this above. I’ve often heard this question asked of black Republicans: “What have the Republicans done for black people?” The underlying assumption behind the question–that a political party should *do something* for a group, besides get out of its way and/or make it easier to pursue happiness–are part of the problem when it comes to Republican outreach toward blacks. For many black Democrats, the Republican party would have to change its very nature in order to be palatable.
Until the idea that a political must be ‘mom and daddy’ becomes less prevalent among black Americans, I don’t see the Republicans making any headway with those who hold that idea.
Yes, Juliette! An older black man asked what Bush ever did for me. He didn’t add “as a black person”, but that’s what he meant. I talked about it in the “40 Excuses and a Mule” post:
http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2004/10/28/excuses/
DS, you seem to be fairly intelligent,throw aside any bias that you might have towards Repubs and tell me that knowing the history of the two parties, the Democrats have done more harm to blacks; politically and in regards to civil rights?
The past history of both parties doesn’t mean squat to me. It’s what the parties do now that matter. What matters most to me is what the individual politicans do.
I find it inconsistant that people bring up the history of the GOP and the Dems but then STOP at the Civil Rights Act. They don’t continue and mention the Southern Strategy. They don’t continue and mention that signing of the Civil Rights Act caused a battle in the Dem party. You can’t say that the GOP was a driving force in passing the bill, but not mention that GOP heros like Jesse Helms got his political start because he supported segration, just like Strom Thurman.
Be consistant on the history and my comments would stop.
Here’s something for you to consider. When Jesse Jackson said he sometimes does a double take when Black teens are behind him at night, conservatives had a field day say, “See!!!!! Look what Jackson said!!!!”
But when white and Black Republicans say that the GOP has a problem and a lot of it rests on the GOP, why is that ignored? Why is it ignored when Republicans who get the Black vote say, “Hey! I did it! This is how I did it!”?
DS, you seem to be fairly intelligent,throw aside any bias that you might have towards Repubs and tell me that knowing the history of the two parties, the Democrats have done more harm to blacks; politically and in regards to civil rights?
The past history of both parties doesn’t mean squat to me. It’s what the parties do now that matter. What matters most to me is what the individual politicans do.
I find it inconsistant that people bring up the history of the GOP and the Dems but then STOP at the Civil Rights Act. They don’t continue and mention the Southern Strategy. They don’t continue and mention that signing of the Civil Rights Act caused a battle in the Dem party. You can’t say that the GOP was a driving force in passing the bill, but not mention that GOP heros like Jesse Helms got his political start because he supported segration, just like Strom Thurman.
Be consistant on the history and my comments would stop.
Here’s something for you to consider. When Jesse Jackson said he sometimes does a double take when Black teens are behind him at night, conservatives had a field day say, “See!!!!! Look what Jackson said!!!!”
But when white and Black Republicans say that the GOP has a problem and a lot of it rests on the GOP, why is that ignored? Why is it ignored when Republicans who get the Black vote say, “Hey! I did it! This is how I did it!”?
Explain how the mindset is geared in such a way that thirty million blacks can ALL have the same reactions!
Conservatives claim they all have the same basic set of ideals and principals. When conservatives react in unison to something, how can it not be “group think” instead of individual thought?
I’ve posted before that when Glenn Loury questioned conservatives about some issues, they dumped him to the side. As if a Black conservative has to think a certain way. Shelby Steele, a friend of Loury, disagreed with him about affirmative action and ended the friendship.
Loury and Robert Woodson, Sr. resigned from AEI because of publications that came out of that think tank. Both were denounced by conservatives, Loury more so than Woodson. Woodson even complained that as Black conservatives, white conservatives expected them to toe the line.
Why ain’t that group think on conservatives part? Is it only because you agree with it?
Be consistant.
Using that as a voting strategy is no less devious as say your attack on the Southern Strategy of Nixon. I grew up with the idea that all Repubs?
It’s just not “my attack” folks. Michael Steele, who supported Bush, went to swing states to support go after the Black vote. He has stated the GOP was wrong for following that strategy. A Black Republican, in public, the same thing I’m saying.
What’s devious about stating the truth?
Until the idea that a political must be ‘mom and daddy’ becomes less prevalent among black Americans, I don’t see the Republicans making any headway with those who hold that idea.
Julliette, your comments about gov’t getting out of the way, rings strong with me. Especially when my consulting business was running.
However, again, I’m going to take you to task.
Diary farmers went to congress asking, “What are you going to do for me?!?!?” They did it in large enough numbers that congress passed a bill that allowed them to do business in a way that increased the costs of diary products in “non-diary states.”
The recent Check Clearing 21 was a wonderful coup for the banking industry. They “cried” and asked what congress could do for them. The end result is that American consumers are hosed while banks gain profits.
When flat taxes were mentioned by Forbes, he caught immediate flack because he wanted to do away with home mortgage deduction. DO you think home owners won’t go to congress and say “Keep my deduction!”?
FHA loans? Federally backed student loans? PELL Grants? Federal grants to fund research? SBA Loans?
Can someone who knows about Jack Kemp, explain why he said he felt like an outcast from the GOP for speaking strongly about going after the Black vote?
Comments on this entry are closed.