Earl Ofari Hutchinson, who I seldom agree with, writes another column I don’t agree with. Well, I agree with a few points. In spite of himself, he touches upon something I can relate to: 1) serving all people and 2) the need to find common ground.
Despite the lunacy about Florida voter intimidation and Bush “hijacking” the White House in 2000, it’s fairly readable. Read on (reg. req. — try Bugmenot):
IN HIS VICTORY speech, President Bush again assured the millions of Americans who did not vote for him that he’d reach out to them, too. Black voters, who again made up a big share of those millions, remain deeply skeptical. There’s good reason.Mr. Bush repeatedly promised before and during his first campaign that he’d make diversity the watchword among Republicans. But his idea of outreach meant meeting with hand-picked black ministers, farmers and business owners and deliberately snubbing the Congressional Black Caucus and the traditional civil rights leaders.
He goes on about Bush’s photo ops with blacks, something Democrats have perfected to an art form, and his refusal to speak at the dinosaur NAACP’s convention. Among other things, the chairman called the Bush administration the “Taliban wing” of American politics. Very inviting.
Hutchinson continues:
Mr. Bush, even if he didn’t say it, was elected to serve not just those who voted for him but all the people. He is duty-bound to keep trying to reach out to those blacks who oppose him. When and if he does, civil right leaders and black Democrats must reach back to him. The reality is that Mr. Bush, not Sen. John Kerry, will be in the White House, and the issues that blacks expect and demand Mr. Bush to deal with won’t go away.
1) Bush was elected to serve all. Hutchinson is exactly right. But does serving all people mean Bush is duty-bound to make racial distinctions among Americans? Is he duty-bound to reach out to foes who slander and libel him daily? Serving all does not mean pandering to and placating a bunch of irrational race extortionists. I have no idea where Hutchinson gets these ideas, but no such presidential duty is found in U.S. Constitution.
2) The need to find common ground: “The trick is to find those issues that both sides can agree on…,” writes Hutchinson. I agree with the idea, but his application of it is misguided. Serving all means finding common issues that are important to all, not just black voters.
For instance, he lists a number of issues “both sides can agree on”, including concern about the high percentage of HIV infection among blacks. AIDS affects other racial groups as well, so why the emphasis on blacks? This is what bothers me about skin color targeting. And while funding AIDS research is important, emphasizing moral behavior and clean living is even more important in bringing down the numbers, but black radicals and hardcore liberals don’t want to hear it, at least not from Bush. (Just give me the money and keep your morality.)
Next Hutchinson lists school vouchers: “Vouchers would drain billions from cash-strapped failing public schools and doom those black students left behind to virtual educational extinction. Black leaders should urge Mr. Bush to abandon them.”
Wrong, wrong, wrong, Mr. Hutchinson! That’s alarmist talk. First of all, black kids are already doomed in failing government schools run by socialist (and a few Marxist) bureaucrats. They know how to negotiate condoms and cucumbers, but they can’t read!
Secondly, some, if not many, voucher plans use dedicated sources of funding, including the voucher program here in D.C. Government schools will continue receiving their allocated taxpayer dollars. In fact, whether parents send their kids to private schools or opt for homeschooling, they must continue funding government-run schools. Parents participating in voucher plans still pay taxes, too. Believe me, America’s government schools are the safest on the planet! They devour money and produce a shoddy product. What if these schools had to compete on the market? Most would end up with “Out of Business” signs hanging on the doors.
And since Hutchinson brought up extinction, imagine what would happen if parents were required to pay taxes for government schools only if their kids were enrolled. Perhaps then I’d pay attention to his ominous warnings about “extinction.” Black kids in inner cities would truly be doomed as more kids and their parents fled to private schools.
Why black liberals want to protect a substandard school system, which disproportionately harms black children, is a mystery I’ll take to my grave.
Update: Also see my post about one of Hutchinson’s other columns, GOP’s Rainbow Coalition Is For Real. I think I agreed with the whole thing. He’s getting there! 
Update II (11/15): I submitted this as a guest post on Blogs for Bush.
