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Minorities Don’t Need Single Party Rule
Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
For decades, African
Americans have voted more reliably Democratic than any other
ethnic or special interest group. President Obama himself
received over 95% of the black vote in 2008 and 2012. But rather
than appreciate this almost unshakable loyalty, Democrats have
taken the black vote for granted. I have often declared to black
audiences that we have been in an “adulterous relationship with
the Democratic Party. They knock on our door at midnight!
Sometimes as late as the Sunday before the Tuesday. They want
what they want, the way they want it; but later on, we don't get
flowers, romance, or respect. Not even the occasional dinner!”
Audiences typically roar with laughter at this analogy. But it
has grown worse than I have projected in the past. Blacks are
the only “kept women” in the political landscape that have to
pay their own rent. We actually pay for the opportunity to be
apart of an emotionally abusive relationship. We don't act as
though we deserve a genuine relationship - so we settle for
leftovers and empty promises.
Fear-mongering and demagoguery serve only to muddy the waters
and to prevent voters from holding their elected officials
accountable. Sadly for African Americans, the politics of
grievance have been good enough for them. By politics of
grievance I mean that when a demagogue speaks out against
policies he feels are harmful to his people, he wins a
reputation as a champion among that ethnic group. Unfortunately
when such political rants are not connected with problem-solving
or follow-though, it reduces the politicians to a mere con men
status.
Even worse, if the political diatribes brought forth by a
politician are laced with the arsenic of non-provable social
theories or untruths; then you have a recipe for leaders
retarding the progress of the people they serve. This very
scenario has been the legacy of blacks and other minorities
connecting their destiny with only one party.
Any leader who is genuinely invested in improving the standard
of living of blacks and other minorities would urge them to
evaluate each candidate and policy issue critically. The most
manipulative and insulting strategy to win minority votes is to
dismiss all Republicans as racist. This does not signal efforts
to improve opportunities; it is an attempt to secure another
fifty years of blind party loyalty regardless of the human cost.
Sam Tanenhaus
recently repeated this clumsy argument in an essay in the New
Republic, “Original Sin: Why the GOP Is and will Continue to Be
the Party of White People”. In short, Tanenhaus asserts that all
modern conservatism is rooted in the racist white privilege of
the Antebellum South. Many party leaders love Tanenhaus’
argument, despite its hugely selective view of history, because
they want to condemn blacks and other minorities to single party
rule.
For too long, black Americans have propped up politicians who
promise the moon but deliver very little. Two of the most
important public institutions—law enforcement and public
schools—continue to disproportionately fail African Americans.
Crime is reaching devastating levels in black neighborhoods in
places like Detroit and Chicago, where many high schools
graduate fewer than 50% of their black students. This has little
to do with individual policemen or teachers and everything to do
with leadership.
Speaking at the National Press Club recently, BET founder Bob
Johnson noted that the rate of black unemployment has been
double the rate of white unemployment for 50 years and remains
so under the current administration: “This country would never
tolerate white unemployment at 14 and 15 percent. No one would
ever stay in office at 14 or 15 percent unemployment in this
nation.”
According to economist Emmanuel Saez of the University of
California at Berkley, the income gap between rich and poor has
actually become worse under Obama than it was under George W.
Bush. Perhaps ironically, the New York Times reported in 1992
that the income gap between blacks and whites actually narrowed
during the 1980s, under President Reagan and the elder Bush.
In light of the Bengazi scandal, the IRS debacle, the Associated
Press investigations, and other recent occurrences; minorities
can say “Amen” to this axiom: When one party becomes too
dominant, it invites corruption. I want to be clear that I am
not telling any American, black or otherwise, to switch parties.
I am, however, asking people to consider breaking with tradition
and voting for the best candidate regardless of party. I am also
encouraging emerging political candidates to consider running as
Republicans and Independents. I am urging minorities, especially
blacks, to no longer allow their votes to be taken for granted.
Speaking in Miami last month, Republican Senator Ted Cruz said
he wanted his party to be known to African Americans and Latinos
as “the party of opportunity…that allows and encourages small
businesses to thrive and encourages economic growth.” Shouldn’t
minorities allow a new suitor into our political world? Who
knows? Maybe we will find true love?
Harry R. Jackson
May 22, 2013
The author writes for
Town Hall web publication
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