Carney is right on the money...
Posted on 01/10/2005 8:48:19 AM PST by freespirited
Unlike the Jesse Jackson-led Democratic convulsions after the 2000 election was settled, Thursday's shenanigans on the House floor were not primarily an effort to delegitimize George W. Bush's presidency. ash
The number-one target of the protest of Ohio's vote was the most promising African-American Republican politician in the country: Ohio secretary of state Kenneth Blackwell. A word count of the Congressional Record makes the case clearly: George Bush's name was mentioned 109 times during the debate, while Ken Blackwell's was mentioned 149.
When you take into account that many of the Bush mentions were made by Republicans, and that every mention of Blackwell was in a statement by a Democrat, it is clear who the real target of Thursday's proceedings was.
With no black Republicans in the House, Senate, or any governorships, Blackwell is one of the highest-ranking elected African Americans in the GOP. On top of that, he is a true conservative, so much so that the Ohio Republican establishment and Governor Bob Taft find him intolerably irritating.
In 2000, the nasty attacks on Katherine Harris had nothing to do with Harris herself; she simply made a convenient target in the Democrats' attempts to overturn the Bush victory, and then to delegitimize him. With Ohio, it really is about Blackwell.
As a party, the Democrats need to fear Blackwell. He is skilled, conservative, and on his way up. He could be governor in a couple years and who knows where he could go from there. So Democrats have an interest in sullying his name before it gets big.
After Thursday's debates and the protests Ohio Democrats have raised since the election, once Blackwell's name is mentioned on the national stage again, every major newspaper reporter will reflexively call him a "controversial figure" who is "at the heart of the much-criticized 2004 election in Ohio."
If Blackwell is weighed down with this baggage before he gets too big, not only will a possible gubernatorial, senatorial, or presidential candidate be eliminated, but national Democrats will also continue pointing out the embarrassing whiteness of the GOP. If you lined up every elected Republican in Washington and all the governors, you would be looking at over 300 white faces. The only black Republicans in prominent positions are appointed. That's bad PR for the GOP, and good news for the Democrats.
Miguel Estrada knows how this works. Democrats, as their memos revealed, found Estrada "especially dangerous because. . . he is Latino." It's not that Dick Durbin and Pat Leahy's staff think Hispanics are inherently more "dangerous," it's that they don't want to be seen opposing one for the High Court, when all of America will be watching. He had to be stopped before then.
The attack dogs of personal destruction succeeded with their preemptive strike on Estrada, and now they'll try with Blackwell.
Estrada and Blackwell both suffered a particular brand of racism mostly practiced by Democrats against minorities. Democrats attacked Estrada's conservatism, saying he clearly did not represent the views of the Hispanic community, much like how Clarence Thomas is said to be not truly black because of his political philosophy.
The presumption behind this attack is that while whites can believe anything they want, blacks and Hispanics need to follow their leftist "community leaders" or they are sell-outs.
Similarly, Blackwell is offensive to the Congressional Black Caucus because he doesn't follow their strict orders. For the crime of being a black conservative, they skewer him. On the floor, Rep. Maxine Waters had this gem:
Ohio's partisan secretary of state, Mr. Kenneth Blackwell, I am ashamed to say an African-American man has failed to follow even Ohio's election procedures, let alone procedures that comply with Federal law and constitutional requirements. Our ancestors who died for the right to vote certainly must be turning over in their graves.
While Barbara Boxer and the congressmen who led Thursday's inanity made themselves look bad, they may consider that a fine tradeoff if they can rub some dirt on a promising black Republican.
Heh heh. It's gonna be fun and games here in Ohio in the next few years.
I think I just found a new tagline.
The RINOs in Ohio will do their best to sink his candidacy. They'll even help to elect a Democrat just to make sure Ken Blackwell never becomes Governor.
He wandered of the plantation and they want to lynch him. The democritters have not strayed far from their roots.
For my Ohio brethren, let's get started now in supporting Ken Blackwell's campaign for governor. See this link:
https://www.rapiddonor.com/kenblackwell/Default.aspx?LKey=122804KBWSH
Excellent, thanks for the link.
I don't think the RINO's stand a chance against him. They tried to hurt him last summer and were nearly torn to pieces for it.
He's going to rise to the top whether they want him to or not.
If Ken Blackwell is the only conservative running for Governor, I am sure that he will win the GOP primary over any RINO and go on to win in November of 2006. But we just have to make sure that "moderate conservatives" such as Senator DeWine do not jump into the gubernatorial race and pull conservative votes away from Lt. Gov. Blackwell.
"For my Ohio brethren, let's get started now in supporting Ken Blackwell's campaign for governor. See this link:
https://www.rapiddonor.com/kenblackwell/Default.aspx?LKey=122804KBWSH "
Electing Ken Blackwell as the next governor of Ohio is not just in the best interest of Ohioans, it is in our national interest.
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Bingo! Thanks for your help. It's never too early to begin fighting our next political battles, is it?
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I must have read the article incorrectly. Seems to me, if I read it right, then we shouldn't let black republican reps retire. Isn't that a form of slavery?
5.56mm
If he in wins I hope he runs for President sometime in the future...
Who is expected to be the establishment choice for governor against Mr. Blackwell in the OH primary in May 2006? Establishment Republicans usually do very well in primaries in OH.
FYI: Blackwell is not the Lt. Gov. That position is held by another black republican.
I wonder if Blackwell could be denied the nomination the way the GA Republicans did in 2004 to Herman Cain?
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