Posted on 05/28/2003 9:54:14 PM PDT by LdSentinal
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Leading black Democrats in Congress and the national party are protesting the layoffs of 10 minority staffers at the party's headquarters.
The Democratic National Committee notified some committee members and lawmakers Wednesday that they were cutting the positions to save money and streamline operations in preparation for next year's presidential election.
"I'm just outraged," said Donna Brazile, who served as Al Gore's campaign manager in the last presidential election and is also the chairwoman of the DNC's Voting Rights Institute. "They started reading me the names and I said 'Oh, oh -- they're all black. I went through the roof."'
Brazile said the DNC is making the cuts as part of its goal to raise $10 million to $15 million to support the party's presidential nominee.
She proposed that the party cut payroll instead of laying off competent staffers.
DNC communications strategist Jim Mulhall said the committee has hired at least nine new minority staffers in the past month. The committee has more than 100 employees but did not have a count of the number of minority staffers Wednesday night.
"We are hiring professionals who have the experience to carry the battle against George Bush," Mulhall said. "It's about making the DNC the most effective political organization we can."
Several black Democratic leaders were trying to arrange a meeting with DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe to discuss the layoffs.
"I helped get Terry McAuliffe elected so I have a vested interest in making sure this party is whole and reflective of America," said DNC executive committee member Minyon Moore. "I must tell you that I'm a little bit stunned."
The news quickly spread to members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
"It's a time we need sensitivity because it's time to get ready for the next election," said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas.
Staff changes have been creating tension at the DNC as the party prepares to take on a popular incumbent president and nine candidates are battling for the Democratic nomination.
What crap. 'Rats always know exactly how many of each skin color they have in any group of more than one. Counting colors is what 'Rats are all about. Well, when they're not stealing other people's money, that is.
The Democratic party in this country has (as all conservatives already know) been taking the black vote for granted since sometime around the early Bronze Age. Wasn't there some fuss, just a few months ago, regarding Nancy "The Mummy Returns" Pelosi assuming her House leadership position by ruthlessly squashing some black congressguy who got in her way, or somesuch? (I may be completely misremembering the salient details, here. Feel free to correct me, if I'm in gross error here.)
Black voters have no one to blame but themselves for this unhappy status quo, ultimately. When a woman keeps going back and going back and going back to the man who beats her, knowing full well that he's likely to beat on her again, in the not-too-distant future... that's not assault any longer. That's masochism.
Which part, specifically, was it which seemed unclear to you? I'll be happy to restate it for easier understanding, if I can.
You make a good point. Blacks have been convinced by their self-appointed leaders that it is the Republicans who would "keep them on the back of the bus". But times are changing in this information age with the internet and Fox News. It also helps that Jesse Jackson has lost a great deal of his moral high ground and credibility with his infidelity. I don't think blacks objected to Jackson's blackmail of major corporations, having been convinced by Jackson, et al that it was their due, a form of pay-back for past wrongs. But the more they learn about his millionaire lifestyle and the child he fathered with his mistress, the more disillusioned some have become.
So there is hope that those who choose to educate themselves about political matters will eventually realize that the DemonRats are not their saviour, that welfare is the plantation that the DemonRats strive to keep them on to maintain their power.
WE SHALL OVERCOMMMMME WE SHALL OVERCOMMMMME, WE SHALL OVERCOMMMMMMMME SOMMMMMMMEDAY!
What sort of person is so race-focused that they immediately start thinking about the color of the person being discussed?
A racist.
I find this subject fascinating, because I'm part of a group which (up until just recently) was also a "given" constituency for the Dems: American Jews.
For a long, long time now, I've been virtually the only conservative in any gathering of Jews in which i found myself... but (and this is the good news, I think) I find that changing more and more, ever since 9/11, and GWB's principled defense of Israel. I don't think it's in any way impossible -- all things being equal; and barring any sudden surprises, between now and 11/04 -- for our party, at long last, to score as much as 40% (or more) of the Jewish vote, next time out.
(That may not seem like much, I know... but: considering how monlithic the Jewish vote has always been for the Dems in the past...)
Suddenly: states such as New York, and Illinois -- areas usually all but conceded to the Dems, electorally -- are "in play" again, if that happens. :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.