Posted on 08/20/2003 4:15:48 AM PDT by ex-Texan
The Battle for the Black Vote in 2004
Political Commentary
By Kevin L. Martin
The general election of 2004 remains some 15 months away as I write this, and already presidential candidates on both sides are lining up to corral the black vote.
Black voters can take great pride in the fact that both parties are finally fighting for our votes, but it is the Democrat party that has the most to lose and the Republican party that could be a major beneficiary.
Black liberal Democrat activists Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond and Ron Waters have been howling up a storm over the recent outreach efforts by President Bush to black voters. Bush has taken the road less traveled and is taking his message past them in his effort to reach out to the black community.
For the 2nd year Bush has chose to address the more moderate Urban League's convention over the more radical NAACP. When the Democrat presidential candidates sought to rebut Mr. Bush at the convention, most of the candidates addressed a mostly empty auditorium. This should serve as an omen to the Democrat party; blacks feel that the Democrat party has taken them for granted for the last 35+ years.
Nowhere in the Democrat party do blacks hold any real leadership positions (other than ranking members, vice chairmanships and special committees). These positions only give black Democrats the illusion of leadership.
When Richard Gephardt stepped down in the wake of the Democrat's disastrous showing in the mid-term elections, Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) sought to lead the Democrats in the House
Ford found himself bullied and pushed out of the way by ultra-liberal Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) and her extremist backers. Mr. Ford found that some of his so-called friends later became his most rabid enemies in the battle to lead the Democrats. Congressional Black Caucus members stabbed him in the back, publicly disgraced him in stating that he was too much of a junior congressmen to lead the party in the house. Ron Waters openly stated that Ford was not liberal enough to lead the party in the house.
How did Ms. Pelosi repay the loyalty of the Congressional Black Caucus after she ascended to the top spot in the House? Appointing James Cylburn to a simply bootlick vice chairman position under the number 3 Democrat in the House.
The Democrat National Committee under the leadership of Chairman Terry McAuliffe has been no friend to blacks and black Democrat candidates either. Black candidates Ron Kirk and Carl McCall found that out when they received no money or support in their election bids in 2002. Under Chairman Terry McAuliffe's "Reign of Terror" everyone has become expendable for the right price, but blacks even more so. Black Democrat activists, lobbyist, and entry-level workers at party headquarters live in fear of the DNC's Anti-Affirmative Action Policy of "last hired, first fired." Simply put "when cash is tight at Party Headquarters and you are black, put your resume online quickly."
Mr. McAuliffe's chairmanship is as failed as it is tainted. One only needs to remember how the party's faithful were bullied into appointing him over the more qualified and moderate Maynard Jackson. Mr. McAuliffe's first move as chairman was to appoint Mr. Jackson to a purely token position within the DNC. Within a year's time Jackson had stepped down and basically went to his grave battling McAuliffe for the soul of the Democrat Party.
President Bush and his advisors seem to have gotten the message that past efforts of the Republican Party to reach out to black voters have been substandard at best and bad comedy at worst. The GOP's message has not reached those blacks it should have. It has lacked an authentic voice. It seemed that those in charge of outreach at the party's headquarters were more interested in personal enrichment and resume enhancements than bringing in new black voters.
Mr. Bush and Party Leaders need to replace those who headed the party's 2000 and 2002 minority voter outreach, since Republicans were not able increase their portion of the black vote. The only reason Republicans were able to retain control of the House and regain the Senate was due to discontent among minorities with the Democrat Party and its leadership. In other words, black voters stayed home.
The die has been cast for the 2004 general election, but I would caution both parties that blacks in America deserve respect. We will not stand by and have this election turned into a battle between panderers (Democrats) and panderers-lite (Republicans). Either respect us as people and fight for our votes or we will stay home again.
We deserve to be treated as individuals, as part of the American mosaic, and as patriots; not as an election year mistress or a mindless voting bloc for sale to the highest bidder
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Kevin L. Martin is an Advisor and Member of Project 21. He has served as the former Government and Political Affairs Director to the African American Republicans Leadership Council. He has appeared as a political commentator on FOX News. View a photo of Mr. Martin.
The Democrats sought to extend the number of slaves states prior to the Civil War.
The Democrats opposed the Civil War after it began.
The Democrats opposed Reconstruction of the South.
The Democrats imposed Poll taxes, Jim Crow laws and segregation.
The Dixiecrats came out of the Democratic party.
George "Segregation Forever" Wallace was a Democrat.
Democrat Robert Byrd was a member of the KKK.
Democrat President Harry Truman was a member of the KKK.
Affirmative Action institutionalizes judging people by the skin color. Democrats love it.
The list goes on and on. The Democrats have been hurting blacks for 150 years -- and they would like to continue to do so for 150 more.
Yes, and of course the Abortions which Democrats defend so strongly have disproportionately killed black babies, which has resulted in to them losing their place as the largest American minority group. So, once again the Democrats have harmed the Blacks (by killing them)-- and will now focus on policies for Hispanics, because that's where the numbers are.
You are speaking the truth from your heart with genuine power in your words.
I am a fan of yours Kevin. I enjoy seeing you on Fox and I enjoy your post here.
However, look at what you are saying. You want the political parties to show blacks more respect while saying that the Dems pander and the Republicans don't pay enough attention, or if they do they are not effective. You seem to ignore the support of people like Ward Connerly, Jesse Lee Peterson, Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, and many, many other blacks. If you need to be a part of the Republican Party effort then go for it. I am all for you.
In the meantime, if you want to do your part and take a message to the blacks, and you don't need the Republican Party to do it, tell them to stop chasing after fools gold like reparations, seeking an unfair leg up like affirmative action, avoiding the welfare trap and having babies they can't support, warn them about the degrading messages in rap music, show them the way the Democrats have played them for fools, how Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the NAACP guy with the weird African name, and many others are just shucking and jiving so they can live high off the false hopes of their bros, and to stop seeking government mandated respect. They bristle at the characterization of Step and Fetchit, but they allow the Democrats to treat them just that way. They are being dissed by the Dems and everyone knows it but them. The Dems are making fools of them. Tell them so!! Don't depend on the Republican Party to do it.
Ya think so? Well tell it to GWB, who lost about 5 states to Al's vote fraud machine, run by Donna Brazile, Dick Daly, and Ed Rendell. Since none of these bastards have actually dies since the last election, I fully expect more of same in 2004.
Notice that when the DOJ finally got off its duff and enforced voting laws in MD and MO, we actually honest-to-god won!
Slashdot | Diebold Voting Systems Grossly Insecure
from the vote-early-vote-often dept.
Several well-known security researchers have examined the code for Diebold's voting machines (which we last mentioned two weeks ago) and produced an extensive report (pdf). The NYT has a story on the report, which cuts to the bone: 'Our analysis shows that this voting system is far below even the most minimal security standards applicable in other contexts. We highlight several issues including unauthorized privilege escalation, incorrect use of cryptography, vulnerabilities to network threats, and poor software development processes. For example, common voters, without any insider privileges, can cast unlimited votes without being detected by any mechanisms within the voting terminal.'
If you had the money, what would you do? In asking this question, I am reminded of how the the influence of the other blacks mentioned in my previous post has been minimized. The left control the media. That is a fact and that is difficult to overcome. The Democrats drummed Trent Lott out of his power position, maybe not all that bad, but they keep Robert Byrd in his. They make a black icon out of Jesse Jackson but they bury ward Connerly with neglect.
You know the drill. How would you overcome it?
Stay home since you don't respect yourself. Every four years we get these articles from the black community suggesting that the democratic party better not ignore them or blacks might vote republican. What nonsense! Every one knows that, in the end, 9 out of black votes will go toward the democratic candidate.
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