Politics and Race

As a black Conservative (When it comes to ideals, I am actually more Libertarian, but they as a party are still a huge political joke), I often find myself confronted with a familiar set of expectations and premises from white Liberals. It is not really surprising, Blacks are largely Democrat, and Democrats are the chosen party of people with Liberal Ideals. Taking a closer look at the premises involved, or even verbalizing them, makes it difficult for me to logically justify any American Negro siding with the Liberals, or the Democrats who represent them. I have yet to meet another who, accepting the premises as they are presented, can make that justification. In addition, I have yet to meet another who can reasonably offer another set of premises. Usually, I am quite satisfied to have them resort to insulting my “intelligence” without offering to fill me in on what information I am missing.

• While there may be other foundations in play, the most frequently encountered premises are as follows.
• Blacks are unable to operate as effectively as whites.
• Racism is the thing that "Holds Blacks back".
• Blacks are "Supposed" to be Democrats.
• Republicans do not care about Blacks.
• Republicans are more racist.
• Democrats are less racist.
• Democrats have the interests of Blacks.

·      My response to the most frequently encountered premises is as follows.

o    Blacks are unable to operate as effectively as whites. The best term I know for this is “the subtle racism of Liberalism” The basic idea is as follows. Blacks can’t get anywhere in America, so we need Liberals to “help us along”. As far as I know, this thinking originated with the New Deal, which also turned a lot of Black Republicans to Democrats. Prior to the new Deal, most blacks were associated with “The Party of Lincoln”, which is the Republican Party. The Republican Party was established apart from the Whigs over the issue of Slavery. Whigs and Democrats were Pro choice on Slavery. After the Great Depression, that line of thinking might not have been too far off the mark. Everyone needed help back then. To hold that same point of view now would require the assumption that Blacks are somehow less intelligent than whites, Asians, and Hispanics.

§      Racism is the thing that "Holds Blacks back". While I am not going to doubt the existence of Black/White Racism in America, I am also not going to give it a prominent place in my mind. This premise is listed under the “Blacks are unable to operate as effectively as whites.” Premise because I think that it is a derivative, or extension of that idea. While I would like to keep this post about the issue, and not about me as an individual, I think my anecdotal commentary can offer some insight. Growing up in Newark, NJ, I had exactly one white friend before I moved to Virginia. Newark NJ remains a “Chocolate City” despite the heavy influx of immigrants. Most of Newark’s immigrant population is Brown Skinned as well. Newark, NJ is also a Democrat city in a Democrat state. Newark, NJ has the nickname of being “The Armpit of America.” This is partially because of the position on the map. It is entirely true. You won’t find Newark, NJ on any of the “Best Places to live” lists, and if you were to cruise the streets asking the people of Newark where they would like to live, I suspect that very few of them would say “here”. My point here is that Newark is a failure as a city, and New Jersey is a failure as a state. With its close proximity to New York, one might think that Newark, NJ could be a highly desirable location. It could easily be the preferred suburb of the financial engine of the western world. Sadly, that is not the case. Now that I have spent enough time disparaging my hometown, I’ll take some time to examine the cause. As I stated earlier, Newark, NJ is a Democrat city in a Democrat state. New Orleans, LA is another Democrat city in a Democrat state. It is also predominantly a “Chocolate City”. Hurricane Katrina forced most of New Orleans occupants to evacuate, and the city’s biggest problem now is repopulation. A Racist might look at these two cities as examples of Black incompetence, but I look at them as examples of black loyalty and Democrat effectiveness. In either case, the city is impoverished, the population is Black, and the Politicians are Democrats. For the racists, the race of the population might be enough to explain the situation. For the Democrats, the promise of a brighter tomorrow is enough to maintain power. For me, the idea of a poor black Democrat living in a black, Democrat city in a Democrat state is enough to suggest that racism might not be the root cause of the problem. In either case, a Black resident could go for a long time without ever having to deal with a white person. Where does the racism come into play? A good logical possibility is the availability (or lack thereof) of mortgages to the area, and the high rate of rentals that come as a result. To take this into account, one must take into account the fact that economics play a valid role in the health and well being of a city, state, and country. In Louisiana, the State/Local taxes as a percentage of per capita income are 10.40%. The same is true with New Jersey. For Comparison, I live in Virginia, where it is 9.7%. As an aside, Virginia borders Washington DC, which is 12.20% and Newark, New Jersey borders New York, which is 12%. That means that as a Virginia resident or business owner, I have less incentive to shop or establish a business in Washington DC than the shoppers or business owners in Newark, NJ.

o    Blacks are "Supposed" to be Democrats. As a member of a “minority” group, I see the value in moving as a group to make the biggest blip on the nation’s political radar. As a thinking individual, I find it offensive that anyone would suggest that I should forego that which would benefit me (More conservative governance to benefit more productive citizens) in the interest of that which has been traditionally sold to “my Minority Group” (Democrats in power). I have very little tolerance for this particular topic, and even less for people who consider it a valid paradigm.

o    Republicans do not care about Blacks. This is one of my favorites. My Friend (He really is very intelligent) once suggested that because GWB wouldn’t want me marrying his daughter, he is thus a racist, and so is the entire Republican party. We had been pontificating all night long, and I really wanted more time to form a response, instead of going round for round. First of all, I am a registered Democrat. I am also a person who identifies more Conservative (Objectivist) ideals than I do with Liberal Ideals. I don’t want the politician who is going to tell me “I Favor your group because [fill in the blank], so I will do this for you if your group will elect me.” That, to me REEKS of coercion. I WILL, on the other hand, elect the politician who tells me “I have a model in mind. The model is as follows [fill in the blank]” If the model matches mine, we have a match, they have a vote. Democrats have done a great job of getting Black votes by making promises to blacks. They have also done a great job of not coming through. Why should we expect them to? Expecting a politician to come through on public promises of favorable treatment means expecting that politician to have no emissaries to the group. It also means the expectation of no overriding arrangements. If I were a politician, I wouldn’t bother with the group. The group means the expectation that the group will show up to hear what you have to say. I would work with emissaries. I would say to them, “if you will deliver to me the votes, I will deliver to you the benefits. They will get the promises.” Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would show up and stand by my side. If I need a larger crowd, they would exploit the most valuable premise. To a politician, the most valuable premise is the assertion that “where there are blacks, there also is racism”. They would pump the crowd and get them organized behind a cause. The cause, of course, is my election, or re-election. Actually, the election is the solution. The Problem is whatever they say it is. The cause is Racism. If this is not familiar to you, you should check out the Duke Lacrosse case. As the local paper put it, “the narrative was right, the facts were wrong”. Oddly enough, that sounds a lot like what Dan Rather said about the forging of documents for the “Bush National Guard” story.

o    Democrats are less racist. By now, I feel like I am just reiterating myself, so I will keep the last two brief. Democrats were pro Choice on Slavery. That same mentality manifests itself constantly in my life. Invariably, when I respond to a white Liberal’s Guerilla pontification with facts, references, or my own point of view, the attitude I get from them seems to say “How could you have left the plantation, we were so good to you”. The white Liberal thinks of the Negro not as a thinking individual, but as an individual unit of a collective group. They appear too confused to find out that we actually have the capability to form decisions based on personal experience and research. When they come to their senses, they begin to look for the corruptor. Surely, no single member of a hive mind could make the decision to go astray on their own, we would have to have been influenced. To do so. I won’t deny the presence of influence in my life, but I wonder who can say that they are who they are without influence? I think that Liberals will always have a tenancy to think of blacks, women, and gays as “voting blocks”, and not as individuals. I think that blacks, women, and gays will always have a tendency to vote Democrat, even doing so is detrimental to the individuals that make up the group. I think that the Liberal treatment of Clarence Thomas, Condoleezza Rice serves as a great testament to the racist nature of Liberals. In the mind of the Liberal Democrat, there is no nation outside of the party, and the Negro is property of the party, property of the plantation. To abandon the plantation is the highest form of treason, and no punishment is too great.

§      Democrats have the interests of Blacks. The condition of blacks in Democrat run cities in Democrat run states is the greatest testament to the contrary. During the Bush-Kerry election season, I had a “not Fonda Kerry” sticker ripped off of my car. It happened at the house of one of my wife’s “Arts and Croissants crowd” friends. I think it is safe to say that there were only two Conservatives there, and one Black. No one at the party could have had any mistaken opinion on whom the car belonged to. That, in my opinion, spoke volumes on Liberals think of blacks.