Jack & Jill Politics

Regardless of your party affiliation, this article by Sophia Nelson in the Washington Post is a good read. Peep the following:

But as a black Republican, I was chagrined that the political party I’ve belonged to for 20 years had just suffered a blistering electoral defeat. And that along the way, it had lost 96 percent of the black vote and 67 percent of the Hispanic vote — the worst showing for the Republican Party among minorities in its 150-year history.

After such a devastating loss, Republicans will have to do some retooling. We’ll have to decide whether we want to be the party that believes in smaller government, lower taxes and less regulation, or whether we’re going to be a litmus-test party that responds only to the demands of social conservatives. But most important, we’ll have to confront our most disastrous modern legacy: our poor relationship with black Americans, the very people the party was formed to protect from the expansion of slavery into Kansas and Nebraska in 1854.

That relationship may be lost for generations, thanks to a campaign by Sen. John McCain that seemed to simply concede the black vote. According to one senior aide, McCain had been polling close to 20 percent of the black vote before the primaries ended. But then his “Forgotten America” tour, which started soon after, never seemed to go anywhere. I knew of only one high-level black adviser or spokesperson on his full-time paid campaign staff. The GOP convention was embarrassingly devoid of people of color — among more than 2,000 delegates, only 36 were black.

From the small amount of the RNC Convention I could actually stomach, the GOP leaders seemed to be really PROUD of the fact that so miniscule ethnic representation were actually at the Convention as delegates – as opposed to being there to cook, serve and clean up the joint when the parties were over.

Sounds like former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele decided to go “street” in giving his opinion:

The problem, former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele told the Washington Times last week, is that party officials “don’t give a damn.” To them, he said, “outreach means let’s throw a cocktail party, find some black folks and Hispanics and women, wrap our arms around them — ‘See, look at us.’ And then we go back to the same old, same old.”

I enjoyed reading this article, but I have to offer my take on this.  The article mentioned NOTHING about African-Americans building their own table if the GOP won’t allow them to sit at theirs.  In all honesty, I’m not allowing the Democrats to get off the hook on this, either – but the Democrats do allow US at the table more often than not.

“We have to do some retooling?”  WE? W-T-H? Sounds to me like your not-so-ethnic brethren need to do the re-tooling. Y’all sounding like Malcolm X derided when the Master’s sick, you say “We’s sick.” You guys continue to show up and hope things will get better, but they won’t get better until your party leaders admit you guys have done the grunt work, and it’s THEIR TURN to get off their ass and do the heavy lifting of inclusion – and I mean REAL INCLUSION in the party.

Yeah, yeah – I KNOW; the Democrats aren’t that much better.  But occasionally, we’re allowed at the table, and we’ve actually elected a Black Guy as POTUS; so we at least get to piss inside the Big Tent instead of being told to “stand outside and we’ll bring you what’s left.”

Black Republicans have another place to go, even if it’s not crossing party lines and becoming Democrats.  You can find common ground with those of us who believe the Democrats aren’t getting the job done, either. And when you come to talk to us in the community, one thing that helps you – don’t repeat the ReThug talking points – especially if you don’t AGREE WITH THEM.  I’ve encountered some of you who have done that and it’s a flat turn-off.

I’d really like to know why you stay with a party that continues to tell you, TO YOUR FACE, that you’re not one of them; you never will be and keep coming to the party so we can continue to openly disrespect you like ol’ loyal hound dogs.

Sophia Nelson was right – It’s NOT YOUR PARTY and you get to cry if you want to.