black…MYstory

You know, it’s funny, one of my early criticisms of President Obama is not that he’s not more inclusive of Republican views.  Actually, I don’t like that he’s be so inclusive of their views.  In particular, I think that on the issue of the economy, Republicans are a one-trick pony.  Their answer to everything is to cut taxes.  To paraphrase the noted American psychologist Abraham Maslow, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

So, when I see top Republicans whining that, by not kissing up to them, Obama is off to a bad start, I have to laugh.

Obama has wined, dined and met with Republicans all throughout the process of trying to get support for the stimulus package.  He included those infamous tax when drafting the framwork for the bill.

But, this is, apparently, not enough for House and Senate Republicans.  I liken it to the spoiled kid, used to getting his/her way, who is now out on their own and learns that the real world doesn’t work in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed.

As I see it, it’s just more political posturing from the right.  They’re still stinging from the November elections, which were, in no small part, a referendum on Republian policies.  Now, they want their “spot” back and are willing to take down the economy to get it.

Well, let’s hope that 2010 brings a better economy and even fewer Republicans in office.

Popularity: 12% [?]

First of all, let me give credit where credit is due.  Congratulations to Michael Steel on becoming the first African-American to be elected chairman of the Republican National Committee.  I have my issues with Steele but, as I have said, he is far more reasonable than many in his party’s leadership.  In fact, he has already signaled that the Republican party should reach out to their pro-choice and gay supporters.  And, often, he has criticized his own party for its inability to appeal to non-white Americans.

However, Steele faces some uphill battles, not the least of which is that he, himself, is still stuck in the notions of the past when it comes to his party’s views on policy and social issues.  You see, you can’t have it both ways.  If you want to attract people that look and live differently than most of your membership, that means that your platform will have to be more inclusive.  You can’t say, “come on in but, get in the back of the line.” You have to make sure that those constituencies that you  want to attract have a say in what the party’s platform will be, as well.

Another thing that he has to deal with is the fact that some in his own party don’t like the notion of a black head of the RNC.  A more extreme example is the rabid racist David Duke, who reacted to Steele’s election by labeling him a “Black racist, affirmative action advocate” and declared “We will either take the Republican Party back over the next four years or we will say, “To Hell With the Republican Party!”

Granted, Duke is an extreme example but, his rant does point out the dichotomy that exists within the Republican party.  Steele’s election signals a desire for a more moderate for of Republicanism but the idealogues and zealots that have been the standard-bearers of the party for the last several years are not going away quietly.  Soon, we shall see what a Steele chairmanship will bring.  Will it be a new era or will it be the same soup reheated?

Popularity: 8% [?]

A few days ago, Colin Powell sat down with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria and was very blunt about the state of the Republican Party.  He spoke about how people like Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh are not the best people to have out front speaking for the party as they do very little to move it forward and, in the case of Palin, actually cost it political clout through the use of divisiveness as a political tool.

But, there was one part that really caught my attention and that I hope the Republican party heeds — America will soon not be a “white” country (emphasis mine).  In other words, people of color will soon constitute a majority of Americans and any party not wishing to fall into irrelevance will want to learn how to appeal to those voters.  In fact, Powell says that, if in 20 years the Republican party doesn’t get this right, it could sink into obscurity.

After his complicity in the crimes of BushCo., I’m not cutting him much slack but, on this, I heartily agree.

Video below:

Popularity: 16% [?]

“Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye”

-Matthew 7:5

What we have seen from Republicans since their losing streak began in 2006 is a desire to be a party that opposes everything the other side proposes without bringing any ideas of their own to the table. In part, I believe that this is why they lost as badly as they did in this past election — the American people are facing real problems but, when pressed, Republicans wanted to speak in abstract terms about free markets, family values, cutting earmarks and fears of gun-control.  That just doesn’t cut it when people are worried about keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads.

In the wake of their recent losses, for the most part, Republicans are chanting a mantra that says that they lost because they “abandoned their core principles” — again talking in slogans and in the abstract.  However, a few in their ranks are offering up some of the straight talk that was so lacking in the McCain campaign.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, in an appearance on Face The Nation, made it clear why he thought Republicans are losing out with the American people:

“As Republicans, we need to do three things to get back on track,” he said on CBS’ Face The Nation. “Number one, we have got to stop defending the kind of spending and out-of-control spending that we would never tolerate in the other side. You know, when voters tell us that they trust Democrats more to cut their taxes [and] control spending, that tells you something is wrong with the Republican Party. We’ve got to match our actions with our rhetoric.

“Number two, we’ve got to stop defending the kinds of corruption we would rightfully criticize in the other party. The week before the election, our most senior senator is convicted on federal charges - and that’s only the latest example.

“Number three, we have got to be the party that offers real solutions to the problems that American voters, American families are worried about. We don’t need to abandon our conservative principles; we can’t just be the ‘party of no.’ We need to offer real solutions on making health care more affordable, on the economic challenges facing families, on the international threats.”

Boil it down and it reads: stop being hypocritical and start becoming a party focused on finding solutions to the problems that affect everyday people.

In a changing country (despite what many in Jindal’s party want to believe), you have two choice: adapt to change or risk extinction.  We’ll have to see which path Republicans will choose.  Honestly, I want to be in a country where we argue about the best approach to fix a problem instead of who can be labeled America-haters, socialist, terrorist sympathizers, Nazis, etc.  So, if beliefs like the ones expressed by Jindal above win out, we may one day see such debates.  We can only hope.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Honestly, Michael Steele and I are, politically speaking, likely to be polar opposites.  However, he is a Republican figure who is not likely to tread too often in wingnut territory.  Also, while conservative, he doesn’t come off as sounding like he doesn’t live in the real world.  Being a politician from Maryland, he would have likely not made it had he come across any other way.

It has been a week since we elected the first black man as United States President and, now, the GOP has the opportunity to make a black man a first in Republican ranks — the first black chairman of the Republican National Committee.  It appears that Steele will be throwing his hat in the ring to be considered for the post.  A few years back, the minority barrier for this post was broken when Mel Martinez, a Cuban-American senator from Florida served as co-chair.

Steele’s potential candidacy comes at a time when a spotlight has been shone on the GOP and it is being seen for what it truly is — a party that is overwhelmingly white and male.  If it is to survive, it better learn how to attract more than this demographic.  Steele feels that he would possess the qualifications the infuse new blood into the party.  Lord knows they need it!

Would Steele attract me?  Not likely.  But, perhaps if he can get in to help guide the party in a direction that broadens their appeal, more power to him because, to be real, when people are concerned with food, clothing and shelter, the whole “guns, God and gays” platform falls a little flat.

So, we’ll see if the GOP is willing to give a shot to one of its most loyal stalwarts.  If not, we’ll likely know that, once again, the Republican party is not looking to expand its reach.

Popularity: 19% [?]

I’m not going to lie.  Up until yesterday, I don’t think I’d ever heard of the paper the Stockton Record.  However, I do recognize when something is of historical significance.  This is a paper that has not endorsed a Democrat for President since 1936.  Well, on September 28, 2008, that streak ended.

That is because the California paper has endorsed Barack Obama for President.

It is an endorsement that is stated without hesitation or trepidation.  It cites that, while they may feel that Barack Obama does not have a total mastery of all issues (i.e. the economy), he does know that having the right people in place to actually have real oversight and accountability for the markets and industries they are tasked to keep in line is vital.

Furthermore, the paper cites that Obama clearly bests McCain in another area of importance: judgment.

Just read what they say:

“He (McCain) tends to shoot from the hip and go on gut instinct. The nation cannot go through four more years of literally and figuratively shooting now and asking questions later.

My guess is that is safe to regard the Record as a pretty conservative paper.  If they are willing to endorse Obama over McCain, what does that really say about how presidential many think McCain really is?

Popularity: 12% [?]

The last time we were voting on a president, the Republican attack machine was running full-steam, fueled by loads of cash.

Fast-forward to 2008 and it appears that the money for these groups is beginning to dry up.

While far from broke, funding for these groups pales to 2004.  While having more money than they did at this point in 2004, these groups are still $50 million dollars behind the Democratic-leaning 527 groups.  Furthermore, the big money donors and groups seem to be either sitting this one out or moving their focuses away from the presidential race.

The reasons for this decline vary.  Some fear reprisal from the Federal Election Commission, which said that the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth went too far in 2004 so, it will be scrutinizing 527’s more heavily.  Other contributors fear that their actions could damage their standing with business clients.  Yet others are just not satisfied with McCain as a candidate, particularly when he has been so critical of 527’s in the past.

While we can’t count them out until the ballots have been cast, it does appear the the right-wing attack machine might be operating signifcantly under capacity.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Well, here we go.

It looks like the right is trying to test the waters to see how far they can go with racial innuendo and attacks on Barack Obama.

The latest test balloon comes from conservative activist Grover Norquist.  In comments he gave to the Washington Times, Norquist described Barack Obama as “John Kerry with a tan” in attacking Obama’s economic policy.

It appears that the right wants to make sure, in case no one’s noticed, that Barack Obama is still black.

It just seems that the right can’t avoid the color reference.

Like I stated, I believe this is just a test balloon.  Should this be allowed to pass, we can expect much more overt racial attacks.

Popularity: 16% [?]

This one comes courtesy of Crooks and Liars and it’s a good one. It’s a clip from a C-Span appearance by Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas. Hensarling, like a lot of Republicans, is trying to blame America’s fiscal problems on the Democrats, despite the fact that they have held the presidency since 2001, had a majority of the House from 1994 through 2006 and had a Senate Majority from 2002 through 2006. That means for a good 4-year stretch, they had the legislative and executive branches of government on lock (some would argue that with their judicial appointment, they also controlled this branch). So, with them controlling the reins, you can’t blame others when things go off-track.

This is a compilation of the callers to the show that blasted him. Notice that these including some callers who identified themselves as Republicans.

The video is below:

 

 Hensarling on C-Span: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 11% [?]

Well, it looks like the GOP’s minority recruiting efforts have proven to be a miserable failure.

In a party that treats words like “diversity” like profanity and has made race-baiting an art (okay, I’ll admit Bill Clinton is pretty good at it, too), it’s no wonder that this is a problem for them.

So, as this November looms, this campaign season marks six years without the GOP running a single minority candidate for the House, Senate or a state governorship.

Now, in all fairness, the GOP can tout rising star Bobby Jindal, Governor of Lousiana and an Indian-American, as a strong minority political figure.

But, at this same time, the Democrats can talk about the dozens of Black and Latino House members, a Black Senator/Presidential candidate and three minority governors.

What this tells me is that, if I had political aspirations, I might stand a better shot in the Democratic party, though, to be fair, it has its own issues with race, too.

Nonetheless, the Republicans need to realize something that I continue to say about race in America — African Americans are not just white people in blackface. By extension, you can say that about any other people of color in this country. Republicans seem to believe that everyone must think and act like old, white men and are inflexible to the notion that the country, by and large, is not that way. It’s a simple notion — you evolve or your die.

Perhaps, one day, Republicans will get a clue and realize that if you want black candidates, which really means they want the black vote, they’ll have to make institutional changes in their party that really address the concerns of black voters.

Popularity: 11% [?]