Stephanie
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I'm speechless.....This is from The Nation..
BLOG | Posted 09/08/2006 @ 2:17pm
GOP Loves Black People?
Adam Howard
Has the Republican Party suddenly caught a case of jungle fever? This year Republicans will most likely run three African-Americans in statewide elections: Kenneth Blackwell (for governor in Ohio), former NFL star Lynn Swann (for governor in Pennsylvania) and Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, who is seen as the frontrunner for the Republican Senate nomination there.
In a country where there is currently only one African-American Senator (Illinois' Barack Obama) and only one African-American has ever been elected governor of a state (Virginia's Doug Wilder) this seems like a risk for the GOP and its standard-bearers.
Perhaps President Bush was being sincere in one of his more candid speeches to the NAACP this summer, when he spoke about his party's need to embrace black voters and black issues. But some pundits have suggested that the recruiting of these candidates is a desperate attempt to siphon off black votes from Democratic candidates in swing states.
While race is supposed to be an integral part of these candidates' appeal, their campaign policies are antagonistic to significant portions of the black community who tend to be fiscally and socially liberal. Swann, a total novice when it comes to politics, has made tort reform, the reduction of food stamps and welfare reform cornerstones of his campaign. Steele, who won a major speaking spot at the last Republican convention, recently refused to rebuke Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich's appearance at an all-white golf club. "I don't know much about the club, the membership," said Steele, "nor do I care, quite frankly, because I don't play golf."
The most notorious of the three is Blackwell, who allegedly carries a Bible with him to all his campaign stops. Blackwell opposes abortion even when the mother's life is in jeopardy and supports a Constitutional amendment to limit government. However, the most egregious of his offenses was his role in disenfranchising thousands of voters, many of them black, during the 2004 election as Chief Elections Official in Ohio, while simultaneously serving as co-chair of the Committee to re-elect George W. Bush.
African-American progressives have reason to celebrate the rise of minorities in modern politics, but they should be skeptical about supporting these three stooges.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&pid=119422
BLOG | Posted 09/08/2006 @ 2:17pm
GOP Loves Black People?
Adam Howard
Has the Republican Party suddenly caught a case of jungle fever? This year Republicans will most likely run three African-Americans in statewide elections: Kenneth Blackwell (for governor in Ohio), former NFL star Lynn Swann (for governor in Pennsylvania) and Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, who is seen as the frontrunner for the Republican Senate nomination there.
In a country where there is currently only one African-American Senator (Illinois' Barack Obama) and only one African-American has ever been elected governor of a state (Virginia's Doug Wilder) this seems like a risk for the GOP and its standard-bearers.
Perhaps President Bush was being sincere in one of his more candid speeches to the NAACP this summer, when he spoke about his party's need to embrace black voters and black issues. But some pundits have suggested that the recruiting of these candidates is a desperate attempt to siphon off black votes from Democratic candidates in swing states.
While race is supposed to be an integral part of these candidates' appeal, their campaign policies are antagonistic to significant portions of the black community who tend to be fiscally and socially liberal. Swann, a total novice when it comes to politics, has made tort reform, the reduction of food stamps and welfare reform cornerstones of his campaign. Steele, who won a major speaking spot at the last Republican convention, recently refused to rebuke Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich's appearance at an all-white golf club. "I don't know much about the club, the membership," said Steele, "nor do I care, quite frankly, because I don't play golf."
The most notorious of the three is Blackwell, who allegedly carries a Bible with him to all his campaign stops. Blackwell opposes abortion even when the mother's life is in jeopardy and supports a Constitutional amendment to limit government. However, the most egregious of his offenses was his role in disenfranchising thousands of voters, many of them black, during the 2004 election as Chief Elections Official in Ohio, while simultaneously serving as co-chair of the Committee to re-elect George W. Bush.
African-American progressives have reason to celebrate the rise of minorities in modern politics, but they should be skeptical about supporting these three stooges.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&pid=119422