Comments by "freein2339" (@freein2339) on "Roland S. Martin"
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republicans "uncle tom who better get back on time for plantation roll call"
The environment inside the Republican Party today is a treacherous moral
swamp for African-Americans. No black conservative figure has yet
managed to remain in a position of influence inside the GOP while
speaking honestly about racial questions.When an NAACP chairman derided
Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott recently as a "ventriloquist's
dummy" he touched a deep nerve. Going all the way back to
Reconstruction, black conservatives have fought to justify their emphasis
on economic progress against those who sought more direct resistance to
injustice.That is a fine line to walk and it has never been easy. When
black leaders allow themselves be used as tokens, they will deserve the
suspicion they retain in the black community no matter what other
sincere goals or opinions they may hold. This is an unfair dilemma that
white political figures seldom face, but history has made it
unavoidable.Black leaders cannot expect to be taken seriously so long as
they quietly acquiesce to rhetoric and policies openly hostile to
minority communities. For black conservatives, the price of credibility
is courage.Standing in front of a white audience and validating their
racist assumptions is a fast track to popularity and political
opportunity. Few things thrill a white nationalist more than a black man
who agrees with him. Every racist has ‘lots of black friends’ and
being one of those black friends offers benefits.With the GP in thrall
to an ugly Neo-Confederate resurgence the 2012 Republican Convention
featured its lowest percentage of black delegates in modern history.
Interestingly, while there were only 46 black delegates, the convention
featured eight minority speakers on the main stage alone. Being a black
Republican willing to toe the line without question is an outstanding
way to gain access to a platform.It is entirely reasonable to expect
that Sen. Scott’s position as a Senator was paid for by his willingness
to be used. He has done nothing yet in his career that would be
inconsistent with that characterization. Recite the party’s talking
points and he gets to be a Senator. Acknowledge the existence of racism
in any credible matter and he will be escorted to the exit, where he
will be greeted by Colin Powell and Michael Steele.One of the GOP’s
other black friends, former Rep. Allen West, learned that lesson the
hard way when he accidentally said something positive about Trayvon
Martin case. He quickly backed down, explained that Martin had it coming
because he wasn’t a “respectful young man.” West recognized the value
of being a “respectful young man” in the GOP and now he has a nice gig
with Fox News.This dilemma complicates the appeal of black
conservatives, making it extremely difficult to communicate a credible,
persuasive message without losing access to the political process. To
speak honestly about race means being ostracized from the Republican
Party. To speak honestly about the role of values and culture in the
plight of the black community means being ostracized from the Democratic
Party. Black conservatives can accept a humiliatingly subservient role
in a Republican Party that wants them to perform like circus animals or
sit outside the process, alienated and disempowered.Not everyone in the
black community sees this dilemma. In particular, many black religious
fundamentalists do not perceive this problem at all. It is from their
ranks that figures like Tim Scott and former Rep. Allen West have
emerged. If you believe in a 6000-year-old universe it isn’t so hard to
believe that Obama is a Socialist Anti-Christ or that he cheered the
attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi.Black religious
fundamentalists feel comfortable walking shoulder to shoulder with Tea
Party activists bent on destroying minority voting rights and ending
“income redistribution” to black urban moochers in hoodies. They are
marching with the far-right far-white in pursuit of higher, apocalyptic
goals. If gay marriage is the single greatest threat to civilization
then perhaps an alignment with the GOP’s farthest ideological fringe
makes sense.For non-white conservatives with their feet planted firmly
in the reality-based community the rhetoric being spewed by Republicans
in recent years is more than a little frightening. Some hard-right black
evangelicals may have made peace with the Tea Party, but their numbers
are very small. That’s why most if not all of the African-Americans at
your local Tea Party rally will be speaking onstage.Whether he likes it
or not, Sen. Scott is becoming a national mascot for the efforts of Tea
Party Republicans to whitewash the movement’s glaring racism. The
dilemma he faces may be unique to black political figures, but as the
Republican Party becomes more and more an enigma for white
nationalism that burden spreads more broadly to all conservatives,
regardless of race.The same credibility problem faced by black
conservatives is becoming a dangerous threat to conservatism at large.
If Sen. Scott is a token set up to distract us all from the GOP’s
racism, then what is Karl Rove? At what point should all conservatives
face the same duty to speak about racism that we justly place on Sen.
Scott’s shoulders?If conservatism is going to survive, conservatives
should all take a close look at the dilemma faced by Sen. Scott. The
movement badly needs an update to avoid atrophying into a tool of racial
and political anachronisms. Conservatism will not survive if it fails
to represent something more compelling than the stubborn preservation of
white cultural supremacy. A handful of well-placed black friends may
obscure the party’s problems, but they are not going to save
conservatism from itself........
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Hispanic republicans are tired of GOP racism....
Former state Rep. Aaron Peña, chairman of the Hispanic Republican Conference of Texas
“As conservatives grounded in principles of decency and respect for all people, it is our responsibility to openly denounce demeaning statements,” he wrote in a letter to the editor published in the San Antonio Express-News.
“Our state is changing in many ways, demographically and otherwise,” Peña added. “If we are to move forward cohesively and productively as the great state we are, we must put these ugly vestiges of our past behind us.”
What upsets him most is that — though no political party has a monopoly on racism — most bigoted comments are from Republicans or conservatives, Peña told me. And Iowa’s U.S. Rep. Steve King epitomizes the party’s problems reaching out to Hispanics.
The Republican lawmaker told an interviewer for every undocumented immigrant who becomes a high school valedictorian there are 100 “re-hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”
Over the years, King has also compared immigrants to dogs and proposed an electrified fence along the border with Mexico.
Back in Texas, Dallas tea party leader Ken Emanuelson said recently Republicans don’t want blacks to vote because they overwhelmingly support Democrats.
“Our party doesn’t need those people and we should denounce them as strongly as we can when they make or post those ugly comments,” Peña said.
Other Hispanic Republicans share his frustration.
“The problem is that those at the top, the leaders, don’t know how to deal with these people (the bigots),” said former Rep. Raul Torres of Corpus Christi.
“They have failed us miserably, hoping the problem will go away.” Torres said of GOP leaders who say little or nothing when a racist remark triggers a public uproar. “The frustration Aaron expressed is what many of us feel when we read or hear those ugly comments,”
For Peña, Torres and other Hispanic Republicans the party must be more proactive not only in denouncing racist comments but reaching out to minorities.
Their biggest concern is what happened to Republicans in last year’s presidential election could happen in Texas as early as 2018. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney received only 29 percent of the Hispanic vote, a poor showing largely attributed to his controversial proposal for self-deportation of illegal immigrants and the secretly videotaped “47 percent” comments.
Due to rapidly changing demographics, Hispanics are projected to become the majority group in Texas as early as the next decade and if they keep voting mostly Democratic, the GOP will be the minority party again, just like it was for 135 years, experts predict.
This is why Peña, Torres and others are sounding off the alarm and it is a question I intend to ask again to Republican Party of Texas chairman Steve Munisteri for a future column.
Earlier this year Munisteri told me, “there is no debate that we need to reach out to Latinos.”
But Peña, Torres and other Hispanic Republicans wonder if their party is trying hard enough.
------------
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his autobiography:
"The Republican Party geared its appeal and program to racism, reaction, and extremism."
That was his description of the 1964 Republican National Convention. He also referred to the Republican convention as "the frenzied wedding at the Cow Palace of the KKK with the radical right."
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