The Year of the Black Republican
By Steve Thompson, Chairman of the Butte County Republican Party
A somewhat surprised New York Times recently reported that 32 black Americans are running for Congress this year, as Republicans. Both emboldened by the victory of Barrack Obama, and angered by his actions in office, more black republicans are throwing their hats in the ring for Congress than ever before. Even more to the surprise of the Times and other liberal media is the fact that a lot of Republicans, even TEA Partiers, are endorsing them.
What can I say? It’s always a shock to people when their preconceived notions and prejudices are shattered. Liberals in America had repeated the lie so often they started believing it themselves. So sure were they that the only reason anyone would oppose Barrack Obama was because of his skin color. It had nothing to do with him being the most left of center President the White House had ever seen. Nothing to do with tripling the national deficits in less than a year, and never mind hostile takeovers of General Motors or the health care industry. No, those who call themselves conservatives could only be motivated by racial hatred.
So why are so many new black candidates for Congress running as Republicans? Could it be that they don’t agree with the President? Priscilla Smith (pictured above), a black Republican running for an open seat in Arkansas said “Aside from the fact that I disagree fundamentally with all his views, I am proud of my nation for proving that we have the ability to do something like that.”
I’ve always found the left’s condescension on race to be transparently disingenuous. Democrats have received the black vote for decades but the condition of black people in America remains the same. Blacks are still disproportionately poor, pregnant, and in prison. Whenever a black person lifts themselves out of their situation and stands up for something different, like Clarence Thomas, they become targets of leftist hate because they’ve left their predetermined position and were no longer useful as societal victims.
It was a Republican President who ended slavery, and many congressional republicans who helped pass the Civil Rights Act. Since then it has been a bumpy road and I’ll admit that republicans have not always met the highest standards we could in matters of race. But our party has always offered minorities more than just government handouts and false empathy. We are the party that fights for the rights of all Americans to work hard and improve their lot in life, no matter where they started out. You will never ever get ahead on welfare, but you can with a job and today’s democrats are more about killing jobs for the environment than they are about helping people. Only Republicans are standing up for businesses and jobs. To me, conservatism, like business, is color blind. I have one set of ideals and beliefs that I will share with any American willing to stand by my side. I think this could be why so many new black republicans are taking a stand with us.
Like Priscilla Smith, I was proud of our nation when a black man was elected as President. I disagreed with all of his views, and I knew the results wouldn’t be good, but I felt a real sense of happiness for my black friends. To them, this was truly a historical moment and it didn’t matter whether Barrack Obama was a Democrat or a Republican.
Recently, the Butte County Republican Party hosted Damon Dunn, a black Republican running for California Secretary of State, at a gathering in Chico. He’s not running for Congress so he didn’t make the New York Times article, but here is a man with an incredible story of hope and inspiration. A man who started with absolutely nothing but achieved everything through hard work, faith, and a little God-given talent. The Republicans who gathered to listen to Dunn were mostly white (of course, so is Butte County) but they didn’t look at this man as a token candidate. This was a man who inspired them to not only believe in him, but to once again believe in their party. Perhaps sometimes it takes someone who looks different, but is so much like us inside, to remind us of the shared values we hold and why we took up the fight in the first place.
I think at long last it’s time to stop looking at candidates or anyone else for their skin color, and start judging people on their merits, their principles, and their actions. I’ll vote for a black conservative over a white liberal, just as I’d vote for a white conservative over a black liberal. Still, I’m proud to see so many black candidates standing up and running in the party I still love and believe in. Diversity in the ranks of our political leadership is something we should all be proud of.
Republican Corner is a weekly edition of Post Scripts. Thanks for reading and please do leave your comments!