Saturday, March 14, 2015

The Watcher's Question -- How Would You Improve Race Relations In America?

Each week the Watcher's Council holds a forum. This week's topic is "how would you improve race relations in America." Having been invited to respond, here is the extended version of my answer. A shorter version will appear at the Watcher's forum.

Update: The Forum has now been posted. There are several very good answers to the question. Do pay the forum a visit.

There will always be some degree of tribalism, it being human nature. But racism today is largely absent from this country. Those who harbor "racist" views are relegated to the very fringes of society. Virtually all Americans of whatever color or political persuasion would like to see nothing more than blacks fully embracing the opportunities life in this nation offers, and enjoying the fruits of their efforts equally with all others. So why are race relations problematic today, and why, by all metrics, are black Americans worse off than others? It can all be summed up in one picture:



This picture is from one of Rev. Al's protests a few years ago. The sign the woman is holding up says everything. Racism is no longer a real issue in society, but the left must maintain the canard that it is. Blacks must be made to see themselves as permanent victims of racism and as being championed by the race hustlers of the left. Moreover, it's important to note the poor grammar used on the sign. It screams out that the woman who wrote it has been failed by whatever schools she attended, thus limiting her opportunities to thrive in America.

So with that in mind, the first thing to understand about race relations is that the left are invested in seeing that the "racial divide" remains as wide as possible. This is political, as it has been since the early 60's, when the marxist "new left" -- our modern left -- made common cause with the heirs of Martin Luther King's civil rights movement. They morphed that movement from an effort to build a color blind society with equality of opportunity for all into a color centric, unified block of people who are fed daily a tautology that they are, and will ever be, permanently victimized by white conservatives. Actual history of support for blacks and civil rights was ignored or rewritten, and it was done so effectively that, to this day, blacks vote 90% as a block for Democrats. If the modern left ever loses even a portion of that block of support, it would be catastrophic. While quite literally everyone I know on the right would like to heal the "racial divide," for the left, their very political survival depends on using it to "divide and conquer."

Thus do you have Rep. John Lewis claiming that any effort to insure the integrity of the vote, something that should be of greater importance to blacks than any other racial group, is actually an effort to deprive blacks of their right to vote. Thus do you have a man at the pinnacle of academia, Harvard Prof. Henry Gates, and other black intellectuals teaching their students about critical race theory, color blind racism, white privilege, and to believe that black slavery was an unpardonable sin such that, irrespective of today's reality, they should keep their two hundred year old racial grievances alive until all blacks are paid reparations. Thus do you have the Department of Justice using disparate impact theory to claim that racism is rampant, despite the fact that they can find no actual incidents of racism in any individual instance. For the modern left, it is critical to keep blacks beliving that all of America today is nothing more than 1954 Selma, Alabama writ large.

The second thing to understand is that blacks have paid a heavy price indeed for their Faustian bargain with the left. By virtually every metric, while the lives of blacks have improved, and while many black individuals have been able to embrace the opportunities this country has to offer, a very substantial portion of blacks have not. It is obscene that, in America, some 25% of blacks live in poverty. It is obscene that, where in 1965, less than 30% of black children were born into a single parent family, that number is now over 70%. It is obscene that that 30 to 40 percent of inner city kids don’t graduate from school, and a very substantial number who do graduate are functionally illiterate. It is obscene that blacks are seven times more likely to commit violent crime than other races. And it is obscene that these problems are cyclical. Nothing the left has done for blacks has broken this cycle, and it all portends to get much worse as cities, where large numbers of blacks congregate and many of whom take public sector jobs, fall into bankruptcy and economic chaos from the failure of the blue political / economic model.

The third thing to understand is that the left takes blacks for granted. In the pantheon of left wing victim groups, perhaps no group gets more attention and ink, but falls lower on the scale of importance. No two things would perhaps benefit the black lower and middle class than good entry level jobs and better education. But those needs run up against the reality that unions, and especially teachers unions, are the financial foundation of the left. Thus did you have Obama, almost in his first days as President, end the school voucher program in the nation's worst performing school district. Thus do you have the D.C. city council voting to, in essence, keep Walmart from opening stores in their district. And thus do you have Obama on the cusp of legalizing millions of Central and South American illegal aliens -- nearly all of whom will be competing for jobs with the black lower and middle class -- in order to gain Decomcrat voters. When it comes to blacks, the left feels no need to balance their needs against those of leftwing economic interests because they have the only thing they need from blacks -- their votes -- already locked up.

The fourth thing to understand is the race card. The race card has been incredibly powerful tool, and the left has not hesitated to use it whenever possible since the 1960's. It has been used to silence all debate and end careers. It serves the triparte purpose of mining white guilt, keeping the focus off of the real problems in the black community, and keeping blacks focused on nursing historical racial grievances. How many blacks today see imaginary racism as their greatest threat? And when was the last time conservatives made an actual, concerted push to reach out to blacks? The answer to that last question is never. The RNC at the national level spends next to nothing on reaching out, having written off the black vote since 1964.

So, how to improve race relations? The answer in today's post-racial America starts and ends with politics. Conservatives must convince blacks that they have their best interests at heart -- that we see them as equal members in the melting pot. Conservatives must also convince blacks that the solutions we propose will, in the long term, work to their advantage. When conservatives call for the end to teacher's unions, no single group of people would benefit more from that then blacks. When conservative call for an end to, or at least a lowering of, the minimum wage, no single group of people would benefit more from that then blacks. When conservatives call for altering laws that decrease the stability of the family unit, no single group of people would benefit more from that then blacks. Conservative must make their case, both that they have black Americans interests firmly at heart, and that blacks have been sorely used by the left.

But to do that, conservatives have to break through a wall of lies and propaganda from the left, at the national level, but most importantly, at the local level. They need to appear at every black forum to make their case, from the NAACP to Howard University to the inner city schools and the local black churches, despite the fact that they will be buried under an avalanche of race cards. And they need to become vociferous in immediately responding to the race card whenever it is played. All of that requires determination, money, and conviction. Rand Paul has flirted with it, and my hat is off to him for at least making some efforts in this regard, but it needs to become a focus for conservatives and Republicans alike, at all levels. That and only that is how you will improve race relations in America.





17 comments:

Ex-Dissident said...

People who have a need to be offended will find something to be offended about. It would be nice if the people who scream about racism didn't have such a loud voice and others could focus on issues important to their lives without constant reminders of race relations.

Ex-Dissident said...

Sorry about repetition, but I think I can state my thoughts more clearly: the people whose mission in life is to find something to be offended at, should not have so prominent a voice. Others, who build things, invent things, create works of beauty - should be celebrated rather than those involved in the theater of grievance.

GW said...

Well said. To accomplish it, the people need to come to see the professional grievance mongers as lacking moral standing. I pray to God that I live to see that happen in this country.

Jeff said...

Moreover, it's important to note the poor grammer used on the sign.

I love how, while correcting someone's grammar, you spelled the word 'grammar' wrong. This one's going up on Facebook as yet another example of right wing idiocy...

Jeff said...

Yet more Teabonics....

http://www.liberalamerica.org/2014/04/15/the-teabonics-hall-of-fame-60-iconic-misspelled-protest-signs-photos/

GW said...

Ha. Thank you for catching the misspelling. And I appreciate the post to facebook. Now, care to comment on the substance of the post, or is your sheer joy in catching me in a misspelling the extent of your analytical abilities?

Jeff said...

So with that in mind, the first thing to understand about race relations is that the left are invested in seeing that the "racial divide" remains as wide as possible...quite literally everyone I know on the right would like to heal the "racial divide,"

You have obviously never seen the comments section at breitbart.com. A recent smattering:

Sharpton, Holder, Jackson and Obama are four that should have been the ones to take a bullet before either of these cops!
[…]
OK then, just have NO COPS and let the “Law of the Jungle” prevail. The Blacks are probably more accustomed to that anyway.
[…]
Disgusting display of wild animals on the loose. If they hate it here so much they should just LEAVE. Go join the psychotic m_slimes and live like the feral beasts they are. They don’t belong in civilized society.
[…]
It is time to start the race war…and it might as well be in Ferguson, MO. Maybe if the rioting black bastards (literally) saw 10,000 whites with weapons aimed at them, they would back down and go home…if not, stack their bodies like cord wood.
[…]
Shame on you for using that slur. The correct term is ‘Shitskin Americans’.
[…]
The ss would take care of this problem in no time.
[…]
Turn Ferguson into the Gaza Strip. Pull law enforcement out, fence them in, and let them kill each other.
[…]
It worked great, it was called Jim Crow and kept the Bantus in line and everyone was happier for it…including the Bantu.
[...]
All blacks need to be forced onto reservations, or sent back to Africa, their choice. They cannot be part of our society any longer, the experiment was a catastrophic failure.
[…]
All WHITE OFFICERS please leave town and let the planet of the APES take over the Police Force…….in one years there will not be a FERGUSON.


blacks vote 90% as a block for Democrats

I'm amazed it's that low considering the comments above.

Thus do you have Rep. John Lewis claiming that any effort to insure the integrity of the vote

Please. There are about two to three instances of voter fraud a year. The solution to this 'problem' is to institute a poll tax, cut voting hours, and restrict ID types (while NRA IDs are somehow accepted for some reason). You guys need to realize that this sanctimonious talk about 'voter integrity' is fooling literally no one beyond your own Fox bubble.

Thus do you have the Department of Justice using disparate impact theory to claim that racism is rampant, despite the fact that they can find no actual incidents of racism in any individual instance.

Ferguson has been stopping blacks at a higher percentage than whites, even though whites percentage-wise have the most contraband. Ferguson has been needlessly fining blacks to fund their city. A black man was arrested, beaten, and then charged with destruction of property for bleeding on their uniforms. You have obviously not read the Justice Department report if you can find no actual incidents of racism. Or maybe that last example is wish fulfillment for you.

Jeff said...

It is obscene that, in America, some 25% of blacks live in poverty. It is obscene that, where in 1965, less than 30% of black children were born into a single parent family, that number is now over 70%..

If I thought for a minute that you were seriously concerned about these issues, I'd address it. Go back to cutting taxes on the rich and eliminating the death tax for the whopping 0.00001% of our citizens who need it. Priorities, dear Republican.

How many blacks today see imaginary racism

Imaginary racism. Spoken like a true white man. We can stop there.

When conservatives call for the end to teacher's unions, no single group of people would benefit more from that then blacks.

I actually agree with that.

When conservative call for an end to, or at least a lowering of, the minimum wage, no single group of people would benefit more from that then blacks.


That's insane. Not to mention, economically absurd. Every state that has raised the minimum wage has seen their tax base increase and their deficits go down. Look to Kansas as a model of supply-side chicanery. They're now looking at a financial crisis. And they're getting their money back by soaking the poor (read: blacks).

When conservatives call for altering laws that decrease the stability of the family unit, no single group of people would benefit more from that then blacks.

I shudder to think what you mean by increasing the 'stability of the family unit'. Banning gay marriage? Outlawing abortion? A Trojan horse disguised as concern and sanctimony.

despite the fact that they will be buried under an avalanche of race cards

I have to ask: when did the republicans become such whiners? Watching rich people whine on Fox News has become a drinking game in many circles.

You'll never increase your popularity with blacks. They're just not as stupid as the monkeys that you think they are.

GW said...

Jeff, thank you for your comments. Before I address them, let me give you a bit of my background. I spent most of my life in the infantry, perhaps the most integrated institution in all of the United States. I honestly never saw racism, reverse racism, or the race card at any point in my life until I left the military. I have been horrified at what I see in the civilian world since. And since getting out of the military, a large part of my legal practice has been spent in discrimination law cases on behalf of minorities and, to a lesser extent, criminal defense of the same.

As to the comments on Breitbart, you're always going to find idiots on the fringe. If you think they represent the typical conservative, I take it you do not have many conservative friends. Trust me, I can find a lot of insane comments from the left crucifying - figuratively - many on the right for this, that or the other. I do have enough liberal friends that I know the mouth breathers I could quote don't represent even a significant minority of the left.

Actually, I can't think of anything that should be more sacrosanct than the vote. If any such laws would operate to suppress minority votes, I can assure you, I'd be among the first in line to stand against them. That's not the case, however.

And I believe that your proposition, that voter fraud doesn't matter, nor that its widespread, is false. John Fund and Hans Van Spakovsky have a recent book out on the topic with numerous examples: Who's Counting?: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk. I would recommend it. If you don't want to read that, you could google the decision by the Supreme Court's then most liberal Justice, Justice Stevens, in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board.

Actually, I've read the Justice Department Report in detail. I'll repeat what I said above, statistics alone do not prove racism. They may point to a problem -- and lord knows, there were problems in Ferguson -- but to then label them racism without any single incident showing discrete racial animus is simply wrong.

I saw the incidents that you have mentioned from the report. I take it you have never been a police officer or been on any sort of ride alongs. Police can be the world's biggest assholes -- and I can tell you that from both sides of the situation. I remember one ride along with a black officer that I was on a few years ago, I saw two Constitutional violations within three hours. There was no racial animus to it that I could see. It was typical policing by cops -- a hard job that always walks a line and one that, if the police are not well led, they will stray across wholly irrespective of race.

As to the use of the Ferguson PD to fund the city, look around. That is one of the biggest problems with virtually every police force / judicial system in this country and has been for half a century. If it hasn't popped up on your radar, start reading more conservative blogs.

GW said...

All of your arguments in your second to last comment were quite legitimate. I'm happy to address them and argue them with you. Hopefully, we'll both get something out of it.

But then in your second comment, you immediately break into a typical prog. Can't argue with an asshole who tries to duck arguments by accusing me of being insincere, and then says "We can stop there."

Are you seriously going to argue that racism is even close to being the most serious problem facing minorities today? Try addressing the facts you ducked. I can assure you, Jeff, I would like nothing more than to see those cycles I mention broken.

I am glad we can agree about the teacher's unions. As to the minimum wage, I pretty much look to the black economist, Thomas Sowell, as the foremost advocate of free market economics, for my cues there. Can I make a suggestion. Perhaps the single best book on economics is his book, Basic Economics 101. If you buy that and read it with an open mind, perhaps your perspective might change. And if not, you'll benefit from fully understanding the arguments that you oppose. Sowell started out his adulthood as a communist, by the way.

My comment on the family unit was too vague. I'll give you two examples. One, for a long time, and still today there are a few laws on the books, that penalize married couples on taxes and costs. Those that remain need to go. Two, the left has insinuated themselves into decisions that heretofore required parental approval, such as for birth control, abortions and abortifacients. In many cases, the state has stepped in to allow minors access to these drugs and procedures without parental notification. That takes the parent out of the loop, and they shouldn't be. Even if you would believe that traditional morality should play no role, there are still issues of emotional trauma and the real physical threats from unprotected sex that children or young adults do not appreciate. The state has no business getting between parent and child on those issues.

As to gay marriage, how I feel about that is really neither here nor there. It should be an issue for individual states to decide, short of an Amendment to the Constitution. It is a social issue, and until fifty years ago, social issues were not decided by our courts. The Constitution is silent on the issue, and at the time the Equal Protection clause was passed, homosexuality was a crime in virtually every state. I have no problems if the majority of people want to change that. I have a huge problem with doing it through the Courts or merely reinterpreting the Constitution to mean whatever five unelected Judges feel like they want it to read today.

Now, please tell me, where in any of my arguments have I whined. And where in any of the above have I suggested that blacks are either monkeys or deserving of anything less than full, fair and equal treatment? You have no idea how offensive I find your final charge, that I think of blacks as monkeys.

Lastly, I live, work and play in an integrated world. I raised two children, a son and a daughter. My daughter is half black and half asian. Really, you should at least attempt to ask questions and find out the perspective of the person your talking to before you go full frontal asshole in the degree of sarcasm you display in your second post.

GW said...

One last comment because, rereading my actual post, I did not fully articulate the argument. The disparite impact theory is simply not, standing alone, ipso facto proof of racism. It was allowed into the law in the 1960's. A few years ago, the theory was challenged in the Supreme Court in an employment law case and struck down in that context as stand alone proof of racism. Since then, the DOJ has done everything they can to make sure that disparite impact theory based on statistics has never made it to the Supreme Court. They've settled cases on the steps to the Court just before oral argument to make sure the Supreme Court doesn't again strike down disparite impact theory, either in specific types of cases or generally.

A very strong case can be made that use of disparite impact theory is what lay at the heart of our economic meltdown in 2007 and for which we are still paying. It was used to attack color blind lending standards, leading to the subprime boom.

Now, here is an interesting though experiment. If someone were to ask both you and I, Jeff, whether we thought increasing minority home ownership was a good thing, we'd both agree. But the problem is the lending standards developed over two centuries of experience as to who would and would likely not pay back a home loan. So, if we still want to promote minority home ownership, what is your solution.

If you think that the lending standards must somehow be racist, and just lower them, well, that is the solution that led to our economic meltdown.

A second option would have been to establish programs to help minorities with poor credit reestablish their credit over a few years and put away money for a downpayment. The standards say the same, people rise to meet them.

The fallacy you are operating under, I think, Jeff, is a belief that you and I want different things for minorities. If you can ever come to the conclusion that most people of my ilk feel the same as you, but think that the left's way of reaching those goals is supremely counterproductive, you'll have come a long way to understanding people like me, whether or not we ever truly agree.

Rob said...

You ought to know better than to feed the trolls, GW. Allow me..

Listen up 'Jeff.' First off, assuming the comments at B'bart are correct, trust me...the crap on Slate, Daily Kos, the Griot and Media Matters far outshines them for sheer racism, vile hatred and stupidity. Heck, the stuff that comes to my site from people like you that I simply don't post exceeds anything you quoted here.

Second, moron, voter fraud ain't no myth.

Neither is a deliberate and systematic attempt by the Obama Administration to suppress the active duty military vote,and that's been ongoing.

'Just two or three instances a year?' AHAHHAHAHAH! The Jackasses couldn't win elections without it.

I won't even dignify your stupidity on Ferguson with an answer, except to say that lots of small cities use traffic tickets to help fund them.And the fact the 13% of the population commits a disproportionate amount of the crime in America, and Ferguson is 66% black. Any cop, black, white or polkadot will tell you that the preventive policing they're taught involves a certain amount of stopping people who seem to warrant it, if just to ask them a few questions. In a city that's 2/3 black, yeah, more blacks are going to be stopped..that's just police playing the odds, which they do all the time to keep your punk ass safe. The crime rate's already going up in NYC since De Blasio made them end stop and frisk.

You're right about one thing though. A lot of American blacks will keep voting Democrat, because their policies encourage dependency and the slave mentality and many simply don't know any better at this point. That's a cultural problem, which doesn't effect many blacks whom hail from the Caribbean, South America and some of the African nations. Generally they have a different attitude towards work, education, and family life..and they also tend to have disproportionally conservative politics and to vote Republican in a much higher percentage than most American blacks. Whaddya know about that?

See, 'Jeff', people like you are the real racists. You want to keep blacks dependent and laboring on the ol' Democrat plantation in exchange for a few handouts.

It's people like me who want to set them free, but it's their choice and their responsibility to choose freedom over slavery and misery instead of listening to con men like you and those whom think like you.

Some will, some won't.

Bye 'Jeff' *flush*


Jeff said...

If you think they represent the typical conservative, I take it you do not have many conservative friends.

Unfortunately I do. One of them over the Christmas holidays casually dropped the n-word when talking about Obama. Another told me flat out that the killings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown was 'pest control'. A very 'Christian' colleague in my department once had a student come out to him privately in his office. The student killed himself that afternoon.

And that's just my acquaintances. Let's look at the public statements of republicans. They're too numerous to count. Here's just one list of many:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/25/republicans-are-racists-no-it-s-just-all-a-big-coincidence.html

And you wonder why blacks vote democratic?

Actually, I can't think of anything that should be more sacrosanct than the vote. If any such laws would operate to suppress minority votes, I can assure you, I'd be among the first in line to stand against them. That's not the case, however.

There have been 28 cases of voter fraud since 2000. Those 28 cases may have swung certain elections, but I seriously doubt it (using simple math and common sense). Voter suppression laws, however, have been successful in purposely blocking the minority vote. Here's a small list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_suppression_in_the_United_States

I won't hold my breath for your being the 'first in line to stand against them.' The idea that voter fraud is widespread is a total lie and it's not a position worth respecting. I respect much more the following lawmakers because at least they're honest about their intentions when they think they're behind closed doors (as all republicans do).

“Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it’s done. First pro-life legislation – abortion facility regulations – in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.” - Mike Turzai (R-PA)

“I’ve had some radical ideas about voting and it’s probably not a good time to tell them, but you used to have to be a property owner to vote.” He also called early voting by absentee ballots “a travesty.” - Ted Yoho (R-FL)


This concern you have about voter fraud is BS and you know it full well. Again, no one outside the bubble actually believes your fake sincerity.

There was no racial animus to it that I could see.

Just like you're 'blind' to minority voter suppression. I sense a pattern here...

Maybe you're blind to this as well.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/protesters-hit-racial-abuse-marching-mo-article-1.2034365

Or the Jennings police department in Missouri, which had to be disbanded after a series of racist incidents. These incidents weren't against whites, by the way. I'm sensing yet another pattern.

Jeff said...

Are you seriously going to argue that racism is even close to being the most serious problem facing minorities today?

I'm not qualified to say what the most serious problem facing minorities is. And neither are you.

Thomas Sowell, as the foremost advocate of free market economics

I'm not interested in reading anything by an economist who is 'the foremost advocate of free market economics', just as I am not interested in reading anything by a scientist who is the 'foremost advocate' for creationism.

the left has insinuated themselves into decisions that heretofore required parental approval

Alabama has instituted a law where a lawyer 'represents' a fetus until it is too late to have an abortion. They also have unnecessary ultrasound procedures for women in order to 'guilt' them. Then the baby is born (to a usually poor mother) and the republican party gives them both the middle finger when it comes to assistance.

I have a huge problem with doing it through the Courts or merely reinterpreting the Constitution

Thank god that wasn't the case in the 1960s. Black voter suppression would be 100%.

Now, please tell me, where in any of my arguments have I whined.

The race card. It's whining. Fox News does it 24 hours a day. You give a racist argument like voter ID laws (which you would NEVER say in front of a black person) and call any refutation the 'race card'. It's whining, pure and simple.

Now, please tell me, where in any of my arguments have I whined. And where in any of the above have I suggested that blacks are either monkeys or deserving of anything less than full, fair and equal treatment?

You're absolutely right. That was a low blow. I apologize. I've known too many republicans who let the mask slip when they think no one is listening and I just assumed you were one of them. I'm sorry.

PS. I see Joshuapundit showed up (as usual). GW, I find it commendable that you allow comments on here. Most conservative blogs moderate comments out of fear of being corrected on a major or even minor point. Attacking the messenger is common, a simple url is described as 'ad hominem', etc. You don't do that and I can see that, although I disagree with you on these things, you're not a name-caller and you seem to be quite an intelligent debater. Add me to your list of interested readers.

Jeff said...

Now, here is an interesting though experiment. If someone were to ask both you and I, Jeff, whether we thought increasing minority home ownership was a good thing, we'd both agree. But the problem is the lending standards developed over two centuries of experience as to who would and would likely not pay back a home loan. So, if we still want to promote minority home ownership, what is your solution.

If you think that the lending standards must somehow be racist, and just lower them, well, that is the solution that led to our economic meltdown.


I totally agree. The lending standards are based on who is likely to pay back a home loan. And property values in neighborhoods go down when a black family moves in. I don't see either of those as racist, just simple math. (High five! We agree on a few things!)

GW said...

Jeff, I'll respond to your last three comments here.

Your "conservtive" friends sound as if they could use a swift kick in the ass. I've run into none like that in the circles I run in, nor would I or those with whom I associate tolerate it.

You seem to be operating from a belief that the Republican Party is inherently racist. Odd, since the Republican Party was founded to combat slavery, it was at the forefront of the civil rights movement its inception until 1964, three white Republicans founded the NAACP, and Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. A bit of history is in order: http://wolfhowling.blogspot.com/2008/09/standing-at-crossroads-identity.html

At any rate, as to the roll up in the Daily Beast article, 35%, I think it is, of Americans of voting age self identify as conservatives. So, trying to paint millions upon millions of conservatives as racist based on a handful of anecdotes doesn't come close to making your point. And as to the Federal Judge, he absolutely should have lost his job. There is no place in this country where racism - or for that matter, reverse racism - should be tolerated.

As to voter i.d. laws, and the charge of suppression, again, you should refer to the Fund book and the reasoning Justice Stevens used in approving of voter id laws in 2009. It's obvious you have done neither yet, but do and then let's continue the argument.

As to Turzai's statement, you see it as an admission of racism because that is what you want to see. Isn't it equally as likely that he thinks Romney is going to win because vote fraud will not tip the balance. Without further information, it's impossible to tell and I am not aware that anyone bothered to ask him to explain himself.

Yoho's statement likewise is not evidence of racism. Both statements that he made in his quote are quite true. I am going to do a long post on the history of "democracy" and it's variants sometime probably next weekend. We can argue that point then.

GW said...

Jeff, look around and tell me a single opportunity that is closed off to minorities by law or racism in this country. Those blacks that have pulled themselves into the middle and upper class can hardly be said to be suffering because of racism. Blacks occupy seats of power in government, business and academia. But, for a large percentage of blacks, at least the 25% caught in an endless cycle of poverty, poor education, etc., their problem is the government solutions to date have not worked for them. That is not racism. It's systemic problems within that subsector of society and ineffective response. Neither is racism, neither is acceptable.

Jeff, pick up Sowell's book. He approaches economics from two unique perspectives. One, as a black man who grew up poor in Harlem. Indeed, much of what he writes, he relates to the black community. Two, he was a communist and gave full support to every left wing economic theory out there. There's a reason he is not now. He writes for the layman, keeps it interesting, and his research footnoted throughout is impeccable. http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Economics-Thomas-Sowell/dp/0465060730

Jeff, I don't think I raised abortion as an issue in my argument above, and for good reason. While I may be personally against it, I would not deny the right to women at any point until the child is viable. As to the Alabama law requiring an ultrasound, that is at most a quibble. And if Alabama really were stopping women from having an abortion procedurally, that law would be out as unconstitutional in the application in a heartbeat.

As to the "Republican Party gives them both the middle finger," you really need to explain that one. Are you claiming that Republicans are denying them benefits they are otherwise entitled to?

The major civil rights decisions decided by the Supreme Court in the 50's and 60's were decisions rendered by a Court dominated by . . . Republicans. As to black voter suppression, that ended not because some living Constitution theorist began coming up with whatever new theory he liked and getting it written into Constitutional Law, it occurred because the Republican dominated Supreme Court began applying the plain language of the 15th Amendment, passed by Republicans in 1870, guaranteeing the right to vote to all citizens.

As to the arguments you assert that I would NEVER make in front of a black man, if you read to the bottom two paragraphs of my post, you'll see that is what I am begging the right to start doing. One, I have no white guilt. Two, I am sincere in my beliefs and I believe my analysis correct. Three, I can't think of a thing I've written that I have not already discussed with black friends and acquaintances. Four, we're half a century on from the Great Society and the problems Daniel Patrick Moynihan raised in his famous report of that year have not gotten better, they've gotten worse for a large subset of blacks. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/opinion/when-liberals-blew-it.html

It irks me to no end to see these problems, to speak the hard truths, and then to be labeled as a racist when all I want is to get to solutions that works to break the cycles and raise that subset up.

I don't think that the left wants to see that subset of the black population mired in the cycles therein. But I do think that they are between a rock and a hard place in that they determined not to allow conservative solutions to be even pondered, but their own solutions have failed.

Apology accepted, thank you. And I would be honored to add you to the list of "interested readers." Again, thank you. Nice chatting with you on this. I love a good debate. You, as well as your comments, will always be welcome.