Blacks Should Embrace President Bush

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Blacks Should Embrace President Bush
by Dave Gibson, Columnist

November 23, 2004

Dave Gibson If the NAACP was anything more than another wing of the Democratic Party, they would instruct black Americans to examine the issues as well as the individual candidates. As it now stands, they direct blacks to simply look for the politician with the "D" behind his name.

Presidential runner-up Al Gore recently ended a pre-election speaking tour of this nation's black churches. He walked up and down, strutting and waving his arms. He screamed and shouted about his hatred for President Bush. It was actually the only time that he did not appear robotic.

Gore was of course, attempting to incite black voters. He told a black congregation two days before the election: "It doesn't have to be this way." He went on to instruct the parishioners at the all-black Abyssinia Missionary Church to "turn all of that energy and all of those feelings into a nonstop effort between now and the time the polls close at 7:00 p.m. on November 2."

Black minister Tom Diamond claimed that the 2000 Presidential election was rigged because "the Republican Party threw out 27,000 African-American votes. By all rights, brother Al Gore is the president-elect."

The Democratic Party has been seemingly forever changed by Bill Clinton. That party has taken to the idea that if you tell the same lie often enough...people will start to believe it. How does Rev. Diamond know that the ballots of black voters were rejected in the last presidential election? Nowhere on any ballot, nor any voter registration form in this country--are you asked to name your race.

In fact, ballots are thrown out in every election for various reasons. If they are not filled out correctly, they are considered to be a 'spoiled ballot' and are rejected. In the case of absentee ballots, the voter must provide their name, address, signature, and the signature of a witness. If those requirements are not satisfied, the ballot can be rejected. In a nation where blacks only make up 13 percent of the population...it would be safe to assume that more ballots are rejected from white voters than those from blacks. The Democrats are simply lying!

If the people who claim to be black leaders (Kweisi Mfume, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, etc.) were truly looking out for black Americans, they would have endorsed President Bush.

Bush has done much more for blacks than did any of his predecessors. Under his leadership, the No Child Left Behind Act was implemented. That law holds public schools accountable for the education that every single child receives. The Bush administration has spent more on education over the last three years, than Bill Clinton did during his eight years in office. Since 2001, President Bush has increased funding for black colleges by a full 30 percent.

Bush also led the fight for the funding of private school vouchers. A policy which Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams (a devout liberal) favors. 1,000 D.C. children began attending private school this year, because of Bush's determination. John Kerry is strongly opposed to school vouchers. Kerry would be content to leave students black and white, in failing schools.

President Bush has also appointed blacks to the most important cabinet positions. Colin Powell is this nation's first black Secretary of State and Condoleezza Rice is not only the first woman to hold the position of National Security Adviser, she is also the second black American to do so - the post having also been occupied during the last part of the Reagan administration by then-Lieutenant General Colin Powell. Ms. Rice of course will now become the next Secretary of State. Both of these most capable people are key members in a wartime cabinet. However, these facts seem to be lost on the Democrats as well as on the racist organization known as the NAACP.

However, the president's work has not been lost on all black Americans. The highest ranking elected state official in the country is Maryland Lt. Gov. Mike Steele. He was a top Bush/Cheney 2004 campaign adviser. Recently, Steele made the following statement: "Many people ask me how any African-American can support President Bush. Short answer: He has done significantly more for African-Americans than his challenger, Sen. John Kerry, ever did or has promised to do."

I cannot understand how so many black ministers can continue to preach Christian values on one Sunday, and then tell them to vote for someone who supports abortion the following Sunday. It is simply exasperating that people who claim to care so much about the plight of poor blacks, continue to accept failing public schools and place stumbling blocks before any policy which will hold teachers and children to a higher standard. If the future of U.S. public education was left solely to liberals, the cycle of poverty would never be broken.

President Bush has made history by appointing capable black men and women to the most prominent cabinet posts. More than likely, the second Bush term will see the first black Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (Clarence Thomas).

Bush's education policies will benefit a much higher percentage of black children than of any other ethnic group. Neither the President, nor the Republican Party should have to beg for votes from the black community. Despite these facts, only 10 percent of black voters supported Bush's reelection, that figure represented no gain from the 2000 election.

While history should direct them to do otherwise, the vast majority of black voters will continue to support Democratic candidates, at least for the near future. It is a decision which will continue to be made out of habit, rather than out of a clear, unbiased examination of the facts.

The liberal news-media will no doubt further the myth that the Republican Party, in particular conservative-Republicans are racists. The Democratic Party and the so-called black leaders will continue to take advantage of poor, uneducated black voters. Eventually though, the facts will become louder than the rhetoric. The day that poor people of all races understand that a hand-up is better than a hand-out, will be the day that the Democratic Party will either begin to tell the truth or perish.

I believe that perhaps 100 years from now, the history books will paint President Bush as a champion of civil-rights. Those same books will remember the Democratic Party as the preferred party of racists. ***

Photo of Dave Gibson courtesy of staff files