Adam Graham
The politics of exploitation
By Adam Graham
The Black community today has gotten the short end of the stick politically. After 40 years of affirmative action, the war on poverty, and a myriad of other programs, most predominantly black areas face the problems of bad schools, the decline of the family, and lack of economic opportunity.
Blacks have elected Democrats for years and Democrats have given lip service to fixing the community's troubles, yet Democratic mayors and Democratic governors have failed time and time again, yet continue to garner Black votes despite blocking some of the most important legislation benefiting the Black Community.
Polls have shown a majority of Blacks are for school choice, Social Security reform, and against abortion and gay marriage. Most Democrats stand on the opposite side of these issues. Yet, Blacks continue to vote in large numbers for Democrats who consistently fail to deliver needed changes.
Taking a Page from the Democrats' Playbook
As easy as it is to feel sorry for the current state of Black America, it's given me pause when thinking about the religious conservative movement. As a Christian Conservative, I can't help but feel a sense of déjà vu.
Republicans love our votes. As the GOP has run on a platform of traditional values, Religious conservatives joined the GOP in droves. Without the votes of religious conservatives, Republicans would have a hard time in the South and much of the West.
However, there are Republicans and I'm sad to say a growing number of them, who want to take our votes and our hard work, and give us nothin in return. It should come as no great surprise that the first great promise of the campaign President Bush backed away from was his push for a Constitutional Amendment on gay marriage. Defenders of the President may point out that Bush is correct in stating that the Amendment has little chance of passage.
Granting that argument, why did Bush push it during the campaign? After all, the election of 2004 was a best case scenario for supporters of traditional marriage. There's no way he could have ended up in a better position to push the Amendment. The only reasonable conclusion is that the President said he'd push for the Amendment to get our votes.
Now that we're talking about a Presidential candidate for 2008, who is the mainstream leadership of the GOP seeking to anoint? The pro-abortion Rudy Giuliani, the self-described "moderately pro-choice" Condoleeza Rice, and stem cell research advocate/Federal Marriage Amendment opponent John McCain.
When John McCain is the most pro-life candidate out there, you know that the GOP is taking the religious conservatives for granted.
Thinking Outside the Box
Loyalty to a political party gets you nowhere. Religious conservatives have backed the GOP to the hilt, and have been getting very little results. On the other hand, moderates are always pandered to and sought out. Why?
Moderates have been the exact opposite of the loyal religious conservatives. In many cases, they've been willing to sabotage the campaigns of Republican candidates who are too conservative. Examples abound. Bret Schundler lost the New Jersey Governor's race in 2001 as moderates bailed. Alan Keyes finished at a historic low in Illinois as GOP moderates helped feed him to the wolves in the Illinois press corp. Senator John Warner (R-Va.) sabotaged the campaign of 1994 Senate candidate Oliver North by backing an Independent. Warner is now is chairman of the Senate Armed Forced committee.
Moderates feel free to torpedo the party's nominee whenever it suits their interests, Religious conservatives should respond in like manner with a streak of Independence that looks after the issues that religious conservatives care about more than the success of the Republican Party.
What this means is not leaving the party. If Rudy Giuliani can remain a Republican and even be a top contender for the White House after backing Mario Cuomo's re-election in 1994, why should religious conservatives feel that supporting Republican candidates is a requirement of being in the GOP?
If a pro-family Democrat is running against an anti-family Republican, back the Democrat. If neither candidate is right on the issues than back neither or support a third party. If a socially conservative third party garners significant support and the Republican loses, a message will be sent loud and clear.
Other groups have followed this pattern and had great success. The NRA is a key example. They endorse Republicans and Democrats and have won every major battle on gun issues for more than a decade. Religious conservatives need to stop letting the GOP take them for granted. By creating an air of independence, religious conservatives will further the fight for traditional values and avoid being the doormat of the GOP.
© Adam Graham
The Black community today has gotten the short end of the stick politically. After 40 years of affirmative action, the war on poverty, and a myriad of other programs, most predominantly black areas face the problems of bad schools, the decline of the family, and lack of economic opportunity.
Blacks have elected Democrats for years and Democrats have given lip service to fixing the community's troubles, yet Democratic mayors and Democratic governors have failed time and time again, yet continue to garner Black votes despite blocking some of the most important legislation benefiting the Black Community.
Polls have shown a majority of Blacks are for school choice, Social Security reform, and against abortion and gay marriage. Most Democrats stand on the opposite side of these issues. Yet, Blacks continue to vote in large numbers for Democrats who consistently fail to deliver needed changes.
Taking a Page from the Democrats' Playbook
As easy as it is to feel sorry for the current state of Black America, it's given me pause when thinking about the religious conservative movement. As a Christian Conservative, I can't help but feel a sense of déjà vu.
Republicans love our votes. As the GOP has run on a platform of traditional values, Religious conservatives joined the GOP in droves. Without the votes of religious conservatives, Republicans would have a hard time in the South and much of the West.
However, there are Republicans and I'm sad to say a growing number of them, who want to take our votes and our hard work, and give us nothin in return. It should come as no great surprise that the first great promise of the campaign President Bush backed away from was his push for a Constitutional Amendment on gay marriage. Defenders of the President may point out that Bush is correct in stating that the Amendment has little chance of passage.
Granting that argument, why did Bush push it during the campaign? After all, the election of 2004 was a best case scenario for supporters of traditional marriage. There's no way he could have ended up in a better position to push the Amendment. The only reasonable conclusion is that the President said he'd push for the Amendment to get our votes.
Now that we're talking about a Presidential candidate for 2008, who is the mainstream leadership of the GOP seeking to anoint? The pro-abortion Rudy Giuliani, the self-described "moderately pro-choice" Condoleeza Rice, and stem cell research advocate/Federal Marriage Amendment opponent John McCain.
When John McCain is the most pro-life candidate out there, you know that the GOP is taking the religious conservatives for granted.
Thinking Outside the Box
Loyalty to a political party gets you nowhere. Religious conservatives have backed the GOP to the hilt, and have been getting very little results. On the other hand, moderates are always pandered to and sought out. Why?
Moderates have been the exact opposite of the loyal religious conservatives. In many cases, they've been willing to sabotage the campaigns of Republican candidates who are too conservative. Examples abound. Bret Schundler lost the New Jersey Governor's race in 2001 as moderates bailed. Alan Keyes finished at a historic low in Illinois as GOP moderates helped feed him to the wolves in the Illinois press corp. Senator John Warner (R-Va.) sabotaged the campaign of 1994 Senate candidate Oliver North by backing an Independent. Warner is now is chairman of the Senate Armed Forced committee.
Moderates feel free to torpedo the party's nominee whenever it suits their interests, Religious conservatives should respond in like manner with a streak of Independence that looks after the issues that religious conservatives care about more than the success of the Republican Party.
What this means is not leaving the party. If Rudy Giuliani can remain a Republican and even be a top contender for the White House after backing Mario Cuomo's re-election in 1994, why should religious conservatives feel that supporting Republican candidates is a requirement of being in the GOP?
If a pro-family Democrat is running against an anti-family Republican, back the Democrat. If neither candidate is right on the issues than back neither or support a third party. If a socially conservative third party garners significant support and the Republican loses, a message will be sent loud and clear.
Other groups have followed this pattern and had great success. The NRA is a key example. They endorse Republicans and Democrats and have won every major battle on gun issues for more than a decade. Religious conservatives need to stop letting the GOP take them for granted. By creating an air of independence, religious conservatives will further the fight for traditional values and avoid being the doormat of the GOP.
© Adam Graham
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