Political Antics And Race-Based Animosity
By Paul M. Weyrich
January 10, 2005
There was a political sideshow last week as, in accordance with the Constitution, the votes of the Electors were counted by the Congress. But before that formality could take place, the country had to be subjected to political nonsense about alleged irregularities in Ohio. To his credit, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry wanted no part of this protest. In the end, the objection to the count was soundly defeated: The House vote was 267-31, the Senate vote was 74-1, the one objecting vote in the Senate from newly re-elected Sen. Barbara Boxer, of California.
The Members of the House admitted that this effort had no chance to change the outcome. There had been two recounts in Ohio. The first did reduce the Bush total by several thousand votes. The second recount, which was done by hand under the supervision of Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, who is Black, reduced President Bush's count by 300-some votes. That put President Bush's winning vote total at more than 117,000 votes.
So what kind of complaints did we hear regarding the vote count? Blacks had to wait in long lines in order to vote, which supposedly was a deliberate effort to suppress the Black vote. Were that the case, there must have been a deliberate effort to suppress the White vote out my way. In Fairfax County three different lines had to wait an average of three hours in order to vote. The lines were so long at least one of them stretched outside, which must have been very uncomfortable for some voters as the weather wasn't exactly perfect.
The Congressional political sideshow was an embarrassment. My question is this: What would cause grown adults, who had enough of a following in the electorate to get elected to the House of Representatives, to engage in this sort of nonsense? There were a few certifiable kooks: Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, who ran for President, comes to mind. There were the old-line, shall we say, pro-Communists: Rep. John Conyers of Michigan comes readily to mind. But not all of the Members objecting to the electoral vote count (mostly Black) fit either category.
Congressman Robert W. Ney of Ohio, the Republican in charge of the committee which had to deal with this situation, depicted the dissenters as sore losers who couldn't get over the fact that George Bush had won the election, and his message to them was essentially to get over it.
However, it would take more than bitterness over a lost election to cause otherwise intelligent people to make fools out of themselves. There is something at work here which is very troubling for the future of the country.
There obviously is a belief within the Black community that there was a conspiracy to keep their people from participating in the political process. When confronted with the fact that the man in charge of handling the Ohio election process is a Black Republican, only utter contempt is shown for Ken Blackwell. They call him an embarrassment. They call him an Uncle Tom. They call him a sell-out. He has to be. After all, he is a Republican isn't he?
It is not healthy to have any minority so embittered, so angry, so blinded to reality that it will disrupt the orderly process of Constitutional government to get a few hours of coverage protesting very little. The last time the process was so interrupted was in 1877 after a disputed election. No doubt the majority Republicans intend simply to dismiss this as a bizarre episode following an election, when the prevailing view was that the incumbent was going to be defeated. However, there is obviously more to it than that.
It would behoove the majority party to conduct in-depth survey research to find out the root of the attitudes in the districts of the protesting congressmen.
A real effort needs to be made to reach out to folks who believe that the majority is against them. It is not that I expect that their political preferences will turn around. That is not important. What is important is that they not believe that they are oppressed. It is equally important that they believe they have a chance at the American dream.
They have been told over and over again that the White community hates them; the White community is against them and the White community is keeping them down. If they can't get a job, it is the fault of White people. If they get fired, it is the fault of the majority, even if it is a fellow Black who does the firing -- he is just doing the bidding of the White community. And so it goes.
Positive steps need to be taken to turn these attitudes around. How these folks end up voting is none of my business. It is not votes I'm looking for here. It is a change in attitude. Having the attitude of an oppressed minority takes away the burden of improving their skills; of working hard; of getting ahead. After all, if someone else is keeping you down, then it isn't your fault if you don't improve. It is this attitude which needs to be addressed. It is not clear who can do it.
I suspect that one of the reasons the left wing in Congress wants to block various minorities from appointment to the federal bench is fear that these folks might try to reach their own people. In every case these nominees pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps.
The President has now named Claude Allen to head his Domestic Policy Council. In that capacity, he is the highest ranking Black in the White House. The President ought to send him to the districts of the protesters to talk with church and civic groups. It is only a start. But the effort to reconcile these alienated voters must begin somewhere. It can't begin a moment too soon.
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Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.
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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.