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Christine Todd Whitman -- It's My Party Too

I recently read former EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman's new book and found it interesting.  Whitman believes the social fundamentalists are ruining the Republican Party.  She says that Karl Rove and the conservative right should not read too much into the results of the election because the victory was the smallest margin of any incumbent president ever to win reelection and no wartime incumbent has ever been unseated.   She gives a good inside view of the administration's reversal on carbon dioxide.  She provides a defense for President Bush's Clear Skies Initiative.   She has an excellent chapter (Reclaiming Lincoln's Legacy) on attracting more African Americans into the Republican Party.  She also covers her perspective on serving as a woman governor and EPA administrator.   Whitman makes a good case for a proud environmental tradition in the Republican Party by listing the programs and policies established by the party in the past four decades:  The National Environmental Policy Act (Nixon), Clean Air Act (Nixon), Endangered Species Act (Nixon), Safe Drinking Water Act (Ford), Toxic Substances Congrol Act (Ford), Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (Reagan), Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (Bush 41), and Brownfields Revitalization Act  (Bush 43).  She could have also added the establishment of EPA (Nixon), Clean Water Act (Nixon) and the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (Bush 41).

President Bush also signed the No Fear Act -- "the First Civil Rights Legislation of the 21st Century" -- that was passed to redress discrimination at EPA during the Clinton administration.   Whitman seems to be amazed by the vitriol in politics, particularly the inside-the-beltway variety.  It was a good read on the train from New York.   Amazon.com (It's My Party Too)   Whitman Strategy Group

Black Republicans Must Become Radical

By Rev. Wayne Perryman

During the past two weeks I have had thousands of hits on my website and a multitude of emails from those who watched my presentation on C-Span Book TV.To a man and to a woman they are constantly asking, why aren’t the Republicans using your book to reach Black Voters?  This is the same question that Black Republicans proposed to me as I lectured throughout the country during the past two years.

Until today I had no answer. Then it came to me, if this is what they really wanted, why haven’t they proposed this question to the RNC?  In retrospect, the reason may be because Black Republicans (as a whole) seem to be too passive and most do not seem to be radical enough or bold enough to tell the party what they really want.  I think far too many Black Republicans and Black Conservatives are apprehensive in telling the RNC how they really feel, fearing that any criticism may be interpreted as disloyalty.

As an independent radical conservative, I share some of the same values as the Republican Party.  But as a fact-finding investigator and researcher who is committed to discovering the truth I find disturbing similarities in both parties.  Let me share a few of them.

• Both parties are run by whites who do not seek the opinions of their grass root African American supporters.
• Both parties have grass root African Americans supporters who are afraid to offer strong constructive criticism to better the party, fearing their advice will not be welcomed or accepted. 
• Both parties select which African Americans they want to advise them (yes men and women) rather than asking their faithful grass root African American supporters whom they would prefer.
• Both parties are not willing to share their wealth or their power with their loyal African Americans supporters.
• Both parties fail to give a fair share of their income to African American political efforts.

As long as Black Republicans remain passive, fearful, and conservative in their approach to change, they will never be effective in the party or in their community.  History tells us that it’s the radical, not the passive that brings about change.  In 1854 the party that we know today as the Republican Party was more commonly referred to as the “Radicals”.  The conservative members of their party were virtually ineffective and disrespected. Radicals like Charles Sumner, Thaddeus Stevens, Frederick Douglass and William H. Herndon emerged as leaders of the party and bought about the passage of the 13^th , 14^th and 15^th Amendments.  The conservative members of the party didn’t want to rock the boat and felt the radical members were going too far, too fast. 

Today there appear to be no black (or white) radical members of the Republican Party when it comes to black issues.  Jessie Lee Peterson, Armstrong William and JC. Watts are the conservative passive members of the party who have not as of this date, openly criticized the party for not listening to their grass roots African American supporters nor have they criticized them for not sharing their wealth and power with them.

There should have been a massive outcry within the party from the Republican Black leadership when the Bush/Cheney people and the RNC announced that they had budgeted one to two million dollars to reach black voters in 2004 (and only $1 million in 2000).

There should have been a massive internal protest from Black Republicans when they learned that the RNC was selecting an African American Advisory Board without consulting with them first, to see who they would want included.

Black Republicans and Black Democrats must become more radical and ask themselves the following questions:

1. How long will blacks let the white leaders of the party select their black leaders or select who they feel should represent blacks on their advisory committees?
2. How long will blacks allow the party to lure them to their $1000 plate dinners only to learn that the money will not be used to help them reach the people in their communities?
3. How long will blacks allow the white leadership to merely move blacks to the sideline while they write the agenda and play the game?

Loyal black members have given the Republican Party much over the years and have been ridiculed, harassed and called Uncle Tom because of their loyalty.  Now it is time for them to stop saying “Yes Sir Boss” and demand a stronger voice in the Party.

As a person on the outside looking in and hearing the trusted private comments of thousands of Black Republicans across the nation as they seek my counsel, it is my professional opinion that the Republicans Party is not ready to welcome blacks.  First of all, their current structure shows that there is no place for blacks, particularly outspoken blacks.  Secondly, they are not ready to share their wealth and power with blacks, and thirdly, they failed to acknowledge that the only reason why they had an increase in black voters in 2004, was because of the gay-rights issues, the separation of Church and state issues and the book Unfounded Loyalty, but not because they had a well–thought-out plan and budget to reach blacks. 

The Black clergy that I worked with across the nation did not tell their congregation to vote Republican because of JC Watts, Jessie Lee Peterson or Armstrong Williams or because they were impressed with a Republican plan to reach blacks.  Watts, Williams and Peterson have NEVER been able to attract black voters or the black clergy to the Republican Party.

The Republicans received the black vote because the black clergy told their congregations that they must take a stand on Same Sex Marriages and others recommended that their members read Unfounded Loyalty.  Tara Wall of the RNC was present at the black clergy meeting in Ohio when she heard the clergy give testimonies of how Unfounded Loyalty converted members of their congregation from Democrat to Republican. However after hearing the testimonies, the RNC turned a deaf ear to the clergy’s request to use the book reach black voters.  What the clergy was trying to tell the Republican hierarchy is that catching the attention of the black voter is like catching a very unique fish.  You can’t use the same lure to reach black voters as you would use to reach white voters.  Blacks are a different kind of fish.  The lure that the black clergy recommended was Unfounded Loyalty, the Republicans decided instead to use Unfit For Command.  It’s sad to note that while many are getting a piece of the political pie, Black Republicans are only getting the crumbs.

Having said this, perhaps some are saying, “He’s just trying to promote the sale his book.”  To the contrary, although that as an author I would like to sale many books,  as a black person, I am not naive to think that any predominantly white political organization would support or promote an outsider’s book like they would their own (Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity), even though there is no other book on the market like Unfounded Loyalty.   I’m simply saying if you are not bold and vocal in making your request (whether you are writing your congressman or the head of your party) no one will ever respect you or hear you.  The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Secretary Colin Powell are prime examples of bold radical black men.

When the issue came up regarding Affirmative Action, Colin Powell stood up against the entire party and made his comments known at the Republican 2000 Convention and didn’t care what they thought about it.  Colin Powell is a well respected radical Black Republican who always speaks his mind.  When he resigned as Secretary of State the entire world spoke highly of him.

Collectively, the Black Republicans of America should write letters to the RNC and boldly express how they feel about reaching black voters, they should express their feelings regarding who should serve on the African American Advisory Committee and they should make it known as to how much they feel the RNC should invest in African American political efforts.  Black Republicans have suffered too much to be silent now.  In speaking out, they shouldn’t do it because they are angry with the party, they should do it because they love the party. 

You may not agree with my conclusions but I would appreciate you comments

Rev. Wayne Perryman doublebro@aol.com

2004 Election

  Approximately 13.2 million African-Americans voted -- 3 million more than voted in 2000.  

President Bush did not need the Black vote to win.   Even if all of the Blacks voting for Bush voted for Kerry, President Bush would have still won.  So why does President Bush have so many Blacks in high-level positions in his administration? And why do traditional environmental organizations have no Blacks in high-level positions?  

President Bush took 44 percent (about 3,520,000) of the Hispanic vote, up nine percentage points from 2000. The Hispanic vote increased from 6 million in 2000 to 8 million in 2004. Note that Alberto Gonzales has been nominated as the new Attorney General.   Even if all of the Latinos voting for Bush voted for Kerry, President Bush would have still won.   Senator Kerry would have needed all of the Black votes and all of the Latino votes for a comfortable win.  

The Democratic Party is now talking about doing poorly with churchgoing people, although 89 percent of Black voters -- perceived as religious except for the murdering class -- cast votes for Kerry.  Democrats take Black voters for granted and black evangelical voters are ignored, but the RNC pampers White evangelical Christian voters. This demographic made up nearly 25 percent of the electorate and voted 4-1 for Bush. Those numbers dwarf the black turnout. Although black participation went up 25 percent, it still accounted for only 10 percent of the electorate.   Former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder won his election for mayor of Richmond with 78.6% of the vote.

Percent of vote for Bush

States where breadown is available.

Source: Edison Media Research & Mitofsky International

Media Bias Against Republicans & Blacks On Environmental Issues

The mainstream media is biased against Blacks and Republicans when it comes to covering environmental issues. Reporters have their pet contacts in the traditional environmental community and they blatantly favor their point of view when reporting stories. Usually, a Bush administration official's views are presented as a prop for a pre-selected environmentalist to bash. Blacks agreeing with the Bush administration on anything, are marginilized by the media or ignored as oddities screaming from the bottom of a black hole in space. In fact, I have been told by administration officials that they tell the press about the African American Environmentalist Association's support for many of their positions and the official asked me if the media ever calls. My reply is no. To be fair though, the Washington Post did cover our cliams of discrimination in the traditional environmental movement on the Federal Page.

Robert Kennedy, Jr. gets on all the cable talk shows. I wear out my News Media Yellow Book trying to get on the shows and it is virtually impossible. Okay. He's a Kennedy and I'm not. But the point is that he gets to spout his partisan vitriol all over the airways without a counterbalance. Same with the priint media. Between Dan Rather, CBS, big-city print media and Robert Kennedy, Jr., I don't see how President Bush won reelection. Well I do but my liberal friends just don't get it. One thing is for sure, media bias was clearly on display for the American public to see during the 2004 presidential election. Contrary to the wishes of biased media outlets, their unfair coverage probably helped President Bush in the end. It is the same way Marion Barry will become mayor of Washington, DC again if his health holds up. The Washington media corps with overplay their hand in trying to absolutely destroy him (show the crack tape ad nauseum) and it will make his black base support him more. Washington Times reporter Michelle Malkin has made the interesting observation about mainstream media rules regarding African American politicians, "Minority Democrats in public office are inspirational role models. Minority Republicans in public office are embarrassing sellouts." Of course, Marion Barry is probably an exception to this rule.

Anyway, with the traditional environmental community doing everything it can to paint President Bush as the 'worst president on environment in the history of America,' the media siding with this view and Hollywood piling on from the West Coast, it will be hard to reverese this inaccurate image. AAEA believes that an accurate portrayal of President Bush's innovative environmental and energy recommendations will reveal a person committed to protecting the environment while promoting the economy. As a 25-year career environmenalist, I feel comfortable in providing an accurate and unbiased assessment of President Bush's environmental policy recommendations. Many of those recommendations are some of the most innovative proposals ever presented in Washington, DC. Of course, if you are a no-growth, impractical technology promoting, my-way-or-the-highway (bike path), socialist-oriented traditional environmentalist or rich, lefty Hollywood hills celebrity, then President Bush's policies are probably not for you. We should at least give his ideas a chance to see how they will work. The majority of American people appear to prefer the leadership of President Bush.

This Article Has Been Emailed To Me Several Times So I Guess I Should Share It With Our Readers

  Tough Choices For Tough Times (USA Today)

By Yolanda Young

These are tough economic times, especially for African-Americans, for whom  the unemployment rate is more than 10%. Alarmingly, rather than belt-tightening, the response has been to spend more. In many poor neighborhoods, one is likely to notice satellite dishes and expensive  new  cars.   According to Target Market, a company that tracks black consumer spending,  blacks spend a significant amount of their income on depreciable products.

In 2002, the year the economy nose-dived; we spent $22.9 billion on  clothes, $3.2 billion on electronics and $11.6  billion on furniture to put  into homes that, in many cases, were rented.  Among our favorite purchases are cars and liquor. Blacks make up only12%  of the U.S. population, yet account for 30% of the country's Scotch consumption.  Detroit, which is 80% black, is the world's No. 1 market for Cognac.  So impressed was Lincoln with the $46.7 billion that blacks spent on cars  that the automaker commissioned Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, the entertainment  and fashion mogul, to design a limited-edition Navigator replete with six  plasma screens, three DVD players and a Sony PlayStation 2.

The only area where blacks seem to be cutting back on spending is books;  total purchases have gone from a high of $356 million in 2000 to $303  million in 2002.  This shortsighted behavior, motivated by a desire for instant gratification and social acceptance, comes at the expense of our future. The National Urban League's "State of Black America 2004" report found that fewer than 50% of black families owned their homes compared with more  than 70% of whites.

According to published reports, the Ariel Mutual Funds/Charles Schwab 2003  Black Investor Survey found that when comparing households where blacks  and whites had roughly the same household incomes, whites saved nearly 20%  more each month for retirement, and 30% of African-Americans earning  $100,000 a year had less than  $5,000 retirement savings. While 79% of  whites invest in the stock market, only 61% of African-Americans do. 

Certainly, higher rates of unemployment, income disparity and credit  discrimination are financial impediments to the economic vitality of  blacks, but so are our consumer tastes.  By finding the courage to change our spending habits, we might be surprised at how far the $631 billion we now earn might take us. Yolanda Young's next book is SPADE: A Critical Look at Black America.  We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people think  twice about sharing. Please share this with your friends and family.