The Black Vote In America
 Keeping YOURSELF Down

There's a debt owed to blacks in this country in the eyes of millions of voters - about 63 million voters according to the polls.
It is not solely the view of minorities, there's also a plague of White Guilt in this country.
Whether it's an embarrassment of riches, privilege of social and economic position, or just pity for the underdog, millions of white Americans climbed aboard the Liberal Bandwagon Of Change with absolutely no clue as to its eventual destination.
This debt to those who "deserve" it will be payed, and the first installment on that debt was just made on election day.

With Obama now on the road to the White House accompanied by his chosen cabinet, there will be an expectation from many blacks for special consideration and privilege. Those blacks not predisposed to such notions of entitlement, living where it does not blossom naturally, will be shoveled plenty of fertilizer from the likes of Jesse Jackson (did you see him at Obama's acceptance speech?) and Al Sharpton to cultivate it.

Expect to see ALOT more of Sheila Jackson Lee (Idiot-TX), she's in every photo op she can manage with Hillary Clinton along with Cynthia McKinney (GA) of Capitol Police-Gate fame. Thank God McKinney is now only the Green Party presidential has-been candidate.

There's plenty of evidence to show we could all do better and certainly we should demand more of our Congress.
Look through this list of Congressional representatives I compiled in just a few minutes with internet news sources.
All are embarrassing, some are criminal, and none are acceptable to me.

Corrine Brown (FL)
She has a trail of bad debts, lies to Congress and misstatements to the IRS to spawn a number of investigations.

Yvette Clark (NY)
She lied about unpaid student loans and her graduation from Oberlin College that never happened - among other things.

James Clyburn (SC)
Said the possibility of the Iraq war going well would be "trouble for Democrats" at election time. A true patriot.

John Conyers (MI) 
He's upset that the FBI is investigating ACORN, a "well regarded organization that fights for the poor and working class."

Elijah Cummings (MD)
What a lawmaker. He's crusading against pro baseball steroid abuse, cruise line incidents of crime, and criticizes Blackwater.

Danny K. Davis (IL)
A real leader, he helped crown Unification Church leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife as "True Parents" of mankind.

Keith Ellison (MN) 
A Muslim who took his oath on the Quoran (Sharia law comes before all other law) and is a now an American lawmaker.

Al Green (TX) 
He has been accused of sexual assault by a former employee in his Congressional office. 

Alcee Hastings (FL)
This guy is a nut. He was a Federal judge until he was impeached for corruption and perjury. Now he's "qualified" for Congress.

William Jefferson (LA)
Criminal. He now has Freezer-Gate with an indictment for $90,000 of suspected bribe money found by the FBI in his freezer.

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (MI) 
She has a controversy surrounding her son and his involvement in a text messaging sex scandal.

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.)
The Grand Dame of the House is pleading with the citizens not to buy into the "gun culture" after the Supreme Court decision there.

Charles Rangel (NY) 
This sh!t-stirring idiot has tax "troubles" and he's on the House Ways and Means Committee that writes tax law for the rest of us!

Laura Richardson (CA)
A tragic case. She defaulted on three home loans, car payments and "loaned" herself money from her campaign fund.

Bobby Rush (IL) 
Former Black Panther. Received a $1 million grant from the charitable arm of SBC/AT&T while working on legislation for telecoms.

David Scott (GA)
He got into government for the money, has $182,000 in unpaid taxes and $643,000 in campaign payments to his family and business.

Mel Watt (NC) 
Eagerly agreed with Barney Frank when he stated "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not facing any kind of financial crisis."

Maxine Waters (CA)
Typical race-baitor. Asserts that the U.S. government is responsible for the black crack epidemic and tried to impeach VP Cheney.

Pretty impressive list and they all have three things in common.
They all served in the 110th Congress from the 2006 elections.
They were all just re-elected for the 111th Congress in 2008.
They're all black.

Several ran unopposed, so the assumption is made that there's not a single candidate in their district who could oppose them without the burden of criminal investigations, financial complications, tax "issues", conflict of interest, greed, or blatant stupidity.
What an incredible place to live, any of these districts led by such flawed lawmakers.

Can we really conclude that the voters truly sent their best, brightest, most qualified representatives to Washinton D.C. to occupy the seat  for their district? Are these idiots (sorry...) the only choice the blacks in these districts are granted?
No.
Before you mistake this for race-baiting or bigotry, read on to see where I'm going. The truth lies just ahead....


A Different Take On Stereotyping
Another little nugget of wisdom I picked up from my father years ago concerns the idea of stereotyping people.
The motivation or focus does not matter - be it race, religion, gender, height, weight, golf score, etc.
A stereotype is born somewhere for some reason, and something provided the initial impression for it.
It does not occur in a vacuum.
My father told me that if I ever found myself the victim of a stereotype, look at the genesis of it. This takes an honest and open assessment of what others see, and I would have to deal with that reality before I could hope to fight it.
Once targeted by a stereotype, the LAST thing I wanted to do was behave in any way to confirm those founding notions.
Never stoop to being what they say you are, right?

I ask you to consider of the first stereotype of black people you think of. What's the first unflattering thing that comes to mind?
Be honest, they're out there.
Now, can you think of another stereotype from television, music, the newspapers, crime reports? What about personal experiences?
I don't care how Liberal, loving, color-blind, unbiased or tolerant you profess to be - you know they exist. Admit it to yourself.

I'll agree 100% with Bill Cosby on this one. 
Look at every black man or woman, in Congress or not. If they are doing ANYTHING to reinforce or perpetuate any stereotype they find so oppressive and offensive, they aren't doing any of their brothas and sistas any favors.
Why are black members of Congress not held to anything they campaign on?
Whites in Congress get away with too much, black ones get away with almost anything because we cannot criticize them at all.
Look at the stereotypical behaviors (of race and politics) many blacks exhibit once they are unleashed upon the Capitol.
Look at what they are doing to their own cause, and tell me why they are not obligated or compelled in the least to do better.


Raise The Bar - And Don't Just Duck Under It
Say what you want about Obama (I don't like him a damned bit) but he's far above and miles away from most of Congress when you look at his education, intelligence, class, sophistication, poise, oration skill and charisma. He will surely raise the bar for blacks in this nation, far beyond what Colin Powell or even Condoleezza Rice ever dreamed, and for that he is to be applauded.

This bar being raised, and the associated higher expectations, does not apply only to elected officials. I will be so bold as to state unequivocally that the bar rests in the hands of the voting public, and race excludes nobody from doing their part. It's time for ALL Americans of every race to take responsibility as voters and demand accountability from elected officials, instead of sending them back for another all expense paid, two-year ride on the Gov't Gravy Train where they can feed on the buffet until the cows come home.

Black America seeks every opportunity to spread the notion that they are still in last place, after all these decades of struggle.
America still conspires to leave them behind, and I'm one of the bad guys by default simply because of my skin color.
If you're last place in a race, you have to determine what you can do to gain the advantage over your opponent.
You either have to be better/stronger/faster/smarter than everybody else, or resort to cheating and asking for bent rules.
Crying "Woe is me" will never win a race, and wanting your results "adjusted" to reflect effort or skill not utilized is living a lie.

It's time for Black Americans to get pissed off at the right people for the right reasons, and raise themselves up.
Be honest when nobody is looking, be moral when they think God isn't watching, prepare their children for more than a hip-hop world.
Set an example for all to aspire to, and destroy prejudice with disarmament by giving the haters no ammunition to use against them.
Start voting for respectable, trustworthy representation without the sole focus of race, and demand they respect those who sent them to Washington.

There's a saying, "You can't fix stupid."
I disagree, here's one example of how you can - don't vote stupid.

To be fair, not all of the blacks in Congress are contributing to or expanding the stereotypes. 
Here are a few with some good intent and actions to back it up. I applaud them for being the sort of inspiration Washinton needs.

Artur Davis (AL)
He spoke out against his fellow Dems over Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, acknowledging the wrongs back to the Carter era.

Sanford Bishop (GA)
Honestly, he seems a very sensible conservative man, except for urinating in a cup on an airline flight from D.C. to Atlanta.
Hey, if you gotta go, you gotta go....

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