I'm going to go a bit personal here. Honestly, I couldn't decide if this should get posted on this blog or my central blog where more personal musings go. But after a few seconds of thought, I said to myself, "Self, this is political for you." My apologies to The Talking Heads. Anyway, here goes.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
We're supporting the tyranny in Egypt
Like many other people, I was excited to see the change happening in Egypt a few years ago. Egyptians were excited, and fought for the country they wanted. And then the movement got hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, who the United State and President Obama supported with arms and dollars. Hooray for tyranny.
Did gay marriage proponents actually win anything substantial?
The Supreme Court's decision on gay-marriage finally came out yesterday. The biggest decision was the justices decision about gay marriage. It essentially boils down to this: In states that allow gay marriage, gay couples qualify for federal benefits. So if a gay couple lives in a state that already defines marriage as between a man and a woman, they will not qualify for federal benefits. Essentially, states rights wins. Well, for now.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Ohio food stamp program is drying up
Conservatives across the board have been warning that the handout line would get longer and the handouts would have to end. Well, that day is coming for Ohio.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Owning the Fair Pay Act discussion
How a discussion on Google+ became an exercise in me owning someone.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The Occupy Movement Misses The Tax Picture
Since we're starting a new national election cycle, tax increases and decreases are the flavor of the month for pundits and those seeking election and re-election. And then there's the #Occupy movement. The 99%. Honestly, I'm not sure what they're consise message is. I know they want jobs, and an end to corporate greed. Might as well say they want higher earnings as well. But they're wasting their time and complaining to the wrong people.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The GOP in NC & New District Voting Lines
Recently, Patrick McHenry said to Politico.com that new district lines would be drawn up now that Republicans control the General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction. The quote that was attributed to McHenry was "It’s politically probable that there will be a new minority influence district. … It’s logical based on the demographics of our state,” What the GOP is considering is adding another district that would be minority friendly, but at the same time, redrawing other districts to insure that GOP candidates are heavily favored based on demographics of the new district.
While the GOP may think they deserve the spoils of war after having been locked out of the process for so long, this is definetly not the right way to go about it. For years, conservatives complained about "gerrymandering," the art of drawing voting districts to favor one candidate over the other based on demographics, and not true geographical, or already existing political lines such as county borders. Democrats would draw up districts to make sure that their guys had a more than likely chance of getting re-elected. Now, the GOP is up to those same tricks. New dog, same tricks.
Current ideas being tossed around are the re-drawing of Democrat G. K. Butterfield's district to include fewer minority voters in eastern North Carolina, and to move a lot of the liberal voters in Heath Shuler's Asheville area district to McHenry's more conservative friendly district. Anyone who knows anything about the geography of North Carolina knows how bad an idea this is. The district map is so bad now, it looks like a poorly designed jigsaw puzzle. McHenry's district (10) goes from the South Carolina border west of Charlotte to the Tennessee border west of Boone.
Greenville, Goldsboro, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, New Bern, and Wilson are split between at least two districts. In the case of Rocky Mount and Fayetteville, they are split between three districts. If McHenry and his fellow Republicans learned anything over the last few years, it should have been that voters want sensible voting districts that represent their area, not an area from Edenton to Henderson, as is the case with Butterfield's district 1.
And to be perfectly honest, it's a chicken move by the GOP. It screams, "we might not succeed, but we'll be back to screw it up some more because of the voters in our district." You would only do something like this if you were afraid your policies wouldn't benefit your constituents. You're betting that the only reason you'll get voted in is you have a good fund raising base and a lot of people like your stances, successful or not. The GOP should take a stand against rigging districts like this. Be bold. Pass good, common sense policies that benefit everyone and you won't have to sweat out re-election.
The other school of thought on that is that we have already elected career-politicians. Politicians need to be made aware that they serve at the public's behest, not because they thought this would be a long-term fulfilling career. I've often said that those who want to decide how to spend the public's tax money should stay away from it. See those with degrees in public administration. Once politicians start fighting like mad to stay in office, and take a "damn the toredos" approach, it's time to get them out.
While the GOP may think they deserve the spoils of war after having been locked out of the process for so long, this is definetly not the right way to go about it. For years, conservatives complained about "gerrymandering," the art of drawing voting districts to favor one candidate over the other based on demographics, and not true geographical, or already existing political lines such as county borders. Democrats would draw up districts to make sure that their guys had a more than likely chance of getting re-elected. Now, the GOP is up to those same tricks. New dog, same tricks.
Current ideas being tossed around are the re-drawing of Democrat G. K. Butterfield's district to include fewer minority voters in eastern North Carolina, and to move a lot of the liberal voters in Heath Shuler's Asheville area district to McHenry's more conservative friendly district. Anyone who knows anything about the geography of North Carolina knows how bad an idea this is. The district map is so bad now, it looks like a poorly designed jigsaw puzzle. McHenry's district (10) goes from the South Carolina border west of Charlotte to the Tennessee border west of Boone.
And to be perfectly honest, it's a chicken move by the GOP. It screams, "we might not succeed, but we'll be back to screw it up some more because of the voters in our district." You would only do something like this if you were afraid your policies wouldn't benefit your constituents. You're betting that the only reason you'll get voted in is you have a good fund raising base and a lot of people like your stances, successful or not. The GOP should take a stand against rigging districts like this. Be bold. Pass good, common sense policies that benefit everyone and you won't have to sweat out re-election.
The other school of thought on that is that we have already elected career-politicians. Politicians need to be made aware that they serve at the public's behest, not because they thought this would be a long-term fulfilling career. I've often said that those who want to decide how to spend the public's tax money should stay away from it. See those with degrees in public administration. Once politicians start fighting like mad to stay in office, and take a "damn the toredos" approach, it's time to get them out.
I understand McHenry and other Republicans' frustration with district voting lines. But they should learn from the mistakes of the past, not continue to repeat them. Careers be damned.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Violence in Athens, Greece
So, if the Greek unions don't get what the want, they just through Molotav cocktails at the police.
Videos after the jump.
Videos after the jump.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The New Progressive Tax: Your Power Bill
I read today on the Raleigh News & Observer that the conservationists in the NC General Assembly are thinking about the idea of tiered electric rates. Here's the article. In a nutshell, if one is able to do so, state lawmakers are considering changing how people are charged for electric usage. Higher tier users would be charged a higher rate per unit compared to those that use little a lower amount per unit. Currently the state's power companies charge a flat rate per unit, save for Duke Power, but this new proposal would allow the state's public utilities commission to overhaul the rate plans.
This new proposal was introduced by Patsy Keever, a Democrat from Buncumb County. Why is this a bad idea?
This new proposal was introduced by Patsy Keever, a Democrat from Buncumb County. Why is this a bad idea?
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Mexicans Have Built Giant Catapults
If only this were a joke. In a recent Raleigh News & Observer story, I read that Mexican drug gangs are using catapults to launch marijuana over the US/Mexican border. Like I said, if only this were a joke.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Great Example of What Caused the Housing Mess
Friday, December 10, 2010
Even a Tax Bill Gets Loaded Up
Some people ask me "If you're registered independent, why do you align yourself with Republicans?" Well, I consider myself a common sense conservative. I believe there a few things the government should do, and a lot it shouldn't do. If Republicans start screwing up, I'll let you know.
The only reason I bring that up is due to the current mess going on in DC with the tax bill. This is not just a bill to keep the Bush era tax cuts in place. It also includes all kinds of tax credits for just about every industry you can think of. The same industries that received tax breaks/credits via TARP in 2008 are set to receive additional corporate welfare. From the WashingtonExaminer.com:
The only reason I bring that up is due to the current mess going on in DC with the tax bill. This is not just a bill to keep the Bush era tax cuts in place. It also includes all kinds of tax credits for just about every industry you can think of. The same industries that received tax breaks/credits via TARP in 2008 are set to receive additional corporate welfare. From the WashingtonExaminer.com:
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Multitude Yelling and Holding Signs are Supporters!
Now that the newsies have had a day to digest the Republican party winning back the House, several governors' seats, and countless other local and state elections, it's time for the Dems to start putting their own spin on it. In fact, it's the Democrat in Chief who we can point to for calling it just a rock on a dirt path. Countless liberals are saying that this election was not a rejection of liberal ideals, but the voters were simply rejecting the message. Yes, to paraphrase Bill Clinton, "it's the message, stupid."
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Rick Sanchez is a victim of Rick Sanchez
Rick Sanchez, the twitter reading day-time host of CNN was fired over the weekend after making derisive remarks about Comedy Central's "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart. The comment was part of a series of remarks in which Sanchez complained that Jews do not face discrimination, and called out Stewart - calling him a "bigot" - for mocking him. In case he didn't know, Stewart is a Jew. Well, he does now.
Whenever a public figure, like Sanchez, is fired from a position that people are used to seeing them in every day, there might be a bit of sympathy from their viewers. Picture little old ladies sitting on their plastic covered sofas every afternoon. Sometimes, a tiff like this can put two opposing camps at odds with each other. But when the target is the liberal left's homeboy, Jon Stewart, there's not a battle, just the carnage. And that's what Sanchez is.
Sanchez, as a commentator at CNN, should have known not to go after Stewart, even if he wanted to. There's nothing to win for Sanchez. Stewart is bulletproof, and Stewart knows it. Even if Sanchez feels the mainstream media gives him a second billing as a Hispanic newscaster (he's Cuban born) as compared to northeast liberals, such as Stewart, he should have known to keep his trap closed.
To give you an idea of what kind of trust people put in Stewart, he was selected in a 2009 TIME Magazine poll the most trusted newscaster. Granted, it was an on-line poll, which might skew the results in Stewart's favor, but nevertheless.
The truly sad thing is there's really nothing for Sanchez to fall back on, unless he wants to hit the Fox News interview circuit, but I doubt Fox News would entertain the thought. Many people saw Sanchez as just a social media leach on CNN. His daily talk show, the Rick List, consisted of him mainly reviewing some trending stories and inviting his viewers to give their takes via Twitter. He would read his favorite on the air. I felt the show was pure filler, and CNN's way of trying to break into the social media realm, much like their I-Report videos. I do not feel that conservatives are going to give him a break either. Sanchez has worked at both MSNBC and CNN, and both are considered scourge of the Earth material by conservatives.
Some may point to John Stossel as an example of news people that were given a chance at Fox, but Stossel already had conservative, or, in his case, libertarian credentials that made it easy for him to be embraced by a new audience. Sanchez does not have that luxury. And that is why we say, good luck, Mr. Sanchez. You're going to need it.
Whenever a public figure, like Sanchez, is fired from a position that people are used to seeing them in every day, there might be a bit of sympathy from their viewers. Picture little old ladies sitting on their plastic covered sofas every afternoon. Sometimes, a tiff like this can put two opposing camps at odds with each other. But when the target is the liberal left's homeboy, Jon Stewart, there's not a battle, just the carnage. And that's what Sanchez is.
Sanchez, as a commentator at CNN, should have known not to go after Stewart, even if he wanted to. There's nothing to win for Sanchez. Stewart is bulletproof, and Stewart knows it. Even if Sanchez feels the mainstream media gives him a second billing as a Hispanic newscaster (he's Cuban born) as compared to northeast liberals, such as Stewart, he should have known to keep his trap closed.
To give you an idea of what kind of trust people put in Stewart, he was selected in a 2009 TIME Magazine poll the most trusted newscaster. Granted, it was an on-line poll, which might skew the results in Stewart's favor, but nevertheless.
The truly sad thing is there's really nothing for Sanchez to fall back on, unless he wants to hit the Fox News interview circuit, but I doubt Fox News would entertain the thought. Many people saw Sanchez as just a social media leach on CNN. His daily talk show, the Rick List, consisted of him mainly reviewing some trending stories and inviting his viewers to give their takes via Twitter. He would read his favorite on the air. I felt the show was pure filler, and CNN's way of trying to break into the social media realm, much like their I-Report videos. I do not feel that conservatives are going to give him a break either. Sanchez has worked at both MSNBC and CNN, and both are considered scourge of the Earth material by conservatives.
Some may point to John Stossel as an example of news people that were given a chance at Fox, but Stossel already had conservative, or, in his case, libertarian credentials that made it easy for him to be embraced by a new audience. Sanchez does not have that luxury. And that is why we say, good luck, Mr. Sanchez. You're going to need it.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
NC Governmental Beaucracy at its Best.
In today's News & Observer, there is a front-page article about how the state's Employment Security Commision, or ESC, actually overpaid a few people that were on its roll. Thankfully, it's really not a big deal. Some estimate the over-payment amount at somewhere around $28 million. Whew! I thought it might be somewhere around a more understandable few hundred thousand dollars.
From the article, the problem appears to be an issue of paying constituents from the wrong funding, which involves federally funded unemployment extensions. Accounts the state uses to pay unemployment benefits were starting to be overdrawn, and then someone noticed a problem.
Fortunately, for the citizenry of this great state, the ESC is wasting more money sending letters to those it overpaid to let them know of the error. And not only are they letting them know about the error, but also letting them know they may also be required to re-pay the state. Yes sir!
As a citizen taxpayer, I would love to have the citizens pay back the money simply to keep my taxes down. But as a taxpayer, I believe it to be completely unfair to the affected individuals. It is a misguided notion to ask people that are considered "long-term unemployed" (as this is who the error generally affects) to repay benefits that were incorrectly given to them. Yes, I know some will call this stealing. Well, the individuals didn't rob a bank in the middle of the night. All they did was . . . nothing. At the worst, you could probably blame them for continuing to report that they are unemployed. In this economy, if you were unemployed and your benefits kept coming in, would you turn them down?
Eventually, the state needs to take the blame for sloppy record keeping, among other things. When a person's unemployment benefits start, they are automatically set to expire after a set amount of weeks. Well, at least they were. Maybe the state should look to its own automated processes as the culprit. But you can't get money from a computer, and that's what this all boils down to, recouping money. The state made an error, and the citizens have to pay. Again.
From the article, the problem appears to be an issue of paying constituents from the wrong funding, which involves federally funded unemployment extensions. Accounts the state uses to pay unemployment benefits were starting to be overdrawn, and then someone noticed a problem.
Fortunately, for the citizenry of this great state, the ESC is wasting more money sending letters to those it overpaid to let them know of the error. And not only are they letting them know about the error, but also letting them know they may also be required to re-pay the state. Yes sir!
As a citizen taxpayer, I would love to have the citizens pay back the money simply to keep my taxes down. But as a taxpayer, I believe it to be completely unfair to the affected individuals. It is a misguided notion to ask people that are considered "long-term unemployed" (as this is who the error generally affects) to repay benefits that were incorrectly given to them. Yes, I know some will call this stealing. Well, the individuals didn't rob a bank in the middle of the night. All they did was . . . nothing. At the worst, you could probably blame them for continuing to report that they are unemployed. In this economy, if you were unemployed and your benefits kept coming in, would you turn them down?
Supposedly, those affected can ask for a "waiver" and have the re-payment forgiven, but its not known what criteria will be used to grant these "waivers."
Eventually, the state needs to take the blame for sloppy record keeping, among other things. When a person's unemployment benefits start, they are automatically set to expire after a set amount of weeks. Well, at least they were. Maybe the state should look to its own automated processes as the culprit. But you can't get money from a computer, and that's what this all boils down to, recouping money. The state made an error, and the citizens have to pay. Again.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
White People Need Not Apply
Oh, this should be entertaining. No way it gets any major national attention though.
A black elementary school principal in Michigan arranged a trip for only Black students to attend a meeting with a Black rocket-scientist. I'm all for trips that will help kids see there is more to getting an education than just recess time, but this stinks. The principal, Mike Madison, may not have had any racist intentions at all. Hindsight is 20/20 as the saying goes.
But what would happen if a White principal arranged a field trip for only White students. Jesse Jackson, you have a call on lines 1, 2, and 3. Unfortunately for Mr. Madison, he does need to be released from his position simply because if this were done by a White principal, he would be out of a job before he could ask what kind of terms would be in the agreement.
Here is the news feed from Foxnews.com. Even someone in Michigan agrees with me!
A black elementary school principal in Michigan arranged a trip for only Black students to attend a meeting with a Black rocket-scientist. I'm all for trips that will help kids see there is more to getting an education than just recess time, but this stinks. The principal, Mike Madison, may not have had any racist intentions at all. Hindsight is 20/20 as the saying goes.
But what would happen if a White principal arranged a field trip for only White students. Jesse Jackson, you have a call on lines 1, 2, and 3. Unfortunately for Mr. Madison, he does need to be released from his position simply because if this were done by a White principal, he would be out of a job before he could ask what kind of terms would be in the agreement.
Here is the news feed from Foxnews.com. Even someone in Michigan agrees with me!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Thank you! I'll be here all week.
Last weekend was the big White House correspondents dinner. For those that do not know, this is when all the national media that cover the WH on a regular basis get together and yuck it up. The President shows up, shares in the good times and tells some jokes. And there are always a few celebrities on hand to give it a good time feel.
I don't mind the jokes, or even care about Obama poking fun at the opposition. My concern is having an event solely for the purpose of wining and dining the press. If the press is supposed to be the "4th estate," they should report on the news, not participate in the lambasting of political opponents.
And for the record, I do not care who is in office, Republican, Green, Libertarian, or Democrat. The press corps can not be a neutral entity when they are invited to an event put on to simply entertain them.
Even the media has called into question the purpose and friendliness of such an event. In 2006, comedian Stephen Colbert was the invited speaker, and practically ran, then President Bush out of the room. Unfortunately for the neutral media, this is just another indicator of how cozy the media is with politicians that speak their language.
Wikipedia page for the White House Correspondent's Association
Wiki page for Colbert's roast of President Bush
I don't mind the jokes, or even care about Obama poking fun at the opposition. My concern is having an event solely for the purpose of wining and dining the press. If the press is supposed to be the "4th estate," they should report on the news, not participate in the lambasting of political opponents.
And for the record, I do not care who is in office, Republican, Green, Libertarian, or Democrat. The press corps can not be a neutral entity when they are invited to an event put on to simply entertain them.
Even the media has called into question the purpose and friendliness of such an event. In 2006, comedian Stephen Colbert was the invited speaker, and practically ran, then President Bush out of the room. Unfortunately for the neutral media, this is just another indicator of how cozy the media is with politicians that speak their language.
Wikipedia page for the White House Correspondent's Association
Wiki page for Colbert's roast of President Bush
Friday, April 30, 2010
Charlie Crist, the Desperate Candidate
Anyone that has paid any amount of attention to the Marco Rubio / Charlie Crist race for the Republican Gubanatorial race in Florida over the past few months had to see this one coming. With Rubio pounding Crist in polls and fundraising, Crist announced that he will run as an Independent. I guess this is Crist's answer to what job or career he will consider after he loses in the primary: He has no idea.
Who wouldn't love to be a state level politician (some days)? Great benefits and free travel across your state are two good reasons. And just about how everyone thinks your important. Everyone needs something from you. But then there are the drawbacks. You have to fight for your job every two to four years. For 11 months of your last year in office, you spend more time campaigning that actually doing the job you were voted to do. Every little mispoken word or every line that could be taken out of context is taken out of context and you spend two weeks doing job-saving crisis prevention. But hey, if being a politician is something you really want to do, then go for it.
But, please keep these things in mind, because it seems that Mr. Crist has forgotten them.
1. You are elected. One day, one year, one election, you will lose. It's inevetible. Unless you are caught doing something really stupid, like, say, cheating on your wife with a call-girl or you have an Argentinian mistress. Then of course, you will be asked to leave office before the election. And politicians hate that.
2. This is not a career. I wish that every politically affiliated post in every state had term limits, but alas, they do not. When you begin feeling that the citizenry does not want you in office, but you have done a fairly good job by them, take that as a sign to leave office with your dignity intact. Right now, Crist is losing to Rubio by about 20 points in polls (here), although Rasmussen has Rubio leading a 3-way race by 7 points. When you feel yourself about to get voted out of office, leave gracefully. Maybe in 20 years, they'll name a school or library after you. If you keep trying to hold on to your job like the Japanese fighting for Iwo Jima, then people start to think of you as a big jerk that won't go away. I call it "I don't know what else to do syndrome." They have spent their whole life climbing the political peak, and they have reached the summit, and they don't want to go back down. It's similar to squatter's rights, "I've been here for so long, it's mine, and I ain't givin' it up."
With either candidate holding sizeable leads over Democratic candidate Meek, the GOP primary is the big race. Crist has been battling up hill for quite some time, and it's sad to see him continuing to cling to his job, despite the writing on the wall.
Who wouldn't love to be a state level politician (some days)? Great benefits and free travel across your state are two good reasons. And just about how everyone thinks your important. Everyone needs something from you. But then there are the drawbacks. You have to fight for your job every two to four years. For 11 months of your last year in office, you spend more time campaigning that actually doing the job you were voted to do. Every little mispoken word or every line that could be taken out of context is taken out of context and you spend two weeks doing job-saving crisis prevention. But hey, if being a politician is something you really want to do, then go for it.
But, please keep these things in mind, because it seems that Mr. Crist has forgotten them.
1. You are elected. One day, one year, one election, you will lose. It's inevetible. Unless you are caught doing something really stupid, like, say, cheating on your wife with a call-girl or you have an Argentinian mistress. Then of course, you will be asked to leave office before the election. And politicians hate that.
2. This is not a career. I wish that every politically affiliated post in every state had term limits, but alas, they do not. When you begin feeling that the citizenry does not want you in office, but you have done a fairly good job by them, take that as a sign to leave office with your dignity intact. Right now, Crist is losing to Rubio by about 20 points in polls (here), although Rasmussen has Rubio leading a 3-way race by 7 points. When you feel yourself about to get voted out of office, leave gracefully. Maybe in 20 years, they'll name a school or library after you. If you keep trying to hold on to your job like the Japanese fighting for Iwo Jima, then people start to think of you as a big jerk that won't go away. I call it "I don't know what else to do syndrome." They have spent their whole life climbing the political peak, and they have reached the summit, and they don't want to go back down. It's similar to squatter's rights, "I've been here for so long, it's mine, and I ain't givin' it up."
With either candidate holding sizeable leads over Democratic candidate Meek, the GOP primary is the big race. Crist has been battling up hill for quite some time, and it's sad to see him continuing to cling to his job, despite the writing on the wall.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Senator Carl Levin and his rated R tirade
Dear Senator Carl Levin:
I hope you enjoyed your 15 minutes. As an elected official for the state of Michigan, you carried yourself in a totally unprofessional way in your interrogation of Goldman Sachs executives. Granted, I know you were reading verbatim their inter-office emails. But you didn't have to. You could have self-censored. But you chose a different route. Shock and awe, right? Your little tirade wouldn't have made it on PBS or C-SPAN, two public broadcast networks. Radio and TV networks had to censor the tape before it was aired. Is that really something you want to be remembered for?
There are plenty of other ways for you to make your point. And for the record, I think Goldman Sachs probably participated in practices that ended up hurting their clients. If you really wanted to get to the bottom of the well, it is not productive to berate someone with silly questions that you simply want answered like this, "Yep, we lied, lied, and lied some more. And we made millions along the way."
Even in a court of law, a judge would have asked you to tone down the language. But no, in the highest level of government, you had to use language that would have gotten a middle schooler kicked out of school. I hope you feel good about yourself this morning. And for your sake, I hope emails from you with derogatory language do not get leaked out. After all, they are kept on government servers.
Sincerely,
The Conservative Rocker
I hope you enjoyed your 15 minutes. As an elected official for the state of Michigan, you carried yourself in a totally unprofessional way in your interrogation of Goldman Sachs executives. Granted, I know you were reading verbatim their inter-office emails. But you didn't have to. You could have self-censored. But you chose a different route. Shock and awe, right? Your little tirade wouldn't have made it on PBS or C-SPAN, two public broadcast networks. Radio and TV networks had to censor the tape before it was aired. Is that really something you want to be remembered for?
There are plenty of other ways for you to make your point. And for the record, I think Goldman Sachs probably participated in practices that ended up hurting their clients. If you really wanted to get to the bottom of the well, it is not productive to berate someone with silly questions that you simply want answered like this, "Yep, we lied, lied, and lied some more. And we made millions along the way."
Even in a court of law, a judge would have asked you to tone down the language. But no, in the highest level of government, you had to use language that would have gotten a middle schooler kicked out of school. I hope you feel good about yourself this morning. And for your sake, I hope emails from you with derogatory language do not get leaked out. After all, they are kept on government servers.
Sincerely,
The Conservative Rocker
Monday, April 26, 2010
Race politics, and NC Senate District 3
In the race for Democratic Primary for NC Senate District 3, there are some interesting developments. Clark Jenkins is the incumbent, and is a white farmer. He may call himself a businessman. But he’s a farmer. The other lead candidate is Frankie Bourdeaux, a black businessman. He and his wife own a mental health clinic. I heard on the radio this morning Mr. Bourdeaux is putting out a robo-call asking black Democrats to turn out in good numbers for the Democratic primary in May. This should be embarrassing for the Democratic Party. Basically, it’s the “help a brotha out” mentality.
If Bourdeaux really wants to win the election for valid reasons, he needs to get his message out to the voters and not ask black people to vote for the black candidate. Local Democratic leaders need to call Bourdeaux to the carpet on this. I’m not supporting either candidate, but I imagine there would be quite a controversy if people opposed to Bourdeaux basically accused him of winning only because of his skin color. And it would not even be that far-fetched of an argument considering this new bit of information.
And if you do not think anything is wrong with this, what do you think would happen if Clark Jenkins asked all the white people to vote for him? He would not even be allowed to come back home. He would not have to worry about the local media. The national media would be camped outside his home. It is still racism, no matter how you color it. Racism is the same either way, and Mr. Bourdeaux should be ashamed of himself.
Even Mr. Bourdeaux's wife has made similar statements. The Rocky Mount Telegram quoted her, At the end of his remarks, Bordeaux’s wife, Faye, asked the crowd to consider her husband’s background, race and affinity for the residents of District 3 before they go to vote.
“This is a 58 percent minority district,” Faye Bordeaux said. “Why can’t we have someone in that seat who is qualified to do the job and who also looks and sounds like the people he represents?”
What she failed to bring up is how this is a 58% minority district. The district includes Martin, Edgecombe, and parts of Pitt, Bertie, Tyrrell, and Washington counties. The district lines are drawn up to elect a black person. Instead of giving the most populated county in the east (Pitt) it's own senate representative, the county is divided up, giving parts of it to district 3, and parts to district 5. Even the racial breakdown of the counties doesn't equal 58%. Pitt county is only 33% black; Martin is 45%; Edgecombe is 57%; Washington is 49%; Tyrrell is 39%; Bertie is 62%.
The Bourdeaux's should think about why they are running for office, and should plan on representing everyone in their district if elected, not just black people.
If Bourdeaux really wants to win the election for valid reasons, he needs to get his message out to the voters and not ask black people to vote for the black candidate. Local Democratic leaders need to call Bourdeaux to the carpet on this. I’m not supporting either candidate, but I imagine there would be quite a controversy if people opposed to Bourdeaux basically accused him of winning only because of his skin color. And it would not even be that far-fetched of an argument considering this new bit of information.
And if you do not think anything is wrong with this, what do you think would happen if Clark Jenkins asked all the white people to vote for him? He would not even be allowed to come back home. He would not have to worry about the local media. The national media would be camped outside his home. It is still racism, no matter how you color it. Racism is the same either way, and Mr. Bourdeaux should be ashamed of himself.
Even Mr. Bourdeaux's wife has made similar statements. The Rocky Mount Telegram quoted her, At the end of his remarks, Bordeaux’s wife, Faye, asked the crowd to consider her husband’s background, race and affinity for the residents of District 3 before they go to vote.
“This is a 58 percent minority district,” Faye Bordeaux said. “Why can’t we have someone in that seat who is qualified to do the job and who also looks and sounds like the people he represents?”
What she failed to bring up is how this is a 58% minority district. The district includes Martin, Edgecombe, and parts of Pitt, Bertie, Tyrrell, and Washington counties. The district lines are drawn up to elect a black person. Instead of giving the most populated county in the east (Pitt) it's own senate representative, the county is divided up, giving parts of it to district 3, and parts to district 5. Even the racial breakdown of the counties doesn't equal 58%. Pitt county is only 33% black; Martin is 45%; Edgecombe is 57%; Washington is 49%; Tyrrell is 39%; Bertie is 62%.
The Bourdeaux's should think about why they are running for office, and should plan on representing everyone in their district if elected, not just black people.
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