The Monolithic Block

"I would like to invite the entire black community to try something different this year. Try voting for the Elephant in the room rather than the Donkey who continues to kick you."

As most of us know, immediately after his huge victory in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders made a bee line to his birth city of New York City. New York City? There is nothing happening in NYC right now! Oh yes there is - Harlem. And in Harlem lives Al Sharpton. Al wanted "his ring kissed". So they met for breakfast, and Bernie kissed Al's ring. All for his blessing and his vote. 

Not to be outdone, Hillary has been courting the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for many months now. And by the way, what a misnomer for an organization. No black Republicans are welcome in that caucus. However, if you are black, liberal, progressive, socialistic or even a commie, you are welcome in the CBC. And this past week they endorsed Hillary Clinton.

I have often wondered why with all the past sins of the Democrat Party against blacks, as well as ALL the promises made to black folks by Democrats which have never been fulfilled, why 70%, 80%, or even 90% vote Democratic? And in the year 2008, with this young progressive black guy from Chicago running for President, 95% of all black voters voted for him. In 2012, it was almost as high with 93%.

And most black folks have done very, very well under President Obama, right? Wrong. Let's look as some metrics as discovered by Pew Research. First off, during the period of 2009 to 2014 the black poverty rate increased from 25.8% to 27.2%. Income for blacks has dropped 9% during the Obama years as compared to only 1% for whites. Finally, net income for blacks is currently $18,100 - 1/5 lower than when Obama took office.

And yet even with those lousy metrics, the blacks are getting ready once again to vote as a monolithic block for either Hillary or Bernie. As the promises and pandering continue to come from the Democrats, many black folks are still believing and hoping. And should a Democrat be elected again, chances are very good the metrics at the end of the term(s) will still be lousy. 

As a voter, as an American, as a person who believes STRONGLY in equal opportunity, it bothers me greatly that Democrats take the black vote for granted. They have to do very little to obtain it - except lie to them. Tell them if elected, everything will get better. And it seldom does. Just once, I would like black leaders within the community to say something like, "We have tried this since Harry Truman, and things have not improved - they have become worse. Maybe we should try the other party for a change."

I would think that for black youth, they would want real hope and change. Under Obama, they received neither. Food stamps usage for blacks almost doubled. Black unemployment for youth is still unacceptable. One out of four black youth are still unemployed. And one more thing. The rate of single mother black births in the black community is horrible. It is at 72%. Most all poverty experts will tell you the same thing - the quickest path to poverty is to be a single mom with a young baby.

As a conservative, as a fellow American, as someone who cares about people regardless of heritage or the pigment of skin, I would like to invite the entire black community to try something different this year. Try voting for the Elephant in the room rather than the Donkey who continues to kick you.

If you have not done better under a Republican President working with a Republican Congress, then I will fully understand why you eschew voting Republican. However, I just have a hunch you will be better off - quite a bit better off at the end of the term(s).