Dr Rice--A Victim of Politics or Racism

The lovely Dr Rice

I was heartened to see Dr. Condoleeza Rice speak this morning to her staff at the State Department. After a torturous month, Dr Rice started her first day as the new Secretary of State. Her confirmation hearings were indeed very disturbing. The seething anger and contempt demonstrated by some Democrats not only in the Judiciary commitee but the Senate floor as well was a bit shocking. Consider that there was no question that Dr Rice would be confirmed or about her qualifications for the position. Indeed many of the Democrats want to use her and Alberto Gonazles' nominations to give Bush-bashing anti-war lectures. However, the constant subtle and sometimes blatant accusations of lying, the unexplainable delays in her confirmation causes me to believe in an underlying racial component.

Dr Rice is a threat to many liberals, because she will be very visible in her role as Secretary of State and millions of blacks will see that. All of the talk of the Clinton administration as the lovers of blacks will seem more and more hollow. People may begin to ask why aren't there any blacks in high visible positions in the Democrats? Why do we give almost 90% of our vote and we don't have anything to show for it except empty tired promises? Blacks may begin to think that we need to look at President Bush in a different light. Bush is supposed to be our enemy, but he has promoted more minorities into high profile and important positions than any liberal Democrat president has done in almost 50 years. Liberals, both black and white, hate black conservatives. Black conservatives challenge the status quo. They are walking, living proof that you don't have to follow the civil wrongs activist game plan to succeed in life. These people didn't depend on the government or the great White father on their accomplishments. Blacks are the only solid dependable voting blocks that Democrats have left. If the GOP can erode this base, the Dems will truly become a minority party. That is why the confirmation process was nasty for Dr. Rice. Liberals needed to dirty her up, maintain their monopoly. Does this mean that Dr. Rice should not have to any questions? No, but there was no need to hold up her confirmation and the patronizing tone used by some Dems on the Judiciary committee. It seems that their tactics may have backfired, there are some indications that blacks across political lines were bothered by her troubles. The Dems may have played their hand too heavy, but we will wait and see if there is any backlash.

New Year, Same Old Story

As we begin a new year, it appears that many liberals continue to live in the past. As we try to move forward into the 21st century, past the civil rights movement, many black leaders are criticizing the newly appointed leader of the Civil Rights Commission, Gerald Reynolds. He acknoweldged the work of the civil right movement in the 1960's, but in an interview with NPR, he mentions the need to move forward. One of his goals is to shift "affirmative action" from being race based to socioeconomically based. Of course, this shift has sent liberals into a tizzy, since this would endanger their livelihood. Most blacks who are qualified can get into the college of their choice. Therefore, it should be more prudent to use resources into getting these students qualified instead of lowering standards. I am not one of those conservatives who do not think that racism does not exist. Racism is a big problem in corporate America. Blacks should seek to develop their own businesses and form an alternate network for young graduates to seek employment. Unfortunately, every minority and ethnic group had to prove themselves in our capitalist society independently. Once the greater corporate world sees the profits and success generated from these businesses, they will be more willing to hire and promote blacks. This system was the same for Jews, Germans, Catholics, Italians, and other ethnic minorities. Fortunately for black Americans, our capitalist society values the green stuff over any color or nationality. This aspect should be the basis of any economic improvement or mobility. One of the most unfortunate consequences of the civil rights movement was the destruction of our economic base and family structure. The spirit of entrepreneurship was squelched by government handouts and promises of set asides. It is up to the post civil rights generation of blacks to take up the mantle and continue forward where our ancestors in the pre civil rights days left off.