How to stop being n/a.

The Field Negro education series continues.

"Black people have an awful lot to say about Ben Carson, even if President Ben Carson is pure fantasy. No reason to think otherwise: The legendary neurosurgeon’s bizarre quest for No. 1 gives us little confidence he’s pulling this one off. His Monday announcement in Detroit (you have got to watch it), including an offbeat circus collection of gospel Eminem and a bizarre drill show of aging, pot-bellied soldiers onstage, cements that view.

Does it really matter what African Americans think about Ben Carson? No, not really, so this Washington Post piece on the subject was probably an exercise in futility. Black people aren’t voting for Republicans anyway, much less participating in GOP presidential primaries.
 

Now, it goes without saying that black people made Dr. Ben. The wild success of Carson’s first book, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, the foundation for two decades of public life and a TNT movie, was pushed by black America’s once quasi-fanatic embrace of the Detroit native’s struggle-to-the-top story. You could find Gifted Hands in many a random black church and Sunday school as something of a second Bible.

But that was before folks got to know political Dr. Ben and that ill-fated 2013 National Prayer Breakfast babble where he blasted President Barack Obama’s health care law—with the president sitting right there watching. At that point, Carson went from favored black son of Motown to alien friend of Rush Limbaugh. With his edgy, oddball rants on race, constantly spiced with an incessant focus on the “black laziness” archetype, Carson only cares about what white conservatives think.
 

And why shouldn’t he? Carson’s blimp-sized brand appeal snags him 29 percent favorability ratings among black voters, according to last week’s YouGov poll (pdf)—just 1 percentage point of black support ahead of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). (Yes—apparently 28 percent of black voters see something in Ted Cruz.)
 

He doesn’t care because total black-voter participation during the 2012 Super Tuesday Republican primary was just over 2 percent. Two Southern states with massive black populations, South Carolina and Mississippi, each registered a 2 percent black primary turnout. Republican pollsters tabulating primary exit polls don’t even bother factoring in black voters, frequently classifying them as “n/a.”
 

Black America’s acute distaste for the Republican brand and its candidates is well-known and documented. There’s probably nothing wrong with that, considering the GOP establishment’s open hostility to black-favored policy outcomes.
 

Still, how you feel about a political party has little to do with whether or not it works for you. Like corporations mulling over markets, political parties operate as complex business operations with limited cyclical resources. While it’s incumbent upon all political parties like the GOP to pimp themselves in any election as a better ballot alternative, it’s also crucial for politically active populations to strategically position their interests." [More]

This is all very interesting. But it's something I have heard from quite a few black folks: As black people we need to consider voting for the republican candidates and register as republicans so that both parties will have to compete for our votes.

This of course is easier said than done.

I recently met a sharp republican brother running for council at large here in Philly.

He seemed to have his act together and we agreed on quite a few things about how to move our city forward and address the needs of the black community.

The thing is, though, that his party wasn't really supporting him. He was frustrated that he was not getting the support that he needs and was out on an island trying to spread their message.

"They (the party) would rather put their weight behind some white guy who is given them the same old same old. They just won't get behind someone like me."

That's really a shame, because if the republican party is serious about reaching out to minorities and improving the perception of their party, they will start supporting and putting their weight behind candidates like James Williams.

Building grass roots candidates from local communities is how they would start making inroads into our community. Not getting on some cable talk show and telling us how sincere they are about reaching out to people of color.

I am sorry, but candidates like Ben Carson, Allen West, and Herman Cain, are just not going to get it done.

Until the republicans in Washington realize this fact, we will always just be "n/a" in their book.