The republican party.

I am trying to watch the GOP convention. Trying. Between John Boehner's "man walks into a bar" joke, and the whole "you didn't build that" theme, (I think we all know who built it, and we did it free of charge) I am starting to think that the strip bars in Tampa are going to be filling up a bit early tonight. *yawn*

I am just waiting for my friend from New Jersey to tear himself away from the buffet table and give his speech. It should be interesting. I am sure that as a pro choice politician from the Northeast corridor he won't be talking about things like abortion. And, given his party's position on that issue, that's probably a good thing. Governor Chris will be the guy to tear that Obama fellow a new one, and my wingnut friends are hoping and praying that he will deliver.

Rick Santorum is speaking now. He is talking about life and liberty and how we must kick the beige dude out of the people's house "for the sake of our children". Of course Rick is talking about the unborn again. Rick really cares a lot about the unborn, the kids who are here and living in poverty on the other hand; not so much.

Ann Romney is going to give a speech as well. She will be the one trying to "humanize" her husband. Good luck with that. I can't say anything bad about Mrs. Romney. The poor lady has had to overcome so much. (No, not living with a robot for all these years.) She deserves our praise. Even if she has to brag to us that she shops at Costcos. (Memo to Mrs. Romney, that is nothing to brag about. That ought to be reason enough not to vote for your husband. Now I know where he gets those f****d up looking jeans.)

Artur is talking now. I would like to listen to what he is saying but I just can't. Because honestly, I have heard that song before, and the dance he is doing to it still looks the same. I know Artur, you are still mad at Obama because he didn't talk to you at Harvard.

I still haven't heard any of the republican speakers send their prayers to the people of the Gulf Coast. Seven years after Katrina, those poor folks are looking at another b***h slap from the gal upstairs. Artur should have started his speech by saying let's keep those folks on the Gulf Coast in our thoughts and prayers, but he didn't. He just couldn't wait to get into his jig.

So while the republicans party in Tampa, their fellow Americans are looking at a potential disaster just hundreds of miles away. The imagery couldn't be more fitting.

 










 

Mutiny in the house?

Negro republicans are upset with Mitt Romney for not including them on his website. Apparently he has every other group but the Negro. And here you all thought being in the house with Mitt would get you certain privileges. You all must think your name is Artur Davis or something.

"Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign website includes a category for “Communities,” under which you’ll find nearly every kind of demographic group: “Catholics for Romney,” “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Romney,” farmers and ranchers, lawyers, Jewish and Polish Americans, veterans and military families, young Americans, even Hispanics, under the banner “Juntos for Romney” — which may or may not be ironic given Romney’s stance on “self-deportation.” But one thing you won’t find on the site: African-Americans for Romney.

And some black Republicans are not happy about it.

It’s shameful,” said one prominent black, “west coast” Republican, who contacted theGrio about the admission, but preferred not to use their name. The source said they have been involved in Republican politics “throughout the modern era,” and said they couldn’t recall a single GOP campaign that didn’t include some formal attempt at black outreach, particularly online.
When reached for comment, Tara Wall, senior communications and coalitions adviser to the Romney campaign told theGrio: ”We have a working advisory group, but it has not been formally announced yet. We have the site ready to go.” [Source]

"Shameful"? What's "shameful" is that some of you Negroes expect better. You must have forgotten that before 1978 Mitt probably didn't even see your black asses as equals.

Besides, why should Mitt reach out to you Negroes? The poor man is getting less than 0% of support from black folks in the polls. (ZERO! How do you even get zero percent when there are millions of eligible Negro voters in America?)  Tara Wall and Artur Davis might be the only Negroes in America voting for Mitt. I bet Condi isn't voting for him, and she is supposed to speak at his convention.

"Still, another prominent member of the GOP told theGrio they don’t plan to attend next week’s RNC convention, as they had for nearly every presidential year since they’ve been active in politics, as a delegate. The number of black delegates at Republican conventions peaked in 2004, at 6.7 percent of the total delegates, only to plummet by 78.4 percent, from 167 delegates to 36 in 2008, when John McCain was nominated for president in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 2008 convention represented a 40-year low in the number of black RNC delegates, who represented just 1.5 percent of all delegates attending the convention, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which in 2008 released a report tracking the number of black delegates at both party conventions over the past 50 years.

This year, some prominent black Republicans say the party will be lucky to match 2008′s numbers.

According to the former delegate, who says he’s a conservative first, and a Republican second, friends still active in the party claim the party has gone beyond giving up on growing its share of the black vote.

“Giving up is not the point,” the former delegate said his friends tell him. “They’ve thrown them overboard; don’t need ‘em, don’t want ‘em.”

Oh ohh, I think that the house just got smaller.

Finally, I hope that the case of Gabrielle Swainson is finally getting some publicity. I tweeted about it earlier and I had folks e-mailing me and asking me who she was.

You won't hear much about her case on Nancy Grace, FOX NEWS or CNN; so you might as well read about it here.

"The FBI has joined the search for a South Carolina cheerleader who vanished without a trace from her bedroom.

Gabrielle Swainson, 15, disappeared between 3:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. last Saturday, during the time her mother was at work, police said.
When mother Elvia Swainson returned home Saturday morning, Gabrielle's bed was empty.

"I grabbed my phone and started calling her number. The number rang a couple of times then it stopped," Swainson said.
Several more attempts to reach her daughter went straight to voicemail, she said. Although there were no signs of foul play, investigators believe the teen's disappearance was not voluntary.

"Her purse was still there with her charger for her phone in it and all the ingredients of her purse like her wallet and her credit card, everything is still there," said Chandra Cleveland-Jennings, a private investigator hired by Swainson."

These type of stories never end well, but let's hope that this case is the exception to that rule.





 

Is red the new black?

That's my man Charles Lollar in the pic. Charles is running as a republican to go to Congress from Maryland's 5th District. I don't know much about Charles, he seems like a nice enough guy. (Thank you for your service!) Although I wasn't pleased to read this:

"Chances of winning: Lollar, who recently solicited money from donors at a Maryland bar decorated with a Confederate flag, is fighting an uphill battle against House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer."

Not cool Charles, not cool.

Still, maybe I spoke too soon about that republican tent being too small. Seems that there is a profusion of black folks running as republicans this coming political season. -The most since reconstruction-And I, for one, am happy about it. I don't think that they are "delusional" as some would suggest. We need fresh ideas and a diversity of views to bring to the political table. Seems that there is no shortage of black folks willing to climb up on the back of the elephant. (Including some dude named Issac Hayes, a 26 year old who used to work for Newt, some candidates with tea party backing, my girl Angela and some cat named Vaughn Corrogan:

"After losing his middle-management job at US Airways following 9/11, Vaughn started a limousine company and a female clothing line, Vaughn Wear. He's also a deacon at his church."

Vaughn, you might have needed to sit this one out.

Anyway, of the 35 candidates named by the New York Times, I am guessing that maybe four or five of them have a legitimate shot at winning their primary. I think they will find that getting republicans in certain states to fork over money to the Negro candidate will be much easier to do in theory than in the real world. But we will see. And then, of course, there is the fact that many of them are political neophytes, so they were going to be behind the eight ball with the party machine in their various states to begin with.

What this all proves, of course, is that the political landscape is changing. Whether this "Motley Crew" represents a good change is left to be seen. Contrary to popular belief, black folks have shown that they will be willing to vote for the person who they perceive to have their best interest at heart. If that means voting for the white guy over the candidate who looks like they do, well then, so be it. Just ask Artur Davis in Alabama. He thought that being black and being a democrat was enough. It wasn't.

So if folks are picking up what these republican candidates are putting down it will be all good for them. But if they are not...well, see Artur Davis.

The other problem, of course, is that many of these candidates are running in republican primaries, so they have to speak to the interest of their constituents. And the last time I checked ...well let's just say that you aren't going to get any future first round NBA draft picks out of any of these districts. Tacking to the right and then tacking to the center is always tricky for politricksters. And for the black republican politrickster, it is even more so.

"President Barack Obama and San Francisco liberal Nancy Pelosi are implementing policies that are destroying our conservative Mississippi values. ... No one will defend and promote our conservative Mississippi values more vigorously."

I hear you Angela, but here is the paradox:

"Chances of winning: Though media savvy, McGlowan will have a tough time running against state Sen. Allan Nunnelee in the primary."

Nunnelee is a part of that conservative Mississippi machine with the old school values you so fervently embrace. The problem is, Angela, they don't embrace you.