Article: "How Can a 'Fellow Black Republican' Oppose Obama?"

I haven't blogged in, like, forever. But when I saw this I had to post it somewhere. I love reading Larry Elder - a good thinker and communicator.

Townhall.com::How Can a "Fellow Black Republican" Oppose Obama?::By Larry Elder

In this article from Townhall.com, Mr. Elder walks through a comparison of whether Democrats or Republicans serve the black community better. The "conventional wisdom" is that Democrats are more compassionate and do the most good for black families.

But his list challenges conventional wisdom by pointing out facts such as these:

Issue	Democrat Position	Republican Position
Polls show blacks oppose abortion more than whites	Supports abortion rights	Opposes abortion
Studies show blacks will benefit more than whites from Social Security privatization	Opposes SS privatization	Supports SS privatization
Illegal immigration hurts low-income black workers	Encourages illegal immigration	Opposes illegal immigration
Welfare state has arguably led to the high out-of-wedlock birth rates among blacks	Supports expanding the welfare system	Opposes expanding the welfare system
Inner-city parents want school vouchers	Opposes vouchers	Supports vouchers

 

And even looking historically:

13th-15th amendments granting rights to blacks	Voted against	Voted for
Segregation	Supported	Opposed
Civil Rights Act of 64	Voted against	Voted for

 

So, based on the issues, and not emotions, Republicans, not Democrats, support the issues that blacks are concerned about and that benefit the black community.

And regarding compassion, Republicans are more likely to show compassion where it really counts: Republicans give far more of their personal money to charitable causes than do Democrats. This includes poor Republicans, who out-give poor Democrats.

So why do blacks vote overwhelmingly for Democrats? Maybe people like Larry Elder (and Thomas Sowell, Walter E. Williams, Harry R. Jackson, Star Parker, Armstrong Williams, Michael Steele, and even Bill Cosby) are going to change that.

Conservatives and First Principles

I think I need to start posting something serious. To wit:

Here's an excellent article by David Limbaugh. Mr. Limbaugh is a better writer than his brother Rush, more thoughtful, and not bombastic (and therefore not as entertaining). This article really nails some central issues in the current political arena. He highlights the fundamental differences between Conservatives and Liberals, and I think he's dead-on. Here are a couple key quotes:

"Conservatives... believe Americans owe our unique liberties to the scheme of governmental power established in the body of the Constitution. We believe, as did the framers, that the structural limitations on government, like the separation of powers and federalism, are what make possible individual liberties."

"Conservatives... don't invest their future in the platitudes of 'hope,' 'bipartisanship,' or 'kumbaya.' In the end, these are just recklessly naive expressions of confidence in the power of government to deliver us from all hardship. Instead, conservatives believe that government is a necessary evil to establish order and promote the common defense and the like but otherwise must be restrained in order to unleash the power and freedom of the individual."

Here's a link to the whole article - it's worth a read:

Townhall.com::Conservatives and First Principles::By David Limbaugh