Herman, Hypocrisy, and Distraction

November 10th, 2011 | By Sonnie

The Founders gave three qualifications for Presidency of the United States of America; natural born citizen, 35 years old and a 14 year residency in the United States.  Nothing more, nothing less.  There is no mention of a so-called path to the Presidency because no such path existed, as per their intention.  As a country, we learned the hard way and added a constitutional amendment to limit the number of terms of the Presidency. 

Fast forward to Herman Cain and the hypocrisy of America.  This is not an endorsement of Herman Cain nor is it a dismisal of the charges being waged against the Presidential candidate.  Here’s to President Obama and those “teachable moments”  he loves so much.

Let’s say you had three groups.  Just for fun, we can name them #REP, #TEA and #OWS.  #Tea loves everything about America and believes its the best country in the world.  #Ows believes America is the cause of all the evil in the world and only through its destruction will peace rise. #REP view on America changes to fit their agenda.  Just Sayin! The groups carry different philosophies and therefore view the world through very different lenses.

Insert Herman Cain!  

#REP loses its mind.  Who in the hell does he think he is?  He didn’t ask our permission or rally for our support.  He didn’t spend the last two and a half years campaigning into our good graces. 

#OWS calls him a traitor.  Who in the hell does he think he is?  A black man that doesn’t represent the Democratic Party?  How can he sell out his own people and their wants and needs.

#TEA pays attention.  Who in the hell is this man and why haven’t I heard of him before?  He’s a regular guy that’s accomplished the American Dream, got knocked down by cancer and beat it, and lays his heart on his sleeve when he talks about the problems of this country.

Insert the Hypocrisy!

#REP  Straight Up Hypocrites.  You want conservatives to believe you represent self-reliance and the premise that any man can pull himself up by his boot straps and forge his own path, even to the White House.  You want conservatives to believe we can trust you with the future of our country because you believe the American People and their ingenuity is the answer to restoring our economy.  Then when an average American citizen arrives to challenge your authority, who’s worked his way from the bottom up, you dismiss him as unqualified or unprepared.

#OWS  Straight Up Hypocrites.  You want the banks to pay for squashing the little guy and making it impossible for the average American to rise above their station in life. (Sorry but I got a chill up my spine writing that.)    You want the rich, like Herman Cain, to pay for the lack of opportunity available in the US.  An average American, like Herman Cain, comes along and presents a direct contridiction to your complaints and you brand him an Uncle Tom or House Nigger.

 #TEA stayed focused on economy and solutions and Herman Cain’s poll numbers started to rise.

Insert Distraction!

This article was intended to take a shot at Establishment Republicans on the Right and Over Zealous Libs on the left but the real lesson is for the American People. 

Because we stick to our notion of them verses us, we get caught up in the hypocrisy.  Can a man or woman be born into modest means and still rise to the level of Presidency in America?  I think our incumbent President proves that.  But can a man keep his soul, refuse normal party politics, and still capture the heart of America?  Can Tucker “Idiot’ Carlson decide who is qualified or does that power still remain with the American People?  Can Toure pronounce Cain unacceptable because of a black sexual stereotype and blond women?  Are these the parameters that limit our thinking process when it comes to politics?

Andrew Breitbart said it best.  If you can’t sell freedom, than you suck.  How does bickering amongst Conservatives and Establishment Republicans help us sell freedom to the American People?  How does continously pointing out and raging against a biased and aloof media help us convince the American people this county is their country, holds their future, and needs to be restored, not destroyed. 

I say, squash the politics for a moment and bring it back to the individual.  The single man that decided he wanted more, hustled and worked to accomplish unimaginable heights of success, and then decided to thank the country that provided him with the opportunity by becoming a public servant. (Not by writing a check.)   He fits the criteria set by our founders, embodies the dream of our forefathers, and proves the exception can indeed be the rule.   Take away the name.  Take away the political affiliation.  Take away the color.  And just look at the story of an average American citizen. 

It’s no longer us verses them.  It’s the dream we have as college students for ourselves #OWS, the dream parents have for their children #TEA, and future our founders wished for us when they gave us three simple qualifications #REP.   At age 35, a man born in America with the ideals of America breed into him over a 14 year span is qualified to be President.  Not because Carlson said so or Toure approves but because this country teaches us about ourselves by the obstacles we overcome to acheive blessings we never thought possible. 

Now that’s how you sell Herman Cain to the American People.  Yes, there will still be those of us who question 9-9-9 but at least the conversation will be on substance and not hypocrisy and distraction.

April to Celebrate Democratic Confederacy/May to Celebrate Republican Reconstruction

April 8th, 2010 | By Sonnie

If I were petty and racially-driven, I would be upset with my Virginia Governor Bob McDonell.  His decision to call April Confederate History Month has sparked anger with Black Democrats across the state.  Black Republicans within the state are now scrambling to answer calls of “Uncle Tom” and “Traitor”.    As the newly named President of the Frederick Douglass Foundation of Virginia, I am left looking at this as an opportunity.

Ironically, a couple weeks ago at the Frederick Douglass Foundation Leadership Summit, I got to ask Va Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli a question on this very topic.  I pointed out the rather large Robert E. Lee Statue is celebrated in Richmond as a part of Democratic History in Va.  I asked the Attorney General when will we start to celebrate Virginia’s Republican History?   I contrasted the Robert E. Lee Statue against the Maggie Walker House and the former Black Wall Street only a few blocks away.

He gave the best non-answer a person can give, he plainly stated he didn’t know about the History of which I spoke.   O.K.  I’m giving him to much credit.  He rambled on and on until it was plain to see he couldn’t answer my question because he didn’t know the History of which I spoke.  Yet, I held no ill will.  It would be like inviting me to a fancy dinner and asking me to point out the salad fork, not going to happen.

Most of the Black Residents of Virginia don’t know the Republican History in this State.  Since most of that History is centered around Blacks, maybe we can play a little game.  April is Confederate History Month, where we learn how Virginia Democrats seceded from the Union to keep their slaves and May can be Reconstruction History Month, where we learn what Black Republicans did during that time period to enhance Va culture, education, and financial freedom.

We all know the name Langston  Hughes but very few know the name, John Mercer Langston.   He was the famous poets Great Uncle and one of the first Black Republicans to obtain a United States Congressional Seat.  Since this happened after the Civil War, it won’t be celebrated by McDonnell’s little proclamation.   And there in lies the problem.  We give the preception of celebrating Southern History with Southern Pride,  yet we leave out Southerners of color who stayed to improve the conditions of the newly freed slaves. 

So, my question is “Why celebrate and give notice to the Democratic Legacy in Virginia, if you are a Republican Governor?”  Where is your Republican Southern Pride?  Now, I can understand why White Republicans don’t officially go after the Black Population.  I’ll give credit to McDonnell.  He had multiple Black Republicans working on and supporting his campaign but did he stop to think how this decision would affect them?

Before I follow the racial path and shout, “Don’t these White Republicans know what us Black Republicans have to go through just to represent our party,” I’ll instead offer a different point of view for the Republicans in power.  If you don’t know how to communicate with the black community, then how about reaching out to the young Conservatives on College Campuses?

Maybe you can point out how Hampton University started with classes under an Oak Tree by a single teacher, Mary Smith Peake.  Explain how, under Union protection as “Contraband”,  free blacks flocked to Republican Strongholds for Safety and Education.   Enlighten Virginians on how Rich and Affluent Republicans gave huge donations that turned that tree into an Emancipation Oak.  Then that Emancipation Oak into a little brown cottage.  Then that little brown cottage into  Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, and now it’s Hampton University, a proud HBCU.  Just for kicks, add the fact that Booker T. Washington, an abolitionist entrenched in the Republican Reconstruction graduated from Hampton University.

Since I brought up John Mercer Langston earlier, let’s see what we can say to college students at Virginia State University.  Let me bring up another name most Virginians, black or white, don’t know; Robert Russa Moton.

   The next morning I asked my father about the school for coloured people, which was being projected under the influence of General Mahone at Petersburg, now a State Normal School. He told me much about it. It was to open the following fall. The Hon. John M. Langston, he said, a coloured man who was as well educated as any white person that he knew of, was to be the president. He said I might go if I wished and that he would do what he could to help me. It being a state school, and he having certain strong friends in the Republican Party (General Mahone among them), Hon. B.S. Hooper, a member of Congress from the Fourth Congressional District of Virginia, would probably arrange for me to have a scholarship.”

When VSU was still Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, blacks seeked out Republicans to help them aquire an education.  No wonder J. W. Langston became the schools first President.  You know, the same man who broke Virginia’s racial lines to become an elected official.  Because of Republican efforts in education, Robert Russa Moton was able to follow in Booker T. Washington’s footsteps to become Principal of the Tuskegee Institute.

We can stop by Virginia Union University.  We can show how Religious Groups, along with the Republican Party, stood up to Virginia Democrats to teach released slaves about their heritage.  Slavery had ripped the titles Father, Mother, and Family from the black vernacular and VUU played an important role in returning the family unit.  Then we can go to St. Paul’s College and Norfolk State.  Same message for every school, the Republican Party has played a major role in establishing some of the most prominent colleges in Va.

So why is Confederate History Month so important?  Who is McDonnell really trying to impress with this edict of respect?  This is my only problem with Reaganomics.  It leads modern day conservatives to believe the Republican Party started with Ronald Reagan.  What about Carter Woodson, Sojournor Truth, and how many more that held the Republican label as a badge of Honor long before the Cold War.  Is there any importance in this History, while you are picking and choosing which History to celebrate?

This whole mess has presented me with the answer to a long held question.  Why is the Republican Party unable to connect with the Black Community?  I’m convinced I’ve come up with an answer.  Most Republicans don’t know the full extent of Republican History, as demonstrated by my Attonery Generals’ lack of an answer, and most Blacks don’t know the full realm of Black History, as evident by the majority of Black Citizens assuming Democrats have their best wishes at heart.  If both groups would brush up on their History, they would realize it’s one in the same.  You can’t celebrate the Republican Party without Blacks and you can’t celebrate Black History without Republicans.

With all that being said and as a precursor to insults and judgements sure to be hurled my way, I offer this bit of solace.  I am a Revolutionary, not a reactionary.  I won’t accept Foodstamps as a solution to poverty because Bob McDonnell wants to celebrate the Confederacy.  I won’t accept Obamacare because he didn’t mention slavery in his declaration.  I will not be led by the collar on the basis of race by either party.  Instead I will do what those great black Republicans did before me and make a way when elements on both sides are praying for my downfall.