05 Oct 2010 Is Black Support for Obama Racist? by Jerome Hudson
 |
Is Black Support for Obama Racist? by Jerome Hudson (bio) |
With poverty at an all-time high, daunting black unemployment levels and Obamacare threatening black babies, black support for Barack Obama remains surprisingly strong.
Why?
Blacks are not uniformly as radical as Obama. So why do 91 percent of blacks still support him1 when only 79 percent of his Democrat constituency2 does?
It’s a black thang.
Again, why?
Some say Obama’s support comes from “black solidarity” — that birds of a feather flock together. That is racist in itself. After all, imagine if white voters similarly lined up in “racial solidarity.” This is compounded by the facts.
Under George W. Bush, black unemployment was actually lower than during the Clinton years3 and much lower than the 16.3 percent it is today.4 Under Obama, black unemployment rose from 12.6 percent to 16.3 percent as of August 1, 2010.5
Despite promoting black upward mobility, Bush only enjoyed a black approval rating in the low 30s at a similar time in his presidency.6 Bush also made historic cabinet-level appointments of blacks and dramatically increased funding to fight AIDS in Africa. Much to Kanye West’s chagrin, President Bush did care about black people.
Furthermore, after nearly two years of Obama’s reckless spending, 43.6 million Americans (one in seven) live in poverty — a 51-year high.7 Blacks, who account for only 13 percent of the population, make up 22.6 percent of those now receiving food stamp benefits.8
And, after a promise there would be no federal abortion funding in Obamacare, tax dollars for abortions may be provided through high-risk insurance programs in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Maryland.9
Polling shows blacks are overwhelmingly pro-life.10 We undoubtedly want jobs and freedom from poverty. So why the blind loyalty to someone who hasn’t delivered?
When a constituency clearly provides loyal support, as blacks are to progressives, it begs to be taken for granted.
So is it any wonder that, after 50 years of conceding support to liberals and letting Uncle Sam be their “baby daddy,” we are mired in an anti-empowerment culture of dependency?
Liberals can argue racism causes black stagnation, but is a 70 percent illegitimacy rate among blacks (90 percent in some inner cities) due to racism or a lack of accountability and personal responsibility? It’s also a painful truth that blacks kill more blacks (by gun, unhealthy lifestyle and abortion) than racists could ever accomplish.
So-called “civil rights leaders,” pseudo-intellectuals and liberal lawmakers must know this, yet they insist on pretending racism is more responsible for sluggish black advancement than behavior they foster.
It’s time for a frank discussion about the folly of black Americans’ monolithic support of liberalism. When 91 percent of any racial group votes one way, it’s either out of racism or blind groupthink. Neither is good for America.
# # #
Jerome Hudson is a member of the national advisory council of the Project 21 black leadership network. His work has also appeared in Human Events. Comments may be sent to [email protected].
Published by The National Center for Public Policy Research. Reprints permitted provided source is credited. New Visions Commentaries reflect the views of their author, and not necessarily those of Project 21, other Project 21 members, or the National Center for Public Policy Research, its board or staff.
Footnotes:
1 Andrew Malcolm, “Ominous New Gallup Findings for Democrats: Blacks Still Love Obama, Others Not So Much,” Top of the Ticket blog, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, October 4, 2010, available at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/10/obama-approval-gallup-blacks.html as of October 5, 2010.
2 Ibid.
3 “Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC, December 4, 2009, available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/race_ethnicity_2008_10.htm as of October 5, 2010.
4 “Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Race, Sex and Age,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC, September 3, 2010, available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm as of October 5, 2010.
5 “National Black Unemployment Rate,” TrackingChange, available at http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/16743 as of October 5, 2010.
6 “Blacks Give Low Marks, Hispanics More Positive,” Gallup, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2003, available at http://www.gallup.com/poll/8749/blacks-give-bush-low-marks-hispanics-more-positive.aspx as of October 5, 2010.
7 Devin Dwyer, “Poverty Rate Climbs in Recession, One in Seven Now Poor,” ABC News, New York, NY, September 16, 2010, available at http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/poverty-rate-increases-recession-highest-level-1994-census/story?id=11652753 as of October 5, 2010.
8 “Poverty Rate Among African-Americans Nearly Double That of White Americans,” Milwaukee Courier, Milwaukee, WI, October 2, 2010, available at http://milwaukeecourieronline.com/index.php/2010/10/02/poverty-rate-among-african-americans-nearly-double-that-of-white-americans/ as of October 5, 2010.
9 Peter J. Smith, “Maryland Plan Indicates HHS Approved High Risk Pools With No Abortion Requirements,” LifeSiteNews.com, July 19, 2010, available at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10071909.html as of October 5, 2010.
10 Steven Ertelt, “New Poll: Majority of Americans, Blacks, Students Pro-Life on Abortion,” Lifenews.com, April 26, 2004, available at http://www.lifenews.com/nat474.html as of October 5, 2010.