What’s wrong with this – the National Education Association (NEA), NAACP, National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) all invited the Presidential candidates of both parties to speak before them, in each only one Republican candidate appeared. Why would that be?

While each group is considered ‘liberal’ that is not an absolute fact. To take the NEA, it’s 1/3 Republican in its membership. Mike Huckabee appeared and was well received by the group which had 10,000 members attending. Considering the 3.2 membership in the NEA, this was a big coup for Mr. Huckabee and one that no other Republican was able to share in.


Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo was the only Republican to appear before the NAACP. At the NALEO event, Representative Duncan Hunter of California made the only showing. They were the only ones. Why?

I understand that the ‘understanding’ among pundits is that these organizations are all Democrat-leaning and that they are liberal groups. I understand that the focus at the moment is to gain the win at the Primaries of each party. But I have to believe that one of the most important goals for any Presidential candidate is to be able to win the Presidency of the United States. If the public is for a candidate, then what party would stop them from going forward?

I hate to see political math in action. It annoys me. I may have used the recent actions of Republicans here, but the same is true of Democratic candidates in the reverse. All because there is a theory out there that gaining the best electoral math determines the winner. That just makes me come to the conclusion that none of the candidates feels they are strong enough to appeal to the majority of the American citizenry.

I mean, if you believe you have the right position to move America forward, why would you be afraid to explain your plans to those that have a political viewpoint that is not the same as yours, and are likely unaware of your stance on the issues? It’s one thing to preach to the converted, it’s another to convert those that disagree. But a President should be able to do that. At least in my opinion.

I find it insulting that ANY candidate presumes that talking to any group of Americans is a waste of time. If you wish to lead this nation, you must be willing to speak to this nation. The President is the leader, but only so far as the public wishes to go in one direction or another. I think far too many candidates and pundits forget that. The public elects the President (yes, through the convoluted electoral election process) and the public backs the decisions the President makes. For the public to elect the best person we need to know what they stand for and what their plans are.

Dodging this group or that is not Presidential. I see it as a weakness. I said the same of the Democrats that turned down a debate sponsored by Fox News. If ANY candidate can’t answer tough questions for their political opposites, how good could they be at answering Al Quida? Or any nation that opposes the United States? Or achieving the goals they state are their agenda?

Speaker Pelosi is an example of this I think. She talked a great game speaking to her supporters, but due to her failure to convince her detractors the 100 day plan has failed, the Congress wastes time and money on fishing expeditions on matters where no crime exists, and the American public is angered. As low as the President’s approval rating may be, the Speaker and Congress are even lower.

The candidates need to step up. So much has been said about the women’s vote in this upcoming election. A lot is being said about African Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans as well. Any candidate that assumes that these groups will or will not vote for them, without speaking to them creates a self-fulfilling wish, and that may not be the best thing for the nation.

I would hate to have to write a post 3 years from now saying, ‘I wish so and so stepped up and spoke more about this or that. We might be in a better place today if they did.’ I don’t anyone wants to be living in that situation, do you?

This is what I think, what do you think?

Labels: African American, Fox News, Hispanic American, Mike Huckabee, NAACP, NALEO, NEA

Well another year is about to be added to the time I’ve lived on the planet and I want to share some thoughts on my experiences in my nearly 4 decades of life. One of the first things is that once you start turning grey (which started for me at 33) you can get grey hairs everywhere. You can imagine my surprise coming out the shower thinking I had a string on me and finding out it was actually a grey hair. I’m an intelligent guy, but I had no idea.

But on more serious observations, from the 70’s to today I’ve seen the world change dramatically. Black culture has had no less of a profound evolution for lack of a better term. In the 70’s there was no internet, or computers, cell phones or cd’s. These were good things not to have. I love my computer and the internet. I enjoy the anime I can see due to the creation and expansion of cable television. Yet, they are superfluous at best.

With the growth of interconnectivity on an almost instantaneous level, there has been a loss of real connection between people. Worse has been the hardening of hearts, if you will, that has taken place. Today we can send out a text to hundreds of people, but the time spent with close friends in person has dwindled. We have become more superficial in our contact with each other, or so it appears to me.

As a Black Puerto Rican I have seen this play out to see the wholesale commoditization of the culture. Being African American today is more about clothing styles, speech patterns and social interaction in the most visible sense. Millions across the world adopt the same mannerisms as what appears to make African Americans Black, because it’s a trend and fad that can be taken for a while without any of the negative repercussions it confers to those of color. It’s a waste in every sense of the word.

In the seventies I recall an ad on television by the NAACP about a Black man not being able to go to college. The key phrase I recall is, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” It seems too few saw this public announcement as today we have the highest levels of high school drop-outs than ever before. Think about that for a moment. We have the ability to access information about virtually any subject, from almost anywhere in the world, almost immediately, and our children and peers know less today than a decade ago to say nothing of 2 or 3 decades. We have fewer kids going to and graduating from college than ever. Knowledge, the greatest tool and treasure, surrounds us and yet few are reaching their hand out to take it. I do not have words for my anger and sadness on this fact.

Over past decades of my life I saw drugs move from a shady and reclusive item, hidden from children and the public at large, to a normal daily fact of life. It’s so pervasive and accepted that kids today grow up with dreams of becoming dealers, as opposed to wanting to be doctors and lawyers. If that isn’t a fundamental breakdown I’m not sure what is. How did this happen? The subtle and persistent acceptance by law enforcement, and the culture, of drugs in low income areas. The acceptance of drug dealing money in our neighborhoods. Lastly because we failed to educate ourselves and our children, instead blaming other sources for the failures around us.

Continued at my www.blackentertainmentblog.com

Labels: African American, Black community, Michael Vass, NAACP