A Flunky by Any Other Name

[acmavm]

Commentary, Richard Muhammad,
StraightWords E-Zine, Aug 13, 2004

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The charge that Black conservatives are simply Republican Party pawns looks pretty undeniable with the selection of Maryland resident Alan Keyes as the GOP candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois.

In a state with 12 million people and thousands of Republicans, the GOP couldn’t find one credible candidate to represent the party and had to bus, or rather fly in, a Black man from halfway across the country to run against a talented Black frontrunner. Keyes announced Aug. 8 that he had accepted an invitation to run, though he didn’t even have a P.O. Box address – let alone an actual place to live in Illinois. He has found a comfortable home on the pages of newspapers and in television studios during his latest crusade.

<snip>
But that failure is not surprising, earlier this year the Washington Post reported how the American Dream PAC, a Republican fund set up to financially support qualified minority candidates and run by Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas), had raised over $500,000 since 1999. The problem is little of the money went to any minority candidate running for office.

The Post found “only $48,750 -- or 8.9 percent -- of the $547,000 the southwest Texas congressman has raised for his political action committee has gone to minority office-seekers while more than $100,000 has been routed to Republican Party organizations or causes, including a GOP redistricting effort in Texas, a legal defense fund for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) and Bonilla's reelection campaign. Most of the remainder of the money went to legal fees, fundraisers in Miami and other cities, airline tickets, hotels, catering services, consultants and salaries.”

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The Republicans have made a BIG mistake with Keyes. It just goes to prove that they have no desire to support black, or any other minority, as a serious candidate for anything. But that's pretty obvious, isn't it?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I heard Keyes on Fresh Air

He said that slavery had nothing to do with race, and that victims of rape and incest should be forced to bear children that may have been conceived by the act. He also said that he was sure the people of Illinois agree with him. I laughed hard at that point. I will be surprised if even the traditional Republican counties in central Illinois and the suburbs vote for him.