Breaking The Covenant As Always

The Huffington Post has informed us that the front runners of the GOP presidential primary are all staying away from PBS' presidential forum, hosted by Tavis Smiley. The debate, held in Baltimore's Historically Black College/University, Morgan State, seems to conflict with the schedules of Fred Thompson, Rudy Giulliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain. They all provided the same reasons - imagine that - for not attending the debate. The forum will move forward with the second tier candidates of Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee, Tim Tancredo and Oscar the Grouch.

Is there any wonder why Black Americans and the Democratic party are still in love? Since FDR, the Democratic party has consistently served the needs of Black Americans, even when not specifically targeting them for their initiatives (i.e., the New Deals). Even in policies that have had adverse results for Blacks, there's no doubt the intention was sincere and the willingness to improve their conditions remain constant.

Republicans have essentially lived by a policy of snubbing Blacks. When they harangue government programs and wail on welfare, there's this sense they're speaking of Blacks. Never mind that some of the biggest welfare programs go to farmers in an outdated subsidy legislation that all politicians must agree to if they plan on staying employed. Republicans always appear ignorant of the problems unique to Blacks, such as drugs in Black communities, violence (especially gun-violence), and a dilapidated educational institution. Rather, their solutions always seem to benefit middle to upper-class Blacks, or their own country club constituency.

To snub this debate and deprive Blacks of a genuine choice next year is a disservice for them, for it keeps us in a do-or-die situation; there's never this sense that with a Republican win, at least some of our interests are served, even if that may be the case. Maybe Romney has a genuine health care proposal that benefits Black Americans better than Clinton's. Maybe McCain can use his war record to appeal to the thousand of Black families who represent a great portion of the military when he addresses his solutions for Iraq. Maybe, but we'll never know because the Republicans would rather speak to the club members of Augusta National than to the students of Morgan State.

Of course, it was the founder of the Republican party that gratefully received a burned down and completely devastated Atlanta for Christmas, and set free the great-grandparents of those snubbed students.