Party of 1

Politicians such as Jack Kemp and J. C. Watts have spoken for years of the need of the Republican Party to reach out to people of color, but I understand that “hard asses” within the party have insisted for the past few decades that since the GOP has had such a lock on the white vote, they do not need the votes of African-Americans or any other minority group.

Now that the party is going to a period of reassessment after the election, the Washington Post relates the story of a young man who attempted to start a College Republicans chapter at Grambling State University. “In 2003, he wrote an open letter to the party after it was disclosed that in 1999, a newsletter published by the then-vice chairman of the California Republican Party had carried an essay suggesting that the country would have been better off if the South had won the Civil War….”

“In a propaganda salvo by Al Qaeda aimed at undercutting the enthusiasm of Muslims worldwide about the American election, Osama bin Laden’s top deputy condemned President-elect Barack Obama as a ‘house Negro’ who would continue a campaign against Islam that Al Qaeda’s leaders said was begun by President Bush.”

Weeks ago I posted a couple of times over the question of whether Al Qaeda or bin Laden would emerge with a video of some kind before the election. Now they have done so after the fact.

It’s enough to make a fellow want to channel Rush Limbaugh. “I told you people — you wouldn’t listen to me! You thought they wanted Obama to win. I told you they looked at McCain and Obama as two peas in a pod….”

William Ayers popped up in Washington yesterday to deliver two speeches, the Washington Post reports. He even engaged in some activities that could be described as “palling around”….

This morning’s Washington Post brings this account of the debate over the pros and cons of further government aid for General Motors.

While Party of 1 is not absolutely philosophically opposed to such aid, as most libertarians are, neither am I especially eager to see it happen. Already we hear complaints about one corporation after another, lining up to feed at the public trough. First it was the financial institutions, now the automobile manufacturers — who will be next?

The problem is that we are not talking about just any corporation. How will consumer confidence, and the overall national psyche, be affected by banner “GM Bankrupt” headlines? This is an outfit that has a presence in the form of an automobile dealership in practically every bailiwick in America.

There are other measures could be taken besides an outright government bailout. Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy does not mean that the corporation will cease to exist — it could reemerge. Of course, the objection is laid that consumers may wonder about purchasing from an outfit that has filed for Chapter 11; what will resale value be five years down the line; will replacement parts be available? Another step that could be taken would be to raise cash by selling off a division such as Saab or Saturn….

Hard feelings are not far from the surface in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8 on  Election Day in California.  Protests and backlash have been directed at Mormons, since the LDS Church bankrolled the campaign in behalf of the opposition, to a considerable degree. “In Los Angeles, a Mexican restaurant owner, a Mormon who donated $100, was reduced to tears and left town after hundreds of protesters confronted her at work, by phone and on the Internet,” reports the Washington Post.

Since Mormons have been so heavily implicated in the controversy, the Post article examines the efforts of Equality Utah, an advocacy group working in the state where the LDS Church is domiciled. The Post notes that, after the passage of the California proposition, LDS headquarters issued a statement to the effect that “the Church does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.” Equality Utah has ceased upon this to push for the passage of five bills along these lines in Utah.  But, to get everything they want, Equality Utah would have to secure the repeal of Amendment 3, a marriage-definition amendment that was added to the Utah Constitution in a statewide referendum earlier this decade.

At the risk of being labeled a bigot, Party of 1 is hesitant to take the plunge and commit all the way to supporting “marriage equality.” If such a thing were to come about, would benefits accrue to a significant number of couples? Perhaps so. However, Party of 1 sees no way of getting Utah, and the many other states similar to it in some respects, to accept this willingly. We have a decentralized political system that provides for matters like this to be decided on a state-by-state basis, other things being equal. We are emerging from 50 years of backlash, due to a series of provocations over matters related to race and religion.

I suppose that with the election of Barack Obama, some people perceive the onset of a political realignment that will clear the way for the acceptance of absolutely any “progressive” initiative whatsoever.  Party of 1 is gun-shy, because conservatism has been  coming on like a runaway locomotive all his adult lifetime. Has this conservatism run its course? It could be too early to tell. In the meantime, Party of 1 questions whether the whole country can be made over to conform to “bicoastal” preferences. Were Party of 1 active in Utah, more than likely he would be inclined to stop short of taking on Amendment 3.

It is annoying to be treated like a bigot, after you have stopped just short of giving people everything they want….

This morning’s papers brought this column by Eugene Robinson about the election of Obama and its implications for comedians. He mentions that since the election Don Rickles has appeared on the Letterman show, where he attempted to tell a joke about Obama playing basketball during an international crisis — which bombed. Apparently, the audience felt he was reaching too far toward a racial stereotype associating African-Americans and basketball. This reminds Party of 1 of a story.

When the proprietor of Party of 1 was in junior high school*, sometimes he would stay up past his bedtime to watch the Johnny Carson show. One night, the guest host was — Don Rickles. On this night, the insult comic was determined to tell a few ethnic jokes about — watermelon-eating blacks!

The funny thing about it was, even as a young kid, your proprietor could tell that by telling these jokes — Rickles thought he was being a good liberal! After all, he had made his living telling jokes at the expense of white ethnic groups such as the Jews, the Italians, the Irish, and the Polish — now he was just welcoming blacks (the term “African-Americans” had not yet  caught on) to “the family.” I imagine he and the network got a few protest letters, and I don’t recall him doing that kind of thing again in the next few years.

He would go into the studio audience and tell jokes at the expense of one member of the audience after another — and then pat the people on the back for being a good sport….

*11/15/08 update: This would’ve been sometime in the early 1970s. Party of 1 dates  himself….

Two of the most prominent voices addressing issues of concern to Americans of Hispanic descent disagree about the prospects for immigration reform in the new administration.

In her column, which should be appearing in newspapers across the country this week in both English and Spanish, Maria Elena Salinas of Univision Noticias (that’s “Univision News” to you Anglos) writes: “More importantly, will Obama keep his promise to pass legislation on immigration reform in the first year of his presidency? With a stronger Democratic Congress and a new attitude of ‘bipartisanship,’ there should be no excuse for not complying.”

Ruben Navarette Jr., who leans toward the Republicans politically, is skeptical. In his syndicated column dated Wednesday, he writes: “It’s true that President-elect Obama owes Latinos an enormous debt for giving him two-thirds of their votes. But Obama and congressional Democrats also owe a lot to labor. Those IOUs are headed for a collision…. Expect Latinos to get the shortchanged – again.”

Sarah Palin has given an interview to Anchorage-based media in her Wasilla home. The Boston Herald has excerpts.

From Frankfurt: The new issue of Der Spiegel has declared Obama to be “Der Weltpräsident.” A difficult expectation to meet….

Not only William Ayers, but also Rev. Louis Farrakhan has reemerged in the aftermath of the election. From the Los Angeles Times:

“‘Even with this remarkable event, the country remains divided and polarized,’ Farrakhan said of Barack Obama’s historic victory. He spoke at Mosque Maryam, the movement’s headquarters on Chicago’s South Side.

“Farrakhan said many John McCain voters were older whites living in the South, and that it pained them to see a black person in power.”

He’s a flamethrower, of course, but I don’t see that much to take exception to here….