The Republicans just don’t get it..

Americans kicked the Republicans out of the House, the Senate and the White House and yet their leaders continue to rely on and perpetuate ineffective racial stereotypes while promoting and inciting racial warfare. After this historic general election which saw the election of America’s first black president you would think the Republicans would’ve learned some lessons over they last two years.

But I guess they haven’t. They just don’t get it.

Will Republicans ever wake up?

Will they ever realize that America has changed, THE WORLD has changed?

Their only hope of ever regaining the  reigns of power is by accepting the changes that have occurred in the political and cultural landscape of America and by rebuking and removing individuals like Chip Saltsman from within their ranks.

Now,  the  political strategist part of me wants them to keep it up ( it makes Democrats look really awesome..no lie) but the moral  ‘do wants best for the country’ part of me, (you know us do-gooder liberals..lol) wants them to put an end to it NOW since that type of talk does more harm to the nation than good.

And you know what’s funny some of them are putting their hopes for 2012 in an Indian American and Louisiana Governor  Bobby Jindal .. do you think he would like listening to the songs on that CD distributed by Chip Saltsman?

Why Obama stays cool all the time..

Now, I’ve never been accused of being the angry, black women or the angry, black person in general. That label just wouldn’t stick to someone who smiles all the time, is known for her positive disposition and is a diplomat at heart. 

But I do KNOW and have witnessed reaction to an angry black person. It seems that when a black person gets angry or becomes upset with a person of another race many times the individual or the people around them believe the black person will either become violent or that a violent altercation will later ensue. And usually the individual reacts with fear, to be honest this has happened to me on a few occasions. However, if I sense the person is scared I stop and ask, “Why are you scared? I’m not going to hurt you I’m just voicing my dissatisfaction with x, y, z..” I have received varying reactions to my blunt honesty over the years but usually the person reacting in that negative way towards me apologizes and tries to address my concerns in a more appropriate and constructive manner but  I must say that this fear reaction, from my observations, is more prevalent among people over 50.

But I do believe that many people subscribe to the violent, angry black person stereotype. Many of these people give validation to the stereotype and believe it to be a fact and thus react more negatively towards an angry black person. 

Obama, obviously, has had to and continually confronts and tactfully manuevers around this stereotype day after day. And he tries to constantly maintain his cool in order to never, ever appear as the angry black man, because we all know where that will lead to the inevitable..”Boy, he’s always angry,” ”I don’t think I want to vote for an angry black man,” “God, if he’s this angry now what will happen if he becomes President?” I can go on and on but his consistent coolness has led to the inevitable well, he’s too cool. He’s too above it all. He’s not one of us. He doesn’t have any ‘real’ passion.

So in a way Obama can’t win. If he raises his voice and gets a little more passionate about an issue, any issue, some people will get scared and believe he’s a militant black panther who wants revenge on whites. Yet, if he maintains an even and steady temperament he’s cold and distant. In times we often times recite, ‘let cooler heads prevail’ yet Obama is criticized for displaying these characteristics-he can’t win.

But I ask would you rather have a leader that is hot and unpredictable or a leader than is composed, reliable and steady under pressure?

I think the answer is quite clear.

Hillary wins Nevada, Huckabee wins South Carolina and it continues..

My predictions for the Nevada caucuses..

For the Democrats..

Hillary will win Nevada, Obama will run a close second and John Edwards will get demolished (and hopefully he’ll go away but I KNOW that wouldn’t happen..lol)

The reason behind Hillary winning is not going to be Obama’s lack of organization or his ‘supporters’ not understanding caucus rules or being able to caucus at the casinos the reason is a lot simpler than that-Hispanics are not going to support a black guy for President.

Hispanics will/would prefer to support a white women with close ties to the Hispanic community than a BLACK guy who resembles one of their neighbors on the block or a fellow co-worker.

Hispanics and Blacks have often fought for the same crumbs that fell from the table and this has led to a power struggle between the two groups.

And according to sociologists who conducted extensive surveys in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Philadelphia they have generally found that ‘Latinos display more prejudice toward African Americans than African Americans do toward Latinos or than whites display toward African Americans.’

In addition a Duke University sociologist Paula McClain, working with nine other sociologists, found similar attitudes among Latinos living in Durham, North Carolina. According to McClain et al., “Latino immigrants hold negative stereotypical views of blacks and feel that they have more in common with whites than with blacks.” For instance, 58.9 percent of Latino immigrants, but only 9.3 percent of whites, reported feeling that “few or almost no blacks are hard-working.”

This bares repeating,“ Latino immigrants hold negative stereotypical views of blacks and FEEL THAT THEY HAVE MORE IN COMMON WITH WHITES THAN BLACKS.”

This is the numero uno reason Obama loses Nevada.

Although a number of Hispanics voting in the caucuses will not be foreign born a number of them will have parents who were and stereotypes are conveyed from generation to generation but they also at the same time can be shed and broken.

You see, Hispanics and Blacks have often fought for the same crumbs that fell from the table and this has led to a power struggle between the two groups and if you feel you have more in common with the white politician than you do your neighbor than this will definitely count against Barack Obama and I don’t see him overcoming this in just a few days of campaigning.

Black/Brown issues have always been closely intertwined i.e fighting racism and economic empowerment African Americans have often viewed Hispanics as late comers to the civil rights movement and have often viewed their accomplishments in this society as being built on their backs and this is one of the many sources of tension between the two groups.

Hispanics and Blacks are often competing in the same neighborhoods, with high levels of poverty, for the same social services and the same jobs leading to the greatest sources of friction between the two groups and with such high levels of poverty it often leads to increased criminal activities including gang formation and gang wars thus leading to numerous deaths on both sides.

In Nevada, Hispanics will have the chance to prove that ‘we’re all in this together’ and that we have to combine resources and organizations in order to get things done and issues resolved for the betterment of both our communities. I hope that many Latinos can put aside their negative stereotypes and views and vote for the best person for the job, Barack Obama, I really hope they do and that they prove my observations wrong once again.