U.S.: Little Haiti anti-Bush

In "Little Haiti" here, demonstrators gather nightly to chant anti-Bush rhymes and voice their support for deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

"George Bush, kidnapper, blood sucker, liar, liar," reads one sign with a black-and-white photo of the president at the top.

Some nights there are a hundred demonstrators; others, there are a dozen. But, regardless of the turnout, they are relentless in their criticism of President Bush and are part of the coveted black vote that Democrats already are courting as they try to capture this presidential battleground state in November.

This protest would have more weight if these people were not already part of "the coveted black vote that Democrats already are courting." That clause itself is laughable. The black vote is not "coveted"; it is just taken for granted. What Democrats will do is use the Haiti situation to make sure the slaves remain on the plantation.

This lack of political impact; this inability of black voters to truly affect Republican policies is why I am a firm advocate of more blacks becoming Republican. Apart from the conservative ideology of the GOP being more congruent with black thought -- it is amazing how true this is -- the point of the matter is political power, having it, using it, leveraging it for one's benefit in a way that will not harm the country. I do not advocate that all blacks become Republican but that enough do that both political parties are forced to present serious policy ideas to voters. Right now, only Republicans do that; the Democrats go to black communities and demagogue for they are convinced that base emotional appeals are what will keep blacks on the plantation. Every election has proven them right, so Democrats are unlikely to alter practice.

Yet, Republicans all across America have clamored for Colin Powell as president and are salivating at the thought of Condoleeza Rice as replacement for VP Cheney. Furthermore, Republicans would vote for Rice as veep knowing that a Bush-Rice victory in November sets Rice up to be the first black female president of the U.S. in 2008, when she might most likely go up against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Such a vote would not be just part of a cynical ploy to appeal to black voters -- Powell and Rice are scorned in the black community, unjustifiably so --but because the quality of the individual would result in a GOP win. It's about power, having it, and doing what it takes using the best one can find to retain it. In Rice, Hillary would encounter the woman who's really the smartest woman in America. Would the GOP hope to peel off black votes from the Democrats for being the first party to have a black in the nation's second, and then first, highest position? Most definitely.Would the GOP do it purely because of political opportunism? Maybe, but either way, the GOP would lose no black votes to Hillary since less than 5% vote GOP.

Therefore, I argue that blacks will only reach so far and no further with the Democrats because that solid 95%+ voting bloc deprives Democrats of any real incentive to support serious black endeavor or achievement. Consequently, incentive must be applied to prompt and create change, and that incentive must come in the form of equilibrium in the disposition of black votes between the political parties. Only then, will Democrats even dream about nominating their own version of Powell or Rice. Only then will the Democrats seriously entertain the possibility of a black president. For, there will never be a black president of these United States as long as 95%+ of blacks vote Democrat. Without the incentive of a more balanced black electorate, Democrats will never nominate a black person for president no matter how serious a candidate he could be or how well suited to the job he might be.

So, to these Haitians who are demonstrating nightly in Little Haiti in Miami, my answer is this: yawn!