Some blacks now have doubts about Obama Star Parker - Syndicated Columnist - 9/14/2009 8:20:00 AM
Americans of all political persuasions agree that the nation has problems. Big problems.
And here's where we all part company. The political left, who now control our government, thinks we need more government -- a lot more. Those on the right see our problems as the result of excess government and want to move things in the opposite direction.
The fact that Democrats, with their man in the White House and control of both houses of Congress, are having difficulty getting their big government programs passed says something about the strength of the grassroots push back now taking place.
Stirring is even occurring among blacks.
According to the Pew Research Center, the president's approval rating nationwide is now 10 points lower than last April. Included in this is a three-point drop in his approval among blacks.
You might say, Star, a drop in approval ratings among blacks from 95 percent to 92 percent is trivial. But I say not so.
If we assume this reflects the 16 million blacks who voted for Obama last November, a three-point shift means there are about a half million blacks who now have buyer's remorse.
This is meaningful. You take real risks going against the establishment in black America. Psychological risks, professional risks, and sometimes risks to personal safety. Peeling off a black who voted for Obama means moving heaven and earth.
Even a star like Bill Cosby incurred the wrath of the black establishment when he started talking about black families and personal responsibility. As result, he backed off and toned down his message.
Recall during the campaign, candidate Obama ruffled Jesse Jackson's feathers when he spoke about personal responsibility among black males. An inadvertently "on" microphone picked up Jackson saying that he wanted to castrate Obama (not exactly in that language).
The black conservative is not that rare freak of nature that so many think.
According to a Pew Research Center report, almost a third of blacks consider themselves conservative.
However, these folks have always been inclined to be quiet because of the social pressures and intimidation.
But this is changing.
Despite slurs, intimidation, and widely reported physical attacks from union thugs, a few brave black souls have showed up at tea party protest rallies.
I'm getting more and more calls from black conservatives around the country running for local office. I see black conservative websites popping up, and there's even black rappers rapping a conservative message.
Who, after all, could know more about the lie about government and the pretense of political answers to life's problems than blacks?
It's black families that have been devastated by welfare state programs and black kids now trapped in hopeless public schools. And it's overwhelmingly black unborn children who never see the light of day.
How can blacks who have their eyes open not have noticed that it was Obama who killed the D.C. school voucher program and sent black children back to one of the worst public school systems in the country?
The Cato Institute reports that, after adjusting for inflation, funds spent on public schools have doubled since 1970, with no improvement in education performance and a decrease in graduation rates. This is government at work.
The Israelites wandered for 40 years after they left Egypt, giving time for the slave generation to disappear and for a new generation to bear the responsibilities of freedom.
Next year marks 40 years since the decade of the '60s, which gave us the civil rights movement.
I see a new generation of freedom-loving, church-going black Americans coming on the scene. Many voted for Obama out of racial pride. But their values and aspirations for freedom are causing a change of heart.
