As I contemplated the sudden trials and tribulations of Pennsylvania senate candidate, Kathy Barnette; I was reminded of this scripture from Proverbs 14:12. It states, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
This was and is one of my favorite scriptures from my Oral Robert University days.
Anyone who has followed my writings over the years know that I have and still am very critical of the Republican Party and the conservative movement over their lack of substantive engagement with the Black community.
Blacks have always been conservative, but the party has never understood how to effectively communicate with us.
Or they simply surround themselves with a few Black sycophants that will tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear!
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has been high-fiving themselves over the recent polling data that shows Democrats are hemorrhaging Black voters.
As my readers know, I don’t believe in polls, but unlike the RNC and conservatives, I speak with Blacks throughout the country on a daily basis.
I have been preaching for years that the RNC and conservatives have a branding problem within the Black community. Until the party rehabilitates its image within the Black community, they will continue to align themselves with the Democrat Party.
While it’s true that Blacks are disengaging with the Democrats, they still want nothing to with the RNC or conservatives. The party has absolutely no understanding of this nuance.
Blacks don’t view us as a viable alternative. Therein lies the problem.
So, with this branding problem with the Black community, why in the hell would the party establishment unleash this vicious attack on this Black Republican woman named Kathy Barnette?
Attacking her on policy is fair game, but they are coming after this accomplished woman simply because she poses a threat to the political establishment. This is bordering on racist.
Er, correction, this is not bordering on racist, IT IS RACIST!!!
I was MAGA well before President Trump came on the scene. It is impossible to get to my right on illegal immigration; it is impossible to get to my right on foreign policy; it is impossible to get to my right on China or the EU.
For Trump, of all people, to say that Barnette could not win the general election is total BS!!! The establishment said the same thing about him during the 2016 election after the leaking of the Access Hollywood audio tape. Trump, you are dead wrong on this issue and you need to publicly apologize IMMEDIATELY!
The then chairman of the Republican Party went directly to Trump and demanded that he drop out of the presidential race in 2016.
I challenge all of these white folks to name me anything Barnette has said or done that warrants this type of racist reaction. Are they really that threatened by this very petite Black woman who grew up in abject poverty and has served in our military with honor?
Is Ronna Romney, chair of the RNC, so amoral that she can’t make a phone call or issue a strong statement telling Barnette’s opponents to stay on the issues and not make their attacks personal because it is being received within the Black community as a racist attack on a Black woman?
Or is the concern of the Black community not important to her? Her silence answers this question for us.
Can Romney not summon up the guts to call Trump and tell him to back off? Of course, the Romney clan is not known for having a spine other than her grandfather, George Romney back in the sixties.
Why has Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, not made a call for all outside groups to cease and desist from these racist attacks? Maybe Beijing won’t give him permission to address this issue.
And dear old Sean Hannity from FOX News, it’s quite clear he has a new person providing his wardrobe. I didn’t recognize him with that new white hood over his face!!!
Where are the supposed conservative Black media mercenaries who never miss an opportunity jump in front of a TV camera to comment on the most trivial of all issues, but on issues of substance, they seem to come down with a serious case of laryngitis; people like Candace Owens, Amala Ekpunobi, Leo Terrell, Larry Elder, and C.J. Pearson!
Do they not realize that it’s Kathy today and them tomorrow?
So, there are two reasons Blacks want nothing to do with Republicans.
First, conservatives always say we need more Blacks seeking office as a Republican; when they encounter a Black who can actually win, they seem to fall back on their default position—to play the race card.
These conservatives are now saying that Burnette hasn’t been properly vetted. Isn’t that the point of elections? Isn’t it up to the voters of Pennsylvania to do the vetting?
If it was up to the Republican establishment or the radical liberal media, Trump would have never been elected president. The people of America made a judgement about Trump and concluded that he best represented their values.
Shouldn’t Barnette be given the same courtesy or is there a different standard for a Black woman who is deemed to be a threat to the status quo?
Isn’t it Sean Hannity that constantly says, “We report, you decide?” Then why is it so hard for him to say to the people of Pennsylvania, “We report, you vote?”
Shouldn’t FOX News also require that Hannity disclose that he and Dr. Oz are in a business relationship, according to my sources?
There is so much that is wrong and overtly racist about how Barnette is being treated, that I am very close to finally leaving this party. Not only because of this overt act of racism; but also because of the lack of outrage from my fellow Black Republicans and conservatives.
This is why we have no standing in the Black community!!!
Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @RealRaynardJ or Gettr @RaynardJackson.
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