-By Frank Hyland
In the words of Indiana Congressman Andre Carson in Miami on August 29th, “…some of them in Congress right now of this tea party movement would love to see you and me … hanging on a tree.” Cong. Carson, of course, is not the only one who has raised his voice against Americans seeking to avoid the bankruptcy of this nation. California Cong. Maxine Waters said on August 20th, “As far as I’m concerned — the Tea Party can go straight to Hell.” On Labor Day, Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa said, “…it is the Tea Party…Let’s take these son of a bitches out…” Additional examples abound, too numerous to recount in this column without driving it over onto several more pages.
Statements such as these are so incredibly rich in terms of angles from which to respond that the result will necessarily be a series of columns. With that in mind, we can choose the “Good News” angle for the first one and then follow up with other angles.
It might seem at first that there cannot possibly be any news about such statements that can be termed “good.” A second glance, if it is honest, though, would show someone like Cong. Carson that his words and their aftermath represent an opportunity. Opportunity for what? An opportunity to feel better about himself by recanting his words, admitting his mistake, and changing course to one that is supportable, one that can be backed up by facts as opposed to the empty words of a pure politician uttered in a vain attempt to garner more votes.
But don’t take it from me. No less an authority than President Obama has asked publicly that people “dial down the rhetoric” and has pleaded for more civility in our discourse. Of course after Jimmy Hoffa’s Labor Day statement, a White House spokesperson who was asked to comment said, “No comment.” And no wonder, because when President Obama took the microphone right after Hoffa, he said that he was “proud” of Hoffa and other labor leaders. There is still time, though, for the President as well to “dial down the rhetoric.”
There is ample reason for Cong. Carson and others to change course to a realistic one. Last year, unemployment among African-American males reached the highest level since the U.S. Government began keeping tabs in 1972. Almost half of African-American males had no jobs. Nearly eight percent, close to one of every 10 African-Americans who bought homes between 2005 and 2008 have lost those homes to foreclosure. More than a year later, it would be very, very surprising if those numbers have improved. As has been reported widely in the past year, the Black middle class, enjoying growth for years, has been shrinking more and more since 2009.
Hanging on a tree? No, the true solution for those as mistaken as Cong. Carson will come only when Cong. Carson and his ilk are hanging their heads in shame.
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Frank Hyland is a long-time Writer/Editor who has written for The New Media Alliance, and also for The Reality Check and has appeared weekly on Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Conservatism on Sunday evenings on Blog Talk Radio, along with Babe Huggett and Warner Todd Huston.