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Bribes Plus Vouchers - The Bush Doctrine of Splitting Black Consensus

The corporate-Republican onslaught against the Black Political Consensus, conceived in the war rooms of rightwing think tanks a decade ago, is in full fury. Massively financed by, first private, and now public dollars, the campaign to create the perception of an alternative, conservative Black “leadership” is on the march in all regions of the nation, sowing confusion and alarm among authentic African American political formations. As expected, the corporate media certified that the 22 bought-and-paid-for ministers and corporate front persons showcased at the White House last week were, indeed, “Black leaders.” “President Discusses Issues With Black Leaders,” announced the New York Times headline, featuring a photo captioned: “President Bush met with about 20 African-American leaders for a little more than an hour Tuesday.” If the New York Times considers the handpicked gaggle to be “Black leaders,” it must be true. The Associated Press said so, too. “President Bush told black leaders Tuesday that his plan to add private accounts to Social Security would benefit blacks since they tend to have shorter lives than some other Americans and end up paying in more than they get out,” said the AP article, distributed worldwide. The nation’s second most influential paper, the Washington Post, qualified the delegation’s status, describing them as “right-leaning black leaders.” Does that mean they are leaders of other “right-leaning” Blacks, or real Black leaders who happen to lean (or bend over) to the right? [more]

Study Finds Religious Polarization in US Voters [more]
Mary Frances Berry: I want to get into this. I just want to say that the president showed the Congressional Black Caucus what he thought of them when, after it was announced that he was meeting with them--and they represent black people; they get elected; whatever we think about them, they got elected by somebody--then he announces that our meeting before that with, quote, "conservative black leaders," who aren't elected by anybody, who may have constituents. He doesn't meet with the NAACP, which at least has members, whatever the number is who pay dues. And then when he meets with the conservative leaders, he talks about Social Security--That's what we were told--and how that would be great for black people to get it privatized. And then he talks about same-sex marriage and things like that. And then he doesn't talk about the disparities, he doesn't talk about health care, he doesn't talk about any of these issues. So Caucus members brought an agenda. They don't or may not have the power to get it executed and maybe they will work harder this time to try to get it executed, but they did have some ideas, and they do represent black people, because some black people voted for them. National Public Radio (NPR) January 31, 2005
African Americans must resist Bush's divide-and-conquer strategy [more]