Meanwhile, on the plantation ...
The QandO Blog
Posted by: McQ on Thursday, March 24, 2005
Howard Dean is still banging around the country on his "I have a scream" tour for the DNC. Apparently he is making the usual promises to African-Americans as reported by the Amsterdam News:
<<<
“African Americans will play a major role in the future of our Party,” said Dean, who spoke to the Amsterdam News during a visit last week to New York City. “Diversity is important to me and I know that we will continue to reach out.”
>>>
Dean's record on diversity? Well, not so good.
<<<
And though Dean enjoys support from a range of Black leaders like Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Illinois), his record on diversity has also been scrutinized.
During the Democratic primary, Rev. Al Sharpton chastised Dean for not appointing any Blacks to top-level positions within his administration during his tenure as governor of Vermont.
At the time, Dean scoffed at the criticism, saying that he had tried to bring in qualified Blacks from the private sector to work for him but that Vermont has a very small Black population (it is 99% white, according to the latest census figures).
>>>
Look, you say, let's give him a bye on this because it is possible that the small black population of Vermont may not have had a qualified black candidate for any high-level position in state government.
OK, fine .... so how about the DNC then?
<<<
Now, Sharpton and others are pushing Dean to appoint Blacks to leadership positions within the DNC. They want him to appoint Marjorie Fields Harris, who runs Sharpton’s National Action Network, to the national committee of the DNC.
Harris ran for vice chair of the DNC last month. Though she lost, she garnered 90 percent of the votes cast by Black DNC members—enough votes, Sharpton contends, that she ought to have a place at the table.
Dean refused to say whether he would appoint Harris to a DNC post, though some political insiders suggest that he isn’t planning to do so.
>>>
Well there's a surprise. But Dean's enthusiastic about the black vote:
<<<
“This is terrific,” said Dean. “It’s just what we want. African Americans are the most reliable core constituents of our Party,” he added.
>>>
They sure are. And they consistently get a thumb in the eye from the Democrats after they do their duty on election day. You just wonder when they're going to figure our that not only are blacks being used by the Democrats and the DNC, they're being abused. After all, reason the Democrats, where in the world can they go?
BTW, Colin and Condi say "hi".
qando.net |
