WHAT
ONE HAND GIVES, THE OTHER TAKES AWAY
BY
JULIANNE MALVEAUX
|
For weeks now, I have been hearing from
all manners of folks who are excited that President-elect George W.
Bush will nominate General Colin Powell to be Secretary of State and
will select former Stanford Provost Dr. Condoleeza Rice as his
national security advisor. Doesn’t this prove that this man is not
biased against African Americans. After all, he has selected two
African Americans, already, to join his team. They act as if these are
people he picked from the slush pile, not some of the most qualified
in his own party. And they act as if these appointments are supposed
to blind our eyes to anything else that happens.
So we bask in the Powell-Rice dust for awhile, enjoying the impact these highly qualified African Americans make. We know they are Republicans, and we aren’t mad at them for it. We may not agree with them on this or that, but we cheer them on. It doesn’t mean that we think differently of George W. Bush. But it means that we are delighted that some of "ours" are insiders. Then Bush says he wants to meet with black preachers. He chooses them carefully, ignoring those who might challenge him. Nobody representing the National Baptist Convention, that includes as many as 10 million African Americans in its roster. No Jesse Jackson, no Al Sharpton, because they are too far left. New York City’s Abysinnian Baptist Church pastor Calvin Butts signaled his political independence long ago, sliding up to Perot in 1992, and calling Democrats on their chicanery. But Rev. Butts doesn’t suffer fools easily or gladly, and so he was not invited to the Austin prayer meeting. Most black folks were content to simply look askance at the Austin meeting. They said, simply, "let it be". But some wanted to use the Austin meeting to cheerlead for Bush. They talked about how this meant that he was inclusive, oblivious to the implicit. All I could do was cringe at the implicit condescension. The President-elect hasn’t met with white preachers. Does he think that the only way he can get to African Americans is through preachers? What about our politicians? What about our leaders? Instead, he seems to think he can get away with going with the cliché. Don’t worry about the voters, just go for the preachers. Between Powell, Rice, and the preachers, Bush got the early symbolism out of the way, then he went back where his heart is. He selected former Missouri Senator John Ashcroft for Attorney General, even though Ashcroft has made it a habit of being anti-African American, anti-gay, and anti-woman. Most recently, he led the effort to reject attorney Ronald White for a judicial position, and mostly on specious and racial grounds. Ashcroft, brimming over with racial bias, will be in charge of investigations into the irregularities in Florida because the Attorney General is in charge of civil rights. Where is the right in that appointment? With the Ashcroft appointment, Bush is telling black folks where to go. Here’s what he is saying – I’ll meet with your preachers, but I’ll disrespect your lawyers. I’ll send you to do foreign policy, while I attempt to emasculate you at home. I’ll say I preside over all Americans, but I’ll put the Justice Department in the hands of someone who says his main thing is, plainly and simply, just us white folks. But I gave you Powell, Riche, and the preachers, so I don’t want to hear any complaints. Ashcroft is bad enough, but then the President-elect chose Virginia Governor xxx Gilmore to head the Republican National Committee. Gilmore’s claim to fame is that he declared April "Confederacy Month". He said he didn’t mean that Confederacy month to be an affront to African Americans, but what else could he possibly think the month could have been, when he decided to honor those who enslaved us? And why would such a reprobate be named head of the Republican National Committee, unless he is a symbol for this Confederacy crap. Bush says he wants to be everyone’s President. He seems to mean is that he wants to be the President of all of anyone us who like the Confederacy! One hand gives, the other takes. Anyone who is willing to
acknowledge the Powell and Rice appointments as indicative ought to be
willing to revise their opinions based on the selections of Ashcroft
and Gillmore. Baby Bush is a master at symbolism, but he parses the
truth when he says he wants to be everyone’s President. |