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Sowell: Republicans and Blacks
Creators Syndicate ^ | March 25, 2014 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 03/24/2014 1:17:08 PM PDT by jazusamo

Recently former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice added her voice to those who have long been urging the Republican Party to reach out to black voters. Not only is that long overdue, what is also long overdue is putting some time — and, above all, some serious thought — into how to go about doing it.

Too many Republicans seem to think that the way to "reach out" is to offer blacks and other minorities what the Democrats are offering them. Some have even suggested that the channels to use are organizations like the NAACP and black "leaders" like Jesse Jackson — that is, people tied irrevocably to the Democrats.

Voters who want what the Democrats offer can get it from the Democrats. Why should they vote for Republicans who act like make-believe Democrats?

Yet there are issues where Republicans have a big advantage over Democrats — if they will use that advantage. But an advantage that you don't use might as well not exist.

The issue on which Democrats are most vulnerable, and have the least room to maneuver, is school choice. Democrats are heavily in hock to the teachers' unions, who see public schools as places to guarantee jobs for teachers, regardless of what that means for the education of students.

There are some charter schools and private schools that have low-income minority youngsters equaling or exceeding national norms, despite the many ghetto public schools where most students are nowhere close to meeting those norms. Because teachers' unions oppose charter schools, most Democrats oppose them, including black Democrats up to and including President Barack Obama.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's recent cutback on funding for charter schools, and creating other obstacles for them, showed a calloused disregard for black youngsters, for whom a decent education...

(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2014issues; billdeblasio; blackrepublicans; blacks; blackvote; cabrinigreen; charterschools; chirlanemccray; condoleezzarice; jimcrow; kukluxklan; minimumwage; newyork; newyorkcity; outreach; partyofsecession; partyofslavery; republicans; segregation; sowell; thomassowell
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To: jazusamo

I’m sorry Dr. Sowell, there’s nothing appeals by Pubbies to get blacks to vote for them that will work.


21 posted on 03/24/2014 2:59:53 PM PDT by driftless2
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To: smoothsailing

LOL! That must be it, thanks for the links.


22 posted on 03/24/2014 3:02:55 PM PDT by jazusamo ([Obama] A Truly Great Phony -- Thomas Sowell http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3058949/posts)
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To: driftless2

I’m sorry Dr. Sowell, there’s nothing appeals by Pubbies to get blacks to vote for them that will work.


How bout speaking to all blacks as if they cared about the nation and their families? Treat them like adults. Offer them “success” instead of dependency.

There are more than a few black voters who would rather become one of the fat cats and live among them, instead of living off them.


23 posted on 03/24/2014 3:07:49 PM PDT by Atlas Sneezed ("Income Inequality?" Let's start with Washington DC vs. the rest of the nation!)
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To: jazusamo
Sowell's off base again. School choice means that minorities from the inner cities can bring the kids to suburban and high-performing schools in other neighborhoods. They bring their bad habits with them, and are even less accountable because the kids are nowhere near their homes, so the parents aren't there if need be. Those children and parents don't have the neighborhood contacts that build and improve behavior when it's a neighborhood school.

A better message to blacks would be enpowerment. Bring the young ones back to neighborhood schools and take ownership of the problems in the local school.

And PS Mr Sowell: Most loyal conservative voters don't want kids from inner city neighborhoods going to their local schools in the name of school choice.

24 posted on 03/24/2014 3:07:54 PM PDT by grania
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To: doc11355
When, then, would you propose as an alternative to the Leftist-dominated public school system?

There should be no government involvement in education, not even at the county and city level. It should purely be a contracted service between educators and parents.

25 posted on 03/24/2014 3:11:36 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (15 years of FReeping! Congratulations EEE!!)
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To: redgolum

It is rarely EVER the funding. You can jam money down a kid’s throat, it will not improve learning (don’t get me started on discipline).


26 posted on 03/24/2014 3:20:43 PM PDT by SgtHooper (If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.)
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To: driftless2

Bingo!!!


27 posted on 03/24/2014 3:23:36 PM PDT by SgtHooper (If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.)
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To: LeonardFMason

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3135460/posts


28 posted on 03/24/2014 3:24:59 PM PDT by jimjohn (You don't get the kind of government you want, or the kind you need. You get the kind you deserve.)
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To: Billthedrill

Your list contains 4 racial topics Mr. AS Sowell has going for him.

He is a racial writer who doesn’t like new Conservative intellectuals like Ted Cruz, Levin.

Blacks voted for Hussein Obama because of skin color.

A watered down GOPe which AS is in favor of will never get the African American vote. No matter how bad Obama’s economics has hurt them in unemployment and income inequality. Racial solutions don’t work because the illegals always get the lower paying jobs because they will work for whatever is offered, cutting unskilled Blacks out of opportunity and taking them for granted at election time.


29 posted on 03/24/2014 3:34:00 PM PDT by Zenjitsuman (New Boss Nancy Pelosi)
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To: SunkenCiv
How about attacking the very notion that the Demagogic Party is somehow a better choice — they are the party of slavery, the party of secession, the party of the klan, the party of jim crow, the party of segregation, the party of Cabrini Green...

How about attacking the very notion that the Republican Party is the party of white people? How about attacking the racist Dhimmicrats’ pejoratives directed against Republican politicians who happen to be black?

Very nice Civ...

30 posted on 03/24/2014 3:36:46 PM PDT by GOPJ (NASA: N othing A bout S pace A nymore - - FreperClearCase_guy)
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To: Zenjitsuman

He is very relevant. Relevancy does not require that everyone agree with him all the time. I don’t see him as “in the camp” of the GOPe. Much of what he says is quite contrary to the elite GOP attitude.


31 posted on 03/24/2014 3:42:26 PM PDT by ChildOfThe60s ((If you can remember the 60s.....you weren't really there)
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To: Zenjitsuman
My list was made from a casual perusal of books of his I've purchased. Sowell is a world class economist of the Friedman/von Mises persuasion: that, and not race, is his forte.

I think it is, or should be, beneath the dignity of a free man to demand that such voices be suppressed, especially out of a momentary disagreement over political tactics. Why on earth bother with a site such as FR if it isn't for vigorous discussion?

32 posted on 03/24/2014 3:46:47 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: redgolum

Some are very selective. Others are lottery. Both generally outperform standard public schools.


33 posted on 03/24/2014 3:54:06 PM PDT by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: ALPAPilot
If the school system's spending $20,000 per year NOT to educate a child - what would be wrong with giving half that money to parents in the form of a voucher?

A voucher they could choose to use at any school that would accept their child. And by choice I don't mean forcing a school to take a child they don't want - that horror has no place in a private system. It hurts the child and sets up a 'pity party mentality' that damages children.

The rough work of integrating pubic schools was just - and worthy - that heavy lifting has been accomplished. That standard should not be applied to private schools (and yeah - that will work for black kids and all kids in the long run.) The difference between seeing yourself as someone who can bully their way into a group - and seeing yourself as someone who has worked for and earned acceptance will be the point where race REALLY doesn't matter.

As far as the old folks down the street? They got a free education and most of them don't mind helping the next generation. Well, as long as the school dollars are being spent to educate rather than indoctrinate PC stupidity.

34 posted on 03/24/2014 4:01:13 PM PDT by GOPJ (NASA: N othing A bout S pace A nymore - - FreperClearCase_guy)
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To: redgolum
Statist? Not really. Homeschool or send your children to a private school of your choice.

Don't you think it is odd to be against socialized medicine but for socialized education?

Voucher programs are designed to DE-SOCIALIZE education i.e. increase the number of schools that are NOT owned by the government.

I am sending my children to private school. My neighbors are still stealing my money because they do not WISH to pay for they own children.

35 posted on 03/24/2014 4:18:33 PM PDT by ALPAPilot
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To: ALPAPilot

How is turning private schools into public a good thing? Once a private school takes money from the State, be it vouchers or other State money,the State will start to make demands. I’ve seen it way to often. If you want to keep your kids out of government schools, don’t turn the private schools into them


36 posted on 03/24/2014 5:03:45 PM PDT by redgolum ("God is dead" -- Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" -- God.)
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To: redgolum

You must be a statist. Thank you for having your kids brainwashed by Marxists.


37 posted on 03/24/2014 6:25:44 PM PDT by ExCTCitizen (I'm ExCTCitizen and I approve this reply. If it does offend Libs, I'm NOT sorry...)
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To: Zenjitsuman
Z:

Thomas Sowell is a great spokesman. If you don't want to read him, or what people post about him on here, ignore theposts.

38 posted on 03/24/2014 6:33:32 PM PDT by ExCTCitizen (I'm ExCTCitizen and I approve this reply. If it does offend Libs, I'm NOT sorry...)
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To: redgolum; jazusamo; ExTexasRedhead; ml/nj; doc11355; ALPAPilot; Yaelle; Resolute Conservative; ...
Charter schools at this point in American politics are kind of a compromise between the completely statist model public schools admired by the teachers union brass and the left-leaning politicians they support, on the one hand, and completely private models of education advocated by right libertarians, on the other.

Charter schools, especially in big cities, seem to have performed significantly better than traditional public schools, and some black parents are very aware that their children might be better off there. So all that Tom Sowell is saying is that Republicans running for office who defend charter schools staunchly against far left 'Rat opposition might likely find some critical black votes swinging toward them, enough to make the difference in close elections. As far as that goes, Sowell makes sense.

39 posted on 03/24/2014 7:06:13 PM PDT by justiceseeker93
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To: redgolum

Public schools that have a critical mass of kids who are not interested in learning will hold back even those students that want to learn and those teachers that want to teach. Everyone is too busy catering to the lowest common denominator to actually educate anyone. Charters and private schools offer the only way out for most kids - so why is school choice a bad thing? School choice is sort of like voter ID - it’s so common sensical that it seems foolish to oppose it.


40 posted on 03/24/2014 7:21:27 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite it's unfashionability)
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