By Raynard Jackson
BlakPac Columnist
My friends sometimes jokingly refer to me as the John the Baptist of the Republican Party.
John
the Baptist, who was an itinerant preacher in the days of Jesus Christ,
is one of the most historic religious figures the world has ever known. He constantly warned his people to repent of their sins because the Messiah’s, Jesus Christ, appearance was imminent.
People
thought he was crazy because he kept preaching and preaching and
preaching about the coming messiah until Jesus finally appeared on the
scene; and John the Baptist’s prophecy was quickly forgotten.
Likewise,
I have been preaching and preaching and preaching about the need for
the Republican Party to become serious about getting more Blacks
involved in the party.
But
instead of imploring my party to get ready for the coming “messiah,” I
have been preaching about the coming diversity of the American
population; thus the necessity of not relying only on the White vote to
win elections, especially during presidential cycles.
Many
of my followers think I have simply been wasting my time for decades
and that the Republican Party will never get serious about the Black
community.
As with John the Baptist, many also think I am a madman and have lost my mind; but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Giving
up would have been the easy thing to do; but I have always been
reminded that dreamers possess great powers untold; they build worlds
that others cannot see.
For the first time in decades, deep down inside, I see that a change is gonna come.
I
am currently in the midst of travelling across the country meeting with
Black entrepreneurs, Hollywood actors, and major music artists about a
major project that I will announce next month.
Many Black entrepreneurs feel simply left out of the political game all together. The
Democratic Party is anathema to many of these businessmen on issues
like government regulations, minimum wage, Obamacare, access to capital;
many in Black Hollywood are becoming increasingly concerned with the
extreme left-leaning turn of the images coming out of Hollywood
regarding “values;” there is also an increasingly vocal movement against
the lyrics being promoted within Hip-Hop/R&B.
Republicans
constantly assert that they don’t know who these Blacks are and were
not aware that they are already in synch with our values on a myriad of
issues. Well, they will no longer have that as an excuse.
I
will deliver these individuals to the party to begin cultivating some
type of relationship to explore the possibility of forming some basis of
moving forward on issues of mutual concern.
Of
all the decades I have been preaching the gospel of inclusion, I have
never seen the Black community so ripe with a desire for engagement with
the Republican Party.
One only need look at the pathologies in every Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member’s district to understand why. Every conceivable economic or values index in these districts are well above the national average of worst indices: unemployment, crime, drugs, murder, pregnancy, school dropouts, etc.
The
Black community is already in sync with the party philosophically and
politically; the question is does the Republican Party really want a
relationship with the Black community or do they simply want to continue
to use our community as a wedge issue?
One
of the main reason Blacks constantly vote again their own interests is
that the Republican Party does not make the Black community feel like
they are welcomed within their party.
If
the party wants a relationship with the Black community, they have to
send a strong signal that the party is looking long term and are willing
to indicate that with specific actions.
Our
congressional leadership must invite these businessmen to sit at the
table with them and their staffs to discuss issues like: reducing
or abolishing capital gains taxes as a means of stimulating small
business growth, accelerated depreciation, access to capital, Obamacare,
and foreign taxes; they must invite Blacks in Hollywood to discuss with
them the role of negative, violent images and its impact on the culture
of violence that is pronounced within the Black community; they must
invite Hip-Hop/R&B artists to discuss copyright protection of their
intellectual property (their music) and the need to end the raunchy
lyrics in our pop culture.
Remember,
the goal is not to make them Republicans; but rather to get them to
work with us on specific issues that we all can agree on.
If
we can do this, I will no longer be called the one who is crying in the
wilderness; but rather the one who is now crying for joy.
Raynard
Jackson & Associates, LLC is an internationally recognized
political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in
Washington, DC. Jackson is an internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator. He has coined the phrase “straticist.” As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations. Visit his website at: www.raynardjackson.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment