Who needs black politicians?

The Washington Post informs us that black political candidates around the country, running for statewide offices, are "struggling" to survive. According to the Post, there might be no black Governors or Senators by next year.

It seems that the presence of the ultimate Identity candidate, Barack Hussein Obama, has not ushered in an era of blind support for colored politicians – at least, not among those faithful white Obama devotees. Of course, as a black, I'm expected to vote for the Black Ticket, no matter who is on it. Although a New Yorker, I'm even supposed to care about a candidate in far off Alabama, if it means another "first." As in the First Black Governor of Alabama. Just why Alabama or any other state is in need of a black Governor is never clarified.

The paternalistic tone of the Post article, makes it clear that this is an urgent matter for Americans to worry over – that is, the necessity to keep increasing the numbers of black politicians throughout the land. The candidates themselves will tell you how they are needed to deal with unique "black issues." After all, haven't we seen how effective these figureheads are in reducing crime among blacks, in re-establishing black families, and in setting education as a priority among youth?

Black publications and websites rejoice every time another of their black favorites wins a national, state or municipal election. There is no end to the bean counting they employ when examining every state legislature and city council. Look at this city, there are 20 council members, but only four of them are black. Something is wrong here. And look at this state, there are 120 assemblymen and only eight of them are black. Obviously, some serious racism is at work here.

The fervent promotion of black for the sake of blackness reminds me of my conversation in the 1980s with that good, white libertarian lady in New York, who bemoaned the fact that the city, up to that time, had never had a black Mayor as had so many other cities, and this was a good reason to elect David Dinkins.

Putting aside the value, if any, to the country at large of these elected worthies, let's take a look at the benefits that blacks derive from the existence of these politicians. We could look at any number of the familiar social issues, but let's concentrate on immigration.

By now, most people are acquainted to some degree with the statistics that show the industries that have removed U.S.-born Americans from the workforce in favor of underpaid aliens. In plants around the country, from the furniture industry to meatpacking to the hotel industry, 20 years have taken their toll as companies have reorganized around the use of immigrant rather than native labor.

The Center for Immigration Studies describes how a company like IBP, the nation's leading meatpacking company, actually recruits workers from Mexico and directly along the border. Not too long ago, in Los Angeles, semi-skilled blacks could count on employment as janitors for $12 an hour, with benefits, but no longer. When companies discovered they could subcontract such labor for $3.35 an hour with "undocumented" immigrants, within two years the Americans were displaced. CIS reports that in the hotel industry, especially, immigrant workers "displaced native black workers en masse."

In California, black men also had been prominent as roofers, framers, drywallers and truck drivers. Prior to the immigration deluge, native-born minorities were able to sustain families on the salaries earned from such jobs.

As to youth employment, CIS calls the summer of 2009 "the worst summer ever experienced by U.S.-born teenagers." The jobs that teenagers once normally counted on during the summer season now went to mostly illegal immigrant laborers. As CIS suggests, reducing legal immigration and enforcing the law to reduce illegal immigration is no cure-all for the problems that afflict young black men, who are chronically unemployed, but such enforcement might re-open doors that have been shut.

Are any black politicians known to throw their efforts behind those reformers who are working to alleviate the economic effects of mass immigration? Not a one. Because they have been getting heat from some angry constituents, in March, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (which includes all black members of Congress) trekked to the White House to share with Obama their "concerns" about the black unemployment rate. As reported by Frank Morris in the Washington Times, the 43 members of the CBC, who represent primarily black constituencies, bear a large share of responsibility for neglect of this issue. These black legislators, writes Morris, have "consistently opposed tough enforcement of laws against employing illegal aliens."

As they have ever done, this claque of black politicians march in lockstep with all those who promote and protect illegal immigration. Not only are they in agreement with Obama's policies that have stopped immigration enforcement in the workplace, they have been "front and center in the effort to enact amnesty for millions of illegals." As Morris says, an amnesty bill "would provide nothing for black Americans except more competition for jobs, educational opportunities and increasingly scarce government resources." Remember, every time the overflow of immigrants forces a hospital to close its facilities, the poorest Americans are most negatively affected.

In 2006, in Immigration: Betrayal By Black Elites, I described the obnoxiously indifferent attitude of several black politicians who were called upon for help by displaced, unemployed blacks. It was clear then, as it is now, that notables such as Sheila Jackson-Lee, Maxine Waters and John Conyers seek only to expand their constituent base. As racial demographics change in their districts, they scramble only to court and win the confidence of the new foreigners. These deceivers cleverly make alliances with the elites of the incoming ethnic groups, disregarding the needs of those whom they perceive as their diminishing black base. However much they might bleat when it comes time to win the votes of fellow blacks, the typical black politician has never had an interest in anything except the protection of his/her career and political turf.

After all, when your district is filling up with Guatemalans, Ecuadoreans and Mexicans, you can't be expected to worry yourself about jobs these invaders are taking from the American citizens who initially put you in office.

Black politicians' message to the folks: Has the salary you relied on for years been cut in half and then in half again? Don't complain. That's how the market works. Just come down off your high horse of demanding that $12 an hour that the market once paid, and settle for $3.35, like a good alien, and the problem will be solved.

Unfortunately, there is no recourse to be had from that other political party, the one to which members of the Congressional Black Caucus do not belong. These Republicans have been among the most determined to keep the country's borders wide open for immigrants of all kinds, as their candidates for office spend most of the time flip-flopping on the subject.

Leaders of both the Democrats and Republicans would rather the matter not be brought up at all. On the immigration front, both of these political parties share the same need for ongoing importation of foreigners, that is, cheap labor for the constituencies of the Republicans and lots of brown and black prospective voters for the Democrats.

The Democrats' pitch to blacks, that works successfully, goes something like this: Since you owe us for your "liberation" and "civil rights," you should stick with us and our candidates, who will continue to devise laws, that will form policies, that will create programs to be engineered in your favor. If you don't continue your alliance with us, you might very well slip back into slavery, and fail to benefit from our spurious "job training" projects. After all, you can't trust those other folks to take care of you.

As revolting as this might sound, a look at the Republican offering might very well turn your stomach even more. For this is the War Party, and the employment they offer blacks, or any other unemployed, is grounded in a counterfeit "patriotism." Not just full employment, but all good things come through warmaking.

The Republicans would have all the idle apply for work in Uncle Sam's Army. A report issued last year by these advocates for the "greatest military in the world" laments the fact that so many thousands of American youth are "ineligible" to serve those whom Andrew Bacevich calls the "knaves and fools" who run the military.

It seems that most American youth lack the type of education required to handle today's magnificent military machine. They have enough education, mind you, to die as cannon fodder, but anybody can fill that bill. Our illustrious military leaders, however, want to maim and kill the better educated, those who can decipher all that intelligent technological weaponry, along with the grunts from Mississippi and Georgia, who cannot. You should have at least a high school diploma before you lose an eye or leg, have your brains scrambled, or die.

Another factor that makes so many of the young ineligible, the good Republicans tell us, is early involvement in criminal activities. The Generals would prefer such youth, before embarking on their private criminal careers, to wait until given the appropriate official weaponry and pointed in the direction of Arabia, instead of striking out on their own.

This political party also acts as the country's religious guide. Only its members understand the mind of their peculiar, inscrutable God. We're supposed to take seriously their "pro-life" admonitions, as they eagerly send their warrior sons off to kill the in utero babies of Arab women.

In their determination to "reach out" and to demonstrate their desire to uplift the unfortunates out of the depths of unemployment, members of this Republican party make a fuss about "free enterprise," but do not support such a system with their policies. They are not admirers of entrepreneurial talent, as such, but are worshippers of ruthless profiteering. Not only do they grant sainthood to the grossest corporate pirates, some of them have even been known to apologize to said pirates, when any are taken to task for criminal negligence and outright incompetence.

To these Republicans, there is no such thing as unethical corporate behavior. And anyone who says otherwise is a degenerate Commie. The market, you see, "channels" behavior and thereby keeps it honest. To profit, the businessman must follow the rules of the magic "market," which automatically will keep him on the straight and narrow, thus maintaining his integrity. Human nature or the temptations of the flesh do not come into play in the magic market. At least not in Republican la-la-land. In this land, there is no such thing as an inept corporate executive. And certainly no such thing as a malevolent money-grubbing one, no matter what the Bernie Madoff case might imply.

Just suggest to one of these Republicans that there's something obscene about the escalating sizes of executive pay packages, given the ratio to an average worker's salary, and then stand back for the tidal wave of epithets that will ensue, ranging from you being a denizen of "class envy," to being a brainwashed leftoid redistributionist. For it's not innate human greed, you see, but government interference, via Regulations, that makes business people turn bad. Our recent financial troubles do not stem from the revocation of the Glass-Steagall Act, as we are led to believe, but from exactly that kind of legal meddling with the marketplace.

Let's return to that initial grievance about black candidates now running for political office, and the dire news that many, if not most of them, will not attain their goals. All of these cynical descendants of slaves will be running as members of one of the two corrupt political parties. So, when assessing the overall welfare of the unemployed, would it make a dime's worth of difference whether or not any of these scurrilous flim-flam artists are elected? Let's see what happens to the nation if no blacks end up as winners in elections this year.