You don’t have to be black to demean a black Republican.
The tea party supported Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., a black man who denounced Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats, and urged them to “get the hell out of the United States of America.” Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., a white man, said that West is “not representative of the African-American community.” About West, a former Army colonel who saw action in Iraq, Moran insultingly said: “(West) just seems clueless now that he has climbed aboard ship. He’s climbed this ladder of opportunity that was constructed by so many of his ancestors’ sweat, sacrifice, blood. You know they did everything they could for his generation to be successful. But now that he’s climbed on board ship, instead of reaching down and steadying the ladder, he wants to push it off. You know — ‘I’m up here, if you’re not with me, too bad.'”
So, a white Democrat — whose party hasn’t carried the “white vote” in nearly 50 years — tells West, a black Republican, that he is not “representative of the African-American community.”
Bet Whitney could relate.
Larry Elder is a best-selling author and radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit www.LarryElder.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2012 LAURENCE A. ELDER
