A black former Democrat US congressman named Artur Davis has switched to the Republican party saying that the country and black America have "gone backward" since Obama took office. This is an extremely rare event.
This surely is sending jitters through the Democrat party, although caution would be advised. Because Davis could simply be an opportunist. But then again there is much discontent all over America about Obama, even in the black community.
Blacks voted more than 95% for Obama. But now that they are seeing the actual results of Obama socialism, the current situation could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and causes some blacks to finally see the damage that the Democrat party is doing to them and to flee politically to the GOP.
Blacks were overwhelmingly Republican up until the 1960s because the Republican party was founded in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1854 as the anti-slavery party and because Republican president Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves. Even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican.
In A Covenant With Life: Reclaiming MLK’s Legacy, Dr. Alveda C. King, niece of Dr. King, states: “My grandfather, Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., or ‘Daddy King’, was a Republican and father of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was a Republican.”
In the 1960s it was Southern Democrats like US senators Al Gore Sr. of Tennessee and J. William Fulbright of Arkansas – Bill Clinton’s mentor – who sought to block civil rights legislation.
And now that blacks indeed are “going backwards” under the Democrats and Obama, and have been going backwards for decades will they rediscover the Republican party?
It’s possible. Many blacks also are angry over Obama’s support for homosexual marriage. So perhaps more blacks will see the wisdom of the Republican stand on social issues as well and will then “tip” some elections to the GOP in the near future.
Such a shift is not likely to be pronounced to start, but if Romney is elected, which seems increasingly likely, and produces economic hope, then there could be bigger shifts in future elections.
This would change the face of American elections. Because the Democrats stay in power in many places only with overwhelming black voter allegiance. This is why any news like the party switch by Artur Davis sends shock waves through Democrat offices across the nation. If other blacks follow Davis there will be sheer panic at the Democratic National Committee.
What about hispanics? Are they trending Republican?
Ronald Reagan once said that “hispanics are Republicans but they may not even know it.” What he meant was that hispanics embrace the traits that Republicans embrace – hard work, family, marriage and religion – but that they may not really think about it in those terms.
One of the most likely issues on which hispanics and blacks are likely to swing to the Republican party is that of school vouchers.
Many blacks and hispanics, particularly in urban America, understand that their terrible public schools, controlled by teacher unions allied with the Democrat party, are thwarting them and they support vouchers and school choice as a way to establish better educational standards for their children.
Mitt Romney recently said in a speech on education to the Latino Coalition, a conservative hispanic group that, “Here we are in the most prosperous nation, but millions of kids are getting a third world education. And America’s minority children suffer the most. This is the civil rights issue of our era. And it’s the great challenge of our time.”
That is very strong language. No Republican has been this blunt before. And comments like this are going to resonate with millions of blacks and hispanics, rest assured.
Hispanic voters regularly tell pollsters that education is one of their primary concerns — far above immigration — and they generally support educational vouchers. Many blacks support vouchers as well, far more percentage-wise than vote Republican.
Romney said that Democrat-controlled teacher unions “are the clearest example of a group that has lost its way” and added that Obama is far too beholden to the unions to be capable of reforming education.
“President Obama has been unable to stand up to union bosses — and unwilling to stand up for kids,” he added.
Wow. More tough language. You never would have heard John McCain say such a thing. Or Bush. And Romney is going to get tougher as the election approaches. And this is a winning issue for Romney that is going to peel off black and hispanic votes to the GOP.
Romney’s education plan would give students who receive federal education assistance a choice of any public, private, religious or charter school in their area and would force states to offer enough options to make school choice meaningful.
And with a pro-reform leader in the White House genuine school reform will finally take off across the US once the momentum is established on the national level.
One of the most successful educational voucher plans of the last few decades was implemented in Washington, DC.
The Opportunity Scholarship Program is a tiny federal program established by Republicans in 2003 to offer scholarships to poor minority students in DC to attend private, charter and religious schools. And Romney now wants to expand the program.
The program has been very effective. Students who took advantage are doing vastly better and have much brighter futures than those who did not. Those scholarship students have been very happy in their new schools and never want to return to the public schools.
But as usual the program’s success turned liberals against it. The powerful DC teacher union has opposed the plan even while the majority of DC parents support it. Because unionized public school teachers never want anyone to know that there is something much simpler, cheaper and better than the public schools.
Currently more than 1,600 students are enrolled in the program. Obama and the Democrats sought to kill the program under pressure from the unions but backed down, allowing students already enrolled to stay in the program but halting new applications.
Obama again will seek to kill the program in next year’s budget. And this is an opportunity for the GOP to make inroads in black America with common sense reforms. And in hispanic America too.
Remember that a North Carolina public school teacher recently was heard on an audio tape telling her students that people were arrested for criticizing president George W. Bush.
That is a complete lie. But it is typical of how far off the rails our public schools have gone. And reform is coming. The times indeed are changing and Mitt Romney is going to lead that reform.
Meanwhile reuters.com recently reported this very interesting story – it will be the subject of a separate nikitas3.com commentary – that could be a harbinger of wider educational reform to come:
(Reuters) – Louisiana is embarking on the nation's boldest experiment in privatizing public education, with the state preparing to shift tens of millions in tax dollars out of the public schools to pay private industry, businesses owners and church pastors to educate children.
Starting this fall, thousands of poor and middle-class kids will get vouchers covering the full cost of tuition at more than 120 private schools across Louisiana, including small, Bible-based church schools.
The following year, students of any income will be eligible for mini-vouchers that they can use to pay a range of private-sector vendors for classes and apprenticeships not offered in traditional public schools. The money can go to industry trade groups, businesses, online schools and tutors, among others.
This is wonderful news. Good for Louisiana. Other states will soon follow. This is the beginning of real change for American students.