The Liberal Plantation

Hillary might be in the news for talking about how the Republicans have been "running congress like a plantation," but it's easy for her to say that, seeing how Democrats have been truly ruling over African Americans like plantation owners for many years, and that includes the black Democrats. I originally wrote the following piece on October 16, 2004, but I am going to republish a portion of the article, since it is so pertinent to the current news. Phil Valentine's piece was published on the October 13, 2004 edition of The Franklin, TN newspaper, The Review Appeal. The piece has since been taken off of the internet, due to age.

One good thing about [middle Tennessee]? The Conservative Review Appeal. I was reading through Wednesday's edition and came across the Conservative radio show host Phil Valentine's piece "Black Paradigm Shift May Blindside Democrats". He speaks about how the Democrats are taking the African American vote for granted and are starting to lose it. African Americans are starting to look at the people and actually as my dad put it, "seeing the B.S. that they are trying to pass as legit." Phil talks about how a Black woman called his show commenting about a comment he made. He talked to her for a bit and actually got her to pay attention to what Edwards was saying at the debate. She called back after the debate and this was her new outlook. "The following week, Amber called in about the vice presidential debate. She remarked that John Edwards talked about a ''plan'' for Iraq and a ''plan'' for the economy but produced no details of the ''plan.'' She was not impressed. She was, instead, struck by Dick Cheney's command of the issues and his straightforwardness."
Then this was the clincher for me. Something that I've been looking for for ages."Why have so many blacks stayed with the Democrats for so long? Former Congressman J.C. Watts refers to government entitlements as the ''liberal plantation.'' Too many black Americans have been trapped on this liberal plantation and feel beholden to the Democrats for keeping the gravy train rolling. There are two types of people who escape the trappings of this liberal plantation. There are those who break the shackles or who have rejected them all their lives. These are the J.C. Watts, the Colin Powells, the Clarence Thomases. Those too frightened to make a run for it call these people ''Uncle Toms.'' The others who escape the trappings become the foremen on the plantation. They crack the whip on those below them and keep them too scared to leave, becoming rich in the process. These are the Al Sharptons and the Jesse Jacksons. What these purveyors of fear don't realize is that there are a lot of people like Amber who now realize that the key to their happiness rests within themselves and not the government."

*Cartoon modified from the original at Michelle Malkin *