Black conservatives are a political anomaly because, as we stated in Part I of this discussion last week, one has to have something to conserve in order to be a true conservative.
Politically speaking, then, one has to ask what do Black conservatives not have to conserve?
If they were attempting to conserve a Black political tradition of struggle for the freedom and independence of Black people, we would all cheer. If they were attempting to conserve the African traditions of the sacred family values and kinship, we would be excited.
However, the political reality is that these men and women have little more than their voices and their presence as African Americans lending credibility to White conservative policies that are the antithesis to the Black community.
The Black community is not a rich one nor is there very much competition for the Black vote because it is taken for granted as loyalty to the Democratic Party.
Since the conservative policies being proffered by Black conservatives are not appealing to the majority of Black voters, what then is the agenda of these political activists and spokespersons?
In order to understand the philosophy and intentions of the conservative movement and how it uses the Black conservatives in their designs, we must examine this movement’s agenda for the country.
Identifying The Conservative Think Tanks
The power of the conservative movement is embodied in its think tanks, defined as non-profit research organizations that specialize in the analysis, construction, and advocacy of public policy. These think tanks are funded by right-wing millionaires and billionaires.
Among the major funders are the billionaire Koch brothers of Koch Industries and the members of the Coors Beer Company family. The Koch Brothers have allegedly provided money and support for the Tea Party and other right wing organizations.
The Heritage Foundation founded in 1973 in Washington, D.C. specializes in tax policy and national defense.
The American Enterprise Institute founded in 1943 in Washington, D.C., specializes in international trade and defense policy
The Center for the Strategic and International Studies founded in 1964 in Washington, D.C. specializes in defense policy and diplomacy.
The other influential conservative think tanks are Cato Institute, Hoover Institution, Manhattan Institute, and the Lexington Institute.
One of the rising stars in this constellation is The National Center for Public Policy Research founded in 1982 in Washington, D.C. It describes itself as a “conservative, free-market, non-profit think tank.” Significantly, this organization has as one of its affiliates the National Leadership Network of Conservative African-Americans, also known as Project 21.
Among the most outspoken members of Project 21 are Horace Cooper, legal commentator, former constitutional law lecturer at George Mason University, and a senior counsel to former Representative Dick Armey (R-Texas) and a founder of the Tea Party; and Charles Butler, former talk show host on Chicago’s WVON Radio.
It is significant that most of these conservative think tanks are headquartered in the seat of national government, Washington, D.C., and that they are funded by major corporate giants who wish to exercise disproportionate influence in the federal government.
These are the people and the groups that are being profiled and protested against by the Occupy Wall Street and the 99 percent groups around the nation. The protesters understand the impact of the disproportionate influence that these people and their organizations have had on the shaping of American domestic and foreign policy.
They are aware of the fact that these are the people who benefit from armament sales to the Defense Department and promote violence as the major means of settlement of international disputes.
These are the people who are spending millions of dollars lobbying against increases in taxes on that 1 percent, so that they can maintain and increase the income gap between them and the rest of us.
The conservative movement comprises the people who support the Tea Party in their “Birther” and “Obama is a Muslim” antics.
One of the core values of conservatives includes a deep-seated belief that Black people are innately inferior to Whites and, thus, under no circumstances can Barack Obama be accepted as the legitimate leader of the most powerful nation on the planet.
Uncovering The Conservative Movement
Conservative think tank organizations with the financial and political support of their powerful backers provide the philosophical justification for their political views.
These political views are in turn sold to a large segment of the White population as elements of the core values and principles of the “American way.”
One of the core values of conservatives includes a deep-seated belief that Black people are innately inferior to Whites and, thus, under no circumstances can Barack Obama be accepted as the legitimate leader of the most powerful nation on the planet.
Further, when this group is unable to persuade the bulk of the population using their ordinary tactics, they resort to the inflaming notions of the right to own guns, anti-gay legislation, and God as the political guidepost.
American conservatism, because of its roots in White supremacy and racism, can never accept policies like affirmative action, anti-discrimination laws, or reparations.
Therefore, the appearance of spokesmen like former WVON Black talk show host Lenny McAllister as keynote speaker at a recent Tax Day Tea Party rally in Peoria, Illinois becomes problematic.
McAllister was quoted as urging his Tea Party audience to approach the 2012 November elections with the intention of changing the political landscape because:
“This is not just about voting out one set of politicians for another. This is all about ushering in a new, more efficient, more responsive, and more effective set of politics.
“We will resist the animus with honor and humble righteousness to use 2012 as the new beginning to give the next generations a better change for a stronger tomorrow. A better change from this new beginning comes from more than just changing out political players in the game. It comes from changing the dynamic that politics is a game.”
Does McAllister really believe that White Tea Party followers have any intentions of bringing about change that will benefit Black people in this country?
Is he fully aware of the extent of the involvement of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the think tank that constructs legislative proposals that are then given to state governments for passage in an attempt to homogenize conservative public policies across the country, that has resulted in the adoption of picture ID requirements for voters in elections in Republican majority states?
Does he understand that the picture ID requirement is in fact a voter suppression tactic that will impact Black voters negatively?
The ALEC organization scholars were the architects of the “Stand your Ground” legislation that is now the law in some 23 states and the basis of the defense for George Zimmerman who killed Trayvon Martin in Florida, where Stand Your Ground is the law of that state.
Political conservatism – as practiced in this country – is by definition dictating denial and takeaways because while the dynamics of human interaction forces change, conservatism resists progressive change!
Change is not the agenda of the conservative movement, while progressive political change is an absolute necessity for the survival of Black Americans.
The agenda of the Black conservatives is to aid and abet their White masters in their campaign of anti-change, maintenance of the status quo, and even worst, their denials and takeaways!
