Black Conservative Says Dean Shows Many Democrats' True Colors
by Chad Groening
June 20, 2005
(AgapePress) - Despite the much-criticized rhetoric of late from Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, which has struck many in the GOP as well as members of his own party as divisive, the outspoken DNC leader is making new appeals for support, both in Republican territory and among America's "ethnic communities." But one African-American leader believes more and more blacks are getting wise to Dean's true sentiments.According to Associated Press reports, Howard Dean appeared at recent events in Houston, Austin, and Corpus Christi, Texas, taking his message to a Republican stronghold that had been written off by Democrats until Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ethics problems started. Reportedly, Dean stated that his party is engaged in a 50-state battle, not an 18-state battle.
After addressing the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin in Houston, Dean announced that he plans to travel to India and Israel next year to show American ethnic communities that he cares about more than just their money. AP reports Dean as saying, "I want to show the willingness of the Democratic Party to reach out and respect their traditions. We don't want them to just be donors."
But prominent black conservative Jesse Lee Peterson, founder of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), believes the DNC chairman is likelier to help the Republican cause than he is to win Democratic support from among the GOP ranks. "Howard Dean is a racist," Peterson says. "Howard Dean is good for the Republican Party and, in a way, bad for the Democrats, because he exposes what they are about."
Harking back to the Democratic leader's recent characterization of the GOP as "pretty much a white, Christian party," Peterson asserts that Dean is only "speaking what's on the hearts and minds of many of the white, racist, elitist, liberal Democrats." The founder of BOND insists that white Democrats "do not respect black Americans," and that they "think that we're not capable of taking care of ourselves, not capable of raising our children."
That is why, Peterson maintains, Democrats believe that social programs such as welfare and affirmative action are the best thing for black Americans. And he feels Dean and many other Democrats expect the majority of blacks to support liberal candidates because the liberal black leadership have helped to convince them they need these programs. But the black conservative spokesman says the Democratic Party can no longer take the black vote for granted.
"I would say to Howard Dean that the Jim Crow days are over," Peterson states. "Some [blacks] are starting to think for themselves and are leaving the 'plantation' of the Democratic Party. They know the Democratic Party is anti-American, anti-God, anti-baby, anti-family, anti-military, and they're not putting up with that anymore."
Peterson says he finds Dean's comments denying the true diversity of the Republican Party somewhat amusing. Still, he contends that what Dean said is what is on the hearts and minds of many of the liberal elites in the Democratic Party.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
