Blacks Aren't Falling for Deans Confederate Politics

Response to Howard Dean wooing confederate flag supporters in early November, 2003 by African Americans for Democratic Leadership.

(PRWEB) November 6, 2003 --
Blacks Aren't Falling for Deans Confederate Politics

We got cowboys; we got truckers;
Broken hearted fools and suckers.
An' we got husslers; we got fighters;
Early birds and all nighters.
And the veterans talk about their battle scars:
Mm, mm, mmm, mmm, mmm, I love this bar.
                            --Toby Keith I Love this Bar"

In his latest video celebrating all that is Red-Neck, Toby Keith strums his guitar and shakes his head in loving appreciation for the diversity apparent in his favorite bar. The set is a bar cage draped in numerous versions of the Confederate Flag" behind which he and his band earn their living protected from the mayhem of fist-fights and flying mason jars.

This song and the video send Mr. Keiths message loud and clear: we may have nothing in this world but the clothes on our backs, we may spend our Saturday nights doing nuthin drinking, fighting and trying to get women in bed, but at least were all ...
Well, heres the thing. What are they? Well, theyre clearly not all men. Chances are they dont all attend the same church. Statistically speaking, theyre probably not all heterosexual, all the time. Their ancestors probably didnt all come to America on the same boat or plane. Heck, if you checked their necks, not all of them would even be
red!

No, the message this video sends is that this bar is a place for poor white folks. Its a place for poor white folks to laugh smile, fight, drink, and have a good time without any interference from outsiders. People who dont conform to the red-neck way of doing thangs can expect to be treated like the businessman: beat up for comic relief. Its not a message most America wants to hear, but Howard Dean is right: the Toby Keith Demographic and its Northern equivalent, the Eminem Demographic need to be brought into the Democratic Party. Its a good thing.

Now, some people still want to argue that this Confederate Flag" represents southern pride" in the southern way of doing thangs." But, from a non-poor white redneck point of view, the Confederate Flag obsession is about insecurity and fear: fear of people who look, think and act differently, fear of being at the bottom of the economic scale, fear of staying there while people who look, think and act differently progress. It is fear based in the mythology that whiteness is at the root of their troubles and that if the world were only white again, it would be right again. It is a fear that the Democratic
Party has a moral obligation to dispel in 2003 and 2004.

The question the rest of the country really needs to ask is Is it preferable to restrict those 'Living in Red-neck Paradise to the beer-soaked fantasy of Mr. Keith and his band, --or do we want to take affirmative action and address the needs, wants and desires of the
NASCAR demographic so that they too can participate more fully in a post-Bush America?"

While there is no love lost between the African-American, Hispanic and redneck populations, our groups present common challenges that the Democratic Party must meet now, in 2004 and beyond. Health care, employment, education, equal justice--these issues are critical to all three populations. Further, these folks make up a large part of our military, so they have a vested interest in bringing their children home with honor. This Flag Incident" shouldnt be about a sudden indignation over the presumed hurt feelings of Black folks: we know who red-necks are better than most candidates, and a great many are decent people. Rather, it shows once again that Howard Dean would
like nothing better than to be the Madonna of the Democratic Party, constantly stretching the boundaries of political correctness.

The problem for other candidates is that going after the poor-white vote in South Carolina was a win-win proposition: getting these folks to vote Democrat is not going to make Black and Hispanic voters seek another 4 years of George Bush. The trick for the other candidates will be to get the same free media exposure and bring an equal number of the disaffected into the party, yet keep their clothes on. Black folks are not simple: we get the politics of it.

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African Americans for Democratic Leadership (AADL) is a national web-based organization providing sector research, policy papers and other publications with a focus on vision, leadership and implementation of Democratic principles for the benefit of all Americans. The target audience includes African American voters, mainstream media, alternative media and Internet communities.

URL: http://www.aadl.us
E-mail: director@aadl.us
Regina Mullen, Director