The Point Behind the Inspiration Gap

Sadly, Americans see presidential ads and other campaign messages everywhere, but seem to find little uplifting inspiration within the candidacies.

Despite the onslaught of SuperPAC ads and campaign efforts, many voters are fired up about beating the other guy – not upholding their own firebrand – so far in this 2012 general election.

This isn’t quite the way that President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney prefer it, but if it leads to a win in November, they’ll take it.

The enthusiasm level is down for both. For much of their bases, this election is almost more about beating (and beating up, through negative ads and the like) the other guy than it is about winning with a candidate of choice.

As a result, independent voters do not seem to have much of a lead to follow in the quest to be inspired to vote for a candidate for president instead of against a candidate.

The liberal left has found itself at odds with this administration over the course of the past 4 years at varying times, thus keeping the desire to go full bore with support at bay. Criticism of the ongoing increased use of drone attacks overseas and the decision to extend the Bush-era tax rates after the 2010 mid-term elections are just some of the presidential moves that make some on the far left believe Mr. Obama has not done enough over the course of his term.

Aside from observing the flaws in the armor of the once-invincible candidate Obama, Republican supporters of presidential nominee Mitt Romney have not shown instances of exuding high levels of enthusiasm, either. Slow-to-turn advocates including former rivals Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum highlight the resistance that much of the hard-core right has had with embracing Romney has their firebrand. Even with the obvious vulnerabilities that this incumbent president faces, Republicans have had the hardest time mustering up the same energy to get behind Mr. Romney as they have held for 4 years being against Mr. Obama.

All of this is fortunate because, at this point of time in American history, the nation needs a big jolt in the arm from a leader that can inspire the nation to push past the economic and social woes that we continue to endure.

However, at a time when more Americans perhaps need more inspiration after 4 more years of painful economic numbers, heightened social tension, and an onslaught of negative political campaigns, no one seems to be capable of rising above the fray to the point of inspiring voters, not discouraging them.

Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “Obama, Romney and the Olympic Size Inspiration Gap in 2012” on Politic365

 

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Republicans: A Historial Friend of Black America, A Needed Ally in Today’s Diverse America

Catch this excerpt and more in the new book,
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“But as we know from the story of Joseph in the Old Testament and the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. –you can attack the Dreamer, but you cannot destroy the Dream.

Such was the case of the Republican vision for America after Lincoln.

For the next one hundred years, Republicans stood against those that sought to destroy both dreamers and their dreams. They fought in the annuals of governments and with the conscience of our nation to advance equality for all Americans. In fact, the diversity we enjoy today stems from the adversity they overcame.

A Republican-led Congress passed the 13th Amendment to outlaw slavery. Republicans passed a Civil Rights Act in 1866 recognizing blacks as U.S. citizens. Republicans continued their march for equality, proposing the 14th Amendment, which became part of the Constitution in 1868.

Republicans also led the fight for women’s rights. Women’s suffragists Susan B. Anthony and NAACP co-founders Ida B. Wells and Mary Terrell all displayed loyalty to the Republican Party due to our historic commitment to equality.

Senator Aaron Sargent, a Republican from California, wrote the women’s suffrage amendment. Unfortunately, it was delayed from being passed into law for 40 years. It took a time when Republicans had control of both houses of Congress before women’s voting rights could be secured by law.

The age of women’s suffrage brought about a new era of women’s representation in government. The first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives was Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana. The first woman mayor in America, Republican Bertha Landes, was elected in 1926.

More generations of women civic leaders came afterwards, from Governors Jodi Rell of Connecticut and Jan Brewer of Arizona to US Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the second consecutive African-American Republican to serve as secretary of state this decade.

Secretaries of State Rice and Powell do not represent all of the African-American Republican political leaders that we share in our common history. In fact, every African-American member of Congress until 1935 was a Republican.

Among these Republican pioneers was South Carolina’s Joseph Rainey, the first Black member of the House of Representatives. Republican Hiram Revels of Mississippi entered the Halls of Congress with Rainey as the first Black United States Senator. In 1872, Republican Pinckney Pinchback of Louisiana became the nation’s first African-American Governor, an accomplishment only matched by the Democrats over 100 years later.

From Republican Congressmen Oscar Stanton de Priest of Illinois and JC Watts of Oklahoma to Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, we have stood proudly for diversity: in government as African-Americans and as Republicans in modern-day Black America.

For 100 years, Republicans stood up for what was right even when it was wrongly opposed.

Starting in 1875, Republicans enacted laws to expand federally-protected rights to include equal access to all public accommodations. The Supreme Court struck down their efforts eight years later, only to have these efforts resurface as a critical foundation for the 1964 Civil Rights Act down the road.

America remembered that you can attack the Dreamer, but you cannot destroy the Dream.

It is important for Republicans to say that we are sorry for not engaging minorities appropriately, but it is more important for Republicans to show that we are sorry through initiating efforts that display our willingness to partner with Black America.  As well, it is important for Black America to hear these apologies from the Republican Party, but it is more important for Black America to remove the typecasting and other barriers that prevent us from continuing the historical partnership that brought America so much progress. I come…extending the hand of the GOP for a new era of partnership. I hope that it is time that we join hands and join forces and together, we continue building The Dream. For as a people, we must debate political and social solutions with open minds, loving hearts, and common goals, goals that further the promise of The Dream.”

 

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Does a Bush Redux in ’12 Equal Obama x 2 in the White House?

If the Supreme Court ends up settling any portion of a tight 2012 election as we saw in 2000, does the conservative-leaning court now lean President Obama’s way?

With the recent CNN report that the Electoral College could be tied after the November election, could the Obamacare ruling show a hint to how Supreme Court intervention in November would impact who’s president in 2013?

Ironically, just a few months ago, more conservatives probably felt pretty darn good about the possibility of the 2012 presidential election coming down to the Supreme Court. With the 5-4 split between conservatives and liberals on the nation’s highest Court, there once was the feeling that if the Court had to play a role in the outcome of the national election akin to the circumstances surrounding Bush v. Gore, Republicans would have the upper hand – and, perhaps, the presidency starting in 2013.

Likely, conservatives don’t feel so confident about that now. Moreso, they are probably dutifully aware that anything resembling a close race probably looks like a forecast for a narrow Obama victory in the fall.

Thank the Affordable Care Act for that shift in sentiments.

Although the feelings of betrayal and mistrust for Chief Justice John Roberts (and, indirectly, President George W. Bush) have not been on high display as they were during the immediate aftermath of the ACA ruling earlier this summer, thoughts on how the Court could play a detrimental for Republicans in the presidential election will simmer to a slow boil as the summer finishes up. The positive impact that upholding the controversial law has had on President Obama’s re-election momentum has already been seen in some polls, with the president up by as many as 6 points despite bad jobs numbers and low GDP growth. The looming possibility of some court case being kicked up to the Supreme Court – heightened by the notion that the Electoral College could actually deadlock in an election filled with negative campaigning against Romney and dissatisfaction with the economy over the past 4 years – seems to work in President Obama’s favor at this point as both incumbent candidate and ACA victor.

Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “Could Electoral College Tie in 2012 Lead to Obama Victory?” on Politic365

 

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The Case of a Goose Calling a Chicken a Bad Egg?

Is the on-going debate over Christian conservative positions becoming mixed up with sound positions from both sides as well as the same rhetorical gunk that jams up civil discourse in America today?

 

When the CEO of Amazon puts down a cool $2 million to support gay marriage, his advocacy is championed. When the founder of Chick-Fil-A does the same in support of traditional marriage, his advocacy is seen as hateful. Is this debate less about intellectual integrity than it is about picking convenient sides?

 

When Amazon.com’s CEO Jeff Bezos decides to put down over $2 million to defend Washington state’s gay marriage law, most within the national media see the move as a decision to put one’s money where one’s mouth is to support his beliefs.

When it’s Chick-Fil-A’s Dan Cathy doing the same in support of traditional marriage, it’s a move that is decried as being “against our values” across the nation, even in places that don’t have gay marriage laws in place.

One is considered an expression of free speech in defense of what he believes. The other? More like a position of hatred based on his affiliation with a church born out of the Greatest Love of All.

…it seems as though the argument against Christians’ defense of traditional marriage is increasingly a combination of concerns based from first-hand experiences from same-sex couples, leverage of civil rights examples via past Jim Crow racism, and the modern-day philosophical filler that corrupts political debate today…there seems to be little understanding for Mr. Cathy – a man whose organization closes on Sunday in a clear reflection of his Bible Belt, Southern Christian roots – to be able to fund his life-long beliefs with the same passion and conviction that advocates for gay marriage (a relatively-new social concept within societal dynamics) do, including Mr. Bezos. There should be a level of civil respect and understanding for Cathy’s right (and perhaps his position), even by those that completely disagree with him.

 

Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “A Bunch of Filler Over Chick-Fil-A” on Politic365

 
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Black Republicans: Bolster Voter Validation Efforts, Stop Voter Suppression – Yes, Both Can Be Done

Controversial issues such as Voter ID laws should find Black Republicans actively on the front lines of artfully conveying the conservative standpoint and articulating advocacy for constitutionally-based Black suffrage.

Without the unique positioning of Black Republicans to mitigate the differences between appropriate voter validation efforts and unethical voter suppression actions, the GOP will remain cast as civil rights villains – and the nation loses as a result.

Can there be voter validation efforts through the nation – particularly in this heated election year – without those efforts wading into the shark-infested waters of voter suppression?

Most progressives – and most minorities in America these days – say no. Yet, there is a way, but that path must be laid and led by Black Republicans.

Although there have been some Black conservatives that have supported efforts that have put into question access to voting moving forward, there is a large segment of Black Republicans that believe in upholding the civil rights efforts of the past.

…no one is better suited to balance the efforts of voter validation than Black Republicans. Yet, as has been argued before, these conservatives must take their efforts to both the GOP party ranks and the Black community simultaneously. If Black Republicans are not willing to push back on voter ID efforts that, in their yield, prevent Black citizens from being able to vote in 2012 without appropriate Constitutional cause, then they must be willing and active in modifying the arguments, efforts, and laws that cause this unfortunate reality. Despite the rhetoric from many Black conservatives, today’s political environment does promote some instances where Black Republicans must be dutifully aware of the history of discrimination in America and how it has consistently impacted Black people in this nation – from slavery to Jim Crow to voting rights. If anyone has the capability of making sure that voter ID laws are about validating voters and not suppressing the Black vote, it must be the active Black Republican, a politico that must be both aware of the realities of sanctuary cities and one-stop voting and the vile re-introduction of racism in American political discourse. A semblance of hope for balance and political civility for Black America (and the nation overall) could sprout from a successful and appropriate Black Republican role in this debate…

 

Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “Black Republicans Key in Voter Validation Efforts and Stopping Voter Suppression”on Politic365

 

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Does the White Elephant About the White Guy Really Matter If He Can Get the US Out of the Red?

Republican presidential nominee and former governor Mitt Romney may come across as detached and unrelatable, but does it matter if he proves from now to November that he’s better-equipped to lead the US economy?

 

Even if Mitt Romney continues to be painted as the “whitest”, gaffe-prone, most “out-of-touch” presidential candidate in decades by the media, campaign ads, and even his own actions, does it really matter if he can prove to provide a jobs-filled economy better than President Obama starting next January?

 

It does seem like it keeps coming: the slams against Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on everything from stinging campaign ads painting him as the rich fat-cat type that puts his money over America’s prosperity to criticism from London over his (fairly benign and previously noted) comments over previous issues concerning Olympic security as the Summer Games began overseas.

Even when the controversy is not directly coming from Mr. Romney, there are times when it swirls around and from his camp. Such was the case recently when multiple Republican supporters publicly pushed the former Massachusetts governor to release more tax returns to satisfy calls for additional financial disclosure. Flak also came Romney’s way when former New Hampshire governor John Sununu questioned if President Obama “…knew how to be an American…”

And yet, truthfully, none of it really matters – not with the GDP numbers that came out this week, the on-going jobs situation in the nation (including the 14.4% unemployment rate in the Black community), and the impending unemployment numbers coming out for July on Friday.

How much does the elephant in the room really matter to voters – the one that keeps pointing out that, in contrast to the first Black president running for re-election on the Democrats’ ticket, the GOP has one of the most atypical, non-diverse, and “boring White guys” running for president this fall that it could have chosen on its slate.

That contrast makes the media, image, and style match-ups poor ones for the GOP as they go against the incumbent. The GOP and Romney camps do not want more pop culture comparisons between the smooth-crooning, Chicago-based incumbent and the rigid, hard-to-connect-to Mormon. Yet, as long as President Obama has to answer for on-going bad economic numbers, fears of another recession on the horizon, and position “evolutions” over the past few months that came through a need to strengthen a weary political base, there are plenty of opportunities for the Romney camp to pin Mr. Obama’s record to his campaign and watch the American people squirm in the process.

Whether we choose to admit it or not, the choice is becoming clearer each day: if Americans are willing to apply their 2008 criteria to the 2012 election, the guy with more Washington experience during a historic economic crisis (without any real hope for turnaround in sight) loses the election to the new guy in town, despite the newbie’s questions within his record. Although culture did matter in 2008 – as everyone from first-time voters to Black Republicans such as Armstrong Williams wanted to be on “the right side of history” – the economy mattered more.

As a result, there is room for enough Americans to ignore the white elephant of pop culture contrasts between Romney and Obama in 2012 to elect Mitt Romney as the 45^th President of the United States in November.

 

Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “How Much Does “The White Elephant in the Room” Really Matter to You?” on Politic365.

 
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“Empowerment through economic competition and thoughtfulness. Revitalization through economic Darwinism within a marketplace. Prosperity expansion through creating wealth. This may be part of the Black agenda within Chicago but it fits into the scope of the free market principles that we purport for the advancement of the American people, not just Black people.

This example is one of many that show that, simply, our principles are above race and religion. They are American. They are timeless. And, when applied – they work.

Yet, in a culture that fears competition and fails to optimize our capitalistic message and meaning, our fight is more than just with policy positions. In the American society of today where bad-mouthing of our values – values that have empowered the poor around the world like never before in history – cannot be overcome because our focus is too much on articulating bullet points within our conservative movement, not foundational flaws that are uprooting the American Way of Life, we must change our perspective on what is truly going on in America.

Because some have allowed a fear to compete as Americans in schools and in business…in public discourse and in public service…to impede our advancement as a nation…we are forced to fight a cultural war through each individual political battle we take on.

Because we are falling short as free-market advocates to thoroughly pinpoint and explain the benefits of our vision and knowledge of capitalism and how it helps bankers and brick-layers alike…we are forced to fight a cultural war through each individual political battle we take on today.

That understanding is what I want us to take from these remarks and from this weekend: an understanding that in order to win the policy debates in today’s America, we must foster a renewed passion to compete as Americans in order to discover the best around us and the best within us. As free market thinkers, we must present the merits of competition of choice in our schools, competition of products in our economic marketplaces, and the competition of ideas in the annuls of government at all levels. Without reclaiming the cultural war on the merits, we can never win the worthy battles that the policy wonks, the numbers-crunchers, and the one-issue wonders specialize in on our behalf.

Our understanding must be that for our successful system of capitalism to flourish to new heights in modern-day America, we must articulate and demystify our free market constructs to new audiences and constituencies, especially once we find out that they are aspiring to be like us without embracing the potential held in partnerships with us. Usually, without the conservative touch, the best intentions of liberals become government’s most expensive-laid plans. With our perspective appropriately and proficiently implemented, the political specialists at the grassroots and professional levels become fully empowered to keep us on the proper course.”

 

Read more of speeches such as this excerpt in the new book, “Spoken Thoughts of an Amalgamated Advocate in Today’s America”, available now on Amazon.com and for Amazon Kindle!

 

 

The McAllister Minute – July 25, 2012

Catch Lenny’s latest thoughts on “The McAllister Minute”, aired on hundreds of American radio stations courtesy of the American Urban Radio Network

“America – much like life- provides just enough freedom to permit evil in our imperfect world. There will never be enough legislation to keep us completely safe or provide civic assurances in our nation without fundamentally changing the nation.”

Catch the latest “The McAllister Minute” that is airing on the American Urban Radio Network by clicking the picture above or by clicking HERE

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A Fundamental Choice About Fundamental Change

Every time we deal with another incident that threatens our safety as Americans, we have to ask: are we willing to relinquish freedoms as citizens in the pursuit of greater security?

Whether it is Chicago or Colorado, gun violence is gripping the nation. Yet, we have to decide: is it enough to change our nation at the most basic levels?

 

I know that we are all feeling pain over the recent rash of violence gripping our nation today. You can’t walk down a street on the south side of Chicago after dusk without fear of gunfire.

 

You can’t head to a local movie theater for an anticipated premiere without the worst possible scenario playing out.

 

Yet, as I have said before, I say again: We cannot choose to fundamentally change America when we face these terrors, especially as we know that we will never be able to fundamentally change the dynamics of free will and evil on the earth.

 

It is very easy to blame the NRA or rally the cause for rigid gun regulations, as if putting some sort of gun purchasing limits in place will be the remedy to prevent any more tragedies by way of gunfire.

 

Yet, we have to ask the question: can limiting gun purchases also prohibit evil Americans from plotting the worst?

 

Do we have the capability – or even the political and social desire – to fundamentally change the freedoms that we enjoy in America? And, by the way, what measurable good would it do? Did Chicago – once known as Beirut by the Lake in the 1980s – become a bastion of community safety on its west and south sides of the city during its decades-long gun ban?

 

Sure, we have added and removed amendments from the Constitution before, so the 2nd Amendment could be in play if those in power in America – both the elected officials and the electorate themselves – actually pushed for it. However, what good would it do?

 

Both the United States Constitution – and the Provider of the rights protected by that document – grant Americans the ability to perform the greatest good and the most horrible evil in this nation on a daily basis. The same document that allows for inspiring free speech also affords bigots and racists the chance to voice their vile perspectives with the same protection given the civil rights leaders of the past. The same document that ensures a republican form of democracy also had to institute multiple amendments to make sure that minorities and women could vote with equal protection under the law.

 

America – much like life- provides just enough freedom to permit evil in our imperfect world. There will never be enough legislation to keep us completely safe or provide civic assurances in our nation without fundamentally changing the nation. If we are willing to change the 2nd Amendment in the interest of keeping us all safe, what’s next? Can we limit the 1st Amendment further to make sure that those that feel “threatened” are protected at the risk of restricting the free speech of others? Can we do – as some have suggested for the sake of “preserving the Union” – put proficiency tests into place for potential voters so that we have assurances that our citizen government is created through a more-educated voting base? We can always find something to put into place to “keep us safe”, even as we overlook the long-term detriment from the short-term action.

 

Therefore, we have a choice, yet again.

 

Catch more of Lenny McAllister’s “Freedom, James Holmes, Chicago, the NRA, Columbine and Fundamental Change” on Politic365.

Lenny McAllister on Vocalo Overdrive (Chicago, IL)

Catch “Vocalo Overdrive” on Real Life Radio 89.5 FM in Chicago at 4pm Central Time weekends with hosts Luis (l) and Shantell

 

CHICAGO – Lenny McAllister, author and Republican commentator, guest-hosted “Vocalo Overdrive” on 89.5 FM Chicago Monday with regular co-host Shantell Jamison.

Listen to one of the segments from the 2-hour show at this link (http://www.vocalo.org/blogs/archive/201207/where-rep-jessie-jackson-jr) or by clicking the picture above.

Lenny’s latest work, “Spoken Thoughts of an Amalgamated Advocate in Today’s America,” will be available on Amazon on July 20. Lenny is set to make several appearances in Missouri this upcoming weekend and will be available to sign copies.

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