Sticks and Stones

I am tired of being called names.

If I disagree with same-sex marriage, I am called a homophobe.

If I disagree with the politics of the President, I am called a racist.

I say it again; I am tired of being called names. Not because they do me harm or hurt my feelings, but because of the hypocrisy of those calling me names. What elicits the name-calling? Simply trying to hold our elected officials and by extension, the individuals they appoint, accountable. For some reason, when we ask questions they do not or are unable to answer, they call names.

In recent weeks, several Senators have questioned U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice’s role in the Benghazi attacks. This led to the President defending her from the “mean old white men” failing to mention that in addition to Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Kelly Ayotte—a female—also questioned her role. But I guess it is harder to make a sexist statement when another female is involved. Remember this: “If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. And I’m happy to have that discussion with them. But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador, who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and besmirch her reputation, is outrageous.”

Why is the President so willing to come to the aid of this cabinet appointee but not others? Just think of Mr. Eric Holder, Attorney General during his Fast and Furious investigation. To me, President Obama’s actions are the ones that are sexist.

Then we have the Congressional Black Caucus. They were quick to throw the race card around. Saying the attacks are “racist and sexist”. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis) further commented “McCain and other men should not be allowed to attack or batter this woman (Rice)”. Notice the words “attack” and “batter”. Kind of conjures up a vision of a poor, helpless, defenseless “little woman” who suffers at the hands of her overbearing husband. Is this the vision we want for a possible future Secretary of State? I think not.

Let’s explore the race issue a bit more. Might I remind you that prior to Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, both Condi Rice and Colin Powell held this post—both Blacks. Let’s not forget that U.N. Amb. Rice was confirmed by the Senate 98 to 0. Don’t you think if there was a racist and sexist attitude, Sec. of State Clinton would not have been confirmed (94-2), Sec of State Condi Rice would not have been confirmed (85-13), and Sec of State Colin Powell would not have been unanimously confirmed. Also, he was the FIRST Black to ever hold this office. No one cried racism then.

Since the ladies of the Congressional Black Caucus have introduced the race issue, let’s look at a few facts. According to the Pew Research Council, from 2009 to 2012, median household income for blacks declined by 11.1%. Compare that to only a 5.2% decline for whites and 4.1% for Hispanics. Unemployment numbers have not fared any better.

Former Secretaries of State, Rice and Powell.

UNEMPLOYMENT
	Before BHO	After BHO
Blacks	12.6%	14.3%
White	7.2%	7.0%

In the recent election, based on Exit Polling, Romney got 58% of the White Vote, while Obama got 96% of the Black Vote. Read how CBS News reported the issue for the State of Virginia.

Exit poll: Romney dominates among whites in Virginia

Polls have closed in the battleground state of Virginia, and the race is tight: Mitt Romney leads among men 53 percent to 45 percent in the early CBS News exit poll, while President Obama leads among women 53 percent to 46 percent. Women are 53 percent of the electorate in this early exit poll, while men are 47 percent of the electorate.

There is a large racial divide among voters. White voters – who are 70 percent of the electorate – are breaking 64 percent to 35 percent for Romney. That includes white women, who support Romney 61 percent to 39 percent. Black voters, who make up 20 percent of the electorate, overwhelmingly favor Mr. Obama: 94 percent to 6 percent. (Emphasis added)---CBS News 07 NOV 12

Reread the Headline: Romney dominates among whites in Virginia. Romney received 64% of the White vote while Obama received 94% of the Black vote, yet the headline references the smaller of the numbers. They are implying that the racist whites are overwhelmingly voting for the white candidate, yet ignoring the blatant fact that nearly every black voter cast their ballot for Obama.

Other exit polls reveal a little over 5% fewer whites voted for Obama this election than the prior election. The Democrats interpret this as returning to their racist roots. Instead of returning to their racist roots, might they have been upset with the President’s record? Could they have felt he misled them? The Democrats refuse to accept this. People want accountability. The same is true for Amb. Rice, people want accountability. They want our leaders to be responsible for their decisions and actions.

If the Senate wanted to attack Susan Rice on baseless platforms of race and sex, they would have done so when they confirmed her. They did not. Now, after she agreed to go on five Sunday news programs and perpetuate a lie, people want her to be held accountable. Her race and sex, notwithstanding.

With all the name-calling, I am reminded of all the playground arguments. When two or more children were in heated disagreement and when one seemed to get the better of the other with facts, the “loser” would then resort to calling names. They could no longer “debate” the issue and went straight for the personal attack(s). To that, I say “Sticks and Stones…”