How Does The Black Progressive Establishment And The Democratic Party Need To Change?

One of the most easily observable tactics of the Progressive-Fundamentalist is his propensity to "Keep his adversary on trial".   In highlighting his "faults", the Progressive-Fundamentalists has high hopes that he will.....become more "progressive" and thus more acceptable as an alternative.

The truth is that they are not looking for an "alternative". They are looking to redouble their efforts to make the case that their position is the only correct one and that if their ideological adversaries were to stop using hatred and bigotry to upend their attempted "progress" - their methods used to advance our city, our nation, our world would finally get some traction.

Here is an audio report from NPR's "Tell Me More". I don't care to debate the issues of the TRANSACTION. My only point is that, once again, the "conservative" adversary is "put on trial" and at the end a hard left sports opinion writer (or was it the other hard leftist who said this?) details how the "Republicans must CHANGE".




Why Is It That We Never Hear Details About How The "Black Progressive Establishment" And/Or The Democratic Party Must CHANGE In Order To Achieve More Effective Outcomes?

• The present governor of Michigan won reelection despite presiding over massive increases in unemployment on her watch and the erosion of the state's economic condition.
• In Milwaukee the collapse of the city's economic standing was not punished by the pro-labor voters who remain loyal
• In so many urban settings where Black Americans send their children to school - after helping to promote the present school establishment into power with the promises of better results for their children - the failure to obtain this has not triggered a mass purge
• Every single member of the Congressional Black Caucus who stood for reelection in 2010 was reelected to their seats of power - this despite massive degradation in the vital statistics for the Black community in the past several years 

Finally - a group of "Black Agenda Griots" came to the White House to meet with President Obama last week to tell of their new phase in the "Black Agenda".

In an article posted on "The Grio", Jeff Johnson says:

But would this meeting address the ongoing questions related to a black agenda in the White House, or more important, a black agenda presented for the White House to respond to? With the monstrous double-digit unemployment numbers facing the black community, the state of urban schools, and the countless number of other policy issues facing the African-American community, many are wondering why there has not been a specific policy focus on blacks in the president's first two years.
Strong criticism has been directed at the White House by black leaders, who claim the president has not done enough, if anything, for black and poor Americans. Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West have been consistently critical, going as far as entertaining the notion of supporting a progressive candidate against the president in the upcoming Democratic primary. Others, like Rev. Al Sharpton, and the NAACP's Ben Jealous are less critical, but equally concerned about the White House's priority list when it comes to suffering communities.
The meeting this week would not however be the silver bullet black agenda meeting that many have been waiting for. However, neither the White House, nor those black leaders in attendance would call it a waste. In fact, the president allocated more time with the group than was scheduled, spending considerable attention engaging the group on the value of the tax cut deal recently passed by the Senate. This meeting was different than previous meetings that focused on the African-American community. The priority for this meeting was local issues and the messengers were state, county and local leaders. This was the first time the NPA was able to address the president, and they used the time to, in their words, "establish a relationship that would set the environment for a proposed agenda".

In summary - he summarizes the statements made by the "Locally Elected Black Establishment" and then redirects them off of the White House portion of the "Black Establishment" and "the Democratic Establishment".

Few people will take a step back and note that BOTH of these elements of this "Establishment" are one in the same. To see the documentary "Brick City" in which dueling Democrats fighting over the council seat in the "Central District" and yet BOTH suggest that the voters "Vote for ME and for OBAMA" is a perfect model for what is going on.

They know that the Black community's consciousness and fusion in with the American Political Domain is as such that the national elements of the machine can assist the local elements into increased power - and vice versa - and all the while the rank and file will never take a step back and note their failures to deliver upon the key points that got them into power.

We are instead given transactional or point "gains" that are used in the talking points as the rank & file convince any who question about all of the benefits that "we" have received. From the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" to "Health Care Reform". I suspect that there are more people who feel like Velma Hart, exhausted in selling the talking points while taking it on the chin.

I struggle to see how the same forces that defined the LAST interval within which the "Black Agenda" was put on the road also get to:

• Self Appraise their successes and failures
• Define a revised agenda
• Get to go off to their machine-mates in the White House and tell them their plans
• And Then EXECUTE THEM

all without ever having to stand in front of "Investors", a governing board, voters - NOTHING - as they carry out their next phase.

The audacity of them being able to go to the White House and say in public:

• Our local economies over which we control the economic, tax and regulatory policies  are not producing jobs
• Our schools that we now control are failing 

and to top it off - DESPITE having a "91% approval rating" among Black people - they tell Obama that his policies haven't adequately addressed the issues WITHIN the Black community.

There is hope yet for the White voters in Alabama and Mississippi to get absolved of their exclusive indictment of bigotry being the motivating factor in voting for John McCain to the tune of 89% or more in 2008 despite their 'permanent interests' being unfulfilled.   It seems that the media is not doing sufficient pattern matching to find others who fit the same bill. 

The key difference is, however, "voting" is not the force that is going to bring change in the areas that Jeff Johnson is focused upon.   We only need to look at the places where every possible position has been one by the voting process and yet these fundamentals remain indistinguishable from the areas where the "ideological enemy" rules over the Black people who live within.