Posted by Justin Jeffre

Now I’m not saying that Democrats are racist, but I think Tim Burke is.  In this article, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, Tim Burke, said “I know there is a real concern out there that some people who normally would be voting Democratic might not vote for an African-American.” Adding, “Gov. [Ted] Strickland has spoken openly about this.” Democrat’s make backroom deals that limit voter choice, don’t support black candidates much, they fail to make sure black votes are counted, they slash human services and reject funding that would help alleviate the scandalous infant mortality rate, they continue the failed Drug War and introduce other draconian drug laws that disproportionately lock up blacks.

I know there are a lot of good Democrats at the grassroots level that do good work, but when we talk about the Democratic Party we must look at the policies its politician’s support (jails, wars, NAFTA, corporate welfare) and whether or not they empower people. Most people think of the Grand Old Party (GOP) as being the party of racists, but it seems there’s a lot more that these corporate parties share in common than just gerrymandering and a corporate agenda.

I’ve heard my African American friends talk about racism in the party, but this is the first time I’ve heard party bosses acknowledge it.  According to Salon.com, while campaigning for Obama in Jackson County in the Appalachian southeastern corner of the state earlier this month, Strickland declared, “I’m going to talk about the elephant in the room—and I’m not talking about any Republican. The elephant in the room is what everybody’s thinking but nobody willing to talk about ... it’s race.”

While this is a sad truth I’m glad to hear Strickland being honest about it. I’m sure if the Democrats manage to blow another election that shouldn’t even be close they will quickly forget the elephant and resort to scapegoating Nader or McKinney for “stealing” their votes. They are better at fixing the blame than fixing the problems with our country and their party. Hopefully those Democrats at the grassroots level will shake things up and get tired of the status quo, but one thing should be clear by now. The Democratic Party is clearly beyond reform!

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