It’s one of the worst kept secrets in the American politics. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People presents itself as a nonpartisan civil rights organization, however what it really is at least on a national level is a front for the democratic party. Evidence of that was presented yesterday as the presumed republican nominee Mitt Romney spoke before the convention. While speaking about what he calls “Obamacare,” he was booed extensively.
Unfortunately, that became the story on the nightly politico shows. Why was he booed? What was his intention? You know – an angle at the end of the day that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. (“We’re talking about booing…booing…not policy…booing” – in my Allen Iverson “practice” voice)
The NAACP participates in this election-year charade regularly. It acts as if it is giving non-democratic party candidates a fair hearing when really the die has been cast long before the candidates arrival. They invite the republican just to satisfy IRS regulations and yesterday Mitt Romney played along because he’s trying to peel off some African American support and win some points because President Obama isn’t attending the convention.
Now, I’m not a Mitt Romney supporter so it’s really not about him. My beef with the NAACP is that it acts as if it’s one thing, but really it’s something else. The NAACP is an extension of the democratic White House – in this case the Obama Administration. Like Rev. Al Sharpton’s show on MSNBC and others – their purpose is to “support” Obama by defending him against any challengers or critiques. They get their talking points from the White House, they’re in much-too-cozy relationships with democratic operatives, and in the end the masses of Black people lose out.
Why did Cornell Belcher totally ignore Anderson Cooper’s question on Black unemployment being 14.4% while White unemployment is around 8% last night on CNN? Because his job was not to hold the president accountable, but to “support” the president by obscuring the issue by talking about Romney’s intentions at the NAACP convention instead.
Why did Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia go so hard in attacking Mitt Romney’s character on the Ed Show challenging the candidate for a lack of policy-specifics without considering the policies of the current president that are adverse to Black folks? Because his job was to “support” the president by muddying the waters.
The NAACP needs to just come out and be true to what it is – an organization of foot-soldiers for the democratic party. I wish they were foot soldiers for a strong Black Agenda, but unfortunately at this time that is not the case. If President Obama is re-elected, I would not be surprised if we get 4 more years of complete silence from the NAACP when it comes to placing demands on the Oval Office.
Many of these people are too brilliant not to know the game. You don’t demand anything – you don’t put pressure on the president – you don’t get anything. Like Roland Martin suggested some time ago on Twitter – Black America has a strong inside game right now, but absolutely no outside game.
We have enough “advocates” in the House. What we need is more Black folks and organizations in the field.