On a Mission to Raise the Value of Black America's Political Capital
Don't Criticize Obama Rule Un-American
Last week the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) launched its Jobs Tour across the country. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), during the tour’s stop in Detroit asked to be unleashed on America’s first Black President. She offered to hold the president’s feet to the fire as soon as the black community says, “it’s all right.”
Since the election of President Barack Obama there has been an unwritten rule in the black community that he is not to be criticized under any circumstance whatsoever – talk show host Tavis Smiley and Princeton Professor Dr. Cornell West can attest to this rule. However, it marks the first time in American history that a president would be exempt from criticism by the citizens of this great nation. More importantly, it diminishes the legacy of Obama by casting a dark cloud of affirmative action over his presidency.
If the president receives specialized treatment because of the color of his skin historians will note it. This refusal by blacks to criticize the president reeks of hypocrisy and suggests a double standard is at play. It is evident black leaders had no problem taking President Bush to task.
In 2003, Rev. Al Sharpton, who has made a vow to not criticize President Obama, compared President Bush to a “gang leader in South-Central L.A.” Rep. Waters needed no permission in 2005 to unleash on Bush by calling him “a liar.” And let us not forget Rapper Kanye West’s infamous, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
The nation needs more than the symbolism of a brown face that many in the black community base their entire presidential assessment upon. We need a bold leader who understands and promotes an exceptional America rooted in upward mobility. We need a president who understands the way to close the wealth gap is not by pulling people down from the top, but by pulling people up from the bottom.
When I cannot express this critique of the president, my First Amendment right is infringed upon and what makes America special is abolished.
Rev. Isaac Hayes is a Republican Strategist and Commentator, and was a Candidate for U.S. House in 2010. Following him on twitter at http://twitter.com/isaac_hayes.
Since the election of President Barack Obama there has been an unwritten rule in the black community that he is not to be criticized under any circumstance whatsoever – talk show host Tavis Smiley and Princeton Professor Dr. Cornell West can attest to this rule. However, it marks the first time in American history that a president would be exempt from criticism by the citizens of this great nation. More importantly, it diminishes the legacy of Obama by casting a dark cloud of affirmative action over his presidency.
If the president receives specialized treatment because of the color of his skin historians will note it. This refusal by blacks to criticize the president reeks of hypocrisy and suggests a double standard is at play. It is evident black leaders had no problem taking President Bush to task.
In 2003, Rev. Al Sharpton, who has made a vow to not criticize President Obama, compared President Bush to a “gang leader in South-Central L.A.” Rep. Waters needed no permission in 2005 to unleash on Bush by calling him “a liar.” And let us not forget Rapper Kanye West’s infamous, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
The nation needs more than the symbolism of a brown face that many in the black community base their entire presidential assessment upon. We need a bold leader who understands and promotes an exceptional America rooted in upward mobility. We need a president who understands the way to close the wealth gap is not by pulling people down from the top, but by pulling people up from the bottom.
When I cannot express this critique of the president, my First Amendment right is infringed upon and what makes America special is abolished.
Rev. Isaac Hayes is a Republican Strategist and Commentator, and was a Candidate for U.S. House in 2010. Following him on twitter at http://twitter.com/isaac_hayes.
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