My Op-Ed in Sunday's Sacramento Bee: Leaving the Grand Old Party

[Ken Barnes]

Leaving the Grand Old Party

(titled in The Sacramento Bee as "Viewpoints: Racist cartoon of Obama forces me to leave GOP" http://bit.ly/leavegop)

by Ken Barnes

Special to The Bee

Published Sunday, Jun. 12, 2011

 

I was one of those rare species: a black Republican, the guy willing to spit into the wind of conventional thought, who was often showcased on camera at party events to prove inclusiveness.

 

But as a proud black man, I can no longer be a member of the Republican Party.

 

Being a Republican has long been a part of my personal and professional identities, so leaving the party is a difficult and emotional decision.

 

In 1998, as a young man searching for what I believed were shared values, I cut ties with the Democratic Party and became a Republican. Democrats, in my view, had become unwelcoming to those holding center-right views not in lockstep with the party, and it was my belief that through hard work, the Republican Party could be utilized as a vehicle for improving our community.

 

For the next 13 years, I dedicated myself to growing the conservative base of the Republican Party, and in the process bound myself in emotion and deed.

 

During that time, I worked on behalf of Republican candidates at all levels, from presidential and gubernatorial campaigns, on down to local elections.

 

I have had the pleasure of serving as president of the Sacramento Republican Assembly, a term as a member of the California Republican Party executive committee, and most recently as treasurer of the Sacramento County Republican Party.

 

Last year alone, I donated more than 400 hours of my time to the Republican Party and made financial contributions to a number of Republican candidates.

 

As of late, however, when I look at myself in the mirror there is one question which perplexes me: Can I, in good conscience, remain affiliated with an organization whose message purveyors of racism and bigotry find attractive?

 

Generally speaking, Republicans are decent people, and naturally, many of my closest friends vote Republican. As with any large organization or group, there will always be people at the fringes who hold views that are not representative of the body.

 

An organization cannot control the behavior of each individual actor, but it can control its response to abhorrent conduct.

 

The latest incident in a string of tawdry, race-based actions was the promotion of a racist cartoon by elected Orange County Republican Party Central Committee member Marilyn Davenport. The cartoon depicted President Barack Obama and his parents as chimpanzees, while simultaneously implying that the president is not a legitimate American, but rather an African-born interloper.

 

While the Orange County GOP chairman and a number of other committee members were quick to condemn the image and Davenport, what's disturbing is the incredible number of people who continue to defend Davenport's actions as well as the cartoon itself.

 

Had this been an isolated event, it could be set aside as a mere aberration. However, when placed in the context of similar offenses by the same self-identified tea party-conservative Republicans, there emerges a disturbing pattern of extreme intolerance.

 

Over the past two years, we have seen Republicans use long-held racist imagery in portrayals of Obama. The president has been depicted as a communist witch doctor, a man inclined to plant watermelons on the White House lawn, and we watched in disbelief as his face was placed on an "Obama Buck Food Stamp" along with stereotyped pictures of fried chicken, barbecue ribs, Kool-Aid and the obligatory watermelon.

 

What does any of this have to do with public policy or conservative values? Here is a man who excelled academically at the finest schools in the world, has a wonderful in-tact family, worked hard and rose to become president of the United States. Yet in spite of his accomplishments, the president is still labeled an illegitimate, socialist, African witch doctor and has his face superimposed on a chimpanzee.

 

If this can be done to a black man who is the leader of the free world, how long will it be before fellow Republicans insert my face on a chimpanzee?

 

These behaviors also raise larger issues for African Americans and other minority groups within the GOP. How can I look my parents in the eye and tell them I'm a Republican in spite of these offenses? If he were still living, could my Latino father-in-law be proud that his daughter supports the GOP, in spite of the constant anti-Latino rhetoric that comes from the party? Can gay family members reconcile my support of a party that seeks to strip them of their basic human rights?

 

These are not issues which pit moderate against conservative views, but rather consequential matters which transcend political positioning and speak to universal human values.

 

There are a number of Republicans (and Democrats) who will view my switch to "decline to state" as a net gain for the Democratic Party. However, I reject the theory of zero-sum politics which claim we live in a binary world of Democrats and Republicans, where a lack of support for one side works only to empower the other.

 

Having now been active in both major political parties, I've discovered the common prohibited activity is critical thinking.

 

President Ronald Reagan once famously said, "I did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me," and I can now say that I have been abandoned by both Democrats and Republicans.

 

In order to stay true to myself, my family and values, the only rational, responsible option is independence.

 

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/12/3692351/racist-cartoon-of-obama-fo...

 

Ken Barnes is a small-business owner in Sacramento and a member of the executive committee of the California State Conference of the NAACP.

[Ken Barnes]

Here is a follow up radio interview discussing the essay: http://vimeo.com/25121246

[Aquila Bey PhD]

I will be the first to state that it seems wrong. However, I am a simple man in the eyes of the Democratic party. As such I have seen and heard more in the privacy of the offices of Democrats and their homes than you could write about. If you would tell me you are Republican, then I would say,you are a man whom has discipline. discipline to understand that We believe in the Truth. The Truth comes from the Merriam-Websters dictionary, The Black's Law Dictionary, and the United States Constitution. The Great Books would be Say your choice of Bibles. Now, Obama hired illegal staff at $150,000.00 a pop plus perks, Flies all over the country at $200,000.00 per trip, and has brought not one job to the home city of Chicago. Black's voted him in not because he's educated but because "He's Black". Senior citizen's haven't had an increase in social security in years and won't because his bills are paid by funds which tax-payers give to programs which his team finds a way to drain. It is our job as Republican's to stand behind the facts no matter what. Democrats make it their job to make it seem that they are the ones being bullied for helping the poor and the disadvantage but as I know from personal experience their GOAL is to keep the poor where they are and  they hate the U.S. Constitution, The Hate for its citizenry to be disciplined and educated. So re-look at the cartoons and tell me. Is Obama really doing for Black-Americans, less known we be nice to say-"We the people" or is he being a chimp? remember GOD is about discipline yet currently the Democrats have set GOD and our African-American Principles so far out of reach that all you know when you here Black is evil. Now being independent is a good word but one flaw in politics is that it means you will mix. In the end my friend we must choose and the middle is not even in GOD's order of things.