I must echo Chaz’s assessment that State Senator Bill Hardiman’s speech was quite a success. He spoke rather inspiringly of his hard past and what he still made of himself. He is a reminder that in our great nation, anyone, from any background can succeed. He spoke not only of his past, but of his faith, and then of why he is a Republican. We were pleased to see a good number of people attend and to see that they asked good questions. There was one man in particular who asked very tough questions, and I felt that Senator Hardiman handled them quite well.
Thanks to liberal propaganda against us, it must be hard to be a black Republican, when we are labeled such racists, and Senator Hardiman did touch on the issue of race. He spoke very honestly mentioning that despite the fact that there is no good reason for it to be an issue it simply is. He is the second black Republican state senator ever in Michigan, the first one serving back when blacks were first allowed to serve a long while ago. I loved his analysis of why he is a Republican. Simply put, his beliefs align with the Republicans, and no threats of racist labeling will keep him from what he truly believes.
Senator Hardiman shared his passion about the economy with us as well as his passion for his faith and other beliefs. I found it particularly exciting to hear how much he cared about helping our economy, replacing old unskilled labor jobs which are simply gone, with new skilled labor and education to provide that skilled labor. Of course, it’s tough to figure out how to do that, but Senator Hardiman spends much of his time working on that problem and his passion will be a benefit to all of Michigan. If we could only have more people like Senator Hardiman serving us here in Michigan or even nationally, we would be in a much better social and economic state.
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4 comments:
I'd first say kudos to you on the involvement of your organization in politics and current events. Regardless of our differing political views, it's a good thing that you're doing - staying active and engaged and presenting opportunities for people to participate in their local government (something that isn't encouraged enough in this country).
I had a few questions:
- Can you elaborate more on Sen. Hardiman's background (specifically the obstacles he's overcome)? His biography on his campaign website doesn't offer much detail.
- Did Sen. Hardiman offer any specific proposals on how to continue the revitalization of West Michigan's economy / job market? I'd enjoy hearing them.
- Should it be surprising that Hardiman is a republican given that he grew up in an overwhelmingly white (67% white today, a percentage that was even higher when Hardiman's family settled here in 1949), overwhelmingly republican city like Grand Rapids?
- Can you provide some examples of the "liberal propaganda" that is "against" you? I'm curious to know more about it.
One observation:
The Republican Party does not represent the interests of the majority of blacks in the US. That doesn't make the party racist in any way. That does, however, make Sen. Hardiman uncommon in that he does not affiliate with the positions of the majority of African Americans. (That doesn't make him racist either; there's nothing wrong with him voting his conscience).
Where one gets into trouble is when one attempts to point to someone like Sen. Hardiman in order to claim that the Republican party is diverse and/or that it should appeal to blacks in the US. That is untrue. Sen. Hardiman (given his politics) is not a representative of the black community (in that he does not hold positions congruent with the vast majority of African Americans) and as such cannot speak on their behalf.
Seth,
Careful, brother. You're on thin ice with this one and I don't think you're there intentionally.
You state matter of factly that the Republican Party does not represent the interests of the majority of African Americans in the United States. I don't think that's accurate at all.
There are a lot of reasons folks vote the way they do. A point by point comparisson of issue positions doesn't always do it. If it did one could make a pretty compelling argument that most African Americans are actually Republicans.
--Nick
www.RightMichigan.com
Nick -
I'm not on thin anything, and what I say is very deliberate. It is my personal opinion that the Republican Party does not represent the interests of the average black person. Furthermore, the average black person does not PERCEIVE the interests of the Republican Party as congruent with their interests.
OF COURSE you disagree with me - that's why you're a conservative. Conservatives consider themselves to be egalitarian populists and that believe that their ideology is the tonic that will produce equality and eliminate racism - but it simply doesn't bear out in practice largely because it's predicated on the false premise that the playing field is more or less equal and that everyone that works hard will be able to attain a middle-class lifestyle (which, unfortunately, isn't remotely true).
If you have such a point-by-point comparison that shows the positions of African Americans are in line with the platform of the Republican party - I'd enjoy seeing it. I can see similarities on religious adherence and intolerance of gays/lesbians - but there are vast chasms of difference on reproductive rights, spending on social programs (healthcare, education, welfare, etc.), affirmative action, racial profiling, foreign policy, military spending, gun rights, the minimum wage, taxes, etc.
It's timely that you make the case you're making when this report just came out:
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=88413
Hopefully some of you were able to attend some of these events:
http://www.grcc.edu/bhsymposium
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