July 12, 2015

Rtd. Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré Says He's Not Running for La. Governor
By Christopher Tidmore

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Louisiana Weekly

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Retired Lt. General Russel Honoré rumored to have been contemplating making a run for governor of Louisiana, ended such speculation on July 1, stating, “After nearly four decades as a loyal and proud soldier serving our country, after much thought and reflection over the past several weeks, I’ve concluded that I can best continue to serve the state I love by, not by becoming a politician and running for governor, but by working with the good people of Louisiana to reorder our political priorities…”

For many pundits throughout the state, Honore’s decision virtually assures Sen. Vitter’s election to the state’s highest political office. Though, a June survey from MarblePort polling, seems to suggest that there was little Honoré could have done to avoid a Vitter Victory.

The survey also suggested that so far, GumboPac’s “Anyone but Vitter” billboards have done little to push Democrats to cross party lines with a tactical vote for either GOP Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne or GOP PSC Commissioner Scott Angelle. The poll argued that in a runoff, neither Republican has much chance to block Vitter’s path. Nor has Rep. John Bel Edwards managed to become “cool” enough to convince a sizable portion of the Pelican State’s GOP electorate to cross the aisle for him.

The Democratic State Representative certainly has tried. He convinced Rock-and-Roll matriarch Lynne Spears to send out a fundraising email promising that a lucky contributor to the Edwards’ campaign would win a ticket to attend her daughter Britney’s concert in Las Vegas, all expenses paid. A winner will be announced on September 8, 2015.

The appeal had much the feeling of a proverbial “Hail Mary” pass, trying to convince ‘Red State’ rural Caucasian voters that it was alright to vote for a Democrat statewide. What better way that to employ the star-power of the songbird from Kentwood?

The problem is that the appeal is having little sway in the polls. According to the MarblePort polling, a head-to-head runoff, Edwards still loses to Vitter, 38 percent to 50 percent.

Commissioned by the conservative website The Hayride, the poll postulated that all potential contenders, even Independent Russell Honoré, would lose to Vitter significantly.

While observers have supposed that the GOP candidates have greater potential for runoff growth than Edwards, since their vote would be less partisanly polarized, the actual numbers suggest similar margins of defeat, regardless of registration.

Vitter’s 50-38 margin over Edwards is not that different from his 52-32 vs. Dardenne, 49-31 vs. Angelle, and 54-29 vs. Honoré.

Moreover, it had been widely assumed, prior to this poll, that Gen. Honoré’s presence in the October primary would draw votes from both Vitter and Edwards. As the only candidate who could have a simultaneous appeal to conservative whites and working-class African Americans, pundits supposed that Honoré would either be strong enough to make a runoff himself, or would level the playing field to allow either Dardenne or Angelle to slip through.

The fact that neither possibility looked likely may be a reason that the General opted not to run. Honoré received eight percent support, up only one point from May despite all of the hype. Angelle and Dardenne each ranked only slightly higher at 10 percent. The PSC Commissioner was up by four points from May, while the Lt. Governor fell by three points. (Each of those percentiles were within the margin of error, however.)

The 2015 Governor’s race was the not the first time that the retired Lt. General flirted with running for political office, or running against David Vitter. Honoré actively told friends that he considered a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2010, only to demur at the last moment.

Or perhaps his choice to stay out acknowledged that Louisianians displayed insufficient outrage to demand new options at the ballot box. In his email to supporters last Wednesday, Honore’ listed many of the changes the state needed, from redirecting tax breaks for chemical extraction and refining to schools and health care, as well as expansion of living-wage laws and the TOPS program to graduate students who promise to stay in the state for five years.

The missive was almost written like a campaign announcement speech, rather than a withdrawal/non-candidacy update. But, in the middle of his remarks, the General broke from his litany of reforms to utter this impassioned plea, “Do a gut check: Are we happy with the government we have? With who represents us? Think: Who has a record of working for us, and who promised to but actually went to work for their biggest donors? We must reshape our politics and reorder our priorities. We must get comfortable with speaking about the unspeakable, about how is it that we can be the nation’s third-largest energy producer and second-poorest state.”

Perhaps, Honoré’s “gut check” told him that voters were, at least, not unhappy enough to reject David Vitter for him—or even any of the other GOP candidates.

To Be Equal 
 

Off To The Races:  How Will 2016’s Presidential Candidates Save Our Cities?
 By Marc H. Morial

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “You must register. You must vote. You must learn, so your choice advances your interest and the interest of our beloved Nation. Your future, and your children's future, depend upon it, and I don't believe that you are going to let them down.” – President Lyndon B. Johnson, Remarks on the Signing of the Voting Rights Act, August 1965

For four days beginning in July, political, business, and community leaders will convene in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the 2015 National Urban League Conference. Conference attendees should expect to engage in thought-provoking discussions with leaders and experts in a variety of areas, including economics, entertainment, civil rights and politics. This year, following a long-standing tradition of major-party presidential candidates addressing the conference, the National Urban League counts several 2016 presidential hopefuls—Republicans and Democrats alike—as invited guests. The candidates, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, will share their respective vision and strategies to save our cities.

The candidates’ plenary session, “Save Our Cities: Education, Jobs + Justice,” falls under the umbrella of the National Urban League’s “Save Our Cities” campaign— an unprecedented mobilization to influence public policy through grassroots political action.

As we know far too well, our country faces tremendous challenges. Rather than recite our problems, rather than fall into the trap of recycling failed solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges, we will reunite in Florida to deliberate on solutions and fresh ideas to the economic and social troubles plaguing our cities. These are discussions that are too important to take place in silos. The solutions to our challenges are stronger with buy-in, engagement and resources from all concerned stakeholders. So, it is vital that those contending for the highest office in the land be a part of that conversation.

The ravages of inequality on American families—particularly among those in African-American and Latino communities—continues to rip our nation apart. We must question and listen to any candidate’s proposals to reverse this ever-widening trend of inequality. An educated citizenry is best prepared to choose the candidate who will advance his or her interests, and ultimately, the interests of a stronger, healthier and more inclusive nation. During his remarks on the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, President Lyndon Johnson said, “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.” The stakes are too high for us, and for future generations, not to have these discussions together. 

In this year’s analysis of the state of Black America, the National Urban League found that while strides have been made in Black and Brown communities, tremendous gaps continue to leave us with a crisis in education, jobs and justice. In the case of justice, a series of horrific acts—from the deaths of Black men and women at the hands of police, to the racially motivated murder of nine people in a South Carolina church, to the legislative efforts in some states to rob Americans of their constitutional right to vote —cries out for serious and immediate reform. While our economy is improving after the recession, the bounce back has not been as evident in many Black and Brown communities. For too many Americans, the recession is alive and well. As Congress continues to debate reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we, along with a diverse coalition of policy-makers, families and community activists, are fighting to ensure that any new legislation adopted protects civil rights and promotes equity, equality and accountability in education.

These conversations are indispensable in this moment in which we as a nation find ourselves of perhaps the greatest social and economic upheaval in a generation. Choose to be a part of our discussion and conversation, or choose to get involved in the discussions and conversations that are happening, or will happen in your communities—every voice and vote matters.

July 12, 2015

Black High School Students' Drop Out Rate Four Times Higher Than Whites
By Zenitha Prince

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Black students are four times as likely as their White peers to drop out of high school, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Education. According to the report, which examined trends in high school dropout and completion rates nationwide, during the 2012 school year 3.4 percent of all students ages 15 to 24 left high school without gaining a diploma or alternative credential, such as a GED.

This dropout rate doubled among African-American students, 6.8 percent of whom enrolled in high school that year but dropped out without receiving their diploma. Among non-Hispanic White students, that same rate was 1.6 percent. The average national dropout rate in 2012 represented a downward trend from 6.1 percent in 1972. For Whites, the dropout rate of 1.6 percent was at its lowest point in 40 years.

For Blacks, however, 2012 saw the highest dropout rate since 2005. In more positive news, among African Americans the status dropout rate—the percentage of individuals ages 16 through 24 who are not currently enrolled in school and lack a high school diploma or similar credential—has steadily declined since 1972. In 2012, the status dropout rate among Blacks was 7.5 percent, compared to 4.3 percent among Whites. However, the Black status dropout rate was the second lowest it had been since 1972, when it stood at 22.2 percent.

July 11, 2015

Assessing 'The Donald'
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - "Rapists...Criminals...Infectious (with disease)" – these are all terms used by Republican presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump, Sr., to describe "Mexican immigrants."  Although his words have stirred a firestorm of controversy and have cost "The Donald" lost revenue in canceled and discontinued business arrangements, he clings to these statements as accurate and as a valid assessment of the character of those he describes.

In typical minimalist fashion, the larger segment of the media is analyzing Trump's statement in the context of his personal motives.  Is he for real?  Is he just seeking greater notoriety?  Is his presidential bid just an act of self-aggrandizement or self-promotion for some unseen future objective?

Others in the media focus on the reaction, or lack thereof, of "responsible, establishment Republicans" to the inflammatory rhetoric of Trump.  Why are main-stream Republican candidates slow to condemn his comments?  Why has the Republican National Chairman, Reince Prebus, been publicly silent on this issue?  Why is there an absence of public outrage among nationally recognized Republican leaders against this stereotypical misrepresentation of the character of a people?  Are the statements of Trump truly representative of the spirit and position of the Republican Party?

Racism and ethnic prejudice have always held a unique position in the construct of the American Ethos.  Trump's words can be juxtaposed, in historic context, to apply to many different groups of immigrants - both forced and voluntary.  The Irish, the Eastern and Southern Europeans, Asians, Africans and African Americans have all fallen victim to the actions provoked by this type of distorted thinking.  Interestingly, only those without the "stigma" of melanin or cosmetic characteristics in variance with an Arian appearance have been able to progress beyond the negative stereotypes applied to them.

It may seem cynical, but our history and our national inability to work beyond the age-old hatreds of racism and prejudice cause me to question the motives of many of the principal players in this most recent drama.  I question the character of many fellow Americans whose silence is giving consent.

It is simple to understand why those, like Univision, who are targeted under the cross-hairs of Trump's ethnic bias, have reacted with righteous indignation.  The more important question is whether those businesses severing ties with Trump have done so from a position of altruism or have they just been motivated by the potential impact on their bottom-line?  Many observers of the Trump empire see his true wealth positioned in real estate and his other "side deals" as ultimately inconsequential.  They estimate the financial loss to Trump by those who have already cut ties with him as a mere "blip" in his financial statement, so it may just be that status/appearance in the market-place may be the driving factors motivating businesses to disconnect from Trump.

The larger questions are, "How are Trump's comments being received in the larger community?  Does his recent surge in support indicate the true pulse of contemporary racism/ethnic prejudice in the United States? “A clue to these questions might be that a newly released poll of North Carolina Republican voters indicates Trump as THE leading contender for the presidential nomination in that state.  Even more unsettling is his position as the number two contender in most other polls.  Admittedly, by measure of pollsters, the number of conservative Republican voters is shrinking, but Trump's popularity is indicative of support of his way of thinking among a significant number of citizens.

Instead of assessing the positions of Donald Trump, our greater concern should be a realistic assessment of the core values of our fellow citizens.  Instead of publicizing the rhetorical vitriol of Trump and others of his ilk, our effort must be directed to establishing increased openness in our dialogue with those of differing views.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of the National Congress of Black Women.  www.nationalcongressbw.org.  202/678-6788)