Some Election Results That You Probably Haven't Seen

Now that the "shellacking" of the Democrats is old news, I thought you might enjoy a few recent election results that you probably didn't hear about or either MSNBC or FOX.  Black politicians are still making history around the globe and right here in the U.S. Here are a few notable results:

Look Mom, There ARE Black Republicans...
The Republican wave in Congress swept in two new black congressmen, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Allen West of Florida.   Both men will be the first black Republicans to serve in Congress since J.C. Watts retired in 2003. Both men also made history as the first black Republicans elected to Congress from their states in over 100 years.  Both men also ran with the blessing of the Tea Party and Sarah Palin.  They joined a wave of black Republicans on the ballot this year. According to ABC news, this year 42 blacks ran for the Republican nomination for House seats, and 14 of them won the nomination. For an interesting story on the recent surge in black Republican candidates, click here.   For a look at all of the black Republican candidates who ran this year click here.

Allen West

Tim Scott

Allen West is a decorated army veteran who will serve Florida's 22nd District in the Boca Raton area. Tim Scott is a business man who won in the 1st congressional district where white voters outnumber blacks 3 to 1.  For a comparison of these two candidates, click here.

Around the Globe...

In July 2010, Russia elected its first black politician (at any level), Jean Gregoire Sagbo. 

Russian Councilor Jean Gregoire Sagbo

 
A native of the West African Country of Benin, Sagbo migrated to the Soviet Union in 1982.  He was elected as one of 10 Municipal Councilors in the town of Novozavidovo.   Sagbo's election is particularly remarkable given Russia's notorious culture of racism. See video of Mr. Sagbo below.





In October 2010, the country of Slovenia elected Europe's first black mayor, Peter Bossman, a Ghanian physician.

Mayor Peter Bossman

According to Bossman, "I think that people don't see me as a black man. They see me as a good man, as a doctor and the racial question really didn't came into play here."

Congrats to all the winners.

I Voted Today

I voted today.
Not with the exuberant expectation I felt in 2008.
Not with the civic duty I felt in 2006.
Not even with the cautious optimism that I felt in 2004 and 2000.

Today I voted with about the same level of enthusiasm that I experienced the last time took my son to the doctor.  For shots.  Voting this year was a painful obligation. I have never been so torn.  If this election were just about the candidates on the ballot, my choices would have been easier.  But for the past six months, I have been constantly reminded by the political pundits that EVERY race- no matter how local, is actually a referendum on the President himself.  I hate that.

My relationship with our President is quite complicated. On a personal level, I love him, his wife, his daughters and even his mother-in-law.  I relate to them like no other Presidential family and would be highly honored to shake any one of their hands and invite them to my home for dinner.   I take personal offense whenever I hear people question his citizenship, his religion, or his patriotism.  Thank God he graduated at the top of his class from Harvard Law School or I'd have to take offense every time some C student pundit questioned that too. I take even more offense at the suggestion that he is so "different" from past presidents, that "most" Americans can't "relate" to him, and that he doesn't "connect" with the electorate. I think those comments stem from the discomfort felt by many because of his race.  I buy my children books and tee-shirts about the President, because I feel a certain level of reverence for him as a historic figure.

That  said, I recognize that my true relationship to President Obama is first and foremost as a voter to a politician.  I have never forgotten that my personal pride in his great accomplishments must be separated from my responsibility to vote for candidates that best reflect my political agenda. I am a social conservative and I don't appreciate the values I hold dear being portrayed by most Democrats (including the President) as extreme.  I am not fooled by local Democrats hiding behind the endorsement of President Obama to claim that they deserve the African American vote when their actions have not shown any more concern for my community than their Republican opponents.  I am disgusted that someone with such questionable credentials as Sarah Palin is now running the Republican party.  (I am equally annoyed that her rhythmless "teen activist" daughter is still a contestant on Dancing With the Stars)  I watched the debates of my state candidates for Senate hoping that one of them would say something meaningful. It didn't happen. Both claimed to be the candidate of "change." (Where have I heard that one before?)  I watched the attack ads that my Democratic Congressional incumbent ran against his Republican challenger with disgust because it was obvious that they were intended to distort and not inform.    The one Congressional candidate that I actually liked was not running to represent my district.

In the end, I split the vote and halfheartedly took my "I voted" sticker with the same bittersweet reluctance my son shows when he is offered a sticker reward after a painful succession of shots.  Yes, I voted today. But I'm not happy about it no matter who wins this election.

You Know it's Election Season When You Hear...

As the 2010 Midterm election draws near, I find myself growing ever more weary of hearing the same tired political cliches.  Here are a few of the most tiresome and their actual translations:

1) What they say ...I am the candidate of change.
What they should say... "In 2-4-6 years, you will want to get rid of me too."

2) What they say ..."Washington is broken."
What they should admit..."It won't be fixed if I get elected."

3) What they say ... "I am not a Washington insider..."
How they should finish that sentence... "yet."

4) What they preach ... "I am going to fight the special interests."
What they practice... "except for the ones that fund my political campaign."

5)  What they claim ... "I want to create jobs and help small businesses."
What they should say... "and blame the other party if it doesn't happen."

6) What they say ... My opponent is "extreme"
What they should say... "My opponent actually has a strongly held conviction or a novel idea that they are willing to stick to.  I prefer to waffle in the middle and am fooling no one."

7) What they proclaim... "I'm proud to be an American."
What they imply ... "Unless you agree with me, you hate this country."

8) What they say ... "I believe in family values."
What they mean ... "I want the christian vote."

9) What they say... "I am a progressive."
What they mean... "I want the homosexual vote."


And last but not least...


10) What they say...  "I want to work across the aisle to end the gridlock in Washington."
What they should say... "I am already writing my concession speech now because this outdated idea went out in 2008 after the election of Obama."