The truth behind African American conservatives

[rastignac5]

http://www.alternet.org/story/19331/

As the segment began there was an awkward Wizard of Oz moment as C-SPAN's Robb Harlston – himself black – turned to Project 21's Caucasian director, David Almasi, and said, "Um...Project 21... a program for conservative African Americans... you're not African American."

It was a remarkable moment. A flat tire had led to a nationally televised peek into what lies behind a murky network of interconnected black conservative organizations that seek ostensibly to bring more African-Americans into the conservative movement. But they're not just reaching out to the community. They also speak out publicly for conservative positions that might evoke charges of racism if advocated by whites. And while that's not to say that there aren't some blacks who embrace conservative values, the groups that claim to represent them are heavily financed by business interests and often run by white Republicans.

Almasi replied defensively, "I wanted to make clear right at the beginning that I'm an employee, I'm an employee of Project 21, my bosses are the members of Project 21, the volunteers...I take my marching orders from them, not from anybody else."

Almasi told me by phone that he is Project 21's only paid staffer, and that he works part-time. He said that the approximately 400 volunteers – among whom there was a core of "a few dozen" – were simply conservative blacks "willing to do interviews, be quoted for press releases and be available to write for Project 21 publications," and that his role was simply to serve as "a syndicator, an editor and a scheduler."

But Project 21 is a subsidiary of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), which, according to the liberal watchdog Mediatransparency.org, was formed in the 1980s to support Reagan's military interventions in Central America. NCPPR's leadership – president, vice president, executive director – are all white. Amy Ridenour, former Deputy Director of the College Republican National Committee and the organization's president, also sits on the board of Black America's PAC, an organization that claims to be nonpartisan but whose IRS filings state that its mission is to elect Republicans.

NCPPR's directors are also all white. In fact, one of them – Jack Abramoff – is so white that he's actually a high-powered GOP lobbyist and Bush 'Pioneer' who, according to the Washington Post, is the target of multiple investigations into alleged funny-money payments from Indian gambling concerns (along with the $45 million in fees they collected from them, Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon convinced the tribes to donate large sums to conservative organizations run by Scanlon, which then funneled the money back to Abramoff, according to the Post).

[Karenina]

1. Chickens thinking that

Colonel Sanders is gonna cut them in on those profits... :eyes:

[noiretextatique]

5. interesting, the case of glenn loury

http://www.mediatransparency.org/people/glenn_loury.htm

Loury was useful to the right wing movement as a Black who opposed affirmative action, and he successfully captured grants from the Bradley Foundation ($100,000 in 1995, for example), and was active at a number of the movement's institutions such as the Center of The American Experiment. Loury is the founder and director of the Institute on Race and Social Division at Boston University. Recently he may have somewhat fallen out of favor with the movement by writing that the campaign to undo efforts at racial equality has turned into a "crusade." Loury even wrote in another paper that "The unfortunate reality is that race-based barriers to job access are a seemingly permanent feature of the economy."

they don't like this chicken anymore :7

[stanwyck]

2. and the added irony

is that David Almasi was attempting to challenge Mifune's contention that the majority of conservative blacks are merely fronts for organizations run by white fat cats with an agenda. Kerry and the other Democratics are right to sit back and watch the Republicans self destruct. Their hypocrisy doesn't need to be pointed out by others. They broadcast it every day.

[noiretextatique]

4. these are the only supposedly "independent thinkers"

in the african-american community...a favorite talking point of the condescending right. they fool no one, except themselves.

[David__77]

3. There's a more impressive, larger network of Black Maoists.

This Black right is ludicrous. There are probably more Black Falun Dafa worshippers.

[bo44]

6. Many friends of mine are conservative

in a right leaning centrist kind of way. Tough on crime, limit spending on social programs, lower taxes on small business, and reform the education system. Many would vote Republican if not for karlrovianing the KKK vote.