His election was a major milestone in the history of the United States. Leaving aside his political philosophy which a number of us opposed and more are seeing that philosophy more clearly now, electing the first African American to the presidency with 53% of the popular vote no less, truly shows how far our nation has come from the dark days of slavery.
Having achieved this milestone has proved a two edged sword to the progressives and statists. By celebrating the election of Barack Obama it also signaled the defusing of the most potent weapon in their arsenal, the race card. How can you routinely call America a racist country when we just elected an African American President of the United States? By winning with 53% of the popular vote, more than Bill Clinton in two elections and more than Jimmy Carter, it was clear that the black vote alone could not have elected him. It required him winning over many white voters as well. How do you continue to justify Affirmative Action when an African American was chosen by his fellow citizens to the most powerful position on earth? But the progressives and the statists continue to pull the trigger on this dud, particularly where the Tea Party movement is involved, without proof and without shame.
A New Dark Chapter?
Ironically, it is the Obama administration that is practicing a new kind of racism that the mainstream media is conspiring with them to hide.
During the 2008 election, several members of the Black Panthers dressed in paramilitary uniforms and brandishing a nightstick, stood outside of a polling place in Philadelphia intimidating voters by their physical presence and through verbal taunts. The Black Panthers were caught on video tape and as this was a clear violation of the Voting Rights act, charges were filed against them. J. Christian Adams, one of the attorneys at the Department of Justice handling the case called it the “easiest case I’ve ever had.” The facts were clear, the video tape provided irrefutable evidence and the defendants didn’t show up in court to dispute the charges. Because they didn’t show up, the judge issued a default judgment, meaning the Justice Department won the case and only the punishment remained. That is, until the new leadership of the Justice Department weighed in.
This case was originally filed in the last days of the Bush administration. So with the victory in hand, the Justice attorneys handling the case were told to dismiss the charges and drop the case. The reason given was that the “facts and the law don’t support the case.” It was further ordered that these kinds of cases were “not going to happen out of the Civil Rights Division” of the DOJ. In other words, where the plaintiff was white and the defendant was black, the Civil Rights Division of the Department would not pursue the case. If a regional United States Attorney brought a case, the DOJ would permit it to go forward, but not from within the Civil Rights division.
The individuals who delivered this order were Loretta King and Steve Rosenbaum, political appointees. Adams went further to say that Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez of lying under oath to a federal commission about the circumstances surrounding the decision to drop the probe. The Justice Department denied Adams allegation:
“It is not uncommon for attorneys within the department to have good faith disagreements about the appropriate course of action in a particular case, although it is regrettable when a former department attorney distorts the facts and makes baseless allegations to promote his or her agenda,” she said in a written statement.
Mere partisan politics? Sour grapes? You might think that until you hear from Bartle Bull, a lifelong Democrat and Civil Rights attorney who was an eye witness to the incident. Here is an interview with Mr. Bull and Megyn Kelly of Fox News. It is nothing less than stunning. Interview. He describes how one of the Black Panthers said to him and a person with him, “Now you will see what it’s like to be ruled by the black man, cracker.”
The first African American president has people in his administration who will not enforce the Voting Rights Act if the person whose rights are being violated is white. I need not point out that if the Ku Klux Klan was standing in front of the polling place and the Justice Department dropped the case against them what the outrage would be. But with the mainstream media merely the propaganda arm of the administration, this news is only being carried by Fox News and on the Internet.
President Obama and Attorney General Holder must answer to this outrage. They have to tell the American people why they refuse to carry out their sworn duty and enforce the law, particularly when the case was already won and they demanded that the charges be dropped and that no new cases would originate from the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. A great moment in American history will have a stain upon it unless President Obama immediately reverses course.
