Why John Phillip Sousa IV, Chairman of the Ben Carson for President Draft Movement, is off-base about Black Support for Mr. Carson

John Phillip Sousa IV

In a recent CNN interview Mr. Sousa participated in the following exchange:

CNN: If Ben Carson can win and Ted Cruz can’t, what are the differences?

Mr. Sousa: Big differences. I like what Ted Cruz says about the issues, but I think he’s a bull in a china shop. He’s too polarizing. The media will absolutely fry him every time he opens his mouth—not that they won’t go after Carson—but Carson is not loud. He’s not forceful. Ted Cruz will go on for hours about a given subject jumping up and down—again, I like his positions—I just don’t think his methods can get him elected. The other difference is that we believe Carson will get at least 17 percent of the black vote.

CNN: What do you base that on?

Mr. Sousa: He’s black.

CNN: I mean, what data have you seen that shows that?

Mr. Sousa: Herman Cain’s campaign polled it and showed that 17 percent at a minimum would support him. If Carson gets 17 percent of the black vote, he wins. He can’t take 17 percent of the black vote away from the Democrat and have the Democrat win on a national basis. It just won’t happen.

Why Mr. Sousa is off base –

It’s Offensive. To say that black people will vote him simply because he is black is to suggest that black people can’t stand on their individual two feet and chose a candidate, no matter the skin color, that best reflects one’s values and shared view of society and the world. Do white people only vote for white candidates? Of course not: Barak Obama wouldn’t be in the Whitehouse without the support of white America. So why not afford the same deference and respect to black voters? We must stop insulting the intelligence of any voter black, white or yellow by robbing them of their ability to think and reason about choosing a candidate to represent them. Ultimately, no citizen of a democracy should be robbed of the spirit of self-determination of which their voting preference is emblematic.

2. Democratic Party’s Playbook. Call it watermelon politics, identity politics or whatever you wish but leave it to the democrats.

First lady Michelle Obama has a message to black voters: Don’t worry about what candidates have done or said– just vote for the Democrats.

On TV One, a network operating under the motto “Where Black Life Unfolds,” the first lady told “News One Daily” host Roland Martin, “And that’s my message to voters, this isn’t about Barack, it’s not about person on that ballot– its about you. And for most of the people we are talking to, a Democratic ticket is the clear ticket that we should be voting on, regardless of who said what or did this– that shouldn’t even come into the equation.”

In the full audio of the interview, Michelle Obama gives everyone who votes permission to eat fried chicken.

Martin asked (at 7:15), “So can we, if we go out to the polls, can we, say, we have a souls to polls on Sunday, can we do soul food after we vote?”

Obama responded, “Absolutely. I give everyone full permission to eat some fried chicken after they vote. Only after, if you haven’t voted… You make a good point. Because I am, I do talk about health. But I think that a good victory for Democrats on Tuesday, you know, should be rewarded with some fried chicken.”

Herman Cain, Seriously? He proved to be just another clown in the 2012 GOP sideshow; a flavor of the week candidate and nowhere near the caliber of Mr. Carson. From his entirely unworkable 9-9-9 economic plan to his complete disregard to international affairs why would anybody vote for him to be America’s President? I don’t care how black his skin color is I wouldn’t vote for him to be Under Secretary of the Whitehouse Pizza Delivery Agency. Enough said.

In conclusion,

I like Mr. Carson because unlike the others he has limited baggage (his slavery and Nazi analogy comments are grossly out of context) which gives him the strongest chance of creating a 21^st century GOP voting coalition that is demographically diverse and ideologically compelling, he’s background positions him to be an honest broker against the excess of Wall Street, he’s a passionate constitutionalist, and I believe he’ll be guided his apparent strong relationship with God.

I was born in this country being subconsciously and overtly told that because I’m black I have to vote democrat, I hope to die in this country where the moral bankruptcy of that notion is as old and out of touch as my timely death.

The contribution to the Ben Carson movement Mr. Sousa has made and will continue to make is undeniable, significant and will be the first sentence in the improbable story of President Carson. But we can’t be afraid, from time to time, to pause and be willing rewrite a page or two as we go.