"Don't take the black vote for granted."
Now why is this something you hear every election cycle? Could it be because they know despite how loyal you are to candidates who depend on your vote to obtain or stay in office, every two to four years you find yourself having the same expectations that were unaddressed two, four, six, eight and more years ago? You do what's asked of YOU but what have they done in return for that sacred vote?
Politicians knock on your door, speak outside churches, come to community centers and make the same pledges. However, YOU get the same result: nothing.
I'm going to be straight with you. I'm not here to pander for a vote few think I will get just to avoid committing political damage to a campaign, but the politicians who come before you every two to four years making empty promises are not solely to blame. They make these promises because they know you'll believe them, and they know you'll come back again in two years, hear more promises and vote for them again.
I'll have to commend President Obama for one thing. He promised he'd fix the economy or he'd be a one-term president. What is commendable is the fact he's not coming to speak and make more promises like the ones he made four years ago and didn't keep.
But I told you I'd be straight with you, and with that, all I ask is that you be honest with yourselves.
Politicians use you because they can. You've provided no downside for them should they continue to break campaign promises.
You've been told "Vote for me!" and your children's education will improve. The problem is many people in this room would LOVE to have the same choices those you vote for have when it comes to where they send their children to school. But after they're voted back in, they tell you to take your children back to those failing schools as you will not have a choice. They tell you "Mend it, don't end it" and expect that to hold you over until the next election when they can tell you how they plan on improving your child's education… again.
You've been told "Vote for me!" and there will be more jobs in the community.
The dirty little secret is people who own businesses hire people who can do a job within that business. If workers don't walk in the door properly educated enough to fill out an application, you won't get a job. That gets back to education; education you are promised will improve and seldom does.
Politicians do have a safety valve. They can hire their friends and relatives. Those who help them get reelected are rewarded. You who vote them back in get what? Think about it….
It could be as easy as providing you all with government jobs. The problem here is that government can't and shouldn't employ everyone. People with good ideas should have the opportunity to create whatever kind of business they want, where they want, hire who they want, and not be told how to run that business by a government that can't even balance its own books.
But let's get to reality here: I know many of you, most of you, will vote for President Obama. I chose to come here anyway because, despite the divisive language permeating the political dialogue, I want to assure you that I'm here because I would like to be the president of all the United States, not just the red states or blue states. Heard that before?
Every policy we will undertake will benefit all communities and all will be treated with equality. I won't come to any community and have to be reminded not to take that vote for granted. Your vote will be earned and not be a requirement.
Before I conclude, I must address one issue that my opponent and his officials continue to perpetuate and I only address it because it's at the heart of how they look at you and how I look at you.
Attorney General Holder came before you on behalf of the administration and told you that one of the most crucial issues of this campaign is the Republican attempt to bring back "poll taxes", the very poll taxes Democrats used back in the day to keep you from voting Republican, which was all blacks were allowed.
Attorney General Holder seems to believe that anyone should be able to vote, even though they may not be eligible to do so. Everyday we see and hear commercials about identity theft. I'm sure some in this room have had a credit card or Social Security card number stolen and your finances put at risk. It would seem to a reasonable person that the integrity of your voting identity be just as important.
People like Eric Holder and the administration would like the nation to believe you are the one of the few groups in this country who have trouble obtaining and presenting a photo I.D. card. The same I.D. card you need in order to cash a check or look at a new apartment or drive a car or get into a government building to pay a bill. We need our ID's for so many things in this country, it's rather insulting to say that only minorities have trouble obtaining them.
The irony is that in order to get into the recent Massachusetts Democratic Convention, you could not get in without… yes, a government-issued photo I.D. In fact, the news media could not get in to cover the attorney general's remarks without… yes, a government-issued photo I.D., and a second I.D. as well. If you wanted to go visit the attorney general in his office, you couldn't get past the front door without… yes, a government-issued photo I.D.
The problem with the people who come here and have to be reminded not to take your vote for granted is that they play on your emotions. They know that all they have to do is infer racism, and they'll have you in the palm of their hands, will get your vote, and the very things they accuse others of, they'll do and more often than not, will do to you as well.
As I said earlier, I'm not here to ask you for your vote because I'll just address your issues. When I go to other parts of our great country, I don't say I'll just address their issues. If one part of America isn't working, that affects the rest of the country.
I want everyone to believe in opportunity again. Opportunity doesn't come from promises that have to be reminded of and renewed every two to four years. Opportunity doesn't come from being told what you can't do. America wasn't created so a small group of people could control your lives. Blacks, of all people, should know that better than anyone else.
You can vote for the president and his party. Two to four years from now, the same people will be reminding them not to take your vote for granted. YOU can break this cycle. By doing so, you can make them actually work for your vote and improve the schools, create a climate conducive to job creation and employment. You can hold them accountable. In the end, it's all up to you.
A black man who ran for state representative in Massachusetts closed all his stump speeches with one daring statement, "If you like the way things are, vote for the other guy and don't complain."
The course the black community takes is not up to any one politician. It starts with you.
Thank you, and God bless the United States of America.
