From my blog www.dellgines.com check it out, it kicks arse...


Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks recently signed a new contract that is estimated to be between….gulp…$90 to $96 million dollars over the next 6 years. For those of you who are mathematically challenged, that is roughly $16 million dollars per year. In truth, the Bucks did not want to pay Redd that much money. Michael Redd is not the best shooting guard in the NBA, many would not consider him amongst the top five (Kobe, McGrady, Iverson, Allen, Carter). So how is it that Mr. Redd managed to sign the maximum contract allowed in the NBA? The answer is simple, he was a free agent, meaning he could go to any team that he wanted to and his team (Milwaukee) needed him and another team (Cleveland) wanted him.
Over in Cleveland, a young superstar phenom named Lebron James wanted a good shooting guard to play along side of. He wanted Michael Redd. Cleveland decided to take a shot, and offered Michael the maximum amount of money that they could under NBA rules, $70 Million dollars over the next five years, or roughly $14 million dollars per year. Nothing to sneeze at, at all. However, if Redd would have gone to Cleveland, he would have lost $20 million dollars in that sixth contract year that only Milwaukee could pay him under league rules. $20 million dollars won out over Lebron.
At this point you are saying, “Thanks for the sports lesson Dell� what’s your point. My point is this, Michael Redd wasn’t the best shooting guard, but yet and still he got the maximum amount any shooting guard could get for one and only one reason, competition for his services. This serves as a primary example of what we blacks need to do to get politicians to seriously consider our needs and create legislative solutions that benefit US. We need to become free agents and make politicians compete for our votes.
In the year 2000, blacks voted 90% Democrat, 9% Republican. In the year 2004, blacks voted 88% Democrat and 11% Republican. There is no other ethnic group in the nation that votes in such a homogenous block as black folk. For example, the Hispanic vote in the 2004 election was roughly 65% to 35%, Democrat to Republican. This has been a consistent theme in our voting since President Roosevelt introduced the ‘New Deal’ programs in 1936. Previous to that, blacks were overwhelming Republican, the party of good old Abe Lincoln. In the 1936 election, Roosevelt, a Democrat, managed to capture 75% of the black vote which was the greatest voting shift in US history.


So what has the result been of us blacks voting consistently for one party? Absolutely nothing and I mean it, nothing. Our social conditions statistically haven’t changed significantly since the 1970’s in terms of health, and wealth (relatively). More of our young men than ever before are in prison or will be at some point in their life. More of our young women than ever before are single mothers. Many will say, “This is the result of the Republicans fighting against the efforts of the Democrats on behalf of blacks�. The truth of the matter is this, between 1948 to 2003 (fifty six total years), Democrats have had control of both the Congress and the Presidency for twenty of those years. During this same 56 year period, Republicans have only had control of the Congress and Presidency twice. Democrats have controlled the House and the Senate exclusively, 26 out of the 40 years since the civil rights act of 1964 was passed.
So you are probably asking yourself, “Is he telling us to vote Republican?� My answer is this, I AM TELLING YOU NOT TO VOTE AT ALL at least in the federal elections for one time during a presidential year. Uh oh, I bet I opened a can of worms on that one. Hear me out though, listen to my argument. First of all since the seventies, it hasn’t mattered for black folks whether a Republican or a Democrat has been in office, or whether Republicans or Democrats have controlled congress. Our position as a people has either remained the same, or in some instances gotten worse. This means that the party that we are voting overwhelmingly for is not doing the job we expect it to do for us. Secondly, the Republican Party has shown no real interest in courting our vote by speaking to issues that are relevant to us as black folks. So to put it as I once heard relayed,
“The left exploits us, the right ignores us…�
The only way we can get what we want out of politics is to make the parties compete for our vote. Don’t let the Democrats think to themselves, “We can show up at a black church and shake hands with the pastor, and that is all we need to get the black vote anymore�. Give the Republicans some hope that if they indeed started talking about creating legislation and about issues that are relevant to the progress of blacks that we will support them. Make them fight, make them debate, make them get out in the streets of black communities and prove that they have something to offer us in the way of progress.
To me, the only solution to having this occur is to abstain from one federal election as a group. In 2008 imagine if no blacks voted for Congress or the Presidency, and said, “If you want our votes you have to earn it!� What do you think would occur in the next four years? For darn sure you would see more ‘black’ issues talked about, more ‘black friendly’ legislation introduced, more politicians campaigning in ‘black’ communities. People, this is what politics ultimately is about, exchanging our votes for political power to change our situation for our betterment.
If we want to be the $96 million dollar contract recipients in the game of politics, we have to become like Michael Redd, free agents.

You know I actually like to see someone thinking out of the box on a political subject. Your approach does make sense, but I do not think that it is as plausible as it may seem. Let's say that we actually decide to follow your advice and not vote. What do you think would really happen when whichever candidate won? I think that they would smile and think "Well hey, I won without the black vote." In addition the fact the republicans do it is I think a real testament as to what would really happen. I honestly think that the only way what you want to happen would happen is if blacks actually became more politically aware and voted whichever way they really thought it should go, democrat or republican. I think once the republicans see that the black vote is not automatically democratic, they would actually appeal to black interests.