Time after time black Americans have sounded the alarm that all is not well in our democracy. The New York Times reported:
Richard A. Falkenrath, a former homeland security adviser in the Bush White House, said the chief federal failure was not anticipating that the city and state would be so compromised. He said the response exposed “false advertising” about how the government has been transformed four years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Americans believe the country is not prepared for a disaster. According to Newsweek:
But Katrina’s most costly impact could be a loss of faith in government generally, and the president, in particular. A majority of Americans (57 percent) say “government’s slow response to what happened in New Orleans” has made them lose confidence in government’s ability to deal with another major natural disaster. Forty-seven percent say it has made them lose confidence in the government’s ability to prevent another terrorist attack like 9/11, but 50 percent say is has not.
Black voters’ overwhelming support of the Democratic Party is not about plantation politics. Instead, it reflects a visceral distrust of Republicans on matters of race and policy priorities. Simply stated, black folks don’t believe that Republicans have their back. And apparently neither do white folks. Again Newsweek:
Only 42 percent of Americans believe the president cares about people like them; 44 percent of registered voters feel that way—down from 50 percent the week before the election. And only 49 percent of Americans and the same percentage of registered voters believe Bush is intelligent and well-informed—down from 59 percent before the election.
Similarly, public approval of the president’s policies on issues from the economy (35 percent) to the war in Iraq (36 percent) to terrorism and homeland security (46 percent) have suffered. … Reflecting the tarnished view of the administration, only 38 percent of registered voters say they would vote for a Republican for Congress if the Congressional elections were held today, while 50 say they would vote for a Democrat.
The rest of America is coming to grips with what black Americans already know: In the GOP’s “ownership society,” when stuff happens -- disaster, high gas prices, underfunded pensions -- you’re on your own.
