Prominent black conservatives are paving the way for a new movement within the Republican Party.
“The American dream is under attack,” began Herman Cain’s electrifying speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held at the beginning of February. Mr. Cain, a prominent black American newspaper columnist, businessman, politician, and radio talk-show host from Georgia, described this attack as one of “ations”—that is, too much legislation, regulation and taxation. Mr. Cain went on to declare that the American people are fighting back and advised them to “stay informed, stay involved and stay inspired.” Those who attended the CPAC events also had the privilege of hearing Republican Congressman Allen West from Florida. He was the keynote speaker of the event. Mr. West proclaimed “that now is the time” to take necessary actions such as reform the tax code, cut the corporate tax rate and eliminate capital-gains taxes, as well as cap spending and eliminate redundant government agencies.
Messrs. Cain and West represent a minority of minorities: Black conservatives. They are devoted, charismatic and well-grounded politicians who make no apologies for their beliefs and make no apologies for The United States of America. They stand together to shatter the left-wing illusion that the Tea Party is a movement of bitter white men.
Both of Messrs. Cain and West have highly distinguished backgrounds. The 65-year-old Cain is probably best known as the former host of his Atlanta, Georgia based radio talk show, “The Herman Cain Show,” as well as being an occasional guest host for “The Neal Boortz Show.” Prior to that, Mr. Cain, the holder of two university degrees (one in mathematics, the other in computer science), was the chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. Mr. Cain also courageously fought Stage IV cancer of his liver and colon and has been in remission for years.
Among Mr. Cain’s solid conservative views, is that he is an advocate of a return to the gold standard and re-structuring major entitlements such as social security, Medicare and Medicaid. He also is open to the underrated idea of the so-called FairTax, a flat consumption tax that would take the place of all other federal taxes.
Mr. West served in the United States Army for 22 years and reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel prior to his retirement in 2004. He received a number of awards and honors in the military, including a Bronze Star. Mr. West ran for Congress in Florida’s 22nd congressional district in 2010 with backing the of The Tea Party and soundly defeated the incumbent Ron Klein. Since being elected, Mr. West has been appointed to the House Committee on Armed Services and the House Committee on Small Business.
Mr. Cain has already launched a presidential exploratory committee. There is a small but growing grass-roots movement to recruit Mr. West to do the same, but he has dismissed those suggestions. Regardless of whether either man runs for president, they are already fulfilling a vital role for the conservative movement: Messrs. Cain and West are courageously setting an example for African Americans with conservative views.
We are all familiar with the abuse that has been hurled at prominent black conservatives. The attacks on Messrs. Cain and West have already begun. Most notably, the Website Alternet, a progressive, liberal activist news service of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, launched a particularly vicious attack on Mr. Cain. The blog post accused him of catering to the prejudices of his “white, reactionary” audience at CPAC. The article included a number of racial slurs that will not be repeated in this publication. Following the incident, Fox News Contributor Juan Williams appeared on Hannity to condemn the incident. Mr. Williams claimed that it is encouraged among the left to attack black conservatives. But attack them for what exactly? Do African Americans not have the freedom to choose their political affiliations like everyone else?
Prominent black conservatives have long been attacked for their beliefs. When the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) refused to back the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, claiming that “all African Americans are black, but some are blacker than others,” the message was clear: A black man who embraces a conservative ideology is no longer seen as black among the left. Similar attacks have been levied against even the most thoughtful black conservatives such as prominent political author Thomas Sowell and economist and commentator Walter E. Williams.
Herman Cain and Allen West will not back down in the face of these attacks. In holding steadfast to their political beliefs, they make it easier for other African Americans to embrace conservatism. The conservative movement is lucky to have these who are paving the way for many more to follow.
-Reid Bushell is a research assistant at the Edmund Burke Institute.
