Current congressional field staffers spend time connecting with big political donors and supporters or attending meetings directly related to the federal government. However, most citizens’ concerns and problems are directly or indirectly related to the federal government because many personal choices, decisions and consequences end up in the government’s lap. “Your mortgage problems stem from the fact that you bought too much house—the size of your finished basement should have been the size of your first house.”
For years, I wanted to see Black moderate southern GOP members of congress. These members would have helped the mindset range of the Black community by pushing conservatism in personal and financial actions and educating our community regarding the logical limited role of government in the post-civil rights era. In other words, stop digging yourself into holes and reaching for governmental hands to help you out.
Until the GOP has the foresight to produce candidates with a broader appeal in battleground districts, this duty should fall to congressional field staffers—staff in the local offices.
Black congressional field staffers have always given inspirational speeches and talks:
“If you play in school, you won’t be prepared for work and life. If you have children before you have a dependable income source or career, you will have a harder row to hoe. If you spent as much time on homework as practicing basketball, you would be prominent in the NBA—the National Bankers Association.”
http://www.nationalbankers.org/
The standard staff “role of government/be your best” speech needs more details and specifics to encourage all youth to make deliberate and planned decisions. For many Georgia youth—both Black and White- these staffers were the first non-educator Black male professionals they ever met. Seeing a brother in a tie and Blazer who was still cool gave them options. These staffers planted the seeds of success but having the Obamas in the White House is the ultimate role model situation.
If you are a southwest Georgia high school student, Rep. Sanford Bishop is the only congressman you can remember and that is a good thing—it would have been better if Bishop were the new agriculture secretary.
The next level in congressional field staffing for our community should involve more Black women and men who put a conservative element into the standard speeches and talks. The benefit for our state and country could be significant because many young people don’t have role models who “break it down,” “make it plain,” and “keep it real.”
Somebody needs to do it because the election of President Obama makes the age-old arguments and accuses about oppression seem dated and almost moot.
Republicans are often reluctant to hire Black congressional staffers because they think all Blacks are liberals. If this mentality persists, the GOP will continue to marginalize themselves. With secondary consideration to party politics, the best future for GOP Black outreach will be based on conservatism with a practical foundation. Michael Steele wants to take the GOP in that direction or to add that aspect to their mission; the grassroots in the GOP might reject his efforts.
Congressional Black field staffers in both major parties can and have served as bridges into our communities for elected official in the same way farm-raised White staffers bridged certain groups for Black congressmen with rural areas. Finally, I am proud to say I worked for three Georgia members of congress who actually had staffers in D.C. and Georgia who came from the other party. Constituents from the “other party” knew their opinions and views were heard in our “fair and balanced” policy debates in our Democrat offices—the same can’t be said about most southern Republican offices when I was a staffer.
Project Logic Ga 