WHO SAYS THE DEMOCRATS DON’T HAVE ANY NEW IDEAS?
If I were Howard Dean, I would very quietly and without much fuss, lock John Conyers in a closet until after the November elections:
The left-wing Democrat who will become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee if his party wins back Congress in November wants to hold full-blown congressional hearings on whether the government should pay black Americans reparations for slavery.
Michigan Rep. John Conyers has attracted attention in recent months for his House resolution calling for an impeachment investigation against President Bush.
But another Conyers cause célèbre is reparations, which he’s been advocating since 1989, when he first introduced legislation to establish what he calls “The Commission to Study Reparations Proposals for African American Act” (H.R. 40).
This is a great idea. No, I mean it. The precedent being established for paying reparations to groups whose economic exploitation built up the United States economy in the 19th and 20th century will allow every single immigrant group standing to agitate for reparations.
Don’t know what the American people would think of the idea, though. It would be better if Dean took Representative Conyers by the hand and led him (along with the KosKids, the DU’ers, and the Hampsterites) where they were all about 100 miles from the nearest TV camera or microphone. Right now, they may be the only thing standing in the way of a smashing victory for Democrats in November. But not if the voters get a whiff of Conyer’s scathingly brilliant ideas about reparations.
Why stop at those whose ancestors were slaves? Aside from the obvious race baiting by Conyers and his fellow racialists, the logic inherent in reparations bypasses the notion of justice and instead, settles on a tote board system of economic accountability where the US government is liable due to its enabling of the exploitation either constitutionally as in the case of slavery or through a failure to pass legislation that would have given immigrants basic protections against the obvious exploitive nature of 19th century capitalism (ignorance is no excuse!).
The real problem with reparations for the descendants of slaves is the impossibility of rendering such a program with even a smidgen of fairness.
Who, pray tell, would be eligible? And how, in God’s name, could such a program be fairly administered?
Given the paucity of historical records, it would be an impossibility to judge who was deserving and who wasn’t. And what of citizens of mixed race? How “black” does one have to be in order to collect the bounty? I can see an entire new judicial court system set up to adjudicate claims: Race Court.
Do you grant more in reparations to someone whose ancestors were kidnapped in the 18th century? Do you give less to those whose family came later? And, just so that I know what I’m supposed to be feeling guilty about, are we only paying for the sin of slavery or are my children and grandchildren going to be paying for Jim Crow and segregation as well?
Most of my family came here in the 1880’s, long after slavery was dead and buried. Am I to suffer for the sins of my race? Not even paying for the sins of my father or grandfather? What a novel indictment!
Yes, the Democrats have some new ideas they should be running on in November. It’s a good thing that Conyers is going to be too busy impeaching President Bush to turn his attention to this extortion scheme. Otherwise, he might be free to do some serious mischief to the idea of fairness and the rule of law.
My great-great-grandparents’ farm was a stop on the Underground Railroad. My ancestors moved from slave-owning states (though none ever owned slaves) to free states before the War, and several members of my family (although none in my direct line, as they were either too old or too young) enlised in the GAR..
Do I get to be exempt?
Comment by goddessoftheclassroom — 5/10/2006 @ 7:58 pm
During the California recall the california democrats (a STRONG majority) offered up several resolutions to an overwhelmingly democratic population. These resolutions included DRIVERS LICENCES for ILLEGAL immigrants, VOTING RIGHTS for illegaal immigrants, FREE STATE COLLEGE TUITION for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. They were overwhelmingly defeated by a majority, including a democratic majority.
I can only hope that the national dems do the same.
By the way, my dad came here in 1924 from Holland. My brother and I are the first of our family born here. We weren’t here during the civil war…. Do I get an exemption too?
This government, on both sides of the isle, has decended to so much BS I am afraid to think of the the consequences for our republic. To those elected to run our government…do what you were elected to do or GTFO.
Comment by Marv Loopstra — 5/10/2006 @ 8:40 pm
Hey Rick,
Just remember there were white slaves (ie indentured servants). Do they get money? If we are going to do reperations we need to do it correctly. First known story of slavery was when the Jewish people were the slaves of Egypt. I think Egypt and those who claim their descendancy should pay the Jewish people a certain amount of money. After that Greece, should pay all the nationalities that were conquered and enslaved. Or course it would involve giving reperations to other Greek people. After that, those of Italian descent will have pay up for all the transgressions of the Roman Empire. Of course also the Germans for whatever happened during the Holy Roman Empire. Then British, the Moghuls, the Ottoman’s……
You know what I think in the long run everyone has to pay everyone else.
Anyway back to real issues. I want to support the Democrats, but they act like they drink pint of bong water everyday.
Comment by Svenghouli — 5/11/2006 @ 12:36 am
Rick, fast forward in time a bit and you will hear “My ancestors slaved in your guestworkers program with leafblowers and lawnmowers. They worked on construction crews and cleaned houses. All of this at substandard wages and they were not even allowed to vote. We deserve reparations.”
Comment by Jim — 5/11/2006 @ 7:27 am
You can just imagine what the reparations debate is going to look like once the “get-the-hell-off-our-continent-and-go-back-to-Europe” Aztlan freaks get a hold of it.
Comment by Aitch748 — 5/11/2006 @ 1:00 pm
The sheer idocy of the whole reparations movement is beyond belief. The fact is that, although extremely wrong and immoral, this sort of thing has been going on since the dawn of civilization. Is every group, ethnic or otherwise, that can demonstrate that they were once enslaved, now to be eligible for some sort of reparations? Do Americans whose families emmigrated here after slavery was over need to concern themselves with reparations, or only those of western European descent who came to the US before 1865?
Do African Americans who are far more successful than their ancestors that remain in Africa also receive reaparations? If so, why? They are far ahead of where they otherwise would have been.
Once again, it comes down to political pandering and stooping for votes. Maybe we should just say “What the hell”, pay the reparations, let illegal aliens vote and attend free college, and turn in our guns at the door. Those “progressives” at the helm of the democratic party would like nothing better.
Comment by DebtBlog — 5/11/2006 @ 4:16 pm