>From Dennis Tester's opinion piece, with my comments prefaced by [MS]:
---------- The Dec. 21 editorial "Lott's out / But GOP agenda will speak volumes" is total nonsense. It's a mystery to me why most black people don't vote Republican. The GOP agenda, which the Star Tribune finds so objectionable, includes: � School vouchers, which are popular with many black parents. [MS] - I think more parents, of any race, would prefer adequate funding of public schools. What is the GOP's record there? I know one 3rd Ward candidate who's endorsed by the party that considers the public schools to be a public trust and a public asset. As such, they should be supported by public taxes. To learn more about this novel concept, see: http://www.mngreens.org/platform.html#education So 3rd Ward residents who support such a view should consider Shane Price. � Government financial support for faith-based social services, which would affect black churches and enhance their ability to deliver services to their communities. [MS] - Or maybe blacks would prefer that social services simply be adequately funded rather than be scaled back in favor of a $1.3 trillion tax break over 10 years to the already very-wealthiest in the US. Or an unnecessary war with Iraq that will cost how many billions per day? So 3rd Ward residents who are against the war in Iraq should consider voting for the candidate who went on record to say he would support an anti-war resolution - that would be Shane Price. � Social Security reform featuring personal accounts that can be left to one's survivors. Black families would benefit from such a system because black men have a shorter life expectancy and are thus less likely than white men to see the benefits from their lifelong contributions to the current system. With this reform, at least they could leave the account balance to their children. [MS] - Or maybe black families would benefit from a system where black men did not have such a short life expectancy. What does the GOP propose to do about that? I know a 3rd Ward candidate who's got some pretty good experience in that area through his work with Hennepin County. That would be Shane Price. � Tax reform, including one proposal that would remove from the tax rolls any family earning less than $30,000 a year. [MS] - I'm sure a lot of struggling families of any race would support this. Too bad the GOP dropped it to pass the big tax cut for the filthy rich first, which combined with the big spending increases for homeland security, makes new tax cuts a little harder to push forth. Besides, didn't I read recently that there were those in the GOP who thought the poor were undertaxed? Maybe struggling families would prefer to support a candidate who offers ideas to help them find opportunities to develop stronger skills and get better jobs. Like the candidate who in his interview with Brown Tones, calls for "expanding localized economic opportunities; and creating new jobs and bringing more young men and other people who have been excluded into the development equation. The city is growing, and the population is growing and developments are happening without people of color at the table." If you missed the Brown Tones interview, that candidate is Shane Price. � And let's not forget gun rights. It seems to me that the people who are more likely to live in poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods should at least have the right to defend themselves. [MS] - First of all, I think this is a very bigoted view of blacks families, but that's what Mr. Tester put out there, so I'll go with it. So, maybe, just maybe blacks and anyone else living in poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods would prefer to support someone with a plan to help those neighborhoods pull themselves out of poverty and crime. See the previous statement for which candidate has a plan for that. Also note who has chosen to live in those poor, crime-ridden neighborhoods for his entire life and somehow has managed to survive without a gun - Shane Price. [MS] - Dennis Tester goes on to attack the Democrats and and their inability to help black families, but it's not up to me to defend them. I'll let someone from the DFL do that if they are so inclined. Mark Snyder Windom Park On 12/28/02 10:04 AM, "Victoria Heller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> From today's Strib.... > "GOP agenda is better suited to needs of the black community" > > http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/3557955.html _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
