Alabama Democratic Party official speaks of "our black agenda"

From the AP:

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — With five weeks to go before the election, black Democrats will meet Saturday to air complaints about their votes being taken for granted and about some Democratic candidates not being electable.

Joe Reed, chairman of the black wing of the Alabama Democratic Party, said Friday he organized the closed meeting at a conference center in Prattville after hearing complaints from black Democrats throughout the state.

"It's a black Democrat family meeting," he said. ...

State Rep. Alvin Holmes, a black member of the State Democratic Executive Committee, said Democrats are running competitive races for some offices, such as lieutenant governor and chief justice, but Democrats in a few races, such as the governor's race, need to do a better job of getting their message out.

"The governor's race hasn't picked up a lot of momentum on the Democratic side," said Holmes, D-Montgomery.

Reed's invitation to the meeting said it would have two purposes. One is to decide "what position we should take regarding supporting Democratic candidates who, in our opinion, are not electable, or whose agenda is unacceptable or not compatible with our black agenda."

The other purpose, he wrote, is to examine "the quality and status of our relationship as black Democrats to the state Democratic Party, and whether it is in our best interest to continue to maintain the present relationship, given the current political climate."

I hope that someday, the kind of racialist politics that Joe Reed preaches will be a thing of the past. If a high-ranking official of either party were to speak of "our white agenda," the press would be up in arms and politicians of all stripes would show uncommon unanimity in denouncing him. Mr. Reed, though, gets a pass. Clearly, there is a double standard.

To speak of a "black agenda" implies that there are "black issues": issues that are the exclusive concern of black citizens, or at least that are of much greater concern to blacks than they are to whites. That point is arguable, but I think that by and large, it is much more productive (and statesmanlike) to speak in universal terms rather than to follow Joe Reed's example of viewing virtually every issue as an issue of race. Economic growth, better educational opportunities, and a culture that produces good, law-abiding citizens are issues of concern to everyone. The real disagreement comes in the search for solutions, and that's where Joe Reed and other liberals have got it all wrong.

The fact is that if you ignore his black-vs.-white rhetoric, Joe Reed's "black agenda" really has little to do with race. Using his past policy preferences as a guide, it consists of the same liberal policies that have failed people of all ethnic groups whenever and wherever they have been tried: high taxes, expansive government, a softer criminal code, and a devotion to government-managed "anti-poverty" programs that have served to reinforce, rather than alleviate, the desperate cycle of dependency among the poor. If Reed were truly interested in helping solve the problems facing the black community, he would be promoting policies conducive to economic growth, entrepreneurial initiative, and individual responsibility. Maybe he'll surprise us all in the coming weeks by coming up with an agenda that does those things, but I wouldn't bet on it.