GARY BAUER

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer


Will Holder Persecute George Zimmerman?

The Obama Administration is coming under increasing pressure from left-wing groups to prosecute George Zimmerman on federal hate crimes charges or civil rights violations. But even the Washington Post acknowledges that such charges are unlikely.

It is difficult to see why race is such an issue in this case involving two minorities. George Zimmerman is Hispanic. He protested abuses by the Sanford Police Department. The FBI interviewed more than 30 people last year and determined Zimmerman was not racially biased. Enough already!

Attorney General Eric Holder spoke yesterday to members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. During his remarks, Holder reminded the audience that the Justice Department had "opened an investigation into the [Zimmerman case]" last year. We may learn more when the Attorney General addresses the NAACP's convention in Orlando, Florida, this afternoon.

Holder also said that this case gives us the opportunity to "speak honestly about the complicated and emotionally-charged issues" involving race in America.

I wish we could have a real national conversation about race. But whenever the left calls for such a discussion, it inevitably degenerates into another round of bashing non-minorities and an indictment of America's past sins.

There is a lot we could legitimately discuss. For example, is racism growing among blacks? According to a recent Rasmussen poll, a plurality of blacks (31%) believe most blacks are racist, while only 24% of blacks believe most whites are racist. How does one explain that?

Why is it that every major goal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been reached -- from voting rights to non-discrimination in housing and employment -- yet so many minority children are falling through the cracks, educationally and economically?

Why is the "gangsta" culture so prevalent in minority areas and why don't urban politicians condemn it?

What is causing the massive breakdown of the black family? It can't be the legacy of slavery. As Dr. Walter Williams has rightly observed, "The welfare state has done to black Americans what slavery couldn't do, what Jim Crow couldn't do, what the harshest racism couldn't do. And that is to destroy the black family."

Of course any conservation about race in America must begin with this truth: God created us all in His image and that is the basis of our equality. "All men are created equal," as the Declaration of Independence says, and are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." That is the basis of our dignity and worth. Just think, if we were actually teaching that in our schools!


Big Labor's Big Betrayal

Obamacare is a bad law. While conservatives have been warning about it for years, others are slowly coming to realize its adverse consequences. One retiring Senate Democrat said that Obamacare's implementation could be a "huge train wreck." Even the Obama Administration was forced to acknowledge the law's shortcomings when it agreed to suspend the employer mandate.

But that's not all. Big Labor is feeling betrayed by Obamacare's broken promises, and that's creating some big headaches for congressional Democrats who are loath to admit that anything is wrong. In fact, Harry Reid said just days ago that Obamacare has been "wonderful for America," and Nancy Pelosi has praised it as "fabulous."

Last week a trio of union bosses, including James Hoffa of the Teamsters, fired off a very blunt letter to Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid and House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi demanding action. You can almost hear Tony Soprano saying, "Gee, Mr. and Mrs. Leader, that's a nice little caucus you got there. It'd be a real shame to see anything happen to it." Consider these excerpts:

"Dear Leader Reid and Leader Pelosi:

"When you and the President sought our support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you pledged that if we liked the health plans we have now, we could keep them. Sadly, that promise is under threat. …the ACA will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class. …

"We have also been strong supporters of you. In campaign after campaign we have put boots on the ground, gone door-to-door to get out the vote, run phone banks and raised money to secure this vision. Now this vision has come back to haunt us. …

"Time is running out: Congress wrote this law; we voted for you. We have a problem; you need to fix it. The unintended consequences of the ACA are severe. Perverse incentives are already creating nightmare scenarios…

"[W]e can no longer stand silent in the face of elements of the Affordable Care Act that will destroy the very health and wellbeing of our members along with millions of other hardworking Americans. …but the law as it stands will hurt millions of Americans including the members of our respective unions. We are looking to you to make sure these changes are made."

Good luck with that! House Republicans will put legislation on the floor this week to suspend Obamacare's individual mandate, since the White House has suspended the employer mandate. But I bet Democrats will overwhelmingly vote against it, just as they have opposed every other effort to repeal or significantly reform Obamacare.

* * * * *