Racial Divide

Dean and Bush have made statements that conceivably can be deemed racially inappropriate.

Dean's statement:

During a meeting Friday with the Democratic black caucus, Dean praised black Democrats for their work for the party, then questioned Republicans' ability to rally support from minorities.

"You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people of color in a single room?," Dean asked to laughter. "Only if they had the hotel staff in here."

Bush's comment:

At a White House conference on Social Security in January, Bush said, "African-American males die sooner than other males do, which means the system is inherently unfair to a certain group of people. That needs to be fixed."


These same statements though rooted in truth are not, when dissected and looked at with an objective eye, factual. The Republican Party is notorious for not having many Black members since The Reconstruction as many Blacks since that era have chosen to be members of The Democratic Party thinking the party is more suitable to their needs. The Mayor of New York City, when giving his State of The City address, talked of tax breaks given to corporations who build hotels in NYC and justified the institution of such breaks as it provided "marginal" jobs to "marginal" workers. Bloomberg is a Democratic turned Republican and speaks the language of someone of priviledge who sees those in the service industry as marginal. Marginal often translates into menial and often translates further into minorities - people of color. This is the same type of language Dean was spouting in trying to make a joke. Hotel workers, in the language that he spoke, are minority and could not be a part of the Republican Party. The joke did and has not gone over well.

Then we have Bush who stated that Black men because they die sooner than other males will benefit from the privatization of Social Security. Bush and his people crunched the numbers incorrectly on Blacks to bolster this argument. Black men who reach the age of 65 have a death rate similar to other male groups between the ages of 65 to 90 years of age. In addition the only disparity that happens with Black males in death rates to other male groups happens at the time of birth and in adolescence. These specific death rates can be attributed to 80 percent of the difference in life expectancy between Black males and other groups of males. These black males are babies and teenagers, not old timers. So Bush's theory that Blacks will benefit from the privatization of Social Security per high death rates when these men are of an age to receive these benefits is blatantly incorrect and has no relevance. The 20 percent of the negative disparity in rates for deaths of Black men to other groups of men that is factual and thus, concerning, may leave behind family members who will benefit from Social Security funds to which they are entitled as a result of these deaths. For family members of Black men who die in adulthood to benefit from the accrual of these men's Social Security also discredits Bush's theory on why Social Security should be privatized. The benefits can still be utilized after the death of Black men who are of retirement age by family members.

The statements of Bush and Dean have caused many to re-examine the racial divide these two have flaunted to bolster their incorrect arguments.