In a recent letter to a group of his conservative friends, Rev. Wayne Perryman, of Seattle, described a conversation he had with one of his sons. His son wanted to know what he thought would happen after Obama leaves office. As Reverend Wayne described it, he took a deep breath, and said, “I think it will be hell for blacks in America… After Obama, very few whites will trust blacks. Most will feel that they gave a black man a chance and he blew it.”
He went on to say, “I predicted that an Obama presidency would divide America by race and few believed me. Now I see clear signs of a backlash coming and it will not be good for black conservatives. The Tea Party movement and the opposition to Obama’s policies is now viewed by many as a white movement, not a conservative black and white movement…
“Does this mean that white conservatives will participate in the backlash? Yes, I think some will… particularly those who will not take the time to distinguish conservative blacks from liberal blacks. But I think most of the backlash will come from white liberals. Why? Because white liberals never fell in love with black folks; they merely fell in love with the black vote. They never wanted a relationship with blacks, they only wanted their vote and many of them are also upset and disappointed with Obama. They know that Obama will be the reason why many white independents will vote conservative…”
All of that may be true, but there is another side to the coin… the growing number of black conservatives who have been forced out of the political “closet” by what they see as the horrors of the Obama Administration. The 2008 mid-term elections have produced some excellent black congressional candidates who are now engaged in battle with their Democratic opponents. It is important that we be familiar with who they are because some of them will soon be stars on the national political stage as they “integrate” the Congressional Black Caucus. They all need our support and our encouragement. The following is a brief introduction to ten of the candidates:
Charlotte Bergmann – 9th Congressional District of Tennessee – Memphis businesswoman Charlotte Bergmann is challenging two-term incumbent Steve Cohen in the November General Election. Cohen is the first white Democrat to represent the largely African American district… formerly represented by Harold Ford… and the first Jewish congressman from Tennessee.
Ms. Bergmann holds an Associate Degree in Computer Systems from the State Technical Institute at Memphis, a BS in Telecommunications and Management from Christian Brothers University, and a CMBA in Information Systems Management. She is a successful business-woman, the owner of a strategic project marketing company, Effective PMP, LLC. Her mailing address is: Bergmann for Congress, 3242 Players Club Circle, Memphis, TN 38125.
Stephen Broden – 30th Congressional District of Texas – Stephen Broden, Senior Pastor of the Fair Park Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas, is seeking to unseat nine-term Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson who was recently charged with misuse of Congressional Black Caucus scholarship funds by the House Ethics Committee.
Broden is President of the Fair Park Friendship Center, a community-centered gathering place for groups such as the Boy Scouts and the Girls’ Club. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA and an MA in Communications and later studied at the Dallas Theological Seminary. He is also well-known as the co-host of Life and Liberty, a radio talk show on KSKY, 660 AM, and as the voice of KSKY’s one-minute “thought of the day” commentaries. His mailing address is: Stephen Broden for U.S. Congress, P.O. Box 1327, DeSoto, Texas 75123.
Ryan Frazier – 7th Congressional District of Colorado – Ryan Frazier is a businessman challenging two-term Democrat Ed Perlmutter. The district was last won by a Republican in 2004 with 55% of the vote.
Frazier holds a BS Degree from Columbia College and an MS from Regis University. He was elected to the Aurora City Council in November 2003 and re-elected to an at-large seat in 2007, representing all of the 312,000 citizens in Colorado’s third largest city. He served 5 years in the U.S. Navy, assigned to the National Security Agency (NSA), where he led a team of intelligence analysts responsible for a high-priority mission critical to national security. He is also a national advisory board member for Engineers Without Borders. His mailing address is: Ryan Frazier for Colorado, P.O. Box 140182, Edgewater, Colorado 80214
Isaac Hayes – 2nd Congressional District of Illinois
Isaac Hayes is an ordained minister on Chicago’s south side. He faces incumbent Jesse Jackson, Jr. in the November election. He holds a degree in Information Systems from Illinois State University. He has worked as a salesman for APAC Customer Service and as an Assistant to the Vice-President of ABN AMRO Mortgage Company. His mailing address is: Citizens for Isaac Hayes, P.O. Box 996, Richton Park, Illinois 60471.
Bill Marcy – 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi
Security systems specialist Bill Marcy is opposing nine-term Congressman Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. Marcy is a nine-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department. After leaving police work he entered the private sector, serving as Director of Security at a number of prominent businesses including Omni Hotels International, Eden Roc Hotel, and Cedars Medical Center. His mailing address is: Bill Marcy for Congress, 501 Fairway Drive, Suite 5A, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39183.
Star Parker – 37th Congressional District of California – Former welfare mother Star Parker is a name well known to conservatives across the country. Her opponent in November is Democrat Laura Richardson who won the seat in a 2007 special election. Since arriving in Congress, Richardson has been plagued by charges that her failure to pay her mortgages and car expenses has led to foreclosures and other financial difficulties.
Ms. Parker is a regular commentator on CNN, CNBC, CBN, FOX News, and the BBC. She has debated Jesse Jackson on BET, fought for school choice on Larry King Live, defended welfare reform on the Oprah Winfrey Show, debated Michael Moore regarding healthcare reform on The View, and spoke at the 1996 Republican National Convention. Her mailing address is: Star Parker for Congress 2010, P.O. Box 4625, Carson, CA 90749
Bill Randall – 13th Congressional District of North Carolina – Bill Randall is a twenty-seven year veteran of the United States Navy, having achieved the rank of Command Master Chief, the Navy’s highest non-commissioned rank. His Democratic opponent is four-term incumbent Bradley Miller, a graduate of Columbia Law School and the London School of Economics.
Randall holds a BS in Business Management from Bellevue University (Magna Cum Laude) and an MBA from National Louis University in Chicago. His mailing address is: Randall for Congress, P.O. Box 97905, Raleigh, NC 27624.
Tim Scott – 1st Congressional District of South Carolina – Businessman Tim Scott will face perennial Democrat candidate Ben Frasier, Jr. in November. In 1995, Scott became the first black Republican elected to county-wide office in South Carolina since Reconstruction. After serving on the Charleston County Council for 13 years, becoming Chairman in 2007, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2008. He was elected Chairman of the Freshman Caucus and House Whip. In the 2010 Republican primary run-off he defeated Paul Thurmond, son of the late Senator Strom Thurmond. His mailing address is: Tim Scott for Congress, 1405 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC 29407.
Chuck Smith – 3rd Congressional District of Virginia – Born on the 4th of July, Chuck Smith is a six-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps (Infantry) and a twenty-nine year veteran of the United States Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. He faces nine-term Democrat Bobby Scott in the November Election. Smith holds degrees in Political Science and Law from North Carolina Central University. He has also studied International Law at Old Dominion and Military Science at the Naval Justice School. His mailing address is: Virginians for Chuck Smith, P.O. Box 1575, Norfolk, Virginia 23501.
Allen West – 22nd Congressional District of Florida – Lt. Col. Allen West (U.S. Army, Ret.) is making his second run for Florida’s 22nd District seat against two-term Democrat Ron Klein. After more than twenty years Army service, West returned to Afghanistan under contract to the U.S. State Department to help train the Afghan Army. He holds a BS in Political Science from the Univ. of Tennessee, an MS in Political Science from Kansas State, and a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the US Army Command and General Staff Officer College. His mailing address is: Allen West for Congress, P.O. Box 1028, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441.
These men and women represent the future of race relations in America. What greater gift could we give our country than to send six or seven of them to “integrate” the Congressional Black Caucus? Let’s get behind them and give them our encouragement and our financial support