Brazile Urges Blacks to Support Obama, Protect Gains

citizen |

by Cash Michaels

Special to the NNPA fromThe Wilmington Journal

The interim chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) says the nation, and specifically the African-American community, has to stick with President Barack Obama and the Democrats during these tough times to keep the country safe and secure.

But, in an exclusive taped interview Tuesday with the weekly radio program Make it Happen on Power 750 WAUG-AM/Power 750.com, top Washington insider and CNN/ABC commentator Donna Brazile also admitted that there have been times during the past two years when she didnt necessarily agree with some of the presidents policies.

Look, I havent always been pleased with the president of the United States, the renowned Democratic Party strategist and interim DNC chair said. Ive had times when Ive had to differ with the president. Whether its been the housing policies or the firing of [former USDA official] Shirley Sherrod, or just recently, giving the Republicans the opportunity [during the recent 2011 budget negotiations] to write their own narrowly-based social agenda on the [Washington] D.C. budget where I live, Im not always in the cheerleading section.

Sometimes Im on the sidelines, sometimes I like to be right there on the field getting a little dirty with the rest of them. But, the bottom-line is Im proud to be a Democrat, Im proud to be an American, [but] more importantly Im proud to say that Barack Obama is my choice for president in 2012, Brazile said.

Its the kind of frank, pull-no-punches talk that Brazile, 51, is known. The first African-American ever to run a major political partys bid for president when she took the reins of then Vice President Al Gores 2000 campaign, the Louisiana native has earned the title of Washington powerbroker, serving as DNC vice chair; managing her own D.C. consulting firm, hitting the talk and keynoters circuit at colleges and universities across the nation; and now chairing the Democratic National Committee until Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, is officially voted in, which is expected to happen shortly.

But right now, Braziles passion is supporting the president, and making sure that both he and the Democrats are successful in 2012.

The country is still in the throes of a very critical economic downturn, Brazile told WAUG-AM. While weve seen 13 months of promising job growth, President Obama is committed to see that every American who is looking for a job will be able to find work in his/her hometown.

Balancing spending cuts with revenue attractions in the midst of a slow economic recovery has to be a balanced approach to getting our fiscal house in order, Brazile maintains, countering the popular Republican mantra that America as a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

The poor and middle-class have definitely been hurt during the recovery, so government must do all it can to make them whole, as much as possible, Brazile says, particularly through job growth.

Brazile says the president is committed to make sure that the federal government lives within its means, and will make well thought-out cuts to the budget where needed.

But Republicans, per their plan to drastically cut the federal budget through Medicare/Medicaid, education, affordable housing, and other vital programs, while simultaneously giving millionaires and billionaires generous tax cuts, threaten the governments social safety net where its needed the most. The trend is already being seen in local and state governments across the nation, and Brazile says Americans must take note, and then take action.

Brazile also urges communities to support President Obamas insistence on winning the future through investing more in education, and for individuals to improve their own educational opportunities to better prepare themselves for upcoming challenges and opportunities.

If youre living on the margins; if youre living without the means to dip into your savings account, then the recession weve just experienced will have a devastating impact on communities of color, Brazile says, maintaining that communities should not be pitted against each other in times of great struggle.

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