Hot Topics Among The Black Center-Right

Sarah Palin Steps Down As Alaska Governor: What's Next?

Adrienne Ross, a conservative blogger from New York who is in Alaska on vacation and who attended the speech as part of an effort to draft Ms. Palin for the 2012 presidential campaign, writes and provides photos: "Governor Palin steps down today...uh, steps aside..okay, let me say what I mean: Governor Palin steps up today. She is now free to move into a higher calling and effect change on a larger scale.....As I listened to her at one point, I said to Tracey and Jill: She is so presidential -- and she is. I was captivated by her words. Why do multitudes of people gather to hear her speak -- every time? Simple: She speaks common sense. She understands the Constitution; she understands states' rights; she understands government's role in the lives of citizens; and she understands where that role ends and personal responsibility begins; she understands that energy independence is vital to America's safety, and that we can care about developing our own resources and care about the environment simultaneously, as she said today; she understands that our military sacrifices greatly for America, and we must honor them and protect their efforts. Sarah Palin understands that the way out of national debt is not going into deeper debt by spending more money. Like I said, she has common sense -- something severely lacking in the leaders of our nation today."

Quentin Banks, a conservative in St. Louis, wasn't inspired by her speech: "Okay, I like Sarah but this speech is doing nothing for me. About to watch Jack Hayford. I always come away with something good from him."

Christine Byington, a conservative Republican in Greenville, S.C., zeroes in on the media: "I think the reason the media are obsessed with Palin's next move is b/c they are obsessed w/the need to talk about her."

DarkKnight, a conservative Republican, writes on Twitter: "Critics wonder what credibility Palin will have now that she's no longer guv. Meanwhile Huck is doing magic tricks on tv."

Jeff Easley, a libertarian-conservative of New Jersey, is not impressed with Ms. Palin: "but all of this talk about self sufficiency, Alaska takes more federal funds than it gives". He continues: "the 5 kids, blue collar husband, religion, love of fishing/hunting is what keeps her popular, not her actual policies". More: "remember this though: she was picked by a moderate Republican for the purposes of identity politics to attract Hillary votes" and "now the woman picked for identity politics purposes is supposed to be the conservative savior? LMAO".

Joseph, a conservative Republican, responds to Mr. Easley: "I'm not saying she's the savior. We need a bunch of good, solid conservatives. No saviors. She can do it, but she needs work."

Aaron Laramore, a moderate-conservative Republican in Indianapolis, writes: "#sarahpalin stepping down feels to me the same way Perot quitting his campaign did. A letdown."

Kevin Holder, a libertarian, prefers another rising GOP star: "The more I listen to Sarah Palin, the more I realize I'd rather be listening to Bobby Jindal."

RoSiTa08, a conservative Republican in New York, writes on Twitter: "To all you Palin haters...we've only just begun.....we WILL take back America b 4 u destroy her".

Dywan Washington, a conservative Republican: "God Bless Sarah Palin, ladies & gntlmen [sic] when I think of a strong conservative who excites the GOP base I think of Sarah Palin"

Gates-gate

African American Conservatives writes on Twitter: "Those accusing Crowley of racial profiling, including Obama, need to ask what he did that a Black officer would not have done".

Christine Byington, a conservative Republican in Greenville, S.C., sees a pattern: "Obama's offered a beer to Gates/Crowley? Didn't he do the same for Hannity? Bad message: Diffuse situations w/beer".

James Davermann, a conservative Republican in New York, on President Obama's "acted stupidly" comment criticizing the Cambridge police for arresting his friend Henry Louis Gates: "The comment Obama made doesn't trouble me nearly as much as his inability to see the damage it has inflicted throughout the country. It's a sure sign of his arrogance and utter lack of experience that he stubbornly refused to acknowledge his role in flaring racial tensions by jumping to conclusions on the issue not with facts, but with his own prejudices. The teaching moment he referred to should in fact be his."

Laurencia DuSantos, a conservative in D.C., concurs with Mr. Davermann: "Focusing on his immature and premature judgment on the case is proper because he obviously acted as prosecutor, jury, and judge in a case involving his very good friend. That is cause for alarm! As someone said, he decided to throw the cop and the entire PD under the bus even before considering the facts. And to think he made light of the whole incident in another presser the next day, asking that they resolve it over beer is even more worrying. He has managed to reopen a festering wound in a very nonchalant and insensitive manner. Something just doesn't seem to click upstairs with him sometimes. So much for being a post-racial president!"

Dennis Sanders, a moderate-liberal Republican in Minnesota, argues that white conservatives aren't reacting fairly to the situation: "Now, I think what happened between Mr. Gates and Sgt. Crowley is not clear cut as I thought it once was. Crowley isn’t some bigoted cop. But I also know that, like Professor Gates, I would also be a bit apprehensive around a white cop because I don’t know how things will transpire. It’s an automatic reflex based on history. Yes, it might be the result of an overactive imagination, but it has its basis in a reality where black men have been mistreated simply because they were black. I may disagree with President Obama on many things, but I can understand why his first reaction concerning the whole incident was one of saying the policy 'acted stupidly.' He was responding from a visceral feeling that I think is in the hearts of many of black man: that some policeman is going go overboard on them because of their race. Maybe it was the wrong thing to say. But I can understand why he said it.....I have long believed that liberals tend to be too sensitive on racial issues, to the point that no one can talk about them or they become excuses for people of color to indulge in victimhood. But I also think that conservatives tend to be too dull to the experience of blacks in America and the scars that we still carry with us concerning the legacy of racism. White conservatives want to believe that this was all done a long time ago and that we African Americans should just move on. But the fact is, those scars take a long time to heal. In short, white conservatives want us to 'get over it.' Maybe in time we will, but it isn’t that easy. You can’t just undo 400 years of history in a few decades. My fellow conservatives might think I’m just whining when I share my fears concerning white cops, but they are real for me just as they might have been for Mr. Gates and millions of other African American men. I wish for a moment that they could understand that.

Health Care

Ty Hogan, a conservative Republican, writes that "if one accepts the president’s broader goals of wider access to health care and cost containment, his economic logic regarding the public option is hard to follow. Consumer choice and honest competition are indeed the foundation of a successful market system, but they are usually achieved without a public provider. We don’t need govt-run grocery stores or gas stations to ensure that American can buy food and gas."

Wayne Jackson Jr., a libertarian in Florida, writes on Facebook: "Obamacare, yes I have great reservations on it. I am worried this will not decrease private costs, but increase them too hi and bankrupt the health insurance companies. Are we heading for a financial collapse of America?"

The Obama Administration

Lewis Gilchrist, a conservative in Philadelphia, writes on Facebook: "'Overpromising and Underperforming' Obama Asks for Patience on Economy, Unemployment. In Corporate [A]merica where he has never worked he manages to be in the pockets of [l]obbyists. [A]fter six months of the same we would be 'FIRED' and escorted to the door by security."

Politik Ditto, a conservative Democratic blog, sees media diversion in order to aid U.S. President Barack Obama: "Current President Barack Obama approval rating's are getting lower and lower in the polls, his health care reform package sees no light at the end of the tunnel and Barry's pissing off law enforcement all around the country by sticking his nose where it didn't belong regarding the recent Henry Louis Gates brouhaha. But TIME magazine's more worried about the waning days of former President Bush and his VP Dick Cheney, as it relates to the Scooter Libby non-pardon..."