Lonzie Cox, Jr. – 2/7/13

This page was last updated on February 11, 2013.

Blacks still ignored; Lonzie Cox, Jr.; Beaver County Times; February 7, 2013. Though my friends have fun at my expense by referring to him as my “Cousin Lonzie,” I am not related to Mr. Cox.

Most of Mr. Cox’s at least 84 letters since 2004 are tinged with race, and all take leftist positions. The most recent previous Cox letter I critiqued was “Different decisions.” You can find more Cox letters in the archives (2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004).

When it comes to race issues, Mr. Cox is pretty tolerant if you share his leftist ideology. For example, Mr. Cox had no problem with the late-Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), a former KKK officer, but referred to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as an “Uncle Tom.”

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Of all the speeches made by Martin Luther King Jr., the most quoted one is the one he made at the March on Washington in 1963, where he shared his dream for a better America.

“King was not held back by his dreams but motivated to lead the civil rights movement by practical example. He started the so-called ‘I Have a Dream’ speech by pointing out black Americans were treated differently than others. Early in his speech, black America was filing a grievance. Americans, including recent immigrants, had found funds available, while blacks were given paper excuses marked insufficient funds.”

[RWC] Here’s a link to the full text of Mr. King’s speech.

Here’s the section of the speech to which Mr. Cox referred: “In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” Read the entire speech and you’ll find no mention of “immigrants.”

I find Mr. Cox’s paraphrasing of Mr. King interesting, but predictable.

“Even now, in the era of President Obama, blacks are ignored at the back of the line even when attempting to vote. When I point out the Obama administration’s hyper caution on civil rights issues, people tell me he needs more time because he’s president of all, not just blacks. I don’t want to hear that stupidity again.”

[RWC] What the heck is Mr. Cox complaining about?

“Please. I know the mindless Republicans block him relentlessly. But I think when we support someone -- anyone -- for office, we expect some special attention to our needs. That’s why people vote. Why else would they bother? Black unemployment at 14 percent? That’s crazy.”

[RWC] Mr. Cox appears to forget President Obama had significant Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress for two years (2009-2010), including a period with a filibuster-proof Senate. As we saw with Obamacare, Republicans couldn’t stop anything Mr. Obama wanted even when not a single Republican voted for it. If something Mr. Cox wanted didn’t get passed during those two years, he can’t blame Republicans. Mr. Cox doesn’t tell us which of his desired policies not enacted should have been.

In the second paragraph, Mr. Cox appeared to complain “black Americans were treated differently than others,” yet here he says “[blacks] expect some special attention” because they voted for Mr. Obama. Mr. Cox then claims “special attention … [is] why people vote.” Mr. Cox just described why lefties like him vote, to get special treatment and goodies paid for by someone else. Conservatives true to their ideology vote to make sure we’re all treated equally.

FactCheck.org reports black voters have been voting overwhelmingly for Democrat presidential candidates since at least 1936. Further, FactCheck.org asserts, “No Republican presidential candidate has gotten more than 15 percent of the black vote since … [President] Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act.” What did that slavish (Yes, I meant to use that term.) loyalty to Democrats for 76 years get black voters? “Black unemployment at 14 percent?” Other than meaningless gestures, Democrats ignore black voters because they know they’ll always get the overwhelming majority of black votes. Republicans can more or less ignore black voters because they know they can win without support from black voters. Further, true conservative principles like individual liberty and limited government preclude special treatment of any group and, as Mr. Cox demonstrates, black voters – and lefty voters in general – have been taught to believe equal treatment is really discrimination.

Please read “Lefty race baiters,” “Democrats – The party of civil rights – not,” and “Republicans – Civil Rights.”