Marc Little: The Congressional Black Caucus’ Impeachment Sham Hurts Blacks

During a week when American workers have hope with the coming United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and a phase one trade deal with China driven by President Trump, key leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are driving to restore the status quo of anemic wages and high unemployment to their communities back home by attempting to unseat Trump, the only president in recent history to move the economic needle for blacks in America.

While Congresspersons Karen Bass, Al Green, and Maxine Waters, to name a few leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, push their impeachment sham against President Trump with great pride, they put their politics over the needs of the black families and communities they represent who are positively benefiting from the Trump administration’s policies.

Let’s assume for a moment that their farce results in the removal of President Trump. By all accounts, the Republican-controlled Senate will not vote to convict and therefore remove the president. However, the agenda being pushed by the members of the CBC must be exposed.

President Trump has been good for black Americans who will vote for him in unprecedented numbers come November 2020. Recent polling shows “black likely voter” support for Trump is as high as 34.5 percent as of November 23, 2019. Blacks are experiencing unprecedented quality of life gains and their CBC representatives are panicking. While 34.5 percent may not represent what the president will actually get from the black community in 2020, anything in excess of 15 percent will devastate the Democratic Party. That is, in part, why they must impeach the president.

Notwithstanding the early efforts to impeach a president who did nothing wrong by Rep. Waters and Rep. Al Green who said, “I’m concerned that if we don’t impeach this president, he will get reelected.”

The president has kept his promise to the black community. Here are just a few milestones:

The president eliminated $300 million of Historically Black College and Universities’ debt and allocated more than $100 million (a 17 percent increase since 2017) to HBCUs – which qualifies as the largest impact on black colleges and universities of any president and impacts 250,000 predominantly black students. When President Trump took office, many HBCUs were in a death spiral because of the federal ban preventing funding to faith-based institutions. The so-called racist President Trump lifted that ban impacting 40 HBCUs. This Executive Order is impacting black families today and right now. Does the Congressional Black Caucus care?

Further, Peter Kirsanow of the Obama Civil Rights Commission reported in 2010 that illegal immigration disproportionately impacts the black community. The president’s successful efforts to reduce illegal crossings and his hard line on illegal immigration directly promotes the well-being of black workers. The competition for certain low-wage jobs is down under President Trump and more blacks are back in the workforce as a result of President Trump’s policies. Does the Congressional Black Caucus care?

The bipartisan First Step Act (criminal justice reform) returned 1,000’s of sons and daughters to their communities. These released prisoners were 91 percent black. The conversations around the kitchen tables of black families will be brighter this Christmas. Families will be forever changed because of this Act. Does the Congressional Black Caucus care?

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act implemented Opportunity Zones that are geared toward fixing America’s broken zip codes in the inner cities and the tax cut itself has resulted in an average benefit of $5,000 to the middle-class. The faces of black communities all across the nation are changing because of the president’s revitalization plan and they are in better shape today. Does the Congressional Black Caucus care?

Finally, black unemployment is at an all-time 50 year record low (5.4 percent); blacks are participating in the work force like never before (63.2 percent Labor Force Participation Rate) and they are precipitously rolling off of SNAP as a result. Food Stamp enrollment fell from 43 million to 36.4 million under President Trump. The president’s policies added 266,000 jobs to the market just last month. Certainly, blacks have not arrived in the Promise Land of economic freedom, but they certainly are on the right path forward. Does the Congressional Black Caucus care?

The economy matters to all Americans and especially to black Americans. Does the Congressional Black Caucus care that blacks are better off today than they were four years ago? It appears they do not and there should be enough shame to go around. Politics before people will not end well for these so-called leaders.

Photo credit: mark6mauno (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved

Marc Little is an attorney and chairman of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education’s Board of Directors.