Slate article on black Tea Party candidate Star Parker: "Anti-Welfare Queen"

[alp227]

Star Parker, an African-American Republican with Tea Party ties and killer cheekbones that serve her well on frequent Fox News appearances, looks younger than the fiftysomething she is. In her run for a congressional seat in California, Parker has been known to show up at campaign events with a flower tucked behind one ear. There's nothing of that softness, though, in the titles of her three books, White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay (2006), Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It (2003), and Pimps, Whores and Welfare Brats: From Welfare Cheat to Conservative Messenger (1998).

As the last title indicates, Parker also happens to be a former welfare recipient and single mother who has talked publicly about her four abortions, all of which occurred before she became a born-again Christian and subsequently attended college for a degree in marketing. Since then, she has further remade herself as a far-right commentator and founded the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education, meant to combat poverty by encouraging private ownership and personal responsibility. She's been on The View, Oprah, and, according to her bio, spoke at the 1996 RNC (though her name doesn't appear on the official docket of floor speeches). Parker not only blames welfare for the financial crisis but cites it as a major reason for her decision to run for office.

To the constituents in her own district—which includes Compton, Long Beach, parts of Watts, and Signal Hill—she is a radical departure from the district's traditionally liberal candidates. But Parker may be aiming for a national platform. She represents a type that often pops up as companion to right-wing movements fixated on personal responsibility: The welfare mother turned bootstrap success, come to tell all others dependent on government how they should free themselves. Democratic incumbent Laura Richardson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, won the seat by a comfortable margin in a 2007 special election. But recently she's been plagued by a personal financial scandal—Richardson defaulted on a subprime mortgage and has been accused of receiving preferential treatment from her lender—the perfect foil for someone who wants to trumpet that message of personal responsibility.

In addition to her books and television appearances, Parker regularly writes a syndicated column for Scripps Howard News Service, which runs on the prominent conservative Web site Townhall.* She recently held a "campaign" event in Wichita, Kan., a location that seems slightly inconvenient for the good people of Compton. Still, she's raised $318,930, an impressive amount for someone without a shot in hell. (By way of comparison, former Slate blogger Mickey Kaus raised $54,936 in his recent, similarly quixotic California Senate primary bid, and Richardson's raised $369,449.)

Full article: http://www.slate.com/id/2268090/pagenum/all

Of course, Parker ain't the first black conservative to use allusions to slavery, segregation, and ghetto life to demean government assistance programs; former Rep. JC Watts called the black leadership establishment "race-hustling poverty pimps" in the Republican response to the '97 State of the Union.

[Raschel]

1. Next up, the anti-immigration Hispanic, and the anti-health care bill person with disabilities.

[alp227]

2. Umm, isn't Marco Rubio already an anti-immigration Hispanic?

For example he's spoken out for more border security in response to Arizona's now-watered-down SB 1070. The Miami Herald reported in February: "Rubio still favors excluding illegal immigrants from the formulas that dole out $400 billion in federal aid and seats in Congress. His position puts him at odds with his campaign opponent, Gov. Charlie Crist, and many other elected officials who say leaving out illegal immigrants would keep the state from getting its fair share." However, Rubio's parents immigrated to the US from Cuba. Wonder how Rubio's immigration policy would affect other Cuban exiles like his own parents.

[Green_Lantern]

3. Parker used to be on welfare so I wonder where she'd be without..

The govt. assistance she wants to deny others.

I hate when conservatives push the argument that giving people govt. assistance means liberals think the people are inferior.

Parker proves welfare can help people get out of poverty if coupled with education and encouragement.

[blacksaber69]

4. the math of welfare

if you look at all the people on welfare only about 1 in 10 ever manage to "boot strap" so to speak... so is it worth it to spend billions on the chance that a few will become contributing members of society?

[Green_Lantern]

5. I think our welfare system needs improvement but some people

Really need assistance...not all of them are lazy and have 8 kids.

The welfare system in countries such as Germany are more broad ranging and empowering,they have more resources.

We short change it here and I think it's because many people have this irrational fear that it just goes to "lazy minorities."

Now with the recession more Americans have been less critical of public assistance so the right switched to attacking "illegal immigrants" getting welfare.