Why Did Senator Barbara Boxer go Racial?

Here we were in the Senate Dirksen building participating in a Congressional Hearing on the pending climate legislation known as the Waxman/Markey Bill.  This is a gigantic piece of proposed laws, taxes, regulations that will change the way America does business.  There are many costs involved and it appears that the African American community will be paying a disproportionate share of the job loss and increased energy costs.  No surprise as this is usually the case because we have no political apparatus that addresses that when it happens.  The Congressional Black Caucus will go with the flow or, in other words, receive the orders from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and act obediently.  If we allow business as usual:  we lose.  

So, it is with great fervor that the National Black Chamber of Commerce attempts to change this bill or contribute to its demise.  The right way to do this is through debate.  We got our act together by commissioning a very thorough study on the Waxman/Markey Bill analyzing the economic impact on urban and rural communities.  The study done by the reputable Charles River Associates clearly points to our concerns.  We, the last hired and first fired, will face the brunt of the costs and there will be little or no benefits achieved for it.  So when the time came for me and Senator Barbara Boxer to go face to face about this important issue, she did something that I would have never expected.  She began getting racial.  Utilizing that old Jim Crow tactic of trying to pit my Black group against another – thus destroying ourselves, she went on an embarrassing rant. 

First, she wanted me to attack the NAACP.  That didn’t work so then she pulled out the 100 Black Men.  Still, I didn’t take the bait.  Finally, I went on the offensive and blasted her for her condescending manner replete with racial innuendo.  I challenged her to argue against the study not wander off talking about any Black organization that came to her mind.  Within a short time, we were yelling at each other on national television and the Internet.  In fact, there have been over 500,000 views on YouTube showing the verbal match.  Radio shows and television stations have been covering it.  Yes, Barbara Boxer showed her racial animus.  A persona that probably has not been detected by the general public until now and that is mysterious.  Her overall inference was, what is a Black organization doing with a sophisticated study?  This is white folks business and I got my Black groups to counter your Black butt.  It was Bigotry 101.

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.  Let us remember the political game that brought her into prominence.  She is the mastermind behind the “Anita Hill attack Clarence Thomas scenario”.  Remember that, it pitted a Black female against a Black male and distracted us from the main issue – his legal talents.  This modus operandi (M.O.) also appeared in the 2004 election in Ohio when she went after another Black male, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell using the late Stephanie Tubbs Jones to do the fighting.  Let us not forget that totally degrading attack on the Honorable Condoleezza Rice.  The personal and heartless smears she put on her own constituents were less than moral.  Yes, when it comes to Black folks Senator Barbara Boxer turns into a monster.  So it is an easy question:  Why did Senator Barbara Boxer go racial?  That is what racists do.  When they get up against the wall, their racial persona takes over and all of the ugly comes out like a gusher.

How does a state like California whose population is over 54% minority have such a person representing them as their Senator?  Something is going to have to give.  California is in a state of financial ruin and social upheaval.  What the people of my native state need is leadership that is inclusive, positive and certainly productive.  They need to start looking for new leaders and cultivating a process that will yield good “fruits”.

In my 16 years of testifying before Congress, I have never had to deal with racial animus, direct or indirect, until now.  It is a “bump in the road” if we all deal with it now.  If we ignore it, it will turn into a cancer and fester throughout our political apparatus to the detriment of America.  Former Senator Trent Lott made a verbal slip and paid dearly.  What Senator Boxer has done is a major revelation and we must act accordingly.  God does not like ugly nor should the American people.

Mr. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO, of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc.  Website: www.nationalbcc.org.  Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .