A week before President Bush’s slash-and-burn budget proposals were made public, several black congressmen, including our own Congressman William Lacy Clay, met with him and came from the meeting saying they were looking forward to working with the president on issues of importance to the African-American community.
Work with him? Are you kidding? The president has little or no respect for blacks as a whole, regardless of several key cabinet appointments and indulging of conservative black religious leaders whose eyes are more on their church and personal bank accounts than the president’s immoral budget cut proposals.
It’s a shame that the white mayor of St. Louis, Francis G. Slay, had to be the first public official to openly criticize the president for his budget and specifically point out the hardships he intends to create for urban regions. It’s a shame that a white state senator, Pat Dougherty, was the first to blast wet-behind-the-ears Gov. Matt Blunt for his proposed heartless and cruel Medicaid cuts.
Slay, Alderwoman Peggy Ryan, developer Mary “One” Johnson and other community leaders denounced the proposed federal budget cuts to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program on Wednesday.
This year, the city of St. Louis will invest approximately $27 million from block grant sources.
St. Louis has also benefited greatly from the Hope VI program, and Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond has sang the praises of city redevelopment through this HUD-based funding. Guess what. Hope VI would get the ax, too, if this budget is passed in its current form.
It’s time for Clay and other black elected officials to face facts. Bush has not only declared war on Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also waging a life-and-death battle on black priorities. This is not time for niceties. It’s time to start firing back.