Those of us who are libertarians or conservatives well appreciate this. But - everyone else should, too. Candidate Mitt Romney is damned if he does and damned if he does not in a variety of respects. His concern about the fate of poor black children and their communities is just one of them.
When Mitt Romney came to an inner-city charter school here Thursday to promote his new education agenda, he received something of a history lecture about the persecution of blacks in America and the struggles of African American children to meet the academic achievements of their white counterparts.
But here in the streets of West Philadelphia, the emotion surrounding his contest with the nation’s first black president was raw, as dozens of neighborhood residents shouted, “Get out, Romney, get out!”
Romney arrived at Universal Bluford Charter School aboard his logo-emblazoned campaign bus and began his morning visit by meeting school and civic leaders at a formal roundtable session. “I come to learn, obviously, from people who are having experiences that are unique and instructive,” he said.
Residents, some of them organized by Obama’s campaign, stood on their porches and gathered at a sidewalk corner to shout angrily at Romney. Some held signs saying, “We are the 99%.” One man’s placard trumpeted an often-referenced Romney gaffe: “I am not concerned about the very poor.”
Madaline G. Dunn, 78, who said she has lived here for 50 years and volunteers at the school, said she is “personally offended” that Romney would visit her neighborhood.
“It’s not appreciated here,” she said. “It is absolutely denigrating for him to come in here and speak his garbage.”
So, the Obama campaign conspires to make it difficult for his opponent to even be heard, and political activitsts are presented in the news as mere neighborhood volunteers. Would anyone like to bet that if Romney makes no efforts to become involved and learn more about poverty and minority communities, that he would be excoriated for that? If you value your cash, I advise you do not take such bets....
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