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12/17/2002 07:26:00 PM | Brad Plumer A kinder, gentler GOP? Bryan Preston strategizes in the National Review Online today about how the Republicans can win the hearts of black voters. Step one, drag the Dems into a national debate over school vouchers. Step two, highlight the military's role in promoting and benefitting thousands of minority youngsters. Step three, show strong support for enterprise zones, or tax free zones to lure industry back into the inner city. Ummm... what? Now I like the school voucher idea (though Kumar can probably rake me over the coals on that one), and I think our soldiers should have benefits coming out their ears for what they do. But at least from personal experience I think the Republicans have sorely deluded themselves if they think these enterprise zones enjoy strong support among black voters. I saw one of these enterprise zones in action this summer, on 125th street in West Harlem (I lived on 135th). A sparkling new HMV, a Gap, a glitzy movie theater, some impressive fast food chains lined the streets. The whole thing looked swell, it really did, and during the daytime affluent white shoppers and teenagers flowed like wine. What was once a rather gritty part of town now seemed as vibrant as 42nd street. Now the downside. Rent and property prices were flying through the roof. Plenty of people were forced to pack up and leave. The woman I lived with had to rent out a room in her apartment just to make ends meet. She was not on welfare. She was not a crackwhore. She worked for Verizon and read countless books on how to save money and get ahead (alright, she was more complex than that... I'm just trying to give a picture of a hardworking, honest citzen here...). I don't think her problems were unique. On every street corner on any given day you could find a speaker angry about the current state of affairs, and plenty of people congregating to listen. Every wall and fence was plastered with signs complaining that the people of Harlem were being pushed further and further uptown. And did the Gap and HMV actually make the area nicer? Well, 125th street was nice, but even five blocks up the neighborhood got dirty and dangerous real fast. That Harlem has improved in that respect is probably owing more to Giuliani's policing system rather than the Gap. And just because the area isn't overflowing with poor people anymore doesn't mean those poor people have suddenly disappeared. They get pushed uptown, or even out of Manhattan (the woman I lived with finally moved out at the end of the summer). And while it may surprise many in the GOP, law abiding citzens compromise the overwhelming majority of Harlem. I have a feeling every urban center subject to "free enterprise zones" expriences this turn of events. And I have a very hard time believing that these zones enjoy strong support from black voters. perma link |
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