Black leftwing writer Chris L Robinson over at the Daily Kos recently took me to task for my article " Why Black Americans Should Vote Republican " published here at American Thinker. He began his article by first disparaging the American Thinker and the Honorable Colonel Allen West.

After reading his article, I noticed that he had not included a link to my original article for his readers to read in its entirety. I informed him via twitter of what I thought was an innocent oversight by him. He then included a link as the following caveat:

Thu Aug 07, 2014 at 5:40 AM PT: Patricia Dickson has contacted me on Twitter to point out that I didn't add a direct link to her American Thinker post. I feel obligated to do so. I'm sure she'll do the same with my article if she chooses to respond. But be warned. It's a cesspool over there. http://www.americanthinker.com

My first question to Mr. Robinson is why not include a direct link to my article to begin with. Secondly, after I informed you of your oversight, why is it that you added a link to the American Thinker blog as a caveat to your readers? Thirdly, are your readers not mature adults who can decide for themselves whether a particular blog is a cesspool? After he posted a direct link to my article, an angry black woman sent me an incoherent email that in so many words told me to shut up.

Mr. Robinson takes issue with me on a number of points that I presented as valid reasons that black Americans would benefit from voting Republican. He especially took issue with my proposing school choice (vouchers) as an alternative to poor performing public schools. It appears that I received his harshest criticism when I mentioned food stamps.

I love this next line in your article because it captures the sleaziness of Republican thinking:“The Republican Party believes that individuals would rather have jobs instead of food stamps, dignity instead of government handouts.” Right. And it believes the way to give poor people that dignity is to first, and above all, cut food stamps and force people into any job they can get. And if there aren’t any jobs to be had or if the only jobs that do exist don’t pay enough to survive -- tough. The poor will still have their dignity and the well-off will still have their money and isn’t that what America is all about?

Just let that sink in: “force people into any job they can get” Is he saying that poor people are not supposed to take whatever job is available and that it is better to accept food stamps than to work? Education and hard work are the only vehicles that will lift individuals out of poverty and those core principles, by the author’s own admission, are missing from Democrat policies.

We (the author and I) discussed my statements about the school voucher program, food stamps, jobs, and dignity via twitter. He contends that my article failed to provide any proof to my statements that conservative policies would benefit the poor (although I included several links to support my statements). He said that I needed to defend my statements. In my response to him, I informed him that my intended target is the poor black American who wants to improve his or her life, not him. My goal is not to debate issues with people like him but to educate the poor. He responded by claiming that I am mis-educating (his term) the poor. He claims that I am deceiving poor blacks by telling them that conservative policy will work to pull them out of their current state of poverty. I asked him did he not notice that I am black. Why would I be so adamant about educating poor black Americans if I thought the principles that I am proposing will not actually work? He, like most Democrats, cannot conceive that conservatives like me are genuinely concerned about the economic plight of all our citizenry. Democrats believe that we are like them -- only after votes with no regard as to whether or not our policies actually benefit America. On the other hand, he never refuted my claim that Democrat policies have failed the poor for 50 years. In addition, I told him that my own life experience is my proof that Conservative principles work.

Democrats fear black Conservatives because there is nothing more powerful and credible than a personal story. Successful black Conservatives like Justice Clarence Thomas, Dr. Ben Carson, and Thomas Sowell have told their personal stories of how they were born and raised in poverty and pulled themselves up through education and hard work. I also have a personal story.

My story began when I was adopted at age four by a father with a 5th grade education and a mother who got as high as the 9th grade. My biological unmarried mother died in premature labor (that child died along with her) and left behind six small children ages one through thirteen (along with two other absent adult children). My parents adopted one of my brothers along with me. My late father, Frank Dickson, was a hard-working proud black man. He told me that he had to quit school in the 5th grade and go to work to help his father take care of the family (he was born in the 1920s). He used to tell me stories of how, at eleven years old, he would get up early in the morning before daybreak and walk miles down a long country road (carrying his brown paper bag lunch consisting of a sausage and biscuit) to get to his job hauling coal. I use to tell my dad how sad it was that he had to work since he was only a little boy. He would laugh and say “aw shucks baby, daddy was a man”.

Although we did not have much, my father worked hard (sometimes two jobs) and provided for us. We were never homeless, hungry, or cold. I told the Daily Kos writer that my father would never accept government handouts because he was too proud! In fact, my dad would often tell me the story of how during the first couple of months of me being placed in his home (pre-adoption) the caseworker would make home visits. On one particular occasion, she visited him at his job. He got angry with her because she asked him was there anything that I needed. He told her that he was my father and that I would never need anything else from her or the government and told her not to come back (not realizing that she was just doing her job). My dad’s boss had to pull the caseworker to the side and explain to her that he (my father) was a proud man. Not one time during my father’s life did I ever hear him complain about racism or discrimination (and he grew up in the Jim Crow South). All he ever talked about was working hard.

At five years old, my dad stood me on a stool in front of the kitchen sink and taught me how to wash dishes. By the time that I was ten years old, I was responsible for cleaning the house and doing the laundry. When I turned fifteen, my dad convinced his boss at the cotton gin where he worked, to give me a job cleaning the front office every Sunday. I earned $9.00 a week. By the time that I was a senior in high school, I was up to $12.00 dollars a week. My dad always taught me to take whatever job I could get, work hard, and be self-reliant. Although he only made it to the 5th grade, he taught me multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division before I entered kindergarten. Most inner city public schools cannot accomplish that task today. He always wanted me to get a college education. I chose the military as my route to gain access to college funds (The GI Bill). The military also afforded me the opportunity to hone my work ethic, discipline and acquire leadership skills. My dad (not knowing anything about politics) did not realize that by teaching me the values of hard work and education, he was contributing to the making of a conservative.

My response to Mr. Robinson and his readers over at the Daily Kos is yes, I stand by every word in my article. The only way to get out of poverty is education and hard work. School choice is a better alternative to a good education compared to a failing public school system. The Republican Party is a better choice for all Americans who want a smaller government that supports individual constitutional rights and promotes an economy where every citizen who wants a job will be able to obtain one.

Christian Commentary (http://patriciascornerblog.com), or contact the author at dicksonpat@sky.com. Follow me on twitter@Patrici5767099.