Trayvon Martin Shooting: A Case of Injustice

       Even though we don’t know all the facts surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin, we’ve
heard enough to know that there is an injustice that is very alarming. At minimum, this story should evoke a certain level of anger and righteous indignation within all of us.  An African-American teenager named Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman, a self-proclaimed Neighborhood Watch Captain. The shooting didn’t occur last week, or two weeks ago. It happened on Feb. 26. It is unbelievably shameful that to this day, George Zimmerman has still not been arrested on any charges. Not even for a weapon’s charge. It is equally despicable to witness the Sanford Police Department’s handling of this issue. They sent a narcotics investigator to test Trayvon Martin for drugs and alcohol. But for whatever reason, Mr. Zimmerman wasn’t subjected to a drug test. For three days, the police department wasn’t even proactive enough to take a look at Trayvon’s cell phone to call his parents, friends or loved ones.  A 911 tape reveals that Mr. Zimmerman chased down Trayvon Martin even when the operator told him to stand back. There is enough probable cause to warrant an immediate arrest. I can’t help but imagine that if Trayvon Martin had been a white teenager, the response and level of urgency would’ve been very different.

Romney Needs To Find His Voice

I’m willing to bet $10,000 that not a lot of people can answer why Gov. Romney is running for president. More on that later. Last night was a big night for Sen. Rick Santorum and a bad one for Newt Gingrich. Maybe if billionaire Sheldon Adelson doesn't donate money to the Gingrich campaign this week, Newt Gingrich will consider dropping out of the race at some point soon. Speaker Gingrich regained some momentum last week by virtue of winning his home state of Georgia. But his campaign is dealt a big blow as Sen. Rick Santorum wins in Gingrich's backyard in Mississippi and Alabama. His victory in both states undercuts Speaker Gingrich’s argument that he is the true conservative that can consolidate the Republican base around his candidacy.  It’s difficult to claim to be a viable candidate when you keep losing. Regardless of who the Republican nominee is, does anyone really think that President Obama has a chance to win Alabama or Mississippi in November? Probably not. Even though Gov. Romney lost both states, he won 42 total delegates to Sen. Santorum’s 38. Nevertheless, losing to both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum once again shows that he is a weak front-runner. Gov. Romney has been off message for the past week. He needs to stop talking about how many delegates he has and how impossible it'll be for Sen. Santorum and Newt Gingrich to catch up. It makes him look small. His surrogates and campaign people should make that case, not him. He should rise above the delegate talk and focus on winning the hearts of voters.

He needs a more compelling message than "vote for me because I'm the only one that understands how the economy works.” As much as voters want someone to fix the economy, they also want someone they can relate to, someone they believe shares their values and will fight for them. The criticism that he's not connecting with voters seems to be getting to him, and he's trying too hard to rectify it but ends up doing it in an inauthentic and superficial way. He goes down south and all of a sudden likes "cheesy grits" and saying "y’all." He needs to connect to voters in a deeper and more significant way. He can start by telling people why he wants to be president. Even after all this time, the answer to that question is still somewhat unclear. He says his campaign is about “Restoring America’s Promise.”  He needs to flesh out what that entails and tie it into why he is running for president. He should take a page out of the Obama campaign in 08 and talk about the "fierce urgency of now." He can make the case that he’s running because he refuses to stand idly by and watch the American Dream slip away from millions of people when he has the leadership and ideas to turn things around. That he feels outraged when he sees President Obama leaving a mountain of debt for our children and grandchildren. If he starts there, maybe he’ll begin to find his voice.  At this point, he hasn’t.