Marie Stroughter is co-founder of African-American Conservatives (AACONS), which started just after the 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama –– a place for black conservatives to "vent, "share," and "build consensus." Later AACONS added BlogTalkRadio to their repertoire with host Marie Stroughter, opening the show in a sleek, cool and confident tone, "...African-American conservatives; the soul of the conservative movement."
In less than a year, Marie is quickly becoming a conservative talk-radio star. With a line-up consisting of high-profile guests like Steve Forbes, Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Malkin, Andrew Breitbart, Lloyd Marcus of the Tea Party Express [photo right: Stroughter and Marcus], Peter Schiff, Chuck DeVore, John Dennis, Star Parker, and many more, you can see why the Los Angeles Times recently took notice of AACONS, with the headline, "Aspiring Rush Limbaughs take to Web radio."
AACON's Internet show, which airs live every Tuesday at 7:00 (PDT) –– occasionally more, has been featured on BlogTalkRadio numerous times including Blog Talk's blog. Last week, Marie had an entertaining interview with Michael Graham, talk show host and author of his latest bestseller, That's No Angry Mob, That's My Mom: Team Obama's Assault on Tea-Party, Talk-Radio Americans, and snagged an interview with former Ambassador John Bolton as well as returning guest, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
I learned about AACONS' "web talk-radio show" back in early March when I was snooping around BlogTalkRadio and happened to listen in on their interview with Steve Forbes. Later, Jamison Braly, Blogcritics writer, who also hosts a BlogTalkRadio show along with Braden Pace –– Stubborn Facts Radio from the Conservamedia Network –– introduced me to Marie.
[AACONS interview with Steve Forbes, March 9, 2010]
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Arch Conservative
I think that if I could ask Marie Stroughter just one question I'd ask her how many times she's been called an uncle tom or some other such racial epithet by some self-righteous white liberal. She's probably lost count though.
2 - Christine
Arch, thanks for stopping by. I think that is one of the reasons Marie started AACONS. Page #4 "...that we are supposed to be Democrats, that we betrayed our race; that we are "Uncle Toms," and we're "sell-outs."
3 - Arch Conservative
Yeah there's nothing less racist than a white liberal chastising a black person for not conforming to their preconvieved notion that all black people must be liberal democrats.......
4 - zingzing
archie, i don't think that's what you meant to say.
5 - zingzing
and even if you're saying what i think you're trying to say, unfortunately, there are many instances where racism is worse than name-calling.
6 - zingzing
besides, being a social conservative is a betrayal of humanity, regardless of the color of your skin.
and for god's sake, someone shut off the damn auto-play.
7 - Christine
Zing; just press the little button above the twitter logo and it will shut off.
8 - zingzing
yeah, i know how to use a pause button, but auto-play is always a minor pain in the ass.
9 - Christine
Oh, is there a way we can change it?
10 - El Bicho
Arch must have been chewing gum when he typed #3.
11 - roger nowosielski
I think he's been smoking it, too, or whatever else it is that he smokes nowadays.
12 - John Wilson
This woman, Marie is a rabid flip-flopper. First she laments the poor "free" healthcare her mother suffered under (which is the very default healthcare that opponents of UHC advocate) then slams it as socialized healthcare, which is non-existent in the USA.
She talks incessantly about her blackness (and conservatism), then fondly quotes a black guy who says he refuses to see everything thru his blackness.
They are both so confused as to be unintelligible. What nonsense.
13 - Clavos
" A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
--Emerson
14 - Christine
Thanks Clavos, can always count on you to put the negative comments into perspective with "words of wisdom."
15 - zingzing
"flip-flop" changes sides with the political winds, i see.
16 - handyguy
It would be more interesting, or less disheartening, if Stroughter's opposition to Obama seemed to be based on something other than her own strong anti-abortion stance and other, religious-centered socially conservative views. If, in other words, she were a libertarian budget hawk more than another fanatical pro-lifer.
The president has not taken any strong pro-choice action in office [right wing heavy breathing about the health bill notwithstanding], yet "partial birth abortion" is her first [only?] example of his being "so far left."
Social conservatism is a dead end. I believe Clavos may even agree with me on this, hobgoblins to the contrary.
17 - Christine
Handy, This is one of the first things Obama did when he was in office, January, 2009 ...Obama lifts restrictions on abortion funding
18 - Dr Dreadful
Christine, Reagan's first act as President was to sign an executive order ending oil price controls. By your logic, I guess that made him a toady for the oil industry.
19 - STM
Oh, hello Doc, you ARE alive :)
20 - darkknight3565
John Wilson - granted you don't know Marie Stroughter as well as I do, but even so it surprises me that anyone can misunderstand her words in this interview to such a degree that they can call her a "rabid flip flopper." Her views - particularly on the two issues you mention, socialized healthcare and race - are perfectly consistent, regardless if you agree with them.
For example, Marie's experience with her mother under, yes, socialized healthcare - which does indeed exist in this country for the poor and has for some time - has made her more cognizant than most of the danger of having government expand socialized healthcare (Medicare) to those of us who have been so far fortunate enough to afford our own healthcare. As I've said, I see nothing 'flip-flopping' in this position. Furthermore, I agree with her. I also do not trust that the government-run healthcare system that is being rammed down our throats will be of the same quality we currently enjoy, and I think that is evident in comparisons with the quality of medicine practiced in countries that have socialized healthcare.
Also, I do not see anything in her position on her ethnic identity that should cause one to label her a flip-flopper. She is clearly very proud of her African American heritage. She doesn't talk "incessantly" about it - she would much rather talk about her family or her faith or even her cat - but she can speak at length about the pride she feels when asked to speak about race, as she was in this interview.
However, and I believe this is the point you missed, being a proud Black woman does not in her view limit her to the sort of groupthink when that groupthink runs contrary to her values. The example she gives is an apt one: she's anti-abortion, and therefore would not vote for a pro-abortion presidential candidate, even if that candidate was to be the first African American president in our history. She does not feel obligated to see 'everything through her blackness,' and there is nothing "confused" or "unintelligible" about her fondness for others, like me, who do not either.
21 - zingzing
omg. christians never have abortions. ever. EVER!
(in fact, they do.)
(every sperm is sacred.)
22 - Clavos
Nice post, darkknight!
23 - Christine
"Darknight" in the house!!!!!
24 - handyguy
Yes, Christine, he lifted the restrictions known as the 'gag rule' on funding for family planning services in other countries. And thank God he did this very common-sense reversal of a bad policy.
When the ban was in place, no U.S. government funding for family planning services could be given to clinics or groups that offer abortion services or counseling in other countries even if the funds for those activities come from non-U.S. government sources. [from the Reuters article you link to]
But it had nothing to do with any abortions being performed or not performed inside the US.
And do you actually think this is a central issue -- much less one that defines him as "far left"?
25 - handyguy
I love the way some conservative posters on here cheerlead for each other, as if they were at a pep rally.