Black Conservative Not Welcome [OPINION]

Allen Waters hopes to become the first popularly elected African American U.S. Senator from Massachusetts since Republican Ed Brooke was elected in 1966. Brooke served Massachusetts in the Senate until his retirement in 1979.

The problem for Waters is he is not wanted by the Republican or Democrat parties in Massachusetts. He is a man without a party.

Waters has referred to himself as a "Blue Dog Democrat" in some campaign materials but he sounds more like a conservative Republican. He hopes to challenge Democrat Ed Markey next year, but finding support from the Massachusetts Democrat State Committee in the bluest of blue states is difficult unless, like Markey, you are progressive left wing.

The Massachusetts Republican Committee has shunned Waters. He has a tough time getting his phone calls returned. Massachusetts Republicans gave up competing for elections a long time ago and simply show up to work for the perks. Just ask Geoff Diehl, who might have defeated Elizabeth Warren last year had Republican Governor Charlie Baker remembered that he'd endorsed him.

It's awfully tough being a conservative and a minority, especially in a royal blue state. Do Massachusetts Republicans have a "better" candidate behind curtain number three that they plan to roll out to challenge Markey?

Waters represents new ideas for Massachusetts and the nation, yet he can't establish a foothold. His platform calls for radical changes to the tax structure; in fact, he advocates abolishing the IRS and the federal income tax in favor of a national sales tax or Fair Tax.

Waters is for a strong border, a strong military and lower taxes for working people. In many ways, Waters is more Libertarian than conservative. He opposes reparations and is sick of white liberals defending his honor.

At 63 years old, Waters, the son of a Providence motorcycle cop, resides on Cape Cod and is simply looking for a chance to compete. Without party acceptance, he will not be able to get his message to the people and will have next-to-no chance of competing against Markey next year.

It's no wonder things never seem to change in Massachusetts and why it is so difficult to attract talent to challenge some of these entrenched politicians. What a shame.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.