By Brandon Brice

Less than two weeks ago, while speaking on a panel for Fox News Strategy Room, actress Shery Lee Ralph and I spoke on the incredible silence draped over the issue of HIV and AIDS in America. The reality of AIDS, especially in the black community, is clear but not heard.

The question of which political party will address this issue becomes irrelevant, because of the virulent nature of this deadly virus. Despite President Bush’s unpopular presidency for eight years, the President directed $500 million dollars in federal spending towards HIV-AIDS relief and research, more than any U.S. President in history. Previously during the President Reagan years, the level of knowledge on HIV was minimal in comparison with the medical knowledge of today.

In the United States alone, two hundred thousand Americans are dying of AIDS, while hundreds of thousands are infected and don’t know, thus causing the virus to spread at a faster rate. For years the virus was thought to be a “gay man’s” disease up until it was discovered that anyone could be a victim. The Republican party for years has remained silent on issues pertaining to gay rights, sex education and women’s rights, in particular African American woman who make up the largest percentages of HIV-AIDS recipients.

On a Fox News panel discussion, Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph and I spoke on the silent killer that’s non discriminatory whether your Democrat, Republican, black, white, male, female, gay or straight, that poses as a present danger. Perhaps the Republican Party should open the dialogue towards preventative measures against the virus for low-income neighborhoods and offer real solutions.

As a party we must begin talking about sex education from a realistic perspective, understanding that people are having sexual relationships and safety measures must be the direction. The GOP alongside with the Log Cabin Republicans must come together to discuss an effective message against the secret lives of gay married men across the United States, specifically with recent ex-felons. If we are going to be the party for all Americans, granting the option of choice, independent freedoms, and liberty then it’s time we started practicing what we preach.

Brandon Brice is a graduate of Howard University and is a former fellow of the New Jersey Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. As a long time member of Republicans for Black Empowerment, Brandon is an active contributor to HipHopRepublicans.com. Brandon Brice has worked as a policy intern for the former House Speaker Honorable J. Dennis Hastert and has served as a fellow at the United Nations. He has been featured on C-SPAN’s Road to the White House, BET’s What’s At Stake and Hot97 with Lisa Evers. Brandon is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, and attends the Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church.