Black Americans have voted for the Democratic party in bloc for several decades. Many cite the ideals of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal proposals as what drew Black voters. Others say it was cemented a few decades later when John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson made serious strides in civil rights legislation. No matter the reason why, Black voters have turned out strong for Democratic candidates for many years now. Recently though, Republicans wondered why Blacks supported Democratic tickets despite Democrats not running many Black candidates for statewide or national office. And then came Barack Obama.
Obama was a candidate that Democrats not only ran for a statewide position but also for a national position and obviously is the current President-elect. This quieted much of the conversation about whether or not Democrats were sincere and deserved the support of Black voters. But if you dig a little deeper beneath the surface some meaningful questions need to be answered regarding which party (if any) should receive the support of Black voters.
Before any serious discussion about "the Black vote" begins we have to acknowledge that there is no "Black vote". Black voters are not monolithic and do not all vote or think on one accord. History has shown that Black voters tend to be more communal in their approach to voting. That is to say Black voters tend to support candidates that speak to issues that disproportionately affect people of their race. Despite all this, Republicans challenged Blacks to get more "bang for their buck". In 2005 then Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman went on speaking tours to such places as Howard University and the NAACP in efforts to bring more Blacks into the Republican party. The idea may have been noble but polling shows that Mehlman wasn't successful.
If we look today though, we see that Black voters still may not have a "home" so to speak among Democrats. Last week the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Senate majority leader Harry Reid told Gov. Blagojevich not to pick certain candidates including Congressmen Danny Davis, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones. All three of these men are Black. It stands to reason that Reid didn't think any of these candidates could win re-election in 2010. Again despite nominating a Black candidate for president only to see him win, Democratic leaders appear to think a Black man is not good enough to fill that seat. This says nothing of the way the Democratic party has treated Black women politicians. A careful look at Shirley Chisholm and Carol Mosely-Braun's political careers would show that Democrats have not given Black politicians as much support as Black voters give the Democratic party.
As we speak the Republican National Committee is waiting to choose a new party leader. Among the six candidates two of them are African American. Republicans can also lay claim to Maryland's first African American Lt. Governor and in 2006 they ran African Americans candidates in statewide Senatorial and Gubenatorial races in Maryland and Ohio. With all of this the Republican party, platform and campaigning techniques have been at worst utterly disrepectful to Blacks and at best, neglectful to Black voters. Some may read this and assume I advocate for Blacks to join the Republican party. That is not what I am doing at all. I am asking that all people who are affiliated with a party, step back and examine what their party is doing for them as individuals and the community they belong to. If we take a close look, we'll see that neither major party is doing a good job on their minority report.
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2 comments:
Let set the record straight by letting you know that I am an independent. However, I am registered as a democrat to vote in the primary's. I agree that some portion of your stance. Granted democrats haven't done anything recently to "seal the deal" on the black vote, but do we really expect them too. We expect for political parties to appease their constituents that's it. Not necessarily to "honor and revere" our black political leaders. (Maybe we should...subject to your interpretation)
Didn't former MD Lt. Gov. Steele say that the republican party has not been doing anything for his people? (or something to that effect)
gotta go to class
I agree with you wholeheartedly. The problem is, while other political parties besides the major two certainly exist, modern history shows us that Democrats and Republicans are the only two that have the support, voters and capital necessary to be seriously considered for most political offices, especially those on the national stage. You have your exceptions, like Ross Perot, for example. But Perot was also a billionaire and funded much of his campaign out of pocket. Because fewer resources are available for third parties, what do you suggest we do? I think it's very easy to become discouraged by the reality of the situation, especially if you want to feel like your vote is more than merely making a statement.
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