Article slams Kerry and Gore

[politicasista]

and Obama in a way too.


Snip:

The Hutchinson Report: Can Obama Really Win? Not If He Follows the Democrats’ Flawed Script on Race
Date: Friday, February 16, 2007

By: Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com

The day after he announced his presidential candidacy, Barack Obama matter of factly said that he didn’t think race would matter much during the campaign.

But the other reason Obama downplays race has nothing to do with what the polls say about white voter attitudes. He’s simply following the well-worn political script that Democrat presidential candidates Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004 followed.

The script called for them to try outshout Republicans on national security, defense spending and preparedness and the war on terrorism, while staying mute or cheerleading the war in Iraq. Obama will alter that script a bit this time on Iraq, only because the majority of Americans want out. Meanwhile, Democrats said next to nothing about affirmative action, racial profiling, the death penalty and drug reform. Their great fear is that this would fuel white anger by reinforcing the old perception that Democrats tilt toward minorities and the poor.

Clinton wrote this original flawed script for Democratic presidential contenders when he virtually excised all talk of racial issues from his election campaigns in 1992 and 1996. But Clinton also hinted that a big part of his winning strategy was to shake the Democrats loose from the grip of Rev. Jesse Jackson and other civil rights leaders.

Gore followed Clinton’s script to the letter. He spent most of his campaign avoiding appearances in black communities and was mute on issues such as urban investment, health care for the uninsured, fixing lousy inner-city public schools, racial profiling, affirmative action, racial disparities in prison sentencing and the racially marred drug enforcement policy.

Gore got away with this blatant racial patronizing by playing hard on the terror and panic that a Bush White House win in 2000 stirred in many blacks. The Democrats dangled the nightmarish vision of Bush packing the Supreme Court with more avowed enemies of civil rights and civil liberties such as Supreme Court justices Anton Scalia, William Rehnquist and Clarence Thomas. But when blacks scurried to vote for Gore out of fear of a Bush win, they gave the Democrats another free ride.

Gore said little about lack of abortion funding for the poor, drug enforcement reform, the glaring race iniquities in the death penalty, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, health care for the poor, increased spending for housing, business development and failing inner city schools.

Kerry followed the same script in 2004. He said virtually nothing about affirmative action, death penalty and education reform. It took a sharp blast from Al Sharpton and civil rights leaders to stir Kerry to finally speak out on civil rights issues. He made a tepid, vague appeal at the NAACP and Urban League conventions for increased support for minority business, job creation and against discrimination. But Bush had said pretty much the same thing. He further outflanked the Democrats by conjuring up the faith-based initiative and tossed in his anti-abortion and pro family values pitch. That cinched the votes, or at least the silence, of a handful of top conservative black church leaders and thousands of black evangelicals.

Gore and Kerry paid a steep price for their racial blindspot. It deepened the suspicion among many blacks that the Democrats take black votes for granted and even triggered the defection of a crucial number of black voters to the Republicans in the must-win battleground states of Ohio and Florida. Their defection helped sealed the White House for Bush.

Obama won’t be able to fully follow the Democrats' flawed script on racial issues. Republicans (and even some Democrats) at times on the campaign trail will press or bait him on race. When that happens, he’ll pick and choose his words carefully on the issue. That won’t satisfy those that want him to say more about race or those that want him to say little or nothing about it. For Obama, it’s a lose-lose script.

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/stateof/hutchinsonreport216

I know Kerry (or Gore?) isn't running, but I want to help defend them.

I haven't done much e-mailing (me is a little shy :shrug:) except to BET and BAW, but it wouldn't hurt to set the record straight. Any ideas, suggestions or what to include?


e-mail: [email protected]

[ProSense]

1. How did Kerry and Gore pay a steep price?

They got 89% and and 90% of the black vote, respectively. Clinton got 84%.

[MBS]

3. yes, the facts.

Just keep getting those facts out there. Thanks ProSense.

[ginnyinWI]

5. the only question about the black vote, then, is

what percent of them who might have voted, did not vote because they didn't see a particular reason to. I don't know if anyone can calculate those numbers.

The worse problem is this: how many of that 90% had their votes changed or erased by the machines.

[emulatorloo]

6. The problem is that people who don't vote, don't vote

There is always an excuse -- trust me I have heard them all -- Candidate X is boring, they are all the same, I don't want to be on jury duty, I don't care, I'm too busy, etc etc, People who don't vote don't want to vote.

OTOH you are so right about "spoiled" votes. It is so frustrating.

[wisteria]

8. Good point. Also, what about those who were disenfranchised and

had difficulties trying to vote in places like Ohio.

[politicasista]

10. And I remember

during the 30 minute interview (it was too short) on BET with Ed Gordon and he did mention affirmative action (relating to the years as a prosecutor), and disenfranchisment.

I remember Tavis Smiley wanted Tom Joyner and his gang to ask Kerry question about affirmative action and other issues (i.e. 2000 election) when Tom first interviewed Kerry in 2004, but they never got around to asking them. Some were good and some were snarky.

I recently read in some article that while the main three (HRC, Obama, and Edwards) have a good relationship with the AA community, Edwards was applauded more for being the "only" candidate to speak out on racial issues in 2004.

[ProSense]

11. Edwards

supports the death penalty while Kerry has strongly opposed the death penalty throughout his career.

[politicasista]

12. Thanks.

I will bookmark these links and send them to him. :hi:

[globalvillage]

2. Maybe it's just about doing what's right.

Not about 'scripts' but about helping people. This is from yesterday.

Kerry Legislation Would Protect Minority and Low-Income Communities from Toxins, Pollution

Senate, House members join forces to introduce Environmental Justice Act

February 16, 2007

Washington, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) said today that legislation introduced this week will prevent the nations most vulnerable communities from bearing a disproportionate share of the country’s environmental hazards. Kerry, who co-sponsored the bill, said it would be an important step forward in efforts to improve the health of minority communities, who nationally are more likely to suffer from asthma or other respiratory illnesses linked to air pollution.

“For way too long in our country, African Americans and other minority communities have shouldered most of the toxic burden in this country. They are more likely to live near landfills, incinerators or factories that often spew poisons into the air. It’s unjust and unconscionable and we are going to do something about it. Our legislation would work to reverse that by forcing the EPA to protect these communities.”

Among other things, the Environmental Justice Act of 2007 would fully implement a 1994 Executive Order, which was written to ensure that all federal agencies are protecting our nation’s most vulnerable communities. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency to fully implement recommendations included in three recent government reports and creates reporting requirements, including an update on the inclusion of environmental justice in the EPA’s emergency command response structure.

The Environmental Justice Act of 2007 is endorsed by more than 15 organizations, including the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Communities for a Better Environment, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, Natural Resources Defense Council, Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, Beyond Pesticides, the National Hispanic Environmental Council, the National Small Town Alliance, the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, and Earthjustice.

[MBS]

4. this is great, too

thanks, all of you!

[ray of light]

13. Kerry also sponsored legislation for small businesses and technical

colleges for 'at risk' communities.

Don't have the link.

[Inuca]

7. It seems to me

that the author of the article is an equal opportunity slammer. He does his/her best to find fault with everybody, based on speculation rather than facts. And I agree, it definitely slams Obama, which in a sense matters more because he IS running. I read/heard quite a lot, but I still have problems really understanding the reticence (or downright opposition) that parts of the black community seem to have to Obama. I fully agree that he should not be supported and endorsed JUST because he is black, but there seems to be a tendency to search deeper to find faults with him than with the other contenders, mainly HRC. Maybe it's just my perception, based on insufficient facts (and my displeasure to see support for H), not sure...

[politicasista]

9. I don't know if he was on the Clinton bandwagon

but I agree it read like he dissed Obama also. There have been articles written by blacks that are critical of him (i.e. "not being black enough" or the "rock star" label being over the top, campaign is "too white" and so on).