|
Volume CXXXIII, Number 2 |
 |
New GOP targets?
BRYANT ANTHONY RICH
COLUMNIST
A new generation in politics is upon us and anything is possible. The Democrats are forced to realign themselves and prove to the political middle that they are not a bunch of tax and spend liberals. The Republicans must prove that they are no longer merely the party of big business and the religious right. Perhaps one of the most interesting phenomena of the current political climate is that both parties are clamoring for the support of what is, for now, a count-before-the-vote-is-cast-constituency: African Americans.
As the African American electorate ages, fewer and fewer African Americans remember the glory days of the civil rights movement. This means that Democrats lose their hold on valuable political capital and that Republicans have the opportunity to win this group over.
Despite all the history behind African Americans and the Democratic Party, it is still highly possible for Republicans to gain Black votes. Though the Democrats are traditionally viewed as being pro-minority, many Latinos identify with the Republican Party. The rapport between Democrats and Latinos is not as strong as that of Democrats and Blacks because of the perennial question in politics: "What have you done for me, lately?"
Recently, the list is sparse for both parties. As African Americans become wealthier and more influential, it has become more and more attractive for them to become members of the party with the most wealthy and influential people, regardless of whether or not the party originally supported civil rights in the 60s and 70s.
No matter how hard it is to believe that African Americans could or would vote en masse for members of the party whose influential leaders include Trent Lott and the late Strom Thurmond, it is becoming increasingly possible, especially as the Democrats fail to court this valuable constituency. In a national meeting of the NAACP, specifically with the purpose of introducing democratic candidates to black voters, only six of the nine candidates showed. Those absent were Senator Joseph Lieberman of my home state of Connecticut, representatives Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio. These candidates did assure the NAACP that they did not intend to offend black voters, that this was merely a scheduling conflict. They also attempted to make up for the gaffe by attending another meeting. Meanwhile President Bush has addressed another influential group of African Americans, the Urban League, in Philadelphia. The NAACP reserved a seat on stage for President Bush at the meeting that the infamous three Democrats missed, he did not attend either and never has attended an NAACP meeting.
African American votes will most likely be, in the near future, up for grabs. This electorate will probably split, not quite in half, but possibly 60/40 or 70/30 in favor of the Democrats. The 40 percent nor 30 percent that vote Republican will mostly be more affluent in essence the African American electorate will vote more like the rest of the country as their political interests diversify more because of their increased prosperity and less emphasis is placed upon political history.
Another aspect to consider is that the African Electorate becomes more important when the parties must jockey for their votes, and this is a good thing. While I do not consider the Reverend Al Sharpton to be a legitimate political contender (or one of my favorite candidates) his candidacy, as described by the candidate himself, has a far more important goal than winning this election. Reverend Sharpton has observed that since the Reverend Jesse Jackson (also not one of my favorites) stopped running for president, the main stream of the Democratic Party has ignored the needs of the African American electorate. Sharpton's run in the primary forces the main stream Democrats to pursue black voters vigorously.
How does this particular African American Democrat feel about the situation?
I suppose that I am a bit torn. As a child of parents with conflicting
party affiliations, I feel as though my political views are more a reflection
of the issues that I believe in rather than a collective voting tradition
such as the one generally embraced by most African Americans. In other
words, issues like balanced budgets, limited (and intelligent) social
welfare programs, strong defense, civil rights and liberties (for minorities
and homosexuals), continued regulation of media ownership, separation
of church and state as well as tactful diplomacy are all important to
me. Therefore, I choose to vote Democrat.
|
FastCounter by bCentral |