Ever sense the MD Senate elections I've wondered one thing: would the rationale for endorsing Michael Steele used by prominent blacks in Maryland have an impact in the future? And by "future," I mean, "a scenario where an African-American ended up running for president in 2008."
For Maryland, it looks like "the future" will be sometime around February 12th.
Despite being blatantly obvious in avoiding serious discussion of the issues and having one of the most low-key runs at Lt. Governor in recent history, Steele managed to garner support from prominent black figures. Sure he tried to hide his true party affiliation, and the media gave him a hand in that endeavor, but nevertheless He received support from Russell Simmons, Mike Tyson, Don King and Cathy Hughes.
I was concerned, but not too worried. After all, who's ever based their vote on what Mike Tyson says? It wasn't until I first read the story that Prince George's County's Democratic African-American politicians decided to back Steele that I did a spit take. Well, not exactly. I said,
Look, I know Kathleen Kennedy Townsend picked an old gray Republican for her running mate, but that was her mistake, not the Democratic Party. Putting Steele in the Senate will not make the Democratic Party "pay attention." What it will do is put a another rubber stamp in the Senate.
This support looks to be nothing more than a vengence vote. It's either that, or PGC has more black Republicans mascarading as Democrats than I thought. It should be pretty clear at this point where Cardin and Steele stand on the issues, and which candidate has what it takes to represent Maryland in the US Senate.
I still stand by what I said, but to this day I'm confused as to what the PGC Dems were thinking. Sharon in MD was also trying to figure this puzzle out, and I think this theory is actually a little better:
While Prince George's County has it's share of problems with crime, mismanagement and corruption, it is also home some of the wealthiest African Americans in the country, including Michael Steele. Perhaps some of these folks do identify with the Republican Party more...I just don't know. While I would applaud efforts to try to improve Prince George's County, I can't help seeing how the Bush policies, supported by Steele could do more to exacerbate the crime problem in Prince George's County, rather than help it.
There's also a diary from baltimoremom, who after checking out an article on this very question, came to this conclusion:
What I hear African American leaders doing after the recent Maryland primary is challenging the Democratic Party to fight for their vote. It is not about the past anymore, it is really more about the future.
Thay are asking: What are you going to do for me now? Why should I believe you? Why should I vote for you?
And I think these are fair questions and maybe a little over due. The answers are as complicated as the problem.
But now we fast-forward to 2008, where Barack Obama is coming off as a very viable candidate. So viable, in fact, PG County is once again in the news:
In a county and state that are often all but ignored in national elections, Prince George's scored a coup by drawing Obama to a rally in October. The candidate took home $200,000 in contributions. County Executive Jack B. Johnson and State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey also have endorsed Obama.
"I don't think we've seen this kind of interest since Jesse Jackson ran for president in 1984," said Terry L. Speigner, chairman of the county's Democratic Central Committee.
Nathaniel Tutt, 40, a mortgage broker from Fort Washington, drove eight hours to New Hampshire to campaign with his son, Judah, 11. Tutt bundled the child into two coats, a hat and gloves for five hours of door knocking. Tutt said he has never been involved in a national campaign before.
Obama, he said, offers more than the symbolic candidacies of African Americans in the past, such as Jackson and Al Sharpton.
"I think there are a lot of candidates who won't win but who bring a message that needs to be heard, and that's what we had before," he said. "But now, we've got an electable black candidate."
This is extremely interesting, not only because of what happened in 2006, given the current campaign finance breakdown in the state. It's no secret that Hillary Clinton is doing well here.
So my new question is this: which black Democrats will show up for 2008? Because based on everything I've seen since 2006, we have at least three camps:
- The "You've Taken Our Vote for Granted" Camp (Camp 1), who went to Steele out of some sense of revenge.
- The "Barack Has a Chance" Camp (Camp 2), who feel that Obama's particular campaign is a one-in-a-million occurance.
- The "Good Times" Camp (Camp 3), who feel that Hillary Clinton is the best option for returning back to the days of Bill Clinton.
To make things (even more) confusing, there's no guarantee that people won't continuously jump from one Camp to another. There can be a case made that Camp 1 is comprised of voters who would go to Edwards/Richardson/Kucinich (none are the "popular" or "establishment" choice) or (if they're pissed off enough) a Republican. But if Clinton makes a pledge on education or Obama gives a rousing speech linking hope to fighting crime, that Camp could shrink very quickly.
Think otherwise? Take a look at Simmon's rationale for supporting Steele, and see how this matches up with the messages from the current Big Three:
Love is neither liberal nor conservative; it is what God gives to us all. Love requires justice, fairness and openness for new ways of making a difference in the quality of life for all people everywhere. One of my mentors, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, encouraged me to directly connect my daily private practice of Yoga to my public actions and endorsements. Dr. Ben was with me when I made the trip to Baltimore to announce my support of Lt. Gov. Steele. In one of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, it is written, "The practice of concentration on a single subject is the best way to prevent the obstacles and their accompaniments." In other words, a singular focus or concentration on ending poverty is a necessary commitment by anyone who is serious about this issue.
That night Steele announced, "I declare a new agenda for America; an anti-poverty agenda – an economic empowerment agenda that I will take with me to the United States Senate – because empowerment creates opportunity that poverty will never let you see. To tell you the truth, not enough people in either party are willing to even say the word ’poverty’ ..... much less do anything about it. To begin, unlike a lot of Republicans, I believe we need to raise the minimum wage."
Great movements for change always require taking risks and acting outside the close-minded boxes of society. Building an effective anti-poverty movement will need many elected officials like Steele and many others from different constituencies from across the nation and throughout the world. Let’s stay focused. Don’t get distracted by party labels. Let us all work together and share responsibly in God’s love for all. Let’s end poverty and ignorance!
Hell, that could be spun to be an endorsement of Edwards, Obama, Clinton or even Mike Huckabee (OK; that's stretching it). And that's what the Democrats need to realize: while there is no "Black Voting Block," there are issues that many African-Americans share. How they approach this fluid diversity in MD (and other places that have a large black population) will be factor in which Camp shows up to vote...assuming a new one doesn't take shape.