Sheriff Clarke's rival finds it hard to get GOP support

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ^ | October 14, 2010 | Eugene Kane

[chickadee]

"Even though most people know Clarke's not really a Democrat, I can't get the GOP endorsement and I'm really a Republican," he said.

Duckhorn has been a Milwaukee cop for 17 years, so I assumed he knew the backstory on Clarke.

Clarke, a former Milwaukee cop, was appointed by Republican Gov. Scott McCallum in 2002. Since then, he's run for re-election as a Democrat, usually considered a pretty savvy move for an African-American politician in this county.

There are plenty of local Democrats who view him as an impostor. But many voters don't seem to mind the fact that Clarke clearly isn't who he says he is politically. In particular, some black voters are attracted to Clarke's law-and-order message and tend to vote for most black candidates out of a sense of racial solidarity.

Because of his willingness to impose his conservative values on most social issues, Clarke gets a lot of white votes.

[chickadee]

As a rock solid conservative, I must admit to voting for this Democrat when he is running for election. Besides, it makes the black community crazy.

I David Clarke

[LibFreeUSA]

What is this Clarke running for? Congress?

[chickadee]

Clarke is running for Sheriff of Milwaukee County. While the city is heavily Democrat, the surrounding suburbs are Repub. Clark is very conservative, but wears a D after his name.

Our current County Exec is running for governor. If he wins, there’s a good possibility that Clarke will run for County Exec. I wanted to highlight the situation because there are Democrats that conservatives can and do support. (Also, it’s delicious to hear race mongers like Kane whine about a “DINO”.)

It’s also ironic that the “racial solidarity” that Kane mentions in the article helps Clarke get inner city votes.

[Pollster1]

In particular, some black voters are attracted to Clarke's law-and-order message and tend to vote for most black candidates out of a sense of racial solidarity. Because of his willingness to impose his conservative values on most social issues, Clarke gets a lot of white votes.

Did he just say that racism is dead in this country, except in the black community? That's what it sounded like to me. The bottom line: white votes are based on the content of a candidate's character, while many blacks still vote only based on the color of a person's skin. I will be thrilled when the inspirational message that convinced white voters decades ago finally reaches the rest of the black community and the entire country can put the last vestiges of that history behind us.

[chickadee]

Thank you. I hadn’t looked at it from that angle, but your comment was very astute. Suburban voters are disregarding party affiliation and race to vote for David Clarke. And, yes, it is the content of his character.

[the crow]

I would absolutely vote for Clarke when he runs for CE after Scott wins.

Go get ‘em boys!