Posted on 06/04/2010 12:34:24 AM PDT by pissant
Eighteen months after Barack Obama's presidential win seemed to usher in a new era in racial politics, a different reality has emerged: African American candidates in campaigns nationwide are struggling so much that it's possible that there will be no black governors or senators by next year.
The drubbing Tuesday of Rep. Artur Davis (D), who was running to be the first black governor of Alabama, was the latest in a series of defeats this year of African American politicians in primaries for statewide office. And two of the three who already hold major statewide posts are leaving them. One of the nation's two black governors, New York's David Paterson (D), who has been plagued by ethics scandals, opted not to run this fall -- the same decision made by the only black senator, Roland Burris (D-Ill.).
The only African American favored to win a gubernatorial or Senate race is Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick (D), who is running for a second term.
Aspiring black politicians, such as Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-Fla.), who is seeking a Senate seat, are underdogs in general-election contests. And while a number of black Republicans are running, many are losing in primaries.
The defeats suggest that Obama's victory did not herald greater success for other black politicians.
"We have had breakthroughs, but the obstacles are still there," said Christopher Edley, who was special adviser for the President's Initiative on Race in the Clinton administration and is now dean of the University of California at Berkeley's School of Law. "The bench is weak. If you look at lower office levels or state legislatures, I think the picture is dramatically better, but we haven't been able to bring enough people up from there."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Best advertisement against affirmative action in history.
Best gun and ammo salesman in history.
Worst insult to black male machismo in history.
I may be wrong, but my take on it is that nobody in their right mind is going to sign on to a Black candidate right now, that they aren’t damned certain about. While that is probably the man-child’s fault, it’s also a wise stance on any candidate, White or Black.
I think we’re going to know a lot more about our presidential candidates in the future, before we vote for them in the primaries.
Didn't read on--how can we possibly take this person seriously unless we know if he's black or white????
I’d vote for Thomas Sowell in an instant.
This article shows why liberals are the biggest racists around. My apologies to Perry Bacon if he voted Republican in the last election, or in any election, for that matter.
Like Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell is not black.
Then what race are they?
Well, you know the old adage that works in every situation and applies to everyone: “You reap what you sow”.
The defeats suggest that Obama's victory did not herald greater success for other black politicians.
Surprise, surprise: BO has no coattails.
The majority of black politicians in Washington are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, representing districts that are disproportionately liberal and African American, making it difficult for them to build broader coalitions of supporters to win a statewide race.
This is just common sense: a politician of any color or ethnicity has to build a broad base of support if he wants to win higher office representing greater numbers of people. They sound as if they've just discovered this. Duh.
African Americans "are so invested personally in Barack Obama the man, and it's unique to him," said Cornell Belcher, a black pollster who worked on the Obama campaign. "They are invested in him in a way they are not in other black political leaders."
This is all about BO and not about our country or anyone else in it.
A black client in DC during the ‘08 primaries said no way she would vote for Obama. She was concerned about his lack of actual real-world experience, and didn’t want him to win because if he messed up, it would ruin any future hopes for blacks for generations. She’s looking mighty prescient now.
Like Me Old Daddy used to say: “Some good comes from all bad”
Ask any liberal, they'll be more than happy to explain it.
;) ;) ;)
Or Herman Cain. A man of real accomplishments.
Why would anyone draw a connection between Black Politician A and Black Politician B?
I sometimes wonder if we will ever stop putting people into hyphenated groups and seeing them solely as members of that group.
Obama is bringing change to Blacks. He himself made such a point of asking people to see him as Black that he has set Blacks back 75 years by his complete ineptitude and his hate of religion and his cozying up with terrorists. There are lots of qualified Blacks, but Obama was not one of them.
What was the 1/16th rule? Almost every ‘black’ or “African American” in the USA today considers Obama one of their own. Actually I don’t think of him either as ‘black’ or as ‘American.’
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