Obama, Losing The “Race”
By HHR | December 11th, 2009 | Category: Featured, General, HHR Contributors | 2 comments
By Raynard Jackson:
As the historic nature of Obama’s election begins to fade, the reality of Black’s expectations have begun to boil over. Obama received 96 % of the Black vote last year, but now they are asking, “where is the return on their investment?” This friction has recently spilled out into the public. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has finally grown some backbone and has publically challenged Obama on issues of particular concern to the Black community. These issues include the high unemployment rate in the Black community (well above the national average), the disproportionate percentage of Blacks caught in the subprime mortgage scandal, and the lack of stimulus money for inner city communities.
Those who are regular readers of my columns know that I have been extremely critical of the CBC in the past. But, I am very happy to see the CBC take a principled stand on something they view as important-why a Black president has not targeted any programs to specifically deal with the Black community.
In the midst of this debate, everyone seems to be missing the real point. What you see happening right before your very eyes is a generational fault-line on how race is viewed. Most members of the CBC are considered part of the “old line civil rights” movement. They are preachers and politicians over 55 years of age. They have had their time in the sun and the mantle has been taken up by a generation that is somewhat removed from the issues of segregation and civil rights-it is not the world they came from.
When you look at Obama’s background, he to, is distant from these “old timers.” Obama has never had a close relationship with the CBC, even as a member of the U.S. Senate. Growing up in Indonesia and Hawaii, Obama has probably seen more religious conflict than he has racial conflict. So, if you understand his point of reference on racial matters, it’s not hard to understand his reluctance to take race on. Has he encountered racism as an adult? I am sure he has. Hawaii is like a foreign country to most Americans. Having grown up in places like Indonesia and Hawaii, I can’t imagine Obama having his soul seared with much overt racism personally directed at him. Therefore, Obama doesn’t seem comfortable dealing with racial issues.
This is quite obvious when you look at his political career. There is nothing in his past that indicates Obama was willing to take the lead on issues of particular concern to the Black community. His past indicates that he will deal with race only when he has to (Jeremiah Wright, Henry Gates and the Boston police controversy).
I understand that Obama is trying not to be viewed as the Black president. He is really trying to walk a fine line between being color blind and being blind to people of color. So, the fundamental question I would pose to the CBC is not whether or not Obama has ignored the Black community and issues of particular concern to them; but, rather, what are they going to do about it? In essence, Obama has said he agrees with the CBC’s assessment, but with is actions he is saying, “now, go make me do it!”
Politicians do what they “have” to do more than they do what they want to do. So, if the CBC doesn’t like what Obama is doing on their issues, what are they going to do about it? Other than make symbolic gestures (abstaining from procedural votes), what is their plan of attack? Are they willing to vote against healthcare as a block (43 votes)? Are they willing to vote against some of Obama’s spending bills that come before them? This is about winning, not about supporting a Black president. I hope the CBC is willing to play hardball with the president. This is the best thing the CBC could do for the Black community-to prove to the White House that the Black community is not to be taken for granted! And if they are taken for granted, there will be a price to pay.
This is why it is dangerous and counter-productive for the Black community to continue to be so aligned with one party. This is the reason that the Republican Party continues to trample on and disregard the Black community-there is no price to pay for doing it. Many Republicans believe there are votes to be gained by doing this. Therefore, Black Republicans have become totally irrelevant within the political process! Republicans ignore them and Democrats don’t pay them any mind.
Is the CBC willing to tell Blacks not to vote during next years congressional elections to make their point crystal clear to this White House? Sometimes you have to lose to win. If there is no pressure exerted on Obama, he will continue the course he is on.
Last year, Obama won the race, but this year he is losing the “race.”
Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. He is also a contributing editor for ExcellStyle Magazine (www.excellstyle.com).
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Mr Jackson YOU were one of those Blacks that made up the 96% that voted for Obama. (Unlike the White folks in Alabama who’s support for the ‘Democrat’ dropped from 19% down to 10% – your vote that was added to the usual 88%-92% Black support for the Democratic presidential candidate DID NOT render you as a ‘racist’ for some reason though. But that’s another story for another day)
I think that your are flawed in your analysis of “Black Disappointment In Obama” as long as you keep focusing on OBAMA and not the ENTIRE MACHINE!!!
Black folks should have been “DISAPPOINTED” a long time ago after our so called “Black Establishment” leaders sold us on the “Mission From God”. After the back room deals that fused our racial fate with the fate of the Democratic Party – they used a multi-media communications strategy – hitting our people with a coordinated message at various ‘touch points’ the notion that “as the Democratic Party goes – SO GOES THE BLACK COMMUNITY!!!”
We saw many mile markers along the way to prove this to be a LIE and an attempt to maximize the quota of Black votes trolled by the “Democrats who are Black” who enjoyed UNCHECKED access to the ‘secret places’ within the Black community where no “White Democrat” knew how to “touch” sans the assistance of a Black operative lending him loyal support.
I grew up in a city that had suffered from a brutal racial integration past for its schools. At the time 30 years ago the focus of the Black community was REPRESENTATION on the school board, city council seats and stopping “Mayor Rizzo” and his police department from assaulting Black people.
Today with “favorable people” entrenched in ALL OF THE OFFICES that “racists” that were worthy of protest USED to occupy – the same FAILURES rendered upon our community no longer triggers protests.
Instead the sold out Black establishment, desperate to not have Black folks PROTESTING AGAINST THEM – skillfully and dutifully found a higher plateau for Black folks to focus upon. The functional result of this was that the Democratic Party was safe at the local level where “the Blacks” were concentrated and other county, state and federal positions became the new target of our DREAMS.
We have been functionally changed into pursuers of “Portraits Hanging On The Wall” as proof of our RACIAL DEVELOPMENT rather than having the product of the INSTITUTIONS that are now under favorable control as such evidence.
In summary WE HAVE BEEN USED.
But IT FELT GOOD because it gave us the appearance of PROGRESSION.
With the sold out Black Media (as part of the Establishment) dutifully not doing the “muckraking reporting” against their own ideological soulmates AND most “White Liberal” journalists not wanting to be called RACISTS for stinging reports upon Black Establishment politicians – the machine grew and grew – unabated.
WE WERE SOLD on the notion that it was “SYSTEMATIC RACISM” that produced the results in our schools, our streets, our clinics and our business districts long after favorable people assumed control over them.
The surprise should NOT be that there is disillusionment over Obama (and the Federal Democrats that run congress). Instead there needs to be consciousness that we now stand at the PACIFIC OCEAN of the past “Racial/Political Advocacy System” that was forged in the LAST interval of our struggle. There is no more room for “CHASING”. We are out of land.
The time is now to double back and focus on MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES and implementation of more sound systems of GOVERNANCE.
Barack Obama could be considered the political “Sidney Portier”. In the event he gets a second maybe he will start coming into his own like Sidney when he made movies like Buck and the Preacher along with Uptown Saturday Night, Let’s Do It Again and A Piece of the Action. The established leaders settled for crumbs from Massa’s table and they everything to reinforce this perverted form of inferiority.