Why Clark could be the candidate who wins over black voters

[Nicholas_J]

By Amy Sullivan and Jake Rosenfeld
Web Exclusive: 10.8.03
Print Friendly | Email Article

After Rush Limbaugh's comments about race and football sparked controversy last week, presidential candidates Howard Dean and Wesley Clark were quick to jump on the anti-Limbaugh bandwagon. Dean called Limbaugh's remarks "unacceptable" (though his campaign also made a gaffe in referring to Donovan McNabb as the quarterback of the "Philadelphia Jets") while Clark derided the comments as "hateful and ignorant speech."

The speedy responses of both campaigns could well suggest just how eager Democratic candidates are to burnish their credentials with black voters. The Democratic Party currently has two black candidates -- Al Sharpton and Carol Moseley Braun -- seeking the nomination, but neither is likely to win a significant number of votes. Unless black voters and organizations prove as willing as the National Organization of Women -- which recently endorsed Moseley Braun -- to throw away their support on two unelectable candidates, the black vote should remain up for grabs. True, Jesse Jackson claimed a large percentage of black votes in the 1988 primaries, but, says Jerry Mayer, author of Running on Race: Racial Politics in Presidential Campaigns 1960-2000, "Al Sharpton is no Jesse Jackson. He has not shown that he can win a single vote outside of New York." Sharpton has sought Jackson's support, but so far Jackson has declined to make an endorsement. As recently as last month, according to a Zogby poll, both Moseley Braun and Sharpton were garnering only single-digit support from blacks in South Carolina.

Other Democratic hopefuls have had mixed success courting black voters and leaders. Joe Lieberman has spent time in the black churches of South Carolina, where his strong faith and social conservatism are viewed favorably, while John Kerry picked up an endorsement from Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.), a black politician with considerable appeal. But if the race continues along its current trajectory, Dean and Clark could well end up in a two-man battle for the nomination come this winter. Both will need black support. And, for a host of reasons, one of them will be a lot more likely to get it.

Dean's political experience has come in Vermont, where blacks make up a whopping one-half of 1 percent of the state's population. When questioned by Jake Tapper of Salon last February about whether he could appeal to blacks, Dean dismissed the concern, noting that he "had two African American roommates in college." This may sound like a bad parody of a white politician trying to relate to black voters -- the patrician son of an investment banker fondly recalling his days at Yale University, where he befriended blacks. Unfortunately, Dean was serious


http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2003/10/sullivan-am-10-08.html

[Larkspur]

1. Dean has already attracted African Americans to his campaign

Braun's former campaign manager is now his deputy campaign manager, his South Carolina campaign manager is black, he has endorsements from African American politicians and has supported Washington D.C.'s bid to be treated equally in the national elections, like states are.

The idea that Dean can't win the African American vote is ridiculous. Clark may have come from humble background, but he has forgotten it. Edwards is better at citing his humble beginings than Clark.

[KittyWampus]

2. Clark Is Known For Solving Race Problems

at the bases under his command.

Dean is known for requesting a black roomate at college so he could say "I have a friend who is black".

[Nicholas_J]

3. Given that the military is now

Mostly Black and Hispanic, damned straight he is attracting more minorities and knows how to deal with race problems.

Dena has nominal, if not extremely limited support, with more than 90 percent of his support base coming from 18-30 year old white middle class to upper middle class base.

Polls that break down those polled by age show Dean has very low support among minorities, and that Kerry has three time the support that Dean does among retirees, and more support than Dean in those from the ages 50 - 64.

These are also the groups who wait longer to decide who to support

[Larkspur]

4. Just remember, that after Al Gore dropped out, Kerry was dubbed the

front runner. Nine months later, Dean surged passed Kerry in New Hampshire, Iowa, and California. I would never underestimate Dean's ability to attract voters who are not supporting him now.

[stickdog]

16. Dean had two black activist roommates in a triple at Yale during a

VERY politically active time.

Maybe you should ask them what they think of being Howard's "tokens" since they still are the best of friends.

If it's so easy to dismiss this, tell us which other candidate ever shared a room with two black activists for a couple of years?

And which other candidates ever practiced medicine in the Bronx?

[KittyWampus]

20. Clark Worked In The Inner City In 62

Or somewheres around there.

Just out of curiosity, what section of the Bronx did Dean work in?

You DO know that the Bronx has lots of different sections and its not just ALL black people, right?

[jeremiah fpoa]

24. edwards

gaining the black vote in the democratic primary is not about who a candidate knows or what their roommate did in college. sure, maybe some people pretend to care but in no way does that qualify a candidate to accurately represent any demographic. a candidate must be able to relate to and understand the issues that face every constituency today and react to that. john edwards does not spend his time listing his african-american friend in order to supposively get more support. instead, he meets with voters who have qualms with the country and listens to what they have to say. then he is in a position to actually help them rather than just be their buddy. he is the candidate for 2004.

[Tinoire]

5. See this thread and think again

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=56140

[JohnKleeb]

7. and what I saw last night too

in DC that was a very diverse crowd. I would just love it if John Conyers came out and said I endorse Dennis Kucinich for president. They definely have a lot of respect for each other.

[Kahuna]

6. Blacks will love Clark....

once they find out who he is. :shrug:


But seriously, suave, kick ass types like Clark are really attractive to blacks. Dean is too yuppie. Excuse me. Not!

[Tinoire]

13. Hmmmm Time will have to tell on that one

I don't know... I'm Black and can't stand him- neither can my Black friends who range from top to bottom social positions/classes

but then again, I think you are too, and you like him :shrug: as does one other girl I talked to a few days ago...

We'll see...

I agree with you about Dean and book-marked an interesting thread started by a brother about 4 months ago to that effect; his statement offended a lot of people simply because they didn't want to hear what he had to say but every point he made was valid and I still don't see many Blacks behind Dean. I'll agree that Clark would have more appeal but there's one thing about Black people and that's that we're better at smelling insincerity and seeing past the crap. I think Clark's success will depend on how convincing and sincerely he comes across. He's a little too soft spoken too I think but that's just my opinion.

[stickdog]

17. Sure, blacks just love a wuss in a uniform.

You know. You speak for all black people.

[Duder]

8. Hmmm....

'WHILE WE KNOW that DC's primary is just a beauty contest, some of those dissin' the race may find themselves with egg on their face. Howard Dean is the only candidate who's been making a serious effort in the capital, including a speech at Howard University. While DC may not be important, the black vote certainly is, and it is likely that the word will spread far beyond the capital's black constituents.'

http://prorev.com/indexa.htm

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. Hmmm.

Hmmm!

[TheDonkey]

10. Dean has a very good way with attracting black voters

I saw him live at a Nat.Urban League convention with a 95% black audience and he really talked up his stuff especially with his controversial "I'm the only white politician who talks about race in front of white people," where that is true or not he got crazy response.

I don't think Dean would be as handicapped as some suggest to the black vote.

Kerry, Liberman, and Gephart on the other hand need to do their work a little harder in the african american community.

[Tinoire]

14. Honestly- I am not seeing that with Dean at all

The few Blacks I've met who like him can be counted on one hand and are all at DU. They're also pretty yuppie. Not knocking Dean- just stating it the way I see it.

A line like "I'm the only white politician who talks about race in front of white people," only works until Black people start checking and find out that's not true and I hate to tell you that not only do we do check everything but we don't rely on the media to get/share our impressions.

[DrFunkenstein]

11. Dean's Going After The Redneck Vote

"I do not want to win without the South. I want to go to the South and I’m going to say to white guys that drive pick up trucks with Confederate flag decals on the back of their car, 'We want your vote too, because your kids don’t have health insurance either.'"

http://dean2004.blogspot.com/2003_03_16_dean2004_archive.html

It's not about slavery! It's about a way of life!

<>

<>

[catforclark2004]

12. I am Black......and supporting the General

I attend the largest black Baptist Church in Oakland, CA....my husband is a Deacon there. Al Sharpton was there about three weeks ago. Jesse Jackson was there a couple of times in the last 3 months. Bustamente was there with Sheila E. Jackson(D)Tx, Barbara Lee(D)Ca, and the Female Rep from Fl...forgot her name....THis past Sunday.

The majority of the people have chat with are all supporting the General. The article analysis is correct. It's not about "a beauty contest"....it's about somebody that can beat the shit out of Bush...and appears to have good in his heart.....and is sincere.

Black folks can spot sincerity 5 miles away, you know....

It's called being astute!

[Punkingal]

25. Just a comment on black folks spotting sincerity.....

that is a quality I have long noticed among my black friends. Great built-in bullshit detectors.

[kang]

29. It's a result of all these years of being lied to by "the Man"!!!

Sorry couldn't help myself on that one!

[stickdog]

15. Dean had two black activist ROOMMATES in a triple for two years.

That's something to make fun of?

Dean also went to medical school and did his internship in the Bronx. Is that something to dismiss as well?

[LuminousX]

23. Notice how the article fails to mention

that one of the roommates is Don Roman, a noted civil rights activist. It isn't like Dean wasn't getting an earful of race relations while at Yale.

[Eurobabe]

27. Clark WILL attend the NAACP Carolina Roundtable tomorrow!

General Clark will be attending the NAACP "Carolina Roundtable" forum tomorrow (Friday, October 10) hosted by the South Carolina NAACP at its Annual Convention and Civil Rights Conference.

The event will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina at 4:00 PM EST at the Hilton Charlotte & Towers, 222 E. Third Street.

[stickdog]

18. BlackPeopleLoveClark.Com

It is really true!

[DemDogs]

19. Hilarious site

Apt for Clark and Dean.

[Pez]

26. even better...

...are the letters. i wonder how some of the writers ended up on the site in the first place...

pffftahahahah

[davidinalameda]

21. I think what you're all missing is that African-Americans aren't as

liberal as people make them out to be

younger African-Americans aren't registering Democratic in the same numbers. The leaders of the anti-gay marriage amendment include a lot of African-American ministers, including a former Washington, DC delegate to Congress.

Clark may appeal to African-Americans as a moderate. Dean's perceived liberalism may be a turn-off to some.

I don't think that too many people care that Dean had two African-American roommate--that really smacks of "some of my best friends are black" type of crap.

I think that anyone looks for leadership qualities and ideas in their candidates and not who they lived with 30 years ago in college.

[RandomUser]

22. Good point

Especially in the South and bible belt, where religion, gospel choirs, etc., play a large role in the lives of African Americans. I've known African Americans who voted for Bush because they believed the "compassionate conservative" crap and they wanted someone who promoted faith-based initiatives.

[kang]

28. I just had lunch w/my buddy

and he said the same thing. He supports Clark because he wants to win and he thinks Dean will be written off as a New England liberal who's against war and for gay marriages (which he supports..but you get the point).

I do think the Dean campaign's stating that he had two black roommates was the wrong move. If it's not a problem, don't respond to it or just simply say Dean will attract all voters because his ideas will resonate with them.