Posted on 11/20/2002 8:59:01 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
David Paterson's election yesterday as leader of the state Senate Democrats is historic not only because he will be the first African-American to lead a party caucus in Albany, but because it may signal the emergence of a new generation of black leaders from under the shadow of Harlem's fading political old guard. It's about time. Look what happened in this month's elections to the old guard's leading lights: State Controller Carl McCall was trounced by Gov. Pataki. Denny Farrell, the longtime Harlem assemblyman and the state party chairman, couldn't get McCall elected with 2 million more registered Democrats than Republicans. Former Mayor David Dinkins was virtually invisible. Rep. Charles Rangel was frustrated again in his eternal quest to become chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
The weakening of the Harlem establishment hurts the party statewide - it has, after all, lost three gubernatorial and three mayoral elections in a row. This is in large part because the old guard's dream of a winning coalition of blacks and Latinos has proven illusory. In fact, the emphasis on identity politics over bread-and-butter issues is a major factor in driving many whites to the GOP. Times have changed, but the party is stuck with an old, disastrous image - weak on crime, strong on taxing and spending.
The waning of the old guard's power creates an opportunity for a new generation of young black politicians like Paterson. Who might they be? Unfortunately, it's not an imposing list. But there are some contenders.
Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields is a protégé of Rangel, but term limits will force her out of office in 2005, which may force her to be bolder.
City Controller Bill Thompson of Brooklyn is the No. 3 elected official in the city, and with McCall's defeat, the No. 1 black elected official in the state. He's known for his caution but, like Fields, he enjoys diverse support.
Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens is a rising star on Capitol Hill and could use some of that power to exert more influence at home. As for Al Sharpton, I've long said the most powerful man in Harlem is from Brooklyn. Trouble is, he's always running for offices he can't win - a man with a base but no springboard to the power he craves.
The old guard is from a noble generation of African-Americans who clawed their way from Jim Crow segregation to positions of power. As they fade from the scene, their political descendants must demonstrate not only the courage to assert themselves, but a willingness to break with the failed political strategies of the past.
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