What the Black Presidential Candidate Must Do. (Advice For Al Sharpton)

The Black Commentator ^ | April 24, 2003

[Fzob]

Last week New York's Village Voice ran an article advising Rev. Al Sharpton how to run his campaign. We're not going to do that. Sharpton will show who he is in the course of the race. Even those of us who think we know him cannot predict what the National Action Network leader will become as he is tested by the experience.

Instead we will briefly lay out what believes is the historic mission that a Black candidate should strive to fulfill in the Democratic primaries. We believe Al Sharpton is up to the task, if he maintains a clear vision and personal discipline.

Be the Black candidate

There has not been a national election cycle since passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in which a demonstration of concentrated, effective Black voting strength has been more critical. First and last, the Black candidate's job in 2004 is to energize the Black vote. The largest possible number of African Americans must coalesce behind one candidate in order to prove that there still remains a formidable Black bloc vote. If you are the unabashedly Black candidate, that should be you.

The corporate media is out to destroy Black candidacies, not necessarily you as a person, but the very idea of an independent, conscious, shared Black electoral mission. Corporate media today act in lockstep with Republicans and corporate Democrats to encourage and even invent centrifugal forces within the Black body politic. (See November 4, "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Bogus Election "Study" - Black Majette vote grossly inflated.") Their common goal is to fracture the Black vote and, thereby, eliminate from American political debate the essential elements of the broad Black political agenda. If the Black bloc vote is fractured, or can be made to appear unfocused, the media will declare that the African American vote is no longer strategically important. From that point on in national contests, the Black electorate will be treated as less than the sum of its purportedly scattered parts.

Never before have so many freelance and salaried Black vote splitters been fielded within the community, itself. One of them is among your opponents, Carolyn Moseley-Braun. Others work on behalf of candidates and forces within the Democratic National Committee whose sole interest in Black voters is that they not interfere with white candidates' abilities to address white voters. You are the only hope for African Americans as a group to have a strong voice in the Democratic Presidential process, and Black voters are your only hope of wielding clout as a leader of an effective Party bloc.

No diversions

Do not allow yourself to trade in a single Black vote for any number of hoped for white votes. Your mission is to fire up Black people so that they might speak with a louder, more coherent voice, not to water down the cultural or political content of the message. In this sense, your candidacy is largely an internal Black affair, although certainly not exclusionist in spirit or intention. The fact of the matter is, you do not stand to gain many white votes anyway, and the good white people who will vote for you do not need to be pandered to. Your message is progressive, in line with the historical Black social vision. Let white people envision it with you, if they are willing. But you will do progressive politics no service by unnecessarily diverting your energies from your Black base. Progressive politics cannot exist in America without an energetic Black electorate and movement. That's your critical function, in this election cycle.

You will be encouraged to "broaden" your message early in the cycle, so that you will have a larger potential pool to draw from later on, when the field narrows. If you follow this nonsense, you will never get through the primaries. Your message is already broad, and you have made no mistakes of "narrowness." Those who suggest that you go "beyond your base" almost certainly represent smaller, single-issue groupings. In the end, they will most likely still not vote for you. You are not the scavenger candidate - you are the Black candidate. Your potential base is bigger than anyone else can offer. More importantly, you are in this race to demonstrate their power, not your wider appeal.

Put out the call

The Village Voice writer said you "absolutely must get invited to the big debates in January." Ta-Nehisi Coates is correct. But you will get there by virtue of your Black voter support. Let someone dare to bar from the debate a Black candidate with the polled support of more than half the Black Democratic public. That is a fight you will surely win, or bring into utter disrepute those Democrats that collaborate in your rejection. Trust us, none of your opponents wants to go there.

Make the January debates part of your campaign appeal. "If you don't want to see a monochrome debate in January, tell the pollsters you support me!" This message touches the "race person" in most African Americans, and should move even those Blacks who don't particularly like you. And some non-Blacks, too.

Finally, on the Tawana Brawley matter. We've tried to avoid offering specific advice, so we'll make this short. Those who ask that you "apologize" in order to "come clean" are your enemies. They are calling you dirty, and are full of the stuff that preachers cannot name. You are a minister who believed a young Black woman over the words of white men in rural, upstate New York. On Black terms, that's righteous, honorable, and quite enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sapper26]

The Cliff Notes version of the article could be this. "Al stay in the race, get a strong enough showing in the primaries, and demand a black VP candidate as payment for your support."

[Fzob]

I think your take on this is on the money. This strategy is entirely exclusionary, and intentionally so

It is also devisive on purpose. This thinking by the black progressive wing seems bent on demonizing the opposition; namely white people. Notice that only good white people would vote for Sharpton. He didn't say smarter or progresive (or any other adjective) white people, he said good white people. It is amazing to me that they still beleive that demonizing whitey will galvanize the black vote to the looney left.

[ovrtaxt]

Any thoughts on Al's use to the Republicans as a foil to bring up the racism of the Democratic party?

If Bush plays it right, allowing Powell and Condi to speak for him, and doing so himself from time to time, in small sound bite type statements which challenge the Democrats' racial motives, this could be huge.

Basically, I see Al as really pissed at the liberals for their hypocrisy, but wanting to perpetuate racial tension for his own advancement, he can't fall in behind conservatism. ( I think he knows it will solve too many problems for the blacks.)

[leadpenny]

From the article:

The largest possible number of African Americans must coalesce behind one candidate in order to prove that there still remains a formidable Black bloc vote.

______________________________________

Does the same dictum apply to the white candidate?

I agree with the thrust of your question, and need to read no further than the author's statement. Until ALL Americans are willing to think, act and vote for themselves, this kind of devisive crap will continute.

[larryjohnson]

Census reveals progress by blacks -- The Washington Times
http://dynamic.washtimes.com/twt-print.cfm?ArticleID=20030426-67469417

[NativeNewYorker]

[DED]

Yo, Black Community; want a good black candidate? First find one who isn't a hypocritical clown. There are a number of really sharp black people in politics, the unfortunate thing for you is that you don't want just a good black candidate, you require a liberal Democrat black candidate.

And your comments about the media being controlled by whitey, it's about the same as Tim Robbins saying he's being censored. Just as Robbins gets everything he says quoted on TV, radio and in the newspapers, blacks get plenty of press. Colin Powell was a media darling BEFORE he even admitted which party he supported. Jesse Jackson can't do anything low enough to get criticism from the press. The only black candidate I can think of who's been ignored is Alan Keyes, clearly the ONLY black candidate who actually has brains and qualifications - but since he's conservative, he obviously isn't black enough for you.

As for the Tamara Brawley incident, Sharpton proved he was a jerk not for believing her, but for refusing to admit he'd been wrong and apologize to the white men whose reputations he was helping wreck. He basically said the truth didn't matter - remind you of a recent president?

[DED]

There was a joke along these lines that unfortunately isn't actually a joke because it's true.

Just to give the short version, a town had 500 voters and 400 of them were white. Black guy runs for office and gets 100 votes and then blasts the whites for bloc voting against the black candidate.

Choosing a candidate by race is WRONG, except for blacks.

[Pukka Puck]

I have a hunch, now don't hold me to this, but I have a hunch that Bush will run in 2004 and, thanks to fools like Sharpton and Nader, he will win in a landslide.

I hope this helps.

[BenLurkin]

Sharpton as President. What a joke.

Here's my idea of a Presidential candidate:

[Ciexyz]

Run, Al, run! But when flying, don't sit near any door that might blow open.

[amused]

Sorry for the delay....

Go Al Go Ping!

If you would like on or off the Sharpton ping list, Freep me.

[hobbes1]

Disgusting. And Racist to boot.

The Village Voice writer said you "absolutely must get invited to the big debates in January." Ta-Nehisi Coates is correct. But you will get there by virtue of your Black voter support. Let someone dare to bar from the debate a Black candidate with the polled support of more than half the Black Democratic public.

Black Republicans need not apply.

[WaveThatFlag]

. At this time, I would be very surprised if Bush cracks 15% of the black vote in 2004. He will come close to twenty percent if Condi Rice is his running mate.

Chris, what is wrong with the job Dick Cheney's doing. Until he says he's not running, he's the VP candidate. Amateur cardiologists notwithstanding.

[WaveThatFlag]

Forgot my tagline...

[Grampa Dave]

We can help the UnReverend $harpton with some donations to ensure his viability against the rats.

http://www.sharptonexplore2004.com/

This site has been hacked by the Racist Rats of the DNC, and it is down. As soon as it becomes available, go there and donate.

[section9]

Chris, what is wrong with the job Dick Cheney's doing. Until he says he's not running, he's the VP candidate. Amateur cardiologists notwithstanding.

Absolutly nothing! Big Time is a stand up guy. I'm thinking strategically. How do you force Democrats to protect their base vote while at the same time attracting swing voters. AND how do you set the Party up to be an agent of change in 2008, when the American people are going to feel like electing a Democrat?

You have to offer something different. However, it also helps that if you're offering something different, it's something of high quality, as well. And Condi is nothing if not high quality, and she matches Hillary's attraction with female voters. The liberals would be counting on a gender gap in 2008 to counter Hillary's weakness among white men. They'll also be counting on her to keep a lock on black voters and hispanic females, while doing a respectable job among hispanic men.

Rice upsets that applecart, and makes it impossible for Hillary to win.

Be Seeing You,

Chris