Posted on 11/23/2002 7:03:11 PM PST by Doctor Raoul
Nov 17, 2002 BY GIL KLEIN
WASHINGTON - Greg Tarver, a black Louisiana state senator, is fed up with U.S. Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, a fellow Democrat. Landrieu is in a tight run-off race to keep her seat. She must have the enthusiastic support of blacks, who make up 30 percent of the state's population, to win on Dec. 7. But Tarver says he and other black leaders may sit on their hands. "I'm tired of the Democratic Party taking the black vote for granted," Tarver said. "They only see us during election time. I'm sick of it." Black voters are the most loyal base of the Democratic Party. By a nine-to-one margin, they vote the party line, political analysts say. Especially in the South, where the Republican Party is claiming a growing percentage of white rural and suburban voters, a heavy black turnout can swing an election. As Democrats try to determine what went wrong in this past election, black leaders are in a quandary. Some wonder if they could do more to get blacks to the polls. Others fear the Democratic Party isn't taking them seriously. "African-Americans told me that they couldn't figure out what the Democratic candidates stood for," said Barbara Arnwine, director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "There was not one appeal to them. They [Democratic candidates] should stop running away from their base. "Stop trying to make people think they're Republidemocrats." Appealing to white voters, who overwhelmingly supported Bush in 2000, Landrieu angered blacks by running TV ads saying she had voted with President Bush 74 percent of the time. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said one of his top priorities was to lure white rural voters who had been attracted to the GOP in recent years. Some Southern Democratic candidates tried to attract white men through endorsements by NASCAR drivers. "You can't out-Republican the Republicans," said George Curry, a black media executive and columnist who appears in 200 black newspapers. "The Democratic Party is fighting for the Bubba vote, which it will never get. Bill Clinton proved you don't need it to create a majority." But many black leaders said blacks cannot afford to sit out elections if they don't think the Democratic Party is doing enough for them. "The notion that Democrats are taking us for granted is a neutralizing thing," civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said. "If we did anything wrong, we didn't indicate what the stakes were in who won and who lost." A stronger black turnout could have tipped the election in the governors' races in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, as well as for the U.S. Senate in Georgia where Saxby Chambliss edged out incumbent Democrat Max Cleland, said Tyrone Brooks, president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials. "African-Americans are going to have to do some deep soul searching," Brooks said. "As long as we are comfortable [with the black turnout] rate, we will continue to lose." But Brooks and other black leaders said the party must also change leadership. They remember how McAuliffe, who is white, fended off a challenge last year from the first black mayor of Atlanta, Maynard Jackson, for the DNC's top post. "From the chair on down, there need to be changes," Brooks said. "We would have been better off putting Maynard Jackson in." Nationwide, blacks turned out by about the same percentages as whites - just under 40 percent, according to an estimate by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. "I get tired of hearing people say black folk are to blame," said Robert Holmes, director of Clark Atlanta University's Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy and a black state legislator. "About 75 percent of the white males vote Republican. Twenty years ago it was half that." In Shreveport, La., Tarver is waiting for Landrieu to talk with him before he decides what he is going to do in the run-off election. The run-off pits the top Republican vote-getter, Susie Terrell, against Landrieu, whom Tarver thinks is in serious trouble. In a state where 70 percent of the voters are registered Democrats, the three Republicans running against Landrieu in the general election garnered 54 percent of the vote. Black turnout was 15 percent lower than white turnout. Landrieu says she can't understand why Tarver and other black legislators won't campaign for her. With a 91 percent approval rating from the NAACP, she says she's voted for their issues. But Tarver said Landrieu has ignored constituent services in the black community. She shows up at election time, he said, but not in between. "All politics is local," he said. "She can make a thousand votes in Washington, D.C., but if she don't take care of the people's business locally, she won't get back. She's going to have to do a lot of talking to get my help."Blacks express frustration with Democratic Party
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/frontpage/MGBAIIV6M8D.html
"From the chair on down, there need to be changes," Brooks said. "We would have been better off putting Maynard Jackson in."
Right on Mister Brooks!
These LA folks may also realize that there is no future with the dems unless they demonstrate that blacks are "in play."
Doc R, does this mean that blacks are just noticing this problem, or does it mean that the Times-Disgrace is just noticing this problem?
The Republican party is THE party which supported freedom for black slaves. It would be nice if today's blacks realized where their real home is.
Mondale instead of Paige.
Pelosi instead of Ford.
It's for your own good, and theirs too. I mean, look what it did to Rice, and Powell, and Thomas. Made them traitors to their race. Believe me, say the Dems.
One too many times they are told to wait their turn.
One too many times they are asked to vote for the lily-white cracker, and wait some more, because it's in their best interest.
Yeah, well, I'm tired of the blacks who complain and complain and complain but who end up voting for the same masters over and over again.
"All politics is local," he said. "She can make a thousand votes in Washington, D.C., but if she don't take care of the people's business locally, she won't get back. She's going to have to do a lot of talking to get my help."
Tarver is 100% right and knows how things work.
Oh, BTW - I can see this right now over at the DNC
Terry Mc - "Tarver? Oh, F**k him and those damn (you know whats). What are they going to do? Vote Republican? Bwahahahaha."
The day may just come when blacks realize that the Republicans are the party of independence and the Democrats are the party of dependence.
The civil rights issue was actually hi-jacked by the democrats. Algore's dad was against it as were most of the southern democrats, but it was the Republican party who brought the issue to the table and kept hammering at it until it was passed. History books today do not reflect the Republican effort at all. Instead, it gives the entire credit to the democrats. Too bad black democrats don't know the truth.
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