Do not make the mistake of thinking that because my conclusion is the same as another person's that my reasoning is the same
Dean's New Challenge: Reaching Black Voters
By JODI WILGOREN
Cynthia Williams showed up nearly an hour before Howard Dean's scheduled appearance at Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Harlem yesterday morning, eager to disappear among the women in feathered hats who filled the pews. For once, the only thing making Ms. Williams, an African-American computer technician from Nutley, N.J., stand out was the blue Dean button on her lapel.
"So many events that I go to I'm like one of maybe two black faces," said Ms. Williams, 37, a staunch Dean fan who has followed her candidate to more than a dozen events in New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire over the last year. "The only thing I can say the reason why is there hasn't been any effort to reach out to minorities."
Ms. Williams's experience points to a problem that has been looming over Dr. Dean's presidential campaign throughout his surge to the front of the field this summer and fall. How can Dr. Dean, the former governor of a nearly all-white, mostly rural state, speak to urban issues and motivate the minority voters who have been a mainstay of the Democratic electorate for decades?
The campaign has devoted increasing attention to this question in recent weeks, calling attention to the support it has won from several leading black politicians and two major unions with many African-American and Hispanic members. Indeed, the crowds at union-led rallies on Dr. Dean's behalf this weekend in Detroit and New York were among the most racially diverse he has seen, and he has recently begun referring to his campaign as a rainbow.
But it was just a few weeks ago that Dr. Dean's handling of criticism for his comments about wanting to be the candidate for "guys with Confederate flag decals on their pickup trucks" raised concerns about his command of the complex racial dynamics of the country, particularly in the South.
Dr. Dean, 54, was not active in the civil rights movement, and has neither the political network of black ministers and community leaders nor the personal relationships that have helped other white candidates. His campaign's heavy use of the Internet has largely bypassed poorer pockets of African-Americans and Latinos, and issues like crime, drugs and failing public schools have not been centerpieces of his message.
Posted by P6 at November 24, 2003 09:34 AM | Trackback URL: http://www.prometheus6.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2359One of the problems I have with certain prominent lefty blogs is that they sometimes seem to think that the blogosphere is an accurate reflection of the offline world and to forget that it's disproportionately white, middle-class, and young. The comments sections of some blogs seem to be echo chambers of the same viewpoint.
(OK, this comment has nothing to do with Dean)
Well, that's part of the reason I make the particular noises I do. But what set you off? I'm curious.
Al-Muhajabah, that comment has everything to do with Dean and his impending problems with the Dems greatest, most loyal voting block.
P6 - It's not that anything in particular set me off; I've thought that for awhile. It's why I've stopped reading the comments at some blogs or I'll only read about the first ten and then quit. It's more that I was just waiting for a good opportunity to say something that I've been thinking for awhile.
I've got a strong contrarian streak so when I see people all flocking to hold one view, I find myself gravitating to hold a different view. For that reason, I would tend to dislike the groupthink that I see at those sites anyway, even if I didn't have any other reason to disagree with it.
I'm thinking in particular of Daily Kos. I don't recall ever seeing a single serious discussion of Sharpton's candidacy there; they've dropped even mentioning him, Moseley Braun, and Kucinich. Obviously, as a Kucinich supporter, I resent the marginalization of my favored candidate, but it bothers me a lot more to see Sharpton treated that way. As if people who believe that Sharpton speaks for their interests aren't really important. There are discussions to be had about whether most blacks do think that Sharpton speaks for their interests, whether and to what degree blacks form a group that does have distinct interests, and what the best strategy is for pursuing those interests. You can find that elsewhere, but not at Kos.
And the same lack seems to extend to anybody else who doesn't match the profile of the typical Kos commentor.
If memory serves, I asked what was needed by African-Americans from a Dem candidate a handful of months ago. (I also asked the same question of Asian-Americans in another sphere.) The response I got at the time was that if issues which affected all Americans were answered adequately, that addressing African-Americans *in particular* wouldn't be necessary. Did something change here?
I supported at the time. I still do. I'm mixed-race; I see the challenge of the outreach and it's on both sides of the table. For instance: I make every effort locally to advertise that we're having a Dean Meetup and minorities don't show. I make a point of pushing to the whites who do attend that outreach is deficient and they're puzzled, they don't know what to do...(really, if they live in a different portion of the culture, what do they do?).
Do you want to try giving them specifics on where to reach you? Or do you want to at least show up at the next Dean Meetup? Somebody has to stretch a little here.
I just sent an email to the Dean campaign, telling them that outreach continues to be a serious challenge because I�m still hearing this here in the blogs of minority Americans and I�m still not seeing minorities showing up at Meetups.
Here�s a fraction of the information from the Dean campaign on initiatives and issues which benefit minority Americans:
�Invest for Success� -- early childhood initiative, a plan to give equal opportunity to every child
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10746&news_iv_ctrl=1424
Governor Dean�s Higher Education Plan � fundamental commitment to our children: that every one of them will be able to afford to go to college if they commit to work hard, stay in school and graduate from high school
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10503
Ending Racial Disparities in Health Care � providing quality, affordable health care for all Americans
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_statement_health_racialdisparities
Want to hear more from African-Americans about Dean?
http://www.africanamericansfordean.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanAmericansForDean/?yguid=141315434
I�m putting my effort where my mouth is; it�s your turn. Now let�s see a few more minority members at the next Meetup on 03-DEC-03. They�re held on the first Wednesday of every month; for the location of the Meetup closest to you, go to: http://dean2004.meetup.com. Stir the pot up, make yourself heard.
Well Rayne, for the recoed I have no problem with
The response I got at the time was that if issues which affected all Americans were answered adequately, that addressing African-Americans *in particular* wouldn't be necessary. Did something change here?
That may be the response you got elsewhere (it sounds like the anti-identity politics position pushed by The American Prospect) but it's not the response you got here. The money quotes:
The white folks are talking about outreach, they want to do it, but it's not happening.How serious is their intent? Has anyone tried anything beyond discussion? Are your people willing to risk rejection? Are they willing to return after rejection? It sounds like folks are looking for a sure-fire method, and having a sure-fire method is NOT meeting someone half-way.
Somebody's got to meet half-way.
That someone has to be someone they are sure is able to affect policy. Otherwise all the reassurances and reaching out in the world means nothing and it take no political sophistication to realize that.
BTW, my consulting fees are quite reasonable.
Nothing changed here.
Well, maybe my consulting rates.
As for letting "them" know how to contact me, I'm already on the mailing list…on the other hand, I'm on the mailing list for every Democratic candidate. My email address is kinda plain-text encoded on the sidebar. It's actually linked in the comments.
And I do put my effort where my mouth is. If you keep in mind my thing isn't "African Americans For Dean" but "A Black American For Americans,But For Black Americans In Particular," that will be more apparent.
There's also the possibility that people simply aren't all that interested in Dean. Shocking thought, I know, but something to keep in mind. Don't assume that people will automatically love and support Dean as soon as they know about him. Not everybody likes his centrist brand of politics or finds his campaign style appealing. And not everybody who is willing to vote for him is interested in doing anything more than that.