Shellacked Again

Baltimore – There are nightmares and then there are re-occurring nightmares, but why do they come during the mid-term elections. I’m guessing this is being mumbled by President Obama on the day after the Republicans cleaned his clock in the House of Representatives, the Senate and in Governors seats. These mid-term elections have left the Democratic President with few options to push his agenda. The electorate has sent a clear message, “get something done.”

The members of the GOP aren’t crowing but, is there an opening? Here a few of the questions that will need to be answered. Will gridlock be the order of the day or will veto overrides settle the scores? Should we expect mischief with a lame duck session? Is it time to get even?

So what happened? Some predicted the outcome and some didn’t see this coming? First a history lesson, the president of the presiding party often looses seats in congress in a mid-term election. The President can help minimize these losses but, a number of candidates did not want the president nor did they want to be seen with him. WOW.

There has been narrative since the President’s initial election by the GOP to thwart his efforts. His political mandate was short lived. He became the Republican Party’s “boogie man.” It was illustrated in Tea Party rallies and mantra’s like “he wasn’t born in the United States; he’s a communist…ect.

The President has down played his “Blackness.” Sometimes to his advantage and some will say to his detriment. “I am not the Black President; I am the President of United States.” Black comics have mocked this sentiment (Key and Peele, and SNL).  Some suggest this is playing the “race card.” Leaders of the U.S. must walk a fine line.

In his post election address the President did not cower instead he reiterated a message he has said on several occasions, “The American people want us to get the job done.” He acknowledged his status a “lame duck.” He acknowledged the winners but, also noted “the 2/3’s of American who didn’t vote.” Claiming the “the bully pulpit” he up the ante for those looking for a conciliator in chief, “As President I have unique position.” He knows those in the GOP have a deep anger for his views, and more importantly his policies. There will be some give on ideas but, in the African-American community this is the price you pay when you can’t hold the reins of power in other branches of government. “We just got to keep at it.”

Fear and Loathing

Following a “bloodbath” like this there is a lot of “Monday Morning Quarterbacking.” The lack of an engaged electorate played out to perfection. The results show those participating in 2014 election were whiter and older. The Democratic Party has been hard press to connect with this group since Jimmy Carter. They have used Social Security to rally the group and scare tactics about Medicaid to mobilize. Guess what the Republicans have paid attention and co-opted these ideas.

Even though Obama was not on the ballot, the GOP used his name often. The President’s poll numbers don’t help and a series of activities

(VA screw-ups, Emergence of ISIL, and Ebola) created a perfect storm which reinforces this perception.

Activities on the ground in several states where efforts to create voter identification were successful sent a message to Black voters, “they don’t want us to participate.” It energized some Black voters but unlike in Presidential years Black votes for Obama top 90%. Add women, young, Latino, and college students they swamp an older electorate. The problem is when there isn't a Presidential race. You can use data tricks but, the ground game is where winners are made.

Once again the GOP is not playing catch up in this aspect as of electioneering. Lastly, the GOP has stayed on message. It has forced out extreme candidates and found the answers to positions which didn’t play well with the voters.  

Lastly, a number of so called “Blue Dog Democrats” in Southern states have seen their constituency flip to Republicans. Obama is the “boogie man” to them. A lot of them see a country that is changing and doesn’t see them as a credible participant in the process. This has “pissed them off.” Code words from politicians are signals which question the legitimacy, the mandate, and the veracity of this President. So what are these “Blue Dog Democrats” to do? Run against the President. Ads from this political groups talked more about how they voted against the President’s policies than trumpeting what the policies have done. Sorry, this is a recipe for disaster. Also isn’t it disingenuous to ask for the political funding but smack the hand of the person who is giving it to you. Holding on to this last rung in the South is Senator Mary Landrieu. She will have a run off in January of 2015 to determine if she returns or is vanquished. She admits this will be tough. She conceded the President isn’t popular in Louisiana and it has aracial tone (finally a piece of honesty). The GOP will likely continue to make this about Obama. How do you counter? I’ll leave that to professionals to work out.

What’s Next?

 From where I’m sitting, “What does this President have to lose?” Change and Hope was the mantra. In reality it came with Division and Confrontation. The National Review in an editorial suggested Republicans continue push confrontation and not work with the President. Another two years of nothing? In my Clint Eastwood voice, “go ahead and make my day.”

This changing landscape has possibilities, problems and course corrections. Let me start with possibilities. The Black electorate is not monolithic but it has been the solid rock of the President’s base. It will be up for grabs in the next Presidential cycle. This summer I invited Renice Prebius to National Association of Black Journalist Conference in Boston. He was adamant “Charles, we can’t be a White Southern Party…we must go to Black, Brown, and communities of color and make the argument for our candidates.”

Conversely, some of the power structure within the Democratic Party asks, “Where this constituency will go?” The lock of Democratic Party on Black voters may not fade anytime soon. There is a marriage of convenience for those at the top of the group to continue this winning strategy. However, where is a national view of peeling off the lock of the White Voters who see the GOP as their party.

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has three new GOP members including the first female GOP member Rep. Mia Love. “Many naysayers said Utah would not elect Black Republican LDS woman to Congress.”). Look the CBC must either recognize there are different strands of Black Politicians whose political viewpoints aren’t compatible.  Lastly, don’t be afraid to form new alliances, create dialogue when there isn’t any, and don’t be forced into a corner even if it’s the POTUS.

Like her counterpart in the Senate Tim Scott she has downplayed her race in the outcome of her election (So why did she say

The bench of the Black Democratics is weak. I have seen a lot of young people volunteering and getting jobs. What I am not seeing is a passing of the baton. You ask these newly minted folks for help. You asked them to help you to understand social media. You created to new task-forces for them to work on including their passions i.e. music, social interaction etc… Is now the time to get out of the way? I know failure at this level is big, but tell me anyone who made it to the top who hasn’t failed.

In two years a number of people will be talking about how they help elected the first Black President. After that time frame the question will be, Will there ever be another Black President?  

Take 2

(Washington, DC) – The promise of Obama was seen in the eyes of a young man who was carried on the shoulders of a father, in the eyes of people who lay like a carpet stretched from the base of the Capitol to the expanse of the nation’s mall and into the many homes and hamlets not seen nor heard.

I, like hundreds went back to see Barack Hussein Obama again take the oath of office for President of the United States. There is a pride and a sense that the American experiment is enduring.  The idea of co- equal branches with a leadership imbued in the President is uniquely American.  This is the Obama generation where vision meets reality.

Unlike the first Inauguration I didn’t have a front row seat, I was in the crowd which seemed surreal. There were families, there were young and old people, gay people, foreign born and many yet to be born. “I want to take a look at this one more time,” said the President as he exited the stage.

The theme of today was “WE.” “We the people declare today that most evident of the truths - that all of us are created equal is the star that guides us still,” according to the President.  There were a number of references  to “WE” in the speech. There was also a sense that we are all in this together. It’s part of the fabric that binds us together.

The American quilt was expanded in the President’s Inauguration Speech. To mention Selma, Seneca Falls, and Stonewall (a gay bar where a riot broke out in New York) in the same breath, broke with the past. Gay rights are out of the third world.  From woman’s rights, to immigration rights, he’s speaking to a rising majority.

Once again this was not about the President, it was about the people. Why have they responded, and is this the end? The people in this audience have brought forth a political juggernaut that his critics cannot beat back with money or media biases. This is the "Age of Obama." He has another four years that will make him a historical figure that people will point to as people look at President Ronald Reagan. Enjoy the moment, because for as much as you will remember this age, it will not come around again.

Taking it All End

There is nothing like finding precious gems on an event like this. I find stories within stories. From the out of towners asking for directions to being able to share the moment with a young journalist. I'm always impressed by the multiple entrepreneurs who find ways to make a buck. From bars having specialty events tied into the Inauguration and of course the street vendors.

Lastly, the person who always listens to my experiences on the road was with me on this trip. My wife, Robbie, has endured my endless stories from my first meeting with Barack Obama, being on the front row for the first Obama Inauguration, and often looks over the things I write. She got the experience firsthand on this trip.

Top Ten Stories of 2012

(Baltimore, MD) Welcome once again to my annual Top Ten list of stories. As a simple disclaimer, these are my personal takes on stories that impacted Black people and those of the African Diaspora. They cover a wide range from political to pop culture. Some of the stories may be on your list and others may not. No worries, I’ve always suggested you “take the bull by the horns” and create your own list. So, here it goes.

10. Mali. Once was considered a bastion of democracy, things have gone radically wrong. There have been a number of coup de tats and it’s impossible to keep score. What is known is a group with Al Qaeda backing has taken over the northern portion of the country. In the south, soldiers arrested Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra at his home late on Dec. 10, 2012. This comes as a number of countries in northern Africa are still in the throes of so called “Arab Spring,” and the Central African Republic is falling apart. Can you say messy?

9. Black women and hair. It became abundantly clear during the Olympics that “sisters” need to check themselves when it comes to hair styles on athletes. The last time I checked when you’re a gymnast aka Gabby Douglas the judges aren’t checking your “do." They're checking your routine.  What made this really cruel was she won the gold and her hair is all you can talk about? Please.

8. Mental Stress. Shhh!!! Black folks suffer from mental stress and mental duress. Case in point, the curious case of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.  Jackson was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and checked himself into a hospital. Despite this admission, he ran for re-election won, and then resigned. Stress is a bitch.

7.  The underestimation of minorities – There was a bizarre assumption on the part of GOP Party that Blacks would be less enthusiastic about the prospects of President Obama being re-elected. There was also a calculation by the GOP if we just bring out Hispanic politicians everyone would forget that the GOP Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney suggested all the undocumented workers in the United States should “self deport.” Did Romney forget that he wasn't just talking about Latino’s; there are Asians, Middle Eastern People, etc….Duh!!!

6. Trayvon Martin scenario – When Trayvon Martin was killed and the alleged murderer suggested he was attacked; and used Florida’s "Stand Your Ground Law" to justify the killing. People were right to question if it was open season on young Black men. Now a second case involving a young Black man, Chavis Carter in Arkansas is raising alarms (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/chavis-carter-shot-jonesboro-police_n_1730997.html). Chavis, who was 21 years old, allegedly committed suicide while handcuffed in the back seat of a police vehicle. This doesn’t sound right. FYI, the Martin case begins in 2013.

5. Obsession with Reality. Look, I don’t bemoan various TV/Cable networks from trying to capitalize on various lifestyles on the extremes of American life. Are we laughing, making fun of, or being voyeuristic? I’m guessing the latter. From the over-the-top excesses of “Basketball Wives,” to the trailer park obsessive walk in the park of “Honey Boo Boo.” Okay, I’ve watch TI and his family, but Shawty Lo (creator of Laffy Taffy) has a reality show about his 11 children and 10 baby mommas’ – in my ESPN voice – “C’mon Man.”

4. The Courts and the President – There is a general belief that President Ronald Regan and Presidents George H. Bush and George W. Bush stacked the courts with enough conservative judges to thwart liberal attempts to bring about social change. Well, there was a problem. You can’t use poltical ideas on faulty law.  It started with attempts to mandate voter I.D. laws, limit early voting, and a challenge to universal health care. All struck down. Sorry the legal argument didn’t carry the day. Bad news is more challenges are coming to existing laws.

3. 47 Per Cent. Things have a way of making it into political campaigns that no matter how you try and spin it, they just don’t work. Mother Jones, a left leaning website, posted a conversation taped of Mitt Romney talking to high end fundraisers about the U.S. electorate being a bunch of takers and “47 percent would not vote for him.” You could have taken a fork to the candidate and just said “he’s done.” But no, those on the right swore, “he just said it badly,” Give me a break.

2. Obama Mojo – The cool calm collected POTUS almost had his butt handed to him in the first presidential debate (“aloof and uncaring”).  But during the second and third debates he came In like Muhammad Ali, “float like a butterfly and sting life a bee.” Pundits suggested this was going to be a tight race.  Millions of dollars were raised to defeat the President. Karl Rove, the Republican Prognosticator, who was so confident that the GOP would win.  He was baffled when the FOX Network called the race for President Obama. Now with a fiscal calamity about to hit the US, the right wants to know why the President won’t compromise, MOJO.

1.  Guns and Gun Culture – the Newtown Massacre was a wake up call, but were people asleep in Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta and various other cities where the murder rates are intolerable. Appreciate the President going to the mass shootings in Tucson, Aurora, and yes Newtown. These tragedies say a lot about society. Sorry the NRA’s answer is out of touch, more guns. There needs to be a conversation about assault weapons and mental illness that I hope will occur.

Person of the Year, Gabe Douglas – Gymnast extraordinaire. Not only did she win gold, but beat back the bizarre critics who questioned her hair style. Young people her story is about sacrifice. Also, she left her hometown of Virginia Beach to train with the best in Iowa. She was all of 13 years old. If anything, Gabby has shown her “haters” that being physically fit means sweating, and getting in the gym and off the couch. Consider this, if you spent between $60 - $100 on hair and your body is out of whack who looks more outrageous? If you want to be beautiful…you can do so when you’re out of the gym.