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Showing posts with label black independents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black independents. Show all posts
Friday, August 06, 2010
Interviews by a Black Independent: Dr. Lenora Fulani Interviews Congressman Charlie Rangel August 20
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Hankster Top 10 Posts Since Obama's Election
Since Election Day, November 4, 2008
If you can imagine that independent voters are this eclectic, have a nice adventure:
#1
189 visits
#2
72 visits
#3
66 visits
#4
56 visits
#5
28 visits
27 visits
#7
25 visits
#7
25 visits
#7
25 visits
#8
22 visits
#9
21 visits
#10
19 visits
#10
19 visits
Monday, December 15, 2008
African American Independent political movements
Review of In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third Party Movements in the United States by Omar Ali on An Ordinary Person "I found myself constantly bowled over by one unexpected historical insight after another on the political activity of African Americans. More than just being passive, oppressed subjects as traditional historical accounts have tended to portray them, African-Americans have a rich history of organized, anti-Establishment political activity dating back to the days of slavery and through modern times......"
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Black Independent: A new political category (and a cultural revolution)
One of the more positive things that's been going on in the past 20 years in America is the development of a new constituency: the Black Independent.
Six percent of black voters in 2008 were independent. Even the MSM noticed (they invented the category). Why is this significant? Because black voters traditionally, at least since somewhat after the New Deal, are Democrats. In fact, that's been a complaint of some black leftists for the 80 years since the Great Depression.
For those of us on the left--white and black, including the progressive independent activists of the CUIP networks, who have been slogging and blogging for the past 20 years plus, this is a special moment where the independent movement and black voters have come together. We have just witnessed a cultural revolution in the country. (And for the MSM pundits who think that Joe Lieberman is a spokesman for independent voters, pay attention!)
Let's take a look at some factoids:
In the meantime, keep slogging and blogging.
Six percent of black voters in 2008 were independent. Even the MSM noticed (they invented the category). Why is this significant? Because black voters traditionally, at least since somewhat after the New Deal, are Democrats. In fact, that's been a complaint of some black leftists for the 80 years since the Great Depression.
For those of us on the left--white and black, including the progressive independent activists of the CUIP networks, who have been slogging and blogging for the past 20 years plus, this is a special moment where the independent movement and black voters have come together. We have just witnessed a cultural revolution in the country. (And for the MSM pundits who think that Joe Lieberman is a spokesman for independent voters, pay attention!)
Let's take a look at some factoids:
- Barack Obama polled the majority of the independent vote: 52% (compared to about 44% for John McCain). That's an 8 point margin.
- Four years earlier, in 2004, independents split evenly between John Kerry and George Bush
- 29% of voters on November 4th were independents, that's up 3 points since 2004, while the Dems took 2% more of the total, and the Repubs lost 5 points
- The 2008 election was the first time since 1972 that a majority of independent voters cast ballots for a Democrat
- Third-party candidates polled about 1% of the total vote nationally, Nader (independent) and McKinney (Green) garnering about 200,000 more votes than Barr (Libertarian) and Baldwin (Constitution) -- again, a shift left
In the meantime, keep slogging and blogging.
Friday, October 31, 2008
TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS
INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Black and Purple: How a new generation of black independent voters is changing American politics. (Marcia Ford, Urban Faith)
CAMPAIGN
BLOOMBERG/TERM LIMITS
Angry Enough to Run (Rock Hackshaw, Room 8) Last Thursday evening, the New York City Council shat on democracy’s face. I am mad. I am real angry. I am angry enough to run for public office again.
Black and Purple: How a new generation of black independent voters is changing American politics. (Marcia Ford, Urban Faith)
CAMPAIGN
- Obama Losing Support Among Independents - Unaffiliated Voters Are Leaving Obama, But Into The Undecided Column Rather Than To McCain (National Journal)
- Obama: Rockin' the suburbs (Chicago Tribune/The Swamp)
BLOOMBERG/TERM LIMITS
Angry Enough to Run (Rock Hackshaw, Room 8) Last Thursday evening, the New York City Council shat on democracy’s face. I am mad. I am real angry. I am angry enough to run for public office again.
Monday, October 20, 2008
TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS
INDEPENDENT VOTERS
What Independent Voters Want (By JOHN P. AVLON, Wall Street Journal) There are now six states where independents outnumber both Republicans and Democrats -- the swing states of Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire as well as New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
REFORM
Yes: A direct popular vote would serve the will of the majority (Duluth News Tribune)
CAMPAIGN
FROM HARLEM WITH LOVE
Black America Going Independent (Michael Druker/The Independent View)
What Independent Voters Want (By JOHN P. AVLON, Wall Street Journal) There are now six states where independents outnumber both Republicans and Democrats -- the swing states of Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire as well as New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
REFORM
Yes: A direct popular vote would serve the will of the majority (Duluth News Tribune)
CAMPAIGN
- Zogby: McCain Is Gaining, Race Tightens (Newsmax.com)
- Virginia GOP Already Deep Into Post-Mortems (Washington Post/Raw Fisher)
FROM HARLEM WITH LOVE
Black America Going Independent (Michael Druker/The Independent View)
Friday, July 04, 2008
How black voters took on the Clinton machine
by Lenora FulaniPosted July 4, 2008 12:01 AM
The Daily Voice
The big spotlight is on how the Obama/Clinton rift is being healed. As expected, the Democratic Party is coming together. After all, it has a White House to win.
Personally, I'm more concerned with the Black Home than with the White House - the Black Home being black America - which has just been through a game-changing experience. It began with marked splits at the leadership level, including within the Congressional Black Caucus, and involving Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the black clergy and the black media. But as ordinary African Americans repudiated the Democratic Party "old guard," and as black independents and insurgents came to play a new and important role, the black establishment was forced to follow the lead of the community in backing Obama and forsaking the Clintons. It was by no means a smooth ride.
The Congressional Black Caucus went into the Democratic primary season with some of its heaviest hitters lined up with Hillary. Congressman Charles Rangel of New York, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas were front and center (the center's the only place to be in Clintonland) on the Hillary bandwagon.
Not everyone in the CBC agreed. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, a "young gun" came out early and strong for Obama as did Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina was neutral until the end of the primaries when he endorsed Obama. But the message from the black establishment was unmistakable: Black America is vested in the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party belongs to the Clintons. If the Clintons want the White House, black America best line up behind them, Barack Obama notwithstanding.
There were problems, however, with this proposition, and not just because Obama was an attractive challenger. There were hundreds of local black elected officials from South Carolina to California, from Georgia and Alabama to New York, who saw the Obama candidacy as an opportunity to leverage against their own local Democratic machines. These "new guard" politicians felt that the Clintons' claim on black voters was overrated and undeserved. In addition to that insider insurgency, there are growing numbers of African Americans who have become independents and are not stakeholders in preserving an old guard status quo, some of whom - myself included - had born the brunt of Clintonian racial politics and supported the Obama challenge. The situation was pretty combustible.
Whenever there is a fault line of this kind in black politics, Al Sharpton is invariably navigating it. An outsider and civil rights leader, Sharpton is also a consummate insider with ties to the Clintons. Beginning in the summer of 2007, he publicly questioned Obama's credentials. On the one hand, Sharpton raised important issues about the extent to which Obama's post-racial politics would honor the history of the civil rights movement and the black empowerment surge of the 1960s and 1970s it engendered. At the same time, though, Sharpton was echoing the "Is he black enough?" drumbeat strongly encouraged by the Clintons.
But in the Black Home, the question was never whether Obama was black enough. It was whether or not he was just an Establishment Democrat. Circumstances became much hotter than Sharpton - and the black establishment - expected. In New York, where Clinton had lined up 400 elected officials to endorse her in April 2007, the point was to signal that the die was already cast - for her. But it wasn't. My independent posse went to the streets with a simple question: "Who Decided Hillary Was Best For the Black Community?"
Before long, black New Yorkers were sporting bright yellow tee-shirts with that slogan and at the end of last summer, several hundred people, wearing the challenge to Hillary, marched in the African American Day Parade.
Our message in the Harlem march had a special resonance because the old guard Democratic machine's grip on the black community was already loosening. In 2005, a coalition of black voters and white independent voters gave Michael Bloomberg a landslide reelection victory. We'd run a vigorous campaign for Bloomberg, the independent mayor, in the black community. Half of African Americans had voted for him and against the Democratic Party candidate. The Clintons, in particular, were incensed by this, and it fueled their longstanding vendetta against me and against the Independence Party. While Obama's 61 percent of the black vote in New York on Super Tuesday was a smaller share than that of some other states (88 percent in Georgia, 93 percent in Illinois, 84 percent in Alabama and Missouri, 86 percent in Delaware, 82 percent in New Jersey), it was still a dramatic default in the Clinton coalition.
That wasn't supposed to happen, according to the Clinton game plan. Before Super Tuesday, South Carolina was to be the Clinton firewall with black voters. Early on the Clinton campaign put black political operatives on payroll and projected itself into the black churches. Pastors and deacons circulated the seemingly scriptural idea that "It's Hillary's Time."
Wayne Griffin, a black elected official in Greer, a small businessman and a longtime independent, who chairs the South Carolina Independence Party, was hearing the Clinton rumblings and thought the odds were in her favor. But as an independent Griffin was repelled by the Clinton style of partisan politics. He set up the first committee of its kind - Independents for Obama - and as South Carolina is an open primary state, began to popularize the idea that Obama's call to "turn the page" fit with independents' desire to overcome partisanship and reform the political system, running radio commercials across the state promoting that message.
When black support for Obama - driven by independents and insurgents - began to creep up, the Clintons were forced to come out swinging. Bill Clinton called Obama's campaign "the biggest fairy tale I've ever heard" and repeatedly reminded reporters that Jesse Jackson had won South Carolina twice - suggesting that a black non-contender could easily carry the state. The response was thunderous. The Clintons were playing the race card, demeaning a political vision based on hope, and insulting voters in the process. Obama won the South Carolina primary handily, and it was a shot heard round the world. He polled 78 percent of the black vote. The Clinton firewall had collapsed. The character of the black electorate was changing. The Black Home had spoken.
After South Carolina, exit polling picked up a new trend for the first time in a number of Super Tuesday states. In Massachusetts 33 percent of black voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary self-identified as independents. In Missouri it was 18 percent. In Connecticut the number was 22 percent, in California 14 percent, in New Jersey 13 percent, in Tennessee 17 percent. Among black independents, the support for Obama appears to have been astronomical. For example, in Georgia, where 12 percent of all African American voters in the Democratic primary were independents, 97 percent of those cast ballots for Obama.
Obama now turns his attention to the general election. For its part, black leadership needs to come together to discuss the changes that have occurred. It is no longer sufficient to equate being black with being a Democrat. Black independents - at the base and at the leadership level - played a vital role in turning the page. And the emerging electoral coalition between black voters and independents of all hues is a powerful new component of American politics. Make note of this black and independent alliance. This election season produced more than a "turn the page" candidate and perhaps a "turn the page" president. It brought forth a "turn the page" political partnership, the power of which has only just begun to make itself felt.
Dr. Lenora Fulani is America's leading black political independent, a developmental psychologist and innovator in the field of supplemental education.
NOTE: This article also ran on Black Politics on the Web
Sunday, April 20, 2008
TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS
INDEPENDENT VOTERS
- Arizona Green Party wins separate status on Nov. ballot (The Arizona Republic) You can be independent and left-leaning, or independent and right-leaning. The key is to get people to vote for our (Green Party) issues. NOTE: The Greens are a tough party-oriented nut to crack! Personally, I wish they'd loosen up!.. Let's play! Who's not in favor of a healthy planet? But is a traditional partisan structure apt to enact that? Not hardly.... -NH
CAMPAIGN
- McCain visiting poor areas (Reuters) McCain's trip is part of a bid to attract more independent voters
- IN: Clinton pushes Indiana debate (The Journal Gazette)
- WV: Political Images Banned at Polls (The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register)
- For the first time, Independent voters are permitted to vote either a Democratic or Republican ballot in this primary election, but they must request the ballot when they go to vote. Obama, Clinton strike homestretch in bid for nomination (By BETH FOUHY and NEDRA PICKLER, AP Google)
- Hillary Clinton's Recklessness: How Superdelegates Can Save The Day (Eric Wattree, Black Star News) Open Letter to the Superdelegates
NORTH CAROLINA
- Make voting easy on yourself (Fayetteville Observer) If you’re registered as unaffiliated, you can ask to receive the primary ballot of either party.
- N.C. looms large in Dems' race (Washington Bureau Blue Ridge Times News) More than 3.8 million Democrats and unaffiliated voters are eligible to vote in the May 6 primary, which, along with Indiana's primary the same day, may well decide the Dem primary
- Is this another remake? (News Observer) Barack Obama versus Hillary Rodham Clinton.
- Isn't that a remake of the old North Carolina classics of Harvey Gantt versus Mike Easley or Gantt versus Charles Sanders?... The Democratic Party has also changed. Many conservative Democrats have become Republicans or are registered as unaffiliated.
- Buncombe voters swap political parties (Ashville Citizen Times)
- Swaping Sides (Hickory Daily Record) Officials at the Catawba County Board of Elections can’t recall so many voters switching party affiliation leading up to an election.
- Nearly 800 turn out for early voting (The Daily Reflector)
- Learn about candidates at forums this week (Star News Wilmington NC)
- One stop voting off to ‘really slow’ start (Roxboro Courier Times)
LOCAL
- NH: MARIJUANA BILL DEBATE (Union Leader) Mason-Dixon found the lower fine had support of 63 percent of Democrats surveyed, 62 percent of those under 50, 58 percent of women and 54 percent of independent voters.
- SC: Learn about candidates at forums this week (Star News Wilmington NC) If a party chairman creates the perception that some candidates are favored and that the party will work on behalf of the favorites against others, good candidates will shy away from the system. Volunteers will be disillusioned, and voters will look for alternatives.
- PA: Hornberger, former county controller, wants term limits (Republican Herald-Pottsville PA -- Harrisburg)
- DENTON TX: Nearly 2,000 cross party lines to vote-One-time Republicans cast ballots in county Democratic primary primary (Denton TX Record Chronicle)
OREGON ELECTIONS * (The Oregonian) Open Primary would shift debate to center - As Phil Keisling and Norma Paulus noted in your paper ("Let's make primaries truly open, inclusive and fair," April 13), the partisan primary system we have in place is archaic and obsolete...
THE PEOPLE VS THE PARTIES:
Welcome to the Jungle (Nick Wirth, BlueOregon) On March 5, the 5th Circuit in New Orleans heard Mississippi Democratic Party v. Barbour. Mississippi's only method of nomination is their open primary, and last June a U. S. district judge declared the state-mandated open primary unconstitutional. (However, it did not enjoin the recent Miss primary, which was held under the “old” rules).
NOTE: BILL MOYERS WILL INTERVIEW REV. WRIGHT NEXT SUNDAY ON PBS.
Friday, February 22, 2008
"Fraud" in Harlem, or just machine politics as usual?
From the New York Observer's Politicker by Azi Paybarah:
"....Michael Bloomberg's use of the word “fraud” to describe the unofficial, faulty Super Tuesday results from the city Board of Elections is getting lots of attention in lots of very different places, as illustrated here [College Democrats at the University of Wisconsin at Madison] and here [this is The Hankster post] and here [this is Icky People.com, a Chicago-based independent/liberal blog that is worth a look]. ...... Jerry Skurnik still thinks the accusation is bogus. [This is Room 8 -- if you're a New Yorker, or even if you're not.... you want to check out this important -- if bogus -- blog.......]
"....Michael Bloomberg's use of the word “fraud” to describe the unofficial, faulty Super Tuesday results from the city Board of Elections is getting lots of attention in lots of very different places, as illustrated here [College Democrats at the University of Wisconsin at Madison] and here [this is The Hankster post] and here [this is Icky People.com, a Chicago-based independent/liberal blog that is worth a look]. ...... Jerry Skurnik still thinks the accusation is bogus. [This is Room 8 -- if you're a New Yorker, or even if you're not.... you want to check out this important -- if bogus -- blog.......]
To read Lenora Fulani's comments on the significance of Super Tuesday and the black vote, see Obama's Wave and the New York Role Reversal in the Daily Voice: "In many respects the New York story could be cast as a simple one - man vs. machine - where the man, Barack Obama and his visionary campaign was outpolled by an entrenched and powerful urban political machine with deep roots in Harlem. It would be that simple story but for the fact that the recent history of black politics in New York City includes a massive and unexpected uprising against the clubhouse by black voters. In 2005, 47 percent of black voters rejected the Democratic Party mayoral candidate and voted for an Independent/Republican Mike Bloomberg instead. This outpouring against politics-as-usual and for nonpartisan political change briefly put New York in the national vanguard of a black electoral revolution. But on Super Tuesday, the roles were reversed....."
Friday, February 08, 2008
Utah, Missouri, New York and the Obama Edge
Utah Democrats were split evenly between their presidential candidates, giving independents the chance to hand a primary victory to Sen. Barack Obama. Exit polls conducted for major news outlets show that independents had a major influence in Utah's primary. In the end, Obama claimed 57 percent of the vote, while Sen. Hillary Clinton received 39 percent. The detailed results also included some shockers, such as women favoring Obama over Clinton. The victory gave Obama 14 and Clinton nine of the available 23 delegates...... (Salt Lake Tribune)
Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will end up evenly splitting the delegates from Missouri's presidential primary, even though Obama narrowly defeated Clinton in the statewide vote.... In complete but unofficial results, Obama received 49 percent of the Democratic vote -- 405,284 compared with 395,287 for Clinton.... (Marshall Democrat-News)
Super Tuesday may not have decided the Democratic or Republican presidential nominations. But it did redraw the map of black politics in some significant ways...... Exit polling picked up this trend for the first time on Super Tuesday. And here are what some of the numbers show. In Massachusetts 33 percent of black voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary self-identified as independents. In Missouri it was 18 percent. (Obama's Wave and the New York Role Reversal, by Lenora Fulani, The Daily Voice)
Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will end up evenly splitting the delegates from Missouri's presidential primary, even though Obama narrowly defeated Clinton in the statewide vote.... In complete but unofficial results, Obama received 49 percent of the Democratic vote -- 405,284 compared with 395,287 for Clinton.... (Marshall Democrat-News)
Super Tuesday may not have decided the Democratic or Republican presidential nominations. But it did redraw the map of black politics in some significant ways...... Exit polling picked up this trend for the first time on Super Tuesday. And here are what some of the numbers show. In Massachusetts 33 percent of black voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary self-identified as independents. In Missouri it was 18 percent. (Obama's Wave and the New York Role Reversal, by Lenora Fulani, The Daily Voice)
TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Every day, The Hankster runs at least one post called "TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS", a comprehensive aggregated source for news articles from around the country for independent voters, about independent voters.
HANKSTER LEDE: (CNN) Virginia, Texas and Ohio, independent voters are eligible to vote in upcoming Democratic contests.
ARIZONA: State primaries likely to stay closed/Proposals to open polls to independents on back burner (The Arizona Republic) AND Super Tuesday: More than half of Yavapai voters exercised right (By Joanna Dodder Nellans, The Daily Courier) independents demand ballots, Gov. calls for open primaries
CALIFORNIA: Independent voters get left out (Pasadena Star News) AND Independent voters play pivotal role (Dan Walters, Mercury News)
MISSOURI: Missouri vote signals complex national mood (By Tim Jones CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
OBAMA/CLINTON-GENDER/RACE: Democrats' next concern: super delegates (NY Newsday) AND Patterns of Distinction (By Andrew Kohut, NY Times) AND A Party Divided? (By Matt Bai, The Caucus/NY Times) AND Despite Loss, Obama Scores Some Wins in New York (BY GRACE RAUH - NY Sun)
BIPARTISANSHIP: Why Bipartisanship Is A False Hope (Derek Shearer, Huffington Post)
Nancy Hanks, a 30-year independent grassroots activist based in New York City, has been building The Hankster since April 2006. The Hankster is America's leading non-partisan, non-centrist independent blog.
HANKSTER LEDE: (CNN) Virginia, Texas and Ohio, independent voters are eligible to vote in upcoming Democratic contests.
ARIZONA: State primaries likely to stay closed/Proposals to open polls to independents on back burner (The Arizona Republic) AND Super Tuesday: More than half of Yavapai voters exercised right (By Joanna Dodder Nellans, The Daily Courier) independents demand ballots, Gov. calls for open primaries
CALIFORNIA: Independent voters get left out (Pasadena Star News) AND Independent voters play pivotal role (Dan Walters, Mercury News)
MISSOURI: Missouri vote signals complex national mood (By Tim Jones CHICAGO TRIBUNE)
OBAMA/CLINTON-GENDER/RACE: Democrats' next concern: super delegates (NY Newsday) AND Patterns of Distinction (By Andrew Kohut, NY Times) AND A Party Divided? (By Matt Bai, The Caucus/NY Times) AND Despite Loss, Obama Scores Some Wins in New York (BY GRACE RAUH - NY Sun)
BIPARTISANSHIP: Why Bipartisanship Is A False Hope (Derek Shearer, Huffington Post)
Nancy Hanks, a 30-year independent grassroots activist based in New York City, has been building The Hankster since April 2006. The Hankster is America's leading non-partisan, non-centrist independent blog.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Black Mules & Rino's
Black Mules & Rino's Cut Off New Generation Leadership At Grassroots by Gay James on cadreusa ...In 2002 the party gave the congressional designation in Harlem’s 15th CD to Dr. Jesse Fields an official of the Independence Party, reportedly controlled by Dr. Lenora Fulani. Many longtime local Republicans were irate because of the obvious snub and apparent compromise of GOP values in the political deal with the Independence Party. But the controversy began because Mr. Conrad Muhammad the former minister of the Nation of Islam’s Mosque # 7 and his GOP supporters were lobbying for his (Conrad Muhammad) designation as the party’s congressional standard bearer.
The popular and charismatic Conrad Muhammad had begun evaluating both political parties as well as the prospect of running for public office a couple of years earlier. The advent of Conrad Muhammad as a GOP Congressional candidate generated shockwaves within the leadership of both local political parties. The word on the street began to generate great curiosity, if not a ground swell, and much local and state political interest in the Grand Old Party was percolating....
The popular and charismatic Conrad Muhammad had begun evaluating both political parties as well as the prospect of running for public office a couple of years earlier. The advent of Conrad Muhammad as a GOP Congressional candidate generated shockwaves within the leadership of both local political parties. The word on the street began to generate great curiosity, if not a ground swell, and much local and state political interest in the Grand Old Party was percolating....
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Battle for Barak's Soul (part 1)
Will the Black establishment or even the Black anti-establishment establishment back Obama? A Black President?
Virginia Governor Doug Wilder says “The civil rights movement was over 50-something years ago…” Preeminent civil rights leader cir. 2007 Rev. Al Sharpton says “Just because you’re our color doesn’t make you our kind…” “Hollywood Abandons Hillary”… Sen. Daschle backs Obama… Two South Carolina black state legislators back Hillary…
And what about the independents?
It’s no secret that independent voters set the agenda (the war in Iraq) for the mid-term elections in 2006 and were responsible for the change-over of party control in Congress. For weeks before and after the November 7th election, it was all about the independent voter.
And Black independents? Invisible? It’s no secret that Barak Obama needs independent voters in order to move ahead in this protracted 2008 presidential race. Dr. Lenora Fulani, the first woman and first African American to make it onto the ballot in all 50 states running as an independent for president in 1988, and America’s preeminent black independent, cautioned Obama in her statement on Feb. 10th, that following a behind-the-scenes piece of advice from Dem higher-ups telling him “Don’t put anyone in your statement who isn’t a Democrat,” would be unfortunate. “Being black is not synonymous with being a Democrat anymore, as much as the Clintons – and others – would have us believe…”
(cont. on next post)
Virginia Governor Doug Wilder says “The civil rights movement was over 50-something years ago…” Preeminent civil rights leader cir. 2007 Rev. Al Sharpton says “Just because you’re our color doesn’t make you our kind…” “Hollywood Abandons Hillary”… Sen. Daschle backs Obama… Two South Carolina black state legislators back Hillary…
And what about the independents?
It’s no secret that independent voters set the agenda (the war in Iraq) for the mid-term elections in 2006 and were responsible for the change-over of party control in Congress. For weeks before and after the November 7th election, it was all about the independent voter.
And Black independents? Invisible? It’s no secret that Barak Obama needs independent voters in order to move ahead in this protracted 2008 presidential race. Dr. Lenora Fulani, the first woman and first African American to make it onto the ballot in all 50 states running as an independent for president in 1988, and America’s preeminent black independent, cautioned Obama in her statement on Feb. 10th, that following a behind-the-scenes piece of advice from Dem higher-ups telling him “Don’t put anyone in your statement who isn’t a Democrat,” would be unfortunate. “Being black is not synonymous with being a Democrat anymore, as much as the Clintons – and others – would have us believe…”
(cont. on next post)
Battle for Barak's Soul (part 2)
(cont. from previous post) The future of America depends on independents. It’s clear that the two-party system has yielded more and more corruption and that “bipartisanship” is just another word for partisan collusion. What we need is leadership. Does Barack Obama want to be the one?
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, ordinary black leadership from the streets caught the imagination and creativity of all Americans. Call it the Civil Right Movement. I would caution Governor Wilder and other beneficiaries of a grassroots movement for integration in the ‘50s and for voting rights in the ‘60s, that the civil rights movement is maturing. A reminder – the Democratic Party came late to the demand for equal rights and de-segregation. It took ordinary people, sitting in at Woolworth’s or refusing to go to the back of the bus, who’d “had enough” (and by the way, many of them were white) to force a change in official policy. The Democratic Party had the smarts to take ownership of the civil rights movement, not because they were concerned about civil rights. It’s all about the votes for them.
It will take a similar resolve among independents to move beyond the current crisis in democracy in America. Just as the abolitionists who were at work before the Civil War, or the trade unionists who worked overtime to bring workers’ rights to America and gained social security for all Americans after World War II, our time is now.
This is not a party-driven movement. Movements never are party-driven. Movements come from the people. The people must be heard – if not now, when?- NH
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, ordinary black leadership from the streets caught the imagination and creativity of all Americans. Call it the Civil Right Movement. I would caution Governor Wilder and other beneficiaries of a grassroots movement for integration in the ‘50s and for voting rights in the ‘60s, that the civil rights movement is maturing. A reminder – the Democratic Party came late to the demand for equal rights and de-segregation. It took ordinary people, sitting in at Woolworth’s or refusing to go to the back of the bus, who’d “had enough” (and by the way, many of them were white) to force a change in official policy. The Democratic Party had the smarts to take ownership of the civil rights movement, not because they were concerned about civil rights. It’s all about the votes for them.
It will take a similar resolve among independents to move beyond the current crisis in democracy in America. Just as the abolitionists who were at work before the Civil War, or the trade unionists who worked overtime to bring workers’ rights to America and gained social security for all Americans after World War II, our time is now.
This is not a party-driven movement. Movements never are party-driven. Movements come from the people. The people must be heard – if not now, when?- NH
Yes, Barak -- There ARE Black Independents!
Listen Up, Barack – Black Presidential Candidates from Years Past Have Good Advice Galore
Date: Friday, February 23, 2007
By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com
....Fulani, now a developmental psychologist, got her name on the ballot in all 50 states as an independent and qualified for matching federal election funds. She said Obama must reach out to the independent voters to be successful.
"More than 35 percent of young African-American voters identify as political independents," Fulani told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Some want to ignore us in the polls. We want to be the ones who not only swing, but also sway the vote."
And there are plenty of reasons to court black independent voters.
In the most recent election for mayor of New York, 47 percent of blacks who voted did not vote for the Democratic nominee, Fulani said.
“Many Democrats don’t want to recognize the black independent voters. They would rather keep black voters under their thumb,” she said.
With the backing of independent voters, a candidate can stand up and address issues that relate the needs of a broader segment of America, she said....
Date: Friday, February 23, 2007
By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com
....Fulani, now a developmental psychologist, got her name on the ballot in all 50 states as an independent and qualified for matching federal election funds. She said Obama must reach out to the independent voters to be successful.
"More than 35 percent of young African-American voters identify as political independents," Fulani told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Some want to ignore us in the polls. We want to be the ones who not only swing, but also sway the vote."
And there are plenty of reasons to court black independent voters.
In the most recent election for mayor of New York, 47 percent of blacks who voted did not vote for the Democratic nominee, Fulani said.
“Many Democrats don’t want to recognize the black independent voters. They would rather keep black voters under their thumb,” she said.
With the backing of independent voters, a candidate can stand up and address issues that relate the needs of a broader segment of America, she said....
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
But is Obama Ready for Black Independents?
This is a repeat of a post from Feb. 10 - "back by popular demand..." Long considered the political property of the Democratic Party, black voters have developed a new found independence. Will Obama stand with Lenora Fulani, as Rev. Sharpton has, as the leading independent voice for black America? How Barack Obama chooses to relate to the black independent will be a true test of his ability to put principles before partisanship.
Independents are Ready for Barack Obama. But is Obama Ready for Black Independents?
February 10, 2008
By Lenora Fulani
Two weeks ago, I spoke at a national conference of independent voters. There were 500 activist independents, from 31 states – over a third of whom were African American. This conference was the latest indicator that black voters are more politically volatile these days, more independent in their voting and thinking. Many will be receptive to Barack Obama and his presidential campaign. A pressing question is whether he will return the interest. Independents may be ready for Obama. But is Obama ready for us? .... Is Obama Ready for Independents?
Independents are Ready for Barack Obama. But is Obama Ready for Black Independents?
February 10, 2008
By Lenora Fulani
Two weeks ago, I spoke at a national conference of independent voters. There were 500 activist independents, from 31 states – over a third of whom were African American. This conference was the latest indicator that black voters are more politically volatile these days, more independent in their voting and thinking. Many will be receptive to Barack Obama and his presidential campaign. A pressing question is whether he will return the interest. Independents may be ready for Obama. But is Obama ready for us? .... Is Obama Ready for Independents?
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