Problems with Voting “Pro-Race”

By JASON WALKER, Columnist

Be careful what you wish for.

The thing that bothers me the most about this election is the unapologetic “I’m voting for Obama because he’s black” sentiment that seems to be prominent among many African-Americans.

It’s not racist, it’s “pro-race.” If you’re going to accept that, then you can’t point the finger at anyone who says they’re voting for McCain because he’s white.

Caucasians still represent the majority in terms of those who vote. Even if 99% of registered black voters actually came out (stop laughing) and all voted for Obama, he probably would not win by a great margin, if he won at all.

Obama is smart enough not to be counting on black votes to win. He’s focusing his energy on getting votes for his ideas, not the color of his skin. He doesn’t need to pander to the black community. He knows no matter what he does his black constituency is not going anywhere.

Did you ever wonder about that 20-30% that still supports Bush? Those are the people who voted for him for their own biased reasons and make excuses for him no matter what mistakes he makes. Sound familiar?

So don’t say, “people in this country are racist,” if Obama loses. You can’t have it both ways.

Don’t get upset when you find out that he’s not looking out for you any more than any other politician. He isn’t going to win and start crip walking across the stage at his inauguration.

Don’t start feeling strong and getting too cocky either. Obama wouldn’t even be where he is if it wasn’t for the white people who are supporting him. If you alienate those people, you will see his popularity go down.

You may also be kissing goodbye to a big chunk of the “white guilt” that the many have been unwittingly benefiting from in this politically correct climate of ours. The pendulum, that has swung as far as to cost people their jobs for making remarks only a handful view as racist, can swing the other way very quickly.

Most of this country’s wealth is still owned by a small group that includes very few minorities, so it doesn’t have to stop at politics either. Affirmative action was established to counteract the same sentiment that is being expressed by many black voters. The other side of the coin is not very pretty. Skin color has as little to do with someone getting hired as ever, but if the field is even then it is always easy to side with your own, black or white. So when you eliminate the motivation to consciously make an unbiased decision you may end up losing much more than you bargained for whether Obama wins or not.

It’s also extremely hypocritical to participate in the same kind of thinking those in power have been admonished for using for so long. Nepotism, favoritism and preference are all in favor of the owners of the wealth. In times like these the ranks tend to close up tight, making it harder for anyone, especially minorities, to get higher paying jobs or even keep the jobs they have. It’s natural to rely on what you’re familiar with when times are tough, and when the wealthy turn to each other that will leave the rest of us out. But remember, it’s not racism, it’s just being “pro-race,” right?

It may be nearly impossible for Obama to improve the black image in this country. African-Americans are still suffering from a syndrome that associates them with every criminal on the evening news and none of the heroes that are profiled on the same programs. There are so many minority leaders at all levels of government and business that no one should need to point to Obama to say “I can make it.” If anything, the odds are more likely for someone to say “I told you so.”

Maybe that’s the real issue. Maybe before the country can be ready for a black president it needs to also be ready for a mediocre black president. I would like to think that successful or not an Obama term would provide evidence that we’ve ascended to a level of equality in this country that we will never relinquish; but that’s only a dream.

If Obama wins he needs to be successful or not only will the country not accept another minority candidate for a while, but African-Americans spirits will be diminished. Some will make the excuse that he was never given a fair chance. Some will bury their heads in the sand and not accept failure. But most will just be let down knowing that they would probably not see another minority-led administration for a long time.

It’s not an easy job. Many great men have had disappointing stints as the head of state. Given our current climate the odds are not very good. The outcome could have a vast effect on the world we live in.

So please, at least read a few articles and come up with a reasonable excuse to vote for Obama. Whether he wins or not, the future of the country may depend on it.

Jason Walker may be reached at Jason_R_Walker@comcast.net.

Debate, PARTY!

By TOMÁS DINGES, Correspondent

A line of impeccably dressed partiers waited on the red carpet to get in to Bobby Van’s restaurant on the corner of 11th and New York Avenue in Washington, D.C. The bars were open on both floors and near the fountain in the courtyard. Vested waiters in tan uniforms wiped their harried faces of sweat and hustled, pressing their way through the tightly-packed, hot crowd. There were maybe 100 people on the dance floor and 500 elsewhere. It was around one a.m. Apparently the R.I.A.A. party was even better.

Many people were young, some had southern accents, some were from south Jersey. The women were elegant and striking. Most wore black. Some wore pearls. One wore a deep- red blouse and her name was Ashley. I saw Marilyn Monroe. She was leaving. Men towered routinely over six-foot-one. They wore fitted suits, pressed shirts. Some ties remained tight. There wore argyle sweaters. There seemed to be more fraternity lapel pins than Obama Hope ones.

A high-school friend, a 30-year-old commercial real estate lawyer specializing in loss mitigation, introduced me to her friends and acquaintances that she seemed to encounter every other five minutes. She pulled business cards out of a gold container and talked to other lawyers. It was a networking event. Sometimes, she would cut off conversation and eye passing men, who stopped quickly to talk. It was a meat-marketing event. At other times, she tugged at a pin on her shirt strap and showed them the JFK likeness silhouetted behind the face of Obama.

It was a political party put on by The California Project, one of a few parties for the thousands of attendees of the 38th Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus this weekend. The CBC is a group of 43 U.S. legislators who work as a group to promote policy and leadership in Capitol Hill on issues pertinent to African Americans, and D.C. is a site for the black establishment.

Hours earlier, in Mississippi, the first campaign debate of this presidential election had finished in a draw, according to people I spoke with, at this party and others.

At the Republic Garden on U Street, a Washington institution, cuff links were flashed amidst the 400 or so people who had accumulated to watch the debate. One particularly well-informed viewer cried out every time there was a purported misstatement of Obama’s record. The crowd’s volume rose as Obama delivered a series of one-liners questioning the wisdom of assertions by McCain that ended in, “You were wrong.” A woman excitedly pummeled the air from her position on the couch.

At dinner afterwards, an author and a fellow at The Nation Institute, Amy Alexander, called it a draw. She wondered where Obama’s bite was. He always gets framed by McCain and is unable to fight back sharply, she said. But, then, she thought, if he did, he would be characterized as an angry black man “with grievances.”

Then we talked about Florida (where she lived for years), the www.thegreatschlep.com and all of the elderly Jewish Floridians who should, but won’t vote for Obama. “I want fresh, not fresh frozen,” intoned the author imitating the Jewish grandmother subculture, which she became familiar with while reporting in Broward County. The presumption that the Jewish vote would not vote for a black man for President is a “fucking hangover from Farrakhan,” and his view that Jews have been part of the oppressor class in America, despite their contributions to arts and science, according to him and even Farrakhan’s declared genealogical tree.

But other states were of greater concern to Alexander. Michigan, Idaho, Indiana. Militias, cults and the Klan. There are many white people out there, she said, that would be threatened by a black president.

“I don’t think it’s imprudent to worry, or wonder if someone out there is plotting to take him out. Just based on our history, it is not unrealistic,” she said. Assassinations of political figures in her lifetime are numerous. “Wallace, King, two Kennedy’s, Harvey Milk, George Moscony and an attempt on Ronald Reagan.”

“I don’t think you have to be a conspiracy theorist, either,” Alexander added.

Tomás Dinges can be reached at tdinges@gmail.com.