Religion and Politics Cause Jitters For Gore-Lieberman Among Many Blacks

Dallas NAACP head Lee Alcorn had barely

gotten his rash, bigoted words out of his mouth questioning Democratic

vice-presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman’s presumed allegiance to "Jewish

interests" when NAACP president Kweisi Mfume promptly suspended him. A

few days later California Congresswoman Maxine Waters wisely kept Lieberman’s

religion out of it but said she had major problems with his centrist-conservative

political positions on affirmative action and school vouchers.

After Waters spoke every top gun Black

Democrat rushed to swear their allegiance to Gore-Lieberman and assured

that Blacks have no problems with the Gore-Lieberman ticket. They backed

up their contention that the Democrats have not abandoned minority issues

by pointing out that Black delegates make up more than 20 percent of the

Democratic Convention delegates and have a prominent place in managing

the convention and in formulating the platform.

Lieberman beat a fast path to meet with

Waters and the Congressional Black Caucus to reassure them that he does

not oppose affirmative action. In his convention acceptance speech he extended

the olive branch even further by playing big on themes of diversity, support

of civil rights and social programs.

Despite Lieberman’s conciliatory words

and the happy assurances of Black leaders that Black voters will dutifully

support Gore-Lieberman, the Alcorn and Waters flap poses two big problems,

one legitimate, the other disturbing, for Gore-Lieberman.

The first is Lieberman’s politics. This

is still a legitimate concern. Lieberman’s past ambiguous support of affirmative

action and public education does absolutely nothing to inspire Black voters

to make a headlong dash to the polls for Gore. Many Blacks wonder out loud

whether Lieberman will do anything to champion these issues.

The other problem is Lieberman’s religion.

This is inappropriate for anyone to raise as an issue, but the fact that

some Blacks raise it at all is deeply troubling. It again stirs latent

and ugly anti-Jewish sentiments among some Blacks. On some Black radio

talk shows callers railed against the NAACP for dumping Alcorn and defended

his remarks. It was a horrid reminder that the breach that Nation of Islam’s

leader Louis Farrakhan’s contentious remarks about Jews caused between

Blacks and Jews a few years ago still has not completely healed.

Still, Gore must worry whether the silly,

thoughtless remarks by a few Blacks about his religion and the concern

about his stance on crucial social issues will damage Gore’s chances against

Bush. In a race to the wire with Bush, the Black vote will loom large.

For the past four decades, no group has been more passionate and loyal

in their support of the Democrats than Blacks. They have routinely given

the Democrats 85 to 90 percent of their vote.

According to a recent survey by the Joint

Center For Political and Economic Studies, a Washington D.C. Black public

policy think tank, in 1996 the Black vote was crucial to Clinton’s re-election

victory in 10 Southern and Midwestern states. More than half of those who

voted for Clinton in Louisiana, Georgia and a third of those who voted

for him in Maryland were Black. These same states will be hotly contested

by Gore and Bush.

Also, the possibility that Green Party

presidential candidate Ralph Nader can swipe 3 to 7 percent of the vote

almost all of which would come from disenchanted Democrats make the Black

vote even more indispensable to Gore.

There are some early warning signs that

Gore’s core Black support may be softening. Recent polls show that more

Blacks are buying the Republican’s diversity pitch and are willing to give

them a closer look. The number of Black voters who say they like what they

hear and see in Bush has inched up not only in Texas and Florida, but also

California.

While 80 percent of Blacks still identify

themselves as Democrats, among 18-to 25 year olds that number has plunged

to 60 percent. This hardly means that younger Blacks will rush to Bush

but it does pose the possibility, maybe danger, that the Democrats could

lose some of their votes. If Bush can even slightly loosen the vise like

grip Democrats have on Black votes, by winning as little as 5 to 7 percent

more of their vote, this could doom Gore to defeat.

Democrat strategists remind Black voters

that Lieberman, during his college days, was a civil rights fighter. They

further sweeten the pot by guaranteeing that Gore-Leiberman will continue

to support affirmative action, public education, social services, health

care and labor protections, and Bush won’t. They will rely on Democratic

stalwarts Jesse Jackson Sr. and the legion of Black Democrats to again

shepherd the Black voters safely into the Democratic camp. It’s a good

strategy, perhaps ultimately a winning strategy, but for now, at least,

the sentiments of Blacks such as Alcorn and Waters cause jitters for Gore-Lieberman.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is

the author of The Disappearance of Black Leadership.

email:ehutchi344@aol.com.