One of the long-standing issues with the Democratic Party is taking the base for granted and then acting bewildered when it's difficult to get them to show up on election day. Well, at least Dean gets it.
From Today's Roll Call:
A senior aide to a CBC member suggested that the reason Dean is paying close attention to the CBC is because he has placed blacks in senior posts -- an example, the aide said, that the DSCC and DCCC ought to take to heart.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), the DCCC's chairman, and Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), who heads the DSCC, have not similarly reached out to the CBC, according to caucus sources. Emanuel did host several veteran CBC members for a sit-down several months ago, but the bulk of the caucus was not included in that meeting. And Wednesday, DSCC leaders sent word to the CBC that Schumer would like to meet with the caucus in the near future, something he hasn't done since assuming control of the campaign committee after the 2004 election. Dean has consented to quarterly meetings with the entire caucus.
The senior CBC aide pointed to the embarrassment Democrats suffered in Ohio last week, when their preferred candidate in the 6th district failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the primary ballot, and suggested that CBC members could have lent a hand.
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Of Dean, the aide said: "He's doing the touching of bases that he should be doing. It would be nice to see other folks in the party doing the same thing."
The importance of early outreach to minority communities is crucial in this particular election because the GOP is cashing in on token black candidates (see Michael Steele, Ken Blackwell, and Lynn Swann). More importantly, there's something awry when the party's most loyal bloc isn't granted a seat at the table, by virtue of being so loyal. Yet we still manage to sneer at Republicans for their policies towards minorities.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we shouldn't sneer at the party that thinks that by running a Maryland senatorial candidate that compares stem-cell research to the holocaust, and an Ohio gubernatorial candidate that actively tries to suppress minority votes. But I am saying that just because we don't inherently believe the wrong things doesn't mean we're free of our responsibility to help a minority population out. After all, much of our ability to retain any representation in the South whatsoever is due to minority votes and minority representation, and if you don't believe that, I'll note that 1/3 of the CBC is from the South, and that doesn't include Texas, which isn't so much the South as it is Texas (goes up to 40% if you add Texas).
I'm glad Dean is giving the CBC a voice. I don't understand why Schumer, and especially Emmanuel, are being so dismissive. Does Schumer think he can win Tennessee without ridiculously high minority turnout? Or Missouri, for that matter? Or Ohio? Does he think he has a shot at Ohio without Stephanie Tubbs-Jones? Does Rahm think he's going to knock of DeLay without the help of Texas CBC members?
After Katrina, we have a rare opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to African American voters, and poor Americans in general. To stand up for what I assume many of us consider to be our core beliefs. But there's no affirmation if you leave the leaders of those voters on the sideline. More than that, you have to figure that by initiating outreach months prior to an election prior to last minute GOTV, you'll boost turnout, because the base won't be so damned disillusioned. Maybe only 5%, but a 5-10% increase in a loyal partisan bloc is how Bush won Ohio, so it can make all the difference.
Also at VirginiaBelle.Net