Black Political Zone

The Washington Post reported today on the key positions several African Amerian lawmakers will take now that the Democrats have wrested control of the U.S. House of Representatives. They write:

Three days after workers broke ground for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the Mall, the Congressional Black Caucus is preparing to break new ground of its own.

Five of its members are poised to take the helm of key House committees when Democrats assume control of Congress next year: John Conyers Jr. (Mich.) of Judiciary, Alcee L. Hastings (Fla.) of intelligence, Juanita Millender-McDonald (Calif.) of House Administration, Reps. Charles B. Rangel (N.Y.) of Ways and Means, and Bennie Thompson (Miss.) of Homeland Security.

Another member, Rep. James E. Clyburn (S.C.), is slated to be named majority whip, which would make him the third-ranking Democrat in the House.

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Ron Walters, a political scientist at the University of Maryland, wrote a column in the Chicago Defender recently explaining the importance of the black vote in the recent midterm elections. He wrote:

National exit polls showed that Whites voted 51 percent for Democrats, to 47 percent for Republicans. By contrast, Blacks voted 89 percent for Democrats but only 10 percent in favor of Republicans. This is testimony to the sophistication of Black voters who not only are aware of their interests and vote accordingly, but who also withstood all of the voter suppression schemes to cast their ballots.

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Michael Steele, the African American Maryland Lt. Governor who recently lost in a highly publicized bid for a U.S. Senate seat, wants to chair the Republican National Committee. The Washington Post writes:

Steele, who lost to Democratic Rep. Benjamin Cardin by a margin of 55 percent to 44 percent of the vote, said he believed it was time for the GOP to rethink its views in wake of losing both chambers of Congress in last week's midterm elections, which he described as a "tsunami." Steele said the electorate "was very clear."

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Earl Ofari Hutchinson write an article recently that discussed Arnold Shwarzenegger's relationship to black voters and what the Republican Party can learn from it. He wrote:

The kinder, gentler, retooled minority-friendly Arnold did what no Republican in living memory had managed to do. He got the raves of many blacks, and even more of their votes. On election eve, nearly 30 percent of blacks gave the governor a favorable rating.

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The Boston Globe ran an article today about the ways in which Deval Patrick's campaigning is opening the doors of possibility for more black candidates. They write:

Massachusetts black leaders hope Gov.-elect Deval Patrick will be a catalyst for African-Americans to become more politically active, just as John F. Kennedy inspired thousands of young people to follow him into public service when he became the nation's youngest president in 1960.

Patrick's history-making election as Massachusetts' first black governor already has many black people feeling a pride they have not felt before.

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MSNBC has an article on black candidates in the recent midterms elections. They discuss the fact that many of the candidates did not talk about race, but that black voters were savvy enough to look at their stance on the issues. They write:

Black candidates in the U.S. midterm elections moved toward the political center, seeking votes across the spectrum and playing down race, academics and analysts have said.

The strategy reflects a further shift from African-American leaders rooted in the civil rights era to a generation of politicians for whom race can be used best as a vehicle for appealing to universal themes such as overcoming poverty.

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