Will the African-American vote be lost or stolen again in the 2004 presidential elections as it was in 2000? Ray Winbush* outlines the main issues at stake among America's blacks Every four years, African-Americans are faced with the difficult choice of who they will vote for in the presidential elections. Electoral politics in our community consists of three major discussions: Democrats, Republicans and voting. For most of us, the political process begins and ends at the voting booth with little attention given to the events leading up to or following the general election. It is popular during the spring and summer of general election years for traditional civil rights organisations in the United States such as the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to encourage voter registration and turnout. In 2000, even though African-Americans obeyed this mantra and voted in record numbers throughout the United States, their votes were stolen, lost, not counted not only in Bush's brother's state of Florida but in several cities where there was heavy African-American turnout. In 2004, we are asking, and saying what we ask and say every four years: "Should I run to Massa Bush's Plantation because he beats us 10 times a year or should I stay on Massa Kerry's Plantation because he ignores us and only beats us twice a year?" The choice for most African-Americans will be to stay on Massa Kerry's Plantation since the treatment will not be as bad as it is on the Bush Plantation. This presidential election year is seeing racism infused in electoral politics at the highest level. Al Sharpton's candidacy, for example, was all but ignored by major media outlets even though he consistently won every debate he entered into with other Democratic candidates. The American political system routinely ignores third party candidates regardless of race, for example Ralph Nader, but the media snub toward Sharpton rivalled anything that newspapers and television did to third party rivals. The Democratic Party, though talking of inclusion, did nothing to encourage the media to pay more attention to Sharpton and many feel they actually wanted outlets to turn against him as the party continued its slow movement to centrist politics that ignored any shift to the left. The Democratic Party has become for all intents and purposes a bizarre clone of the more conservative Republican Party. Hence the term "Republicrats" used as a sarcastic description of the centrist Democrats. Racism is also playing a role in Barack Obama's meteoric rise in becoming the third black elected senator in United States history. The press was caught off guard by this incredibly bright and articulate Illinois Democrat and I, like others, was appalled at him being referred to by political commentator George Stephanopoulos as, "the Tiger Woods of the Democratic Party". In another interview, Stephanopoulos asked Obama to sing on national television like his puppet black opponent Alan Keys had already done. Obama refused of course, and it showed once again the utter contempt and stereotypical reporting that national media engage in with viable African- American candidates. African-Americans are taken for granted by the Democrats even though their vote is vitally needed to win any presidential election. This year both Kerry and Edwards began their campaigns by denouncing reparations for African- Americans during the primaries even though this is one of the most talked about issues among African-Americans. Enormous pressure was placed on the Democratic ticket so that now both Kerry and Edwards are saying they support Congressman John Conyers' still-stuck-in-the-committee Bill HR-40 which calls for a national study of the impact of enslavement on African-Americans. And this is how it always is. Black voters must force Massa Democrat to do everything for them and then receive only grudging acceptance of the political positions held by most black Democrats. Though the most loyal members of the Democratic Party during the past 60 years, African- Americans are still treated as stepchildren within the party infrastructure. Al Sharpton's blistering denunciation of this during the presidential primaries spoke to this neglect and it infuriated white Democrats who saw him as "outside the mainstream" (read "too black") of the Democratic Party. African-Americans who early condemned the invasion of Iraq by the Bush administration and who still suffer per capita more casualties in this unjust war were denounced for their "lack of patriotism". Outspoken Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney lost her seat in Congress in 2002 when questioning the readiness of the United States during the horrific events of 9/11. The Democrats did little to support her election even though the 9/11 Commission report proved that her concerns were not only correct but also prophetic about the American intelligence bureaucracy. That she will be re-elected to her seat in November has not so much to do with national Democratic support as much as it does with her own tenacity and political will power. There has been serious talk of a national boycott of the presidential elections by African- Americans during the 2008 presidential campaign, and I like many others support this move. It will force the Democrats and Republicans to take seriously the electoral strength of African- Americans in 2012 since it will prove their importance in determining the outcome of presidential elections. Though a radical shift from choosing plantations every four years, it would send a strong signal to both parties about the historic neglect experienced by African-American parties during election years. It would also expand the electoral process within African-American communities to include lessons in political organising, bloc voting, boycotts and negotiation, all of which are sorely needed in our communities. Until such time, I will support Ralph Nader for president as a private protest against the Democrats who neglect us and the Republicans who disdain our communities. * The writer is professor of African-American studies at Morgan State University.
