Posts by Faye Anderson at Black Voices Blogs

Dems' Unfinished Business: Michigan and Florida

Posted May 16th 2008 9:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

The Democratic nomination battle may be over but the shouting. The rapid response to President Bush's "false comfort of appeasement" broadside suggests the shouting has just begun.

As Democrats pivot toward the general election, there is still the unfinished business of the Michigan and Florida delegations. A point that Bill Clinton recently made on the campaign trail:

All [Hillary] has ever asked for is that everybody vote, that we count the voters that show up, this is about the people not the mechanism. If you wanna punish them fine, but don't pretend they don't exist. And don't pretend it didn't happen. And don't pretend that she wasn't willing to let them vote again and help them raise the money to let them vote again.

Continue reading Dems' Unfinished Business: Michigan and Florida

Wright and Black Liberation Theology

Posted May 15th 2008 11:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, John McCain, Rev. Jeremiah Wright

For the third time in three months, Republicans lost a special congressional election in a safe GOP district. The Mississippi loss came 10 days after the GOP lost a traditional seat in Louisiana.

In Mississippi and Louisiana, Republicans used Barack Obama's past ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. to try to scare up white votes. Instead, their strategy boosted black voter turnout. Now Congressional Republicans are scared the three straight losses foretell disaster in November.

While Wright didn't work any magic for the GOP in Mississippi, 52 percent of voters in West Virginia said Obama shares the views of Wright. The question is open-ended so it is not clear to which views they are referring. Obama has, after all, denounced and repudiated Wright.

Continue reading Wright and Black Liberation Theology

W. Virginia Loss Highlights Obama's Weakness

Posted May 14th 2008 10:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton easily won West Virginia, beating Barack Obama 67 percent to 26 percent. Clinton's trouncing of Obama did not change the game. Her pick-up of 20 delegates was offset by the 30 superdelegates who moved to Obama in the past week.

West Virginia matters because it highlights Obama's weakness with white working-class voters.
CNN exit polls show that white folks ain't feeling Obama. Indeed, 35 percent of Clinton voters said they would vote for John McCain if Obama is the nominee.

Continue reading W. Virginia Loss Highlights Obama's Weakness

West Virginia Primary, a Must-Win State

Posted May 13th 2008 9:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

It's another Tuesday and another primary. Unlike most of the other 48 contests, West Virginia isn't a cliff-hanger. In fact, Barack Obama has conceded the state to Hillary Clinton who is expected to win in a landslide.

Still, Clinton said West Virginia is a must-win state for a Democrat in the general election. On the campaign trail, she noted that since 1916, no Democrat has made it to the White House without winning West Virginia:

If West Virginia had voted for our Democratic nominee in 2000 and 2004, we wouldn't have had to put up with George Bush for the last seven and a half years. I am going to work as hard as I can between now and the time the polls close tomorrow, because I want to earn your support.

Continue reading West Virginia Primary, a Must-Win State

Superdelegates: Profiles in Cowardice

Posted May 12th 2008 10:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

The ~~whispers~~ calls are getting louder for Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race for the Democratic nomination. There's rightful concern that the ongoing fight is hurting Barack Obama's chances against John McCain. While Democrats wring their hands, there is a group of people who are sitting on theirs: the unpledged superdelegates.

With a show of hands, the roughly 250 or so uncommitted superdelegates can stop the fight. Instead, they're cowardly holding back as Obama and Clinton duke it out until the final round on June 3.

Continue reading Superdelegates: Profiles in Cowardice

Clinton's Trump Card: Vote White

Posted May 9th 2008 9:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton says she is in it "until there is a nominee." As Clinton tries to wrest the Democratic nomination away from Barack Obama, she has put her trump card on the table: race.

Clinton's comeback, such as it is, began in Pennsylvania. So it's fitting that she's channeling Frank Rizzo, the race-baiting mayor of Philadelphia. In 1978, Rizzo wanted to change the ~~rules~~ city charter so that he could run for a third consecutive term. He rallied support for the charter amendment by imploring his supporters to "Vote White."

Continue reading Clinton's Trump Card: Vote White

50 Shots Reverberate Around NYC

Posted May 8th 2008 12:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Al Sharpton, Sean Bell

Thousands of New Yorkers demonstrated across New York City to protest the acquittals of three police officers in the killing of Sean Bell in a barrage of 50 shots. The demonstrators carried signs that read "We Are All Sean Bell: This Damn System is Guilty" and chanted, "No justice, no peace."

As many as 200 protesters were arrested, including The Rev. Al Sharpton and Bell's fiancée Nicole Paultre Bell. ...

Sean Bell Case

Valerie Bell, right, mother of the late Sean Bell, meets singer Patti LaBelle on stage during the "Divas With Heart" concert at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, May 4, 2008. LaBelle had invited Bell onto the stage during her song, "Two Steps." The concert benefits the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory in Utica, N.Y. (AP Photo/Scott Wynn/Scott Wynn Photography)

Nicole Paultre Bell (L) and Trent Benefield (C) listen as Al Sharpton speaks about the Sean Bell trial during his live radio broadcast in New York May 3, 2008. Sharpton is organizing a rally on Wednesday to protest against the not guilty verdict of the three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Nicole Paultre Bell (L) and Trent Benefield listen as Al Sharpton speaks about the Sean Bell trial during his live radio broadcast in New York May 3, 2008. Sharpton is organizing a rally on Wednesday to protest against the not guilty verdict of the three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Nicole Paultre Bell (L) listens as Al Sharpton speaks about the Sean Bell trial during his live radio broadcast in New York May 3, 2008. Sharpton is organizing a rally on Wednesday to protest against the not guilty verdict of the three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Al Sharpton speaks about the Sean Bell trial during his live radio broadcast in New York May 3, 2008. Sharpton is organizing a rally on Wednesday to protest against the not guilty verdict of the three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sean Bell was killed in a hail of 50 bullets on his wedding day. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Sean Bell's fiance, Nicole Paultre Bell, holds her daughter Jordyn during a news conference Sunday, April 27, 2008 at National Action headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

People block the intersection of 125th Street and 7th Ave. during march to protest the acquittal of the three NYPD detectives on all charges stemming from the November 2006 killing of Sean Bell Sunday, April 27, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

Sean Bell's fiance, Nicole Paultre Bell, 3rd -left, sits with her mother, 2nd-left and shooting victim Joseph Guzman, 2nd-right, as Rev. Al Sharpton speaks, Sunday, April 27, 2008 at National Action headquarters in New York. The women at far right and left are unidentified. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

Continue reading 50 Shots Reverberate Around NYC

A Divided Democratic Party, Clinton Won't Quit

Posted May 7th 2008 8:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

As expected, Barack Obama won North Carolina. Hillary Clinton eked out a slim victory in Indiana. The outcomes were preordained by the demographics of the two states.

CNN exit polls show Democrats have not moved beyond race. In North Carolina, African Americans made up one-third of Democratic primary voters. Obama received 91 percent of the black vote to Clinton's seven percent. Sixty-one percent of white voters supported Clinton, 37 percent supported Obama.

In Indiana, Obama received 90 percent of the black vote to Clinton's 10 percent. Sixty percent of white voters supported Clinton, 40 percent backed Obama.

Continue reading A Divided Democratic Party, Clinton Won't Quit

Clinton, Obama Go Another Round

Posted May 6th 2008 1:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

It's another super Tuesday. Voters in Indiana and North Carolina will have their say in primaries that may change the game.

In the Tar Heel State, 500,000 people – one out of every 10 registered voters – already have cast their ballots during the early voting period. African Americans represented over 40 percent of early voters.

A local newspaper reports that long lines formed even before the polls opened this morning. Election officials expect a record primary turnout.

Continue reading Clinton, Obama Go Another Round

Mobilizing Justice for Sean Bell

Posted May 5th 2008 9:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Rev. Al Sharpton, Sean Bell

In the quest for justice for Sean Bell, the Rev. Al Sharpton is mobilizing New Yorkers to participate in a months-long civil disobedience campaign. During the Saturday rally at the House of Justice, Sharpton said:

We will do it on a weekly basis building toward a citywide shutdown. Wednesday is the beginning as we move toward that date which we will announce once we are prepared.

We will submit to an arrest. If you're not going to lock up the guilty in this town, then I guess you're going to have to lock up the innocent.

Continue reading Mobilizing Justice for Sean Bell

Barack to the Future: Polls Say Obama's Slipping?

Posted May 2nd 2008 10:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

Baseball great Satchel Paige famously said: "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." Barack Obama says he's moving forward, but Hillary Clinton is still gaining on him.

A new Pew Research Center poll found that Obama's lead over Clinton among Democratic voters has disappeared:

The tightening Democratic race reflects a modest but consistent decline in Obama's personal image rather than improved impressions of Clinton. Fewer Democrats ascribe positive qualities to Obama than did so a month ago, with white working-class Democrats, in particular, expressing more skeptical views of the Illinois senator.

Continue reading Barack to the Future: Polls Say Obama's Slipping?

The Audacity of Rev. Wright

Posted May 1st 2008 10:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Rev. Jeremiah Wright

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright mess is getting messier. Earlier this week, Barack Obama disowned his former pastor. In a hastily called news conference, Obama said he was "outraged" and "saddened over the spectacle" that Rev. Wright made of himself before the National Press Club. Obama said that Rev. Wright "caricatured himself" and gave "comfort to those who prey on hate."

Thursday morning, Obama and his wife, Michelle, appeared on the "Today Show." In a joint interview with Meredith Vieira, they denounced Rev. Wright. Barack Obama said:

I think that the sequence of events was the right one, because this is somebody who had married Michelle and I; who had baptized our children. When those first snippets came out, I thought it was important to give him the benefit of the doubt. If I had wanted to be politically expedient, I would have distanced myself and denounced him right away. Right? That would have been the easy thing to do.

Continue reading The Audacity of Rev. Wright

Sharpton Plots Justice for Sean Bell

Posted Apr 30th 2008 11:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Al Sharpton, Sean Bell

The Rev. Al Sharpton has convened a strategy session to plan the community's response to the verdict in the Sean Bell case. The participants included Bell's parents, shooting victims Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman, Bell's fiancée, Nicole Paultre Bell, as well as local and state elected officials, and civil rights, church and community leaders.

The meeting was held at the headquarters of Services Employees International Union Local 1199. Union President George Gresham expressed his outrage that the police officers were acquitted on all charges, saying:

How do you tell your son to be leery of the police but at the same time go to the police when you need help?

Continue reading Sharpton Plots Justice for Sean Bell

Reactions: Sean Bell Verdict, Feds Involved

Posted Apr 28th 2008 10:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Sean Bell

The Sean Bell verdict has sparked outrage in the African American community. Here's a snapshot of some of the reactions over the weekend.

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice plans to conduct "an independent review of the facts and circumstances surrounding the Nov. 25, 2006, shooting." Still yesterday, the Black Leadership Forum held a news conference at the headquarters of the National Action Network. Rev. Al Sharpton asserted:

The decision in the Sean Bell case was not a miscarriage of justice, but rather an abortion of justice.

Continue reading Reactions: Sean Bell Verdict, Feds Involved

Rev. Wright Show Goes On

Posted Apr 28th 2008 9:00AM by Faye Anderson
Filed under: BlackSpin, Elections, Barack Obama, Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. is making headlines again. In recent days, he was interviewed by Bill Moyers and delivered a speech before the Detroit Branch of the NAACP.

In an appearance before the National Press Club, Rev. Wright said:

Why am I speaking out now? In our community, we have something called playing the dozens. If you think I'm going to let you talk about my mama and her religious tradition, and my daddy and his religious tradition, and my grandma, you've got another thing coming.

Continue reading Rev. Wright Show Goes On

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Dems' Unfinished Business: Michigan and Florida

Wright and Black Liberation Theology

W. Virginia Loss Highlights Obama's Weakness

West Virginia Primary, a Must-Win State

Superdelegates: Profiles in Cowardice

Clinton's Trump Card: Vote White

50 Shots Reverberate Around NYC

Sean Bell Case

A Divided Democratic Party, Clinton Won't Quit

Clinton, Obama Go Another Round

Mobilizing Justice for Sean Bell

Barack to the Future: Polls Say Obama's Slipping?

The Audacity of Rev. Wright

Sharpton Plots Justice for Sean Bell

Reactions: Sean Bell Verdict, Feds Involved

Rev. Wright Show Goes On

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