Black and Multiracial Politics in America

Chapter 10. Pride and Pragmatism: Two Arguments for the Diversification of Party Interests

Chapter 10 Pride and Pragmatism Two Arguments for the Diversification of Party Interests Lawrence J. Hanks Since the War on Poverty of the 1960s and its component Great Society programs, Blacks have for the most part resided comfortably within the Democratic party. Blacks’ positions on key political issues, research shows, tend to be closely aligned with those of the Democrats. The Democratic party is therefore considered by many to represent black interests; southern white Democrats have thus frequently sided with the Republican party. At the same time, Democrats, realizing that they cannot win elections solely with the liberal white vote and that of liberal racial minorities, implicitly court a wider, politically more diverse range of Democrats in an effort to expand their base. In the most recent presidential campaigns, Democratic presidential aspirants have avoided the use of racial terms and have also stayed away from urban issues, as these are often associated with Blacks. This has often left Blacks feeling taken for granted. At the same time, even as Republicans try to reach out to the center to expand their constituency, party leaders have in the last quarter century clearly not had Blacks’ racial interests at heart. The Willie Horton advertising campaign used by George Bush during the 1988 presidential campaigns and the more recent Contract with America, in which Congress, backed by the full weight of the Republican party, undermined many of the programs connected to black interests, did little to endear Republicans to Blacks. And so, in important ways, Blacks seem out of place in 273 either party: overlooked by the Democrats because they are considered to have nowhere else to go and disregarded by many Republicans who don’t expect to win their votes in any event. At a time when both parties are making bids to incorporate newer immigrant groups into their fold, this chapter presents an impassioned argument for party diversification. African Americans joined Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal Coalition in 1936. Since that time, the majority of the African American electorate has voted for the Democratic nominee for the presidency. Additionally, since 1960, an overwhelming majority of the African American electorate has supported the entire Democratic slate (Walters 1998; Bartels 1998, 63–69). Despite the call for loyalty from the Democratically aligned African American leadership, the African American electorate needs to seriously reconsider its relationship with the Democratic party and to orchestrate a calculated redistribution of its support. The call for this redistribution is informed by the guiding principles: 1. Political power is limited in its ability to transform the socioeconomic status of African Americans. Thus, neither political party is going to eradicate, from without, the problems within the African America community that can be impacted by internal strategies. 2. Politicians like to say that they serve the public interest and the greater good. However, the realism of politics dictates that “you reward your friends and punish your enemies.” 3. Political support is a necessary condition if one’s public preferences are to be implemented. However, it is not sufficient to ensure this implementation. 4. The further development of African American political power has a prominent place in the quest for political, social, and economic parity. However, the development of a healthy economic infrastructure within the framework of American capitalism appears to be a viable and pragmatic strategy to alleviate the problem of inequality in the African American community. 5. Loyalty and fidelity are ideal foundations for personal and romantic relationships. However, these ideals should play a far smaller role, if any, in political relationships. Political relation274 l a w r e n c e j . h a n k s ships should be based on self-interest. To the extent that they are not, the results have the potential to be disastrous. 6. Primarily because of the way people are socialized and the values, perspectives, and ideologies they acquire, reasonable persons can differ with respect to the merit of any given strategy within a spirit of civility and good faith. My rationale for urging this reconsideration and defection by African Americans is based on two elements—pride and pragmatism. The Pragmatic Argument for Diversification An unstable electorate, regardless of is race, gender, creed, socioeconomic status, ability, sexual orientation, or other distinguishing characteristic , demands special attention. The unstable electorate is courted as parties and politicians attempt to add it to their list of supporters. If the electorate’s behavior is...