On Deeds and the black vote

There is a meme developing in the gubernatorial race regarding Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds. It seems that the talking heads – none of which, I might add, are black – have decided that Deeds has a “problem” with black voters.  They cite as evidence three things:

1. Deeds’ performance in the primary
2. Sheila Johnson’s endorsement of Republican candidate Bob McDonnell
3. Former governor/former Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder’s comments

I’m convinced that none of these is evidence that Deeds has a problem with the black vote.

Deeds’ performance in the primary

Let’s start with where the black vote in Virginia is located. The most obvious place is the majority minority 3rd Congressional District. The district, represented by Bobby Scott, was the only one that Deeds lost in the primary and is often cited as indicative of his lack of support among blacks. Left out of the conversation are a couple of points. First, Scott all but endorsed Deeds’ opponent, Terry McAuliffe, in the primary, and allowed the use of his likeness in campaign literature. If McAuliffe hadn’t won the district, it would have been a surprise.

Second, Deeds only lost the 3rd by 844 votes, which amounts to 2.23% of the votes cast. Hardly a shellacking. His strength in the 3rd was no doubt helped by the support of State Senators Yvonne Miller (Norfolk), Louise Lucas (Portsmouth), Henry Marsh (Richmond) and Don McEachin (Richmond), all African Americans. And I understand Rep. Scott supports Deeds as the nominee.

Finally, the rest of the black vote in Virginia is pretty spread out, with some concentrations in the 4th and 7th CDs. Deeds, as previously mentioned, won those districts, the 7th by a significant margin.

Sheila Johnson’s endorsement of Republican candidate Bob McDonnell

I don’t know Sheila Johnson personally, but I do know that she is a wealthy woman. I don’t like to make assumptions, but it seems to me that wealthy people – both black and white – look at the world a little differently than average folks. They are  (sometimes overly) concerned with things like taxes. We know where Republicans in general and McDonnell in particular stand on taxes: less is better. McDonnell, in Saturday’s debate, defended the policies of former President George Bush:

[W]hat he also did, because we had an economic downturn, you remember this, in 2001, in 2003, we put together, and the federal government under Republican leadership, put together, significant cuts in taxes.  Corporate income taxes, capital gains taxes, killed the death tax, which my opponent has routinely voted against in the General Assembly.  These were policies that Democrats and Republicans said in 2004, 2005 and 2006 – this is the reason that we’ve had this economic revival in America.  All of you saw…in fact it almost overheated in the real estate market, in the stock market, during that time.  And most people said it was because of those cuts.

While taxes may not be the only part of the equation, I take Johnson at her word when she said:

He has shown me that he has the right vision and the executive leadership skills that will guide Virginia through these challenging times.

Translation: he’s not going to do anything to hurt my pocketbook. Perhaps Deeds was unwilling to make such a promise.

In any event, I doubt that the endorsement by Johnson will translate into votes. I mean, it’s not like she’s well known, as this 2003 article from Ebony points out. And despite claims to the contrary, one black person endorsing McDonnell doesn’t mean any others will follow. I’m hearing even Benny Lambert is supporting Deeds 😉

Former governor/former Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder’s comments

By now, everyone has read Wilder’s comments in this Politico interview. The nation’s first elected black governor, Wilder is often contacted when the pundits need a black face to represent Black America. Unfortunately, they generally fail to realize Wilder, who served as governor from 1990 to 1994, and more recently (2005-2009) as the mayor of Richmond, represents only himself.  The few times I’ve met Wilder, I’ve liked the man – he’s personable and has a great sense of humor. But then again, I’ve never crossed him or needed to kiss the ring, as it were.

From an earlier Politico article, you get a description of Wilder that most of Virginia Democrats are aware of:

Wilder’s frequent practice has been to haze fellow Democrats, either with public digs or a mischievous silence, if he believed they had not paid their dues or could challenge him for influence.

And if that weren’t enough, this 2005 CNN article makes a serious point about where Wilder could be by November:

But Wilder has weathered criticism from those who say he may be a Democrat, but his policies cater more to Republicans. They point to his unflagging support for the death penalty and deep cuts he made to higher education budgets while governor.

I won’t be at all surprised if Wilder endorses McDonnell. But keeping people guessing is one of the things that Wilder is very good at. But here’s the issue: what is the value of a Wilder endorsement? A lot of folks have no memory of his term as governor and his mayoral term can best be described as acrimonious. So just what vote – besides his own – does a Wilder endorsement bring? I’m afraid the answer may very well be none.

Further, I think the endorsement of another “black leader” – President Barack Obama – may carry a wee bit more weight with voters 😉

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These last two pieces I have more trouble with than the first. The problem for me is that the media insists on finding a “black spokesperson” to represent the black community. I’ve said it before: no such thing exists. Is there a “white spokesperson” to represent the white community? Of course not. So what’s with the monolithic black community stuff? Perhaps if more of the talking heads were black, the white ones would learn a thing or two. Instead, they continue to spew nonsense as if it is the truth.

At the end of the day, I challenge the so-called pundits to provide some real evidence that Deeds has a “problem” with the black vote. This ain’t 1930’s Germany: saying it doesn’t make it true. (And you look like an idiot when, in pronouncing it to be so, you call the candidate Craig instead of Creigh.)