A Third Way

This evening at the Institute of Politics of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, my dear friend Harvard Law Prof. Charles J. Ogletree Jr. will deliver a public address on "African Americans & 21st Century Politics: Time for Reconstruction?"

   

Though it’s always a mistake to answer a question before it’s asked, I’m going to answer it anyway:  Hell yeah.  What do black folks have to lose?  Republicans play us for fools as evidenced by the GOP’s latest and no doubt focus-group tested outreach slogan: “Give us a chance, we’ll give you a choice.”  Give me a break.

       

At the same time, Democrats simply play us.  We turn out, give Democrats nearly 90 percent of our votes, and when they lose they blame us.  And when Democrats win, we don’t get a commensurate share of political appointments, policy initiatives, grants, contracts, or support from major party donors.

By contrast, the Republican base is unrelenting in its demands, whether it’s on the policy front, for instance, banning same-sex marriage or privatizing Social Security, or reaping old-school political spoils like the K Street Project.

Frederick Douglass told us: “Power concedes nothing without a demand.  It never did and it never will.”  But as I’ve heard Prof. Ronald Walters say on numerous occasions, black politicians and political activists have lost the art of the deal.

Let’s hope that Tree, who’s trained some of the nation’s top legal negotiators, will help us negotiate our way to a future where we get a higher return on our political investment.  Prof. Ogletree’s remarks will be webcast here.