Anderson@Large

Blackout in Washington, DC

This morning, President Obama will sign the “Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act,” which will give employers a $1,000 tax credit for each new worker who stays on the payroll for at least one year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said “this is really a good bill. It cuts taxes. Small businesses will have their taxes cut so that they can hire people to go to work now.”

But don’t get your hopes up too high.

During the Congressional Black Caucus’ public hearing on the chronically unemployed, House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel cautioned that just because a piece of legislation is called a “jobs bill” doesn’t mean it will put Americans back to work:

Tax credits when you’re not making a profit really don’t work…It’s going to take a broad-based effort.

Similarly, Rep. Elijah Cummings told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell:

The problem in the African-American community I don’t think will be helped a lot by that bill.

Cummings is a member of the Joint Economic Committee, whose new report, “Understanding the Economy: Long-Term Unemployment in the African American Community,” quantifies the disparate impact of the economic recession.

CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee outlined the report’s key findings:

• African American men have been especially hit during this recession, with nearly 1 in 5 facing unemployment.

• African American women have seen their unemployment rate jump from 7.1 percent in February 2007 to 13.1 percent in February 2010. And African American female heads of household, who bear the sole financial responsibility for their families, have an even higher unemployment rate of 15.0 percent.

• African American workers of all ages are experiencing higher unemployment rates than the overall population, but younger workers have been especially hard hit during this recession. More than 2 out of 5 African American teenagers are unemployed, compared to an overall teen unemployment rate of slightly over 25 percent.

• While having at least a college degree has usually been an effective shield against unemployment, African Americans with a 4 year college degree have an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent, almost double the unemployment rate for white workers (4.5 percent) with a similar level of education.

• African Americans have experienced longer stretches of unemployment than the general population. Although African American workers make up only 11.5 percent of the labor force, they account for more than 20 percent of the long-term unemployed, and make up 22 percent of workers who have been unemployed for over a year. The median duration of unemployment for African American workers has risen from less than 3 months before the recession began to almost six months.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II noted the challenge the CBC faces:

One of the problems we’re having is no one wants to concentrate on anything black. The word has been outlawed.

Cleaver speculated there may be a $200 fine for mentioning “black.”
Remember, many a truth is told in jest.

Dem GOTV Plan: SOS

When in panic mode, Democrats’ get-out-the-vote strategy is as predictable as the swallows of Capistrano.

Though Democrats have not addressed racial disparities in stimulus spending, they plan to target African American to try to save their jobs.

In a recent op-ed in The Hill, former Rep. Martin Frost wrote about his strategy to win a close election:

I worked strength. Consultants will tell you to concentrate on swing voters. That’s ok as long as you don’t forget the people who brought you to the dance. My district was about 20 percent African American and we ran a massive get out the vote effort in that community. Your strongest supporters sometimes get discouraged when the general political environment is tough. It is important to make sure friends get to the polls in big numbers. We dramatically increased African American turnout in the district over what it had been in previous non-presidential years when turnout normally drops off and it was that vote that saved me on election night.

[…]

Some Democrats in swing districts will wind up losing no matter what they do because the environment is so toxic. But at least there are things they can do to increase their odds of surviving.

Democrats have forgotten the people who brought them their House and Senate majorities. So, it’s odd to expect black voters will show up at the polls eight months from today.

CPAC 2010 Wrap-Up

They say you always remember your first time. Well, my first Conservative Political Action Conference was indeed memorable.

I want to begin by thanking Erick Erickson and RedState for sponsoring Bloggers Lounge.

As I walked around the historic Marriott Wardman Park, listened to the speakers, sat in on workshops, wandered through the Exhibit Hall and interviewed a few of the 10,000 attendees, I was struck by what a difference a year makes.

A year ago, conservatives were “moribund and on the run.” Progressives were triumphant and proclaimed a “permanent Democratic majority.”

After losses in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, conservatives are energized and on the move. As Bill Bennett observed:

You’re either playing offense or defense. Conservatives are on offense. We are moving the ball on them.

While the mainstream media focus on the differences among conservatives, Andrew Breitbart threw down the gauntlet:

Look mainstream media, the jig is up. We figured you out. You’re not on our team. You’re on the progressives’ team. We tried to play nice with you and nice is over.

[…]

You pit us against each other. We are going to come after you so hard. You have no idea what you have awoken in this country.

Sure, tea partiers and conservatives don’t agree on every issue. But they are united in the belief that my enemy’s enemy is my friend.

The CPAC straw poll results show that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, “two of the three horses of the Apocalypse,” are their common enemy.

During his presentation, pollster Tony Fabrizio noted:

This CPAC had the largest number of straw poll participants in CPAC history; just shy of 2400 participants.

[…]

More than half of this movement feel that we’re within striking distance of taking back. That’s a tremendous amount of optimism. While the Democrats are feeling dejected, we are obviously feeling optimistic and pumped up.

Indeed, with the midterm elections eight months away, conservatives are united in their determination to rock the House and Senate.

CPAC 2010

I am on my way to DC for CPAC 2010, the 37th annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

I am attending as an official CPAC blogger, sponsored by RedState.com. Although I was surprised to receive the invitation, I readily accepted it.

While I don’t view myself as a conservative, many do. In a recent Facebook post, my colleague, Prof. Kim Pearson, wrote:

Thought I would explore a Black History Month-related topic that has contemporary relevance but isn’t often discussed. Might go further with this in a future post to talk about how today’s black conservatives break with the past. Although I’m not sure that “conservative” is the label that Faye Anderson chooses for herself. Faye, I’m certainly interested in your thoughts.

Well, it depends. I’m conservative on some issues, for example, illegal immigration.

But I’m progressive on voting rights and matters of race because, well, race matters.

Think Sen. Harry Reid or Chris Matthews rhapsodizing that he “forgot he [President Obama] was black tonight for an hour.”

Truth is, I’m not an ideologue. Instead, I’m animated by justice and fairness.

And I’m passionate about black folks getting a reasonable ROI on their political capital.

I have been both a Democratic and a Republican activist. I am now a registered independent and like 70 percent of Americans, I don’t like what’s going on in DC. In fact, I’m angry as a mofo.

Dems Hanging on to a Weak Reid

In 2002, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott was forced to resign his leadership post in the wake of his racial gaffe at a 100th birthday party for Sen. Strom Thurmond.

Lott waxed nostalgic about what might have been if Thurmond, a Dixiecrat, had won the 1948 presidential election.

Lott later apologized:

A poor choice of words conveyed to some the impression that I embraced the discarded policies of the past. Nothing could be further from the truth, and I apologize to anyone who was offended by my statement.

Like then-Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama, I was offended and thought the “Republican Party itself has to drive out Trent Lott.”

During my appearance on ABC’s “Nightline,” I cheered Lott’s resignation:

And what this Lott mess has done has widened that gap into a chasm of suspicion, that how can a party that would sanction a Trent Lott, that would sanction a Strom Thurmond, that built its base on race baiting, appealing to racial animosities, how can we trust them on an issue, like school choice, for one?

Fast forward seven years, a Democratic senate majority leader is apologizing for his “poor choice of words.” Obama and the Democratic establishment are standing by Sen. Harry Reid -- at least for now.

I think Georgetown Prof. Michael Eric Dyson’s observation that Democrats “look like hypocrites” is spot on.

Meanwhile, Reid says he deserves a pass because throughout his political career he has “worked hard to advance issues important to the African-American community.” And he’s through apologizing:

I’m not going to dwell on this anymore. It’s in the book. I’ve made all the statements I’m going to make.

It ain’t over.

Young, Gifted and Black and Crossing Over

In a book set to hit the stores today, “Game Change,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unwittingly revealed his views on race:

He was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama -- a “light-skinned” African American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,” as he said privately. Reid was convinced, in fact, that Obama’s race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination.

Reid has since apologized for his “poor choice of words” Kinsley gaffe.

President Barack Obama was quick to issue a statement accepting Reid’s apology:

Harry Reid called me today and apologized for an unfortunate comment reported today. I accepted Harry’s apology without question because I’ve known him for years, I’ve seen the passionate leadership he’s shown on issues of social justice and I know what’s in his heart. As far as I am concerned, the book is closed.

While Obama has closed the book, Reid’s racially offensive comments open a new chapter in racial politics. I will have more on Reid in the coming days. But I’m not going to let him steal my joy.

Tonight, PBS’ “American Masters” presents “Sam Cooke: Crossing Over.” Interestingly, Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” was the soundtrack to Election Night celebrations in 2008.

The one-hour documentary is narrated by Danny Glover. Parenthetically, Obama recently brushed off Glover’s criticism about his trickle-down approach to issues of importance to African Americans.

Cooke’s story features interviews with other music legends, including James Brown, Smokey Robinson and Billy Preston. To check your local listing, go here.